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S.C. Senator Is a Voice Of Reform Opposition
DeMint a Champion Of Conservatives
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C., July 27 -- On the second floor of the Lexington Medical Center here, Burrell Best, 37, an electrical engineer, and his wife celebrated the birth of their second daughter and voiced fear about the government-run health-care plan being pushed by leading congressional Democrats: "I've just never been a government-takeover kind of guy."
Five floors above him, J.B. Barker, 85, a retired truck driver, sat in a bed recovering from heart and lung congestion problems. Lunching on pepperoni pizza and Pepsi with his wife, Ellen, sitting at his side, Barker said that he does not want Washington meddling with his medical care and that he doubts Congress can craft a better system: "What we have is about as good as we can do."
As anxiety about health-care reform was being expressed Monday on the medical center's campus in this conservative suburb of South Carolina's capital, Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) was sharpening his opposition to President Obama's attempt to overhaul the health-care industry.
The Republican has used fiery rhetoric to create a sense of urgency on the matter, making himself a champion of conservatives in the process.
"I'm swinging on this issue," DeMint said in an interview. "If I can stop a government takeover, I will. . . . It's not personal. It's not political. It's about stopping a bad policy."
At the Heritage Foundation in Washington on Monday night, the senator signed copies of his new book, "Saving Freedom: We Can Stop America's Slide into Socialism," and received a hero's welcome. Edwin J. Feulner, president of the conservative think tank, introduced him by saying: "DeMint may be the junior senator from South Carolina, but here we call him the senior senator from the Heritage Foundation."
Last week, DeMint became a target for Obama allies after he likened the president's health-care fight to Napoleon Bonaparte's final defeat. "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo," he said in a conference call with GOP activists. "It will break him."
Republican Senate leaders have distanced themselves from DeMint, saying they are opposed not to health-care reform but to the proposals Democrats are pressing. Sen. George V. Voinovich (Ohio), a retiring moderate, told colleagues Monday he thinks DeMint and other conservatives are to blame for the party's downfall. And none of DeMint's colleagues has endorsed his Waterloo comment.
The Democratic National Committee seized upon the remark, airing a television ad on cable stations here accusing DeMint of "trying to kill health-care reform" and "playing politics with health care." The party announced on Monday that it had extended the ad through Friday, and a Democratic official said DeMint's outspokenness is helping to recruit candidates to challenge him in 2010 when he faces voters again.
"We're certainly not trying to quiet Jim DeMint," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said. "He's given us a gift because we're able to go to other Republican members and say, 'Do you agree with Jim DeMint that health care should be used to break the president politically?' I don't think it at all has been helpful to the Republicans."
South Carolina is reeling from the economic recession and a 12-percent unemployment rate. About 700,000 of the state's residents are uninsured, and Democratic leaders here say no health-care reform would come at too great a price.
"What will it cost South Carolina families to do nothing?" Rep. James E. Clyburn, the No. 3 House Democrat, said in an interview Monday. "This plan would help make things better. Doing nothing, things will get worse."
Peggie Jenkins, 57, a machine operator at a large bakery here, said Obama's health-care plan "inspired me. . . . He's trying to help all the people, especially the ones losing their jobs. I don't listen to all that negativity out there."
DeMint, 57, who before entering politics owned a small marketing business and struggled to negotiate affordable health-care coverage for his dozen or so employees, said fixing the system has been one of the main causes of his career. But he considers Democratic plans a threat to freedoms Americans treasure.
Since arriving in Washington in 1999 as a House member, DeMint has been on a crusade against the bureaucracy of the federal city. He sought to abolish the federal tax code and once staged a rally in his home town of Greenville, where he tossed all 17,000 pages of the Internal Revenue Service tax code from a hot-air balloon.
"I'm working with a lot of people up here [in Washington] who don't really understand the health insurance market," he said. "I don't think anyone in his Cabinet, or Obama himself, understands the business. I've been around doctors all my life.
"We need some real health-care reform," he added. "So, Mr. President, get your hands off of my health care and let's make health insurance work better."
James L. Guth, a political scientist at Furman University, said of DeMint: Health care "in many ways kind of crystallizes all of the concerns he used to start with. His first campaign slogan was 'Bring Freedom Home,' and he sees all of these government programs as a gradual encroachment of American freedom."
Some medical professionals here in Lexington County agree.
"Whenever I mention it to patients, they are afraid," said John G. Black, a longtime internist at Lexington Medical Center and president of the South Carolina Medical Association. "You could go to any state in the union and you could find patients and physicians who are afraid they will lose freedom in making medical decisions."
In other pockets of the state, the reaction to Democratic proposals has been strong, too. At a recent town-hall meeting in suburban Simpsonville, a man stood up and told Rep. Robert Inglis (R-S.C.) to "keep your government hands off my Medicare."
"I had to politely explain that, 'Actually, sir, your health care is being provided by the government,' " Inglis recalled. "But he wasn't having any of it."
© 2009 The Washington Post Company |
At the Olympic level, where cyclists are in roughly the same physical condition, the difference between victory and defeat often boils down to a bike's aerodynamics. The more smoothly air flows over a frame and rider, the less wind resistance he will feel and the faster he'll go. Engineers at Cervélo used aerospace-grade computational fluid dynamics software and virtual wind-tunnel tests to design the P5, the most aerodynamic bike ever.
With the software, the team at Cervélo designed, rendered and wind-tunnel-tested dozens of P5 prototypes, before ever constructing a physical model. They identified and refined drag-causing areas. For example, they lowered the handlebars and added internal hydraulic brake cables. They also created a tapered rear edge on the seat post, which reduces turbulence off the rider's backside, allowing air to flow more fluidly around him. The changes translate to 75 grams less drag than on the P5's predecessor, a reduction that could result in gains of 1.6 seconds per mile—and a gold-medal run in the 44-kilometer Olympic time trial.
CERVELO P5
Weight 18 pounds
Price From $6,500 |
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Neil Redfearn has resigned from his post as Leeds United academy manager, claiming his position had been made 'untenable' by the club's ownership
Neil Redfearn has resigned from his role as Leeds' academy manager claiming his position had been made untenable by the club.
Redfearn was officially offered to return to his previous job with the academy in May following his six-month stint as first-team head coach last season, but has accused the club of not letting him return to his post.
The 50-year-old was involved in a bitter fall-out with Leeds owner Massimo Cellino, who opted not to extend Redfearn's spell as head coach.
Leeds appointed Uwe Rosler in May and Redfearn has claimed the offer to return to his academy role was 'not genuine'.
Redfearn said in a statement: 'It is with great sadness that I am resigning from my employment at Leeds United with immediate effect.
'I am desperately disappointed that Adam Pearson's 'offer' of a return to my old position as Academy manager was not genuine and the club have since made my position untenable by refusing to let me take up my post at Thorp Arch.
'I would, however, like to place on record my thanks to everyone connected with the first team, including the fans, for making last season both productive and beneficial after a difficult start.
'Very importantly I would like to pay a special tribute to the Academy where I proudly worked along with others for the best part of six years.
'The LUFC academy is now regarded as one of the most productive in the country and last season proved testament to that with the continued development of Sam Byram, Alex Mowatt, Lewis Cook, Charlie Taylor, Kalvin Phillips, Lewis Walters and Chris Dawson amongst a crop of outstanding young players to wear the Leeds badge of honour and to don the famous white shirt.
'The Academy Philosophy and Coaching programme that I wrote and developed will be part of my legacy to this great club and hopefully will help shape more top young professional footballers moving forward.
Redfearn was Leeds caretaker manager three times before taking the job permanently last season
Uwe Rosler will be in charge of Leeds United for the forthcoming Championship season
'I would like to wish Uwe Rosler and his staff and players every success for next season and beyond so that Leeds can (get) back to the Premier League very soon
'Last, but not least, I wish to thank the fans for their unstinting support both during my time at the Academy and whilst in charge of the first team.
'It has truly been an honour to represent and serve this great club.'
Redfearn handed in his resignation on Thursday morning after he and Leeds failed to agree a settlement deal to sever his employment.
The former Barnsley and Charlton midfielder, placed in charge of Leeds' academy in 2012 after joining in 2009, took on the head coach's role last November after Darko Milanic had been sacked.
Redfearn had been appointed until June and had the option of returning to his role as academy boss if Leeds opted not to extend his role as head coach.
Redfearn introduced several young players he had nurtured through the academy into the first team and guided Leeds clear of relegation trouble last season.
But his future became increasingly uncertain after Cellino returned to office in early May following his Football League ban and when the Italian launched a scathing attack on Redfearn at a controversial post-season press conference, an acrimonious departure appeared inevitable.
Cellino later accused Redfearn of being "weak" and "behaving like a baby", but the club insisted several days later a formal offer for him to return to his role as academy manager had been made.
Redfearn's assistant Steve Thompson was sacked without explanation in April and Redfearn was also rocked by the withdrawal of six overseas players through injury on the eve of Leeds' game at Charlton later that month. |
Everyone has their own way of driving and navigating around roads, and as Malaysians, you know lah we got our own perangai too. There are all sorts of drivers on the road! You’ve got the impatient tail-gaters, the ones who like blasting fengtao music (unch unch unch unch), the super-careful-super-slow ones, and most frustrating of all, drivers that are FOREVER SESAT.
Most times, these drivers are either too smart for their own good, or too kedekut with their data to use the GPS!
Now U Mobile wants to help sesat drivers with… FREE data for WAZE!
That’s right! CILISOS sponsor and BFF, U Mobile, is so done with sesat drivers all across Malaysia. They know that data is precious to Malaysians, so that’s why they’ve partnered with Waze to give U Mobile subscribers FREE DATA to navigate on the road.
Smoother journey to your destination, plus more data to check Facebook and read CILISOS? Who dowan? 😛
FYI, this is for all current Postpaid plans and all Prepaid (only those with purchase of UMI) monthly data subscriptions, and will be available now till 31st December 2016. The best part is… even if you’ve run out of your bundled data, you’ll still get to enjoy Waze at high speed! Vroom vroom motha truckas! (Click here for more info.)
But with free data for Waze, you should first know how to drive in Malaysia… Take our JPJ quiz now!
Yea free data for Waze aside, do ~you~ know how to drive properly in Malaysia? By ‘Malaysia’ we don’t mean our questionable Malaysian ways, but… the law! We looked through the JPJ handbook as well as the JPJ online test, and curated these 10 questions to see whether you remember what they taught you during undang-undang. 😉 |
2015 Ivory Crush Help Crush Wildlife Trafficking and Stamp Out Extinction On September 20, 2011, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled the image of the Save Vanishing Species Stamp, a beautiful Amur tiger cub with an amazing facial structure, designed by Nancy Stahl. Since its inception, over 26 million stamps have been sold generating over 2 million dollars. The stamp is available for purchase at post offices and online at: USPS Save Vanishing SpeciesTM. The proceeds made from the stamp will be used directly to save endangered animals in the wild today and conserve some of the world’s most iconic and threatened species. Find more information about the tiger stamp at: www.tigerstamp.com.
2015 New York Ivory Crush
On the morning of June 19, 2015, in Times Square, New York City, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with wildlife and conservation partners, hosted its second ivory crush event. One ton of ivory we seized during an undercover operation, plus other ivory from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, was crushed in front of VIPs and the general public. Why Crush Ivory? Crushing our ivory sends a message to ivory traffickers and their customers that the United States will not tolerate this illegal trade. This crush will also educate consumers, in the United States and around the world, and urge them not to buy products made with ivory that could be contributing to the poaching crisis. Our first crush took place in Denver, Colorado, on November 14, 2013. We destroyed six tons of elephant ivory that was seized over the years by our law enforcement special agents and wildlife inspectors in connection with violations of U.S. wildlife laws and treaties. Since that crush, several governments throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, have also destroyed ivory, joining with us to highlight this worldwide crisis and emphasizing that only a worldwide solution will stop wildlife poaching. The Poaching Crisis Elephant poaching is at its highest level in decades and now exceeds the species’ reproductive potential. Elephants are being slaughtered across Africa to meet the demand for ivory faster than they can reproduce. The poaching crisis not only takes a toll on wildlife, it affects communities as well. Insurgents and organized crime groups cash in on the money to be made from ivory, killing tens of thousands of elephants while gunning down park rangers who work to protect them. This wholesale slaughter of elephants is a destabilizing force for African range states that rely heavily on wildlife tourism. Many of the organized criminal gangs at the center of the trafficking rings are also implicated in the trafficking of drugs, arms, and even people. What can you do to help? The United States is among the world’s largest consumers of wildlife products – both legal and illegal. We have a significant ivory market, and we must continue to be vigilant in combating illegal ivory trade. You can help by not buying items that contain elephant ivory and by spreading this message to your family and friends. The work of law enforcement is an important part of the overall effort to stop wildlife poaching, but the only way to truly stop this slaughter is by ending consumer demand for ivory. Crush Partners The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is grateful to the following organizing partners in the Ivory Crush at Times Square: Wildlife Conservation Society, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Powerscreen; and to our other partners in the Crush and the effort to end wildlife trafficking: African Wildlife Foundation, The Humane Society of the United States, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Natural Resources Defense Council, and World Wildlife Fund. |
Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez has won the €100,000 Impac award for his exploration of Colombia's drug trade, The Sound of Things Falling.
One of the world's richest literary prizes, the International Impac Dublin literary award this year pitted debut novels including the American writer Patrick Flanery and the Irish novelist Donal Ryan against some of the world's biggest literary names, from Norway's Karl Ove Knausgaard to France's Goncourt-winning Marie NDiaye.
Vásquez triumphed for his third novel, a book which had already won him Spain's Alfaguara prize and which judges described as a "consummate literary thriller that resonates long after the final page".
"Through a masterly command of layered time periods, spiralling mysteries and a noir palette, it reveals how intimate lives are overshadowed by history; how the past preys on the present; and how the fate of individuals as well as countries is moulded by distant, or covert, events," they said in their citation.
Vásquez was presented with a cheque for €75,000, with his translator Anne McLean winning €25,000.
The Sound of Things Falling is set during the era of the drug lord Pablo Escobar. It sees Bogota law lecturer Antonio Yammara looking back at the life and death of his friend, an ex-pilot who is shot dead on a street corner. Vásquez told the Guardian in 2010 that he was setting out to write a novel about "how the drug trade affects somebody not involved in it; somebody who – like me – has never seen a gram of coke in his life."
Vásquez said winning was "a great honour", particularly as past winners of the award such as Javier Marías had influenced his writing. His €75,000 winnings, would be used to help with "writing books and reading books," he added. "That's the only project I have – to do these things in the best conditions possible".
The novel began "by remembering for the first time what it was like to grow up during the drug wars", Vásquez continued.
"Halfway through the novel, I realised I was doing something which hadn't been done before," he said. "We had all grown up used to the public side of the drug wars, to the images and killings ... but there wasn't a place to go to think about the private side, and I realised this is what I was doing.
"One of the questions I had about those years was how did the drug wars, with their unprecedented violence, and how did the fear, living with it and growing accustomed to it, change us? How did it change the way we behaved as fathers and sons and friends and lovers, how did it change our private behaviour? This was really very removed from the physical violence going on ... [but] my narrator discovers there's no such thing as far away violence - it all comes to you in the end."
McLean called The Sound of Things Falling "a wonderful and important novel" and expressed the hope that the win would mean "it can reach even wider readership in the English-speaking world".
The longlist for the Impac, the world's largest prize for a single novel published in English, is nominated by libraries around the world, with Mexico City branch library Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas nominating Vásquez's novel. A judging panel featuring the authors Tash Aw, Giles Foden and Catherine Dunne, and the Guardian journalist Maya Jaggi, then selected the shortlist, and their eventual winner.
Previous winners of the Impac range from Nobel laureates Orhan Pamuk and Herta Müller to Irish author Colm Tóibín and French novelist Michel Houellebecq. Vásquez is the first South American author to win the prize in its 19-year history. Eight novels in translation have taken the Impac since it was set up in 1996. |
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KEEP MEMORIES ALIVE: Looking for the perfect baby tooth box to collect your baby’s deciduous first teeth? If so, then we have the cutest baby keepsake storage box to help you get started! Makes the most thoughtful baby shower gift to a friend!
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What is Lanugo?
The fine hair a newborn is born with that sheds shortly after (aka baby hair)
What is it made of?
Its made from Pinus Sylvestris Var which is mothproof and corrosion resistant!
How big is it?
Its 4.9inch * 4.8inch*1.2inch
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Maharashtra government has submitted a report to the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEF) which, according to a report by a leading daily, suggests that ecologically sensitive area (ESA) of the Western Ghats has been reduced from 17,340 square km to 6,719 sq km.
The news report also noted that the number of villages falling under ESA in the state government's report has been reduced from 2,133 (as per the draft notification) to 1,254. There is also a significant drop in the number of villages included in the ESA, from 2,133 in the draft notification to 1,254 in the report submitted to MoEF.
In March 2014, the environment ministry had issued a draft notification, identifying 60,000 sq km of area in Ghats as ecologically sensitive and the ministry had to finalise the draft in 500 days by September 9. Maharashtra along with Kerala, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were to submit their ground assessment of the notification, that was based on recommendations of the K Kasturirangan-led high-level working group. To carry out the ground assessment, the state government had decided to form local committees comprising forest officers, revenue officials and gram panchayat members.
Maharashtra government submitted its report on September 8 and state forest minister of Maharashtra Sudhir Mungantiwar told the daily that the state had recommended 6,714 sq km of land in 1,254 villages should be included in the ESA. "This has been done on the basis of an extensive ground-level exercise that was carried out in all villages," he said.
There was a meeting on Wednesday between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the union minister of state for environment, forests and climate change Prakash Javadekar where discussion on Western Ghats ESA was one of the key element, reported the leading daily. |
I’m not sure Project Zeds will ever get finished. I hope it will. I mean all of this would be pretty useless if it doesn’t, but I don’t know that it ever will. As an amateur game developer this is one of the scariest aspects of working on this game, and its the main reason right now that I’m not actively pursuing help on this project. I’d need people who are willing to devote massive amounts of time and resources to it and I can’t in good faith ask that of a project that I can’t promise will succeed. At least not yet.
I however can ask anything I want of myself and not need to promise anything. Long hours? check. Lack of sleep? check. Zero pay? Massive workload? check and double-check. It’s not so bad though. I love the work. I’d kill to be able to work the way I do for this project as a full-time position, but until then this will have to suffice.
The big problem is that I do have a full-time position, on top of that I have other obligations and responsibilities that keep me occupied and busy. My week gets a little crazy when viewed from outside. So where do you find time to work on a project this massive? To start let me show you what is currently occupying my time.
Things that take up my time (A.K.A My life)
Job – First off I’m employed full-time as a software developer. That means right off the bat there is 40 hour s deducted from my available time each week. I’m blessed in that I don’t have a job the requires mandatory overtime of 80 hour work weeks. This project would be dead in the water if I did. Sleep – After work comes sleep. It seems like such a waste that nearly 1/3rd of our lives is spent in an unconscious state but unfortunately as a human being there is only so much that I can do about that. Ideally I try to get about 8 hours a night, but in practice I average between 6 and 7. Gym/Exercise – After sleep comes gym. I’ve been an active member of my local gym for a few years now. While this may seem like time taken a way from development I can’t stress enough how much more effective going to the gym makes me. Maybe it’s just me but after 8 hours a day working as a developer nothing clears my brain like being able to just cash out all of my built up physical energy. I’ve always been really antsy and just this side of ADHD and without the hours I spend each week at the gym I would have no hope of being able to concentrate long enough to write this game. On a normal week deduct about 6 hours including travel. Friends and Family – After gym comes the things that are a little harder to pin down to specific amounts of time, such as relationships, friends and family. I only put this so far down the list because it’s hard to quantify. Truth be told it should be somewhere near the top. I’ve got a girlfriend who I have been dating for over two years now. I love spending time with her and she loves spending time with me. Friends and family require time in unexpected time slots. things pop up at times you thought you’d be able to dedicate to something else and holidays and once a year events seemingly occur every other week. But that’s just the way that life is. House Work – On top of all of that I within the past year purchased my first house. I love the house but it requires time too. Between installing a washing machine and dryer to painting rooms, to fixing electrical issues to just general cleaning and pet maintenance (read really big fish tank) houses suck up time as well.
So where do I get the time to work on Project Zeds?
Wherever I can. I’ve learned a few ways to maximize the amount of time I have for game development and make the little time I have count. I can’t guarantee they will work for everyone but they work for me.
Assign weekly development hours – I have two nights a week that are my dev nights. Two nights where from the minute I get off of work until the minute I pass out nothing is on my plate except Zeds. Generally I get off work around 5:30 and pass out somewhere between 1:30 and 3:30 AM depending on how successful I am or how tired I am that night. That alone buys me between 16 -20 hours a week. While I know extended sessions like that aren’t useful for some people they seem to work wonders for me. I schedule everything around these sessions. Gym does not happen on dev nights. I never go out on dev nights. Even my wonderful girlfriend knows I am completely unavailable on dev nights and is willing to let me work. Although I will admit she has a desk in my at-home office so that even though I’m busy she can still keep me company. Make use of all the time you have – There is no time slot that is too small to work on the project. Things like lunch hours, time right before bed, or downtime between projects are great for quick learning sessions. I keep a list of tutorials on youtube that I have not had a chance to watch all the way through. I hit up development blogs daily whenever I can and try to learn all that I can in the cracks of the day between other things. And in cases where your brain is absolutely full and you can’t really work on your game, those spaces work great for writing in your development blog, or adding to design documentation, which brings me to … Have a plan of attack for the time you have – I keep trello even though I don’t work with any other developers just to so that I can keep track of what needs to be done. Before I ever even sit down to work I know what I will be working on that night. Every thing is planned ahead so that none of the precious little time I actually have is wasted. Keep a development blog – Just like the exercise this one seems counter intuitive. It’s more time spent not working on your project, but I have found it to be more than useful. First of all, it prevents you from going down the wrong road. Being an only developer means that sometimes your development gets a little myopic and you really need a second set of eyes sometimes to prevent you from doing something stupid. Multiple times this has been the case with this development blog. People have been kind enough to let me know when I’m doing it wrong which has saved so much time. Often I’ll be afraid to share something specifically because i don’t want to look like an idiot, but I’ve come to the conclusion that its better to share and look like an idiot than to continue doing it wrong. The dev blog also allows me to set small goals, because they will be something to write about. I don’t have any supervisor or boss to present my work to so it’s nice to put it out here once a week. The once a week goal allows me to figure out how much I can get done before the next post to so that I can try to write about it. It keeps me disciplined. Be content with small steps – Patience is necessary. I can only do so much by myself. I know that I’ll be a much more effective developer if I don’t get frustrated by how long it takes me to get things done.
That’s all I have for now. If anyone else has advice feel free to comment here or on the inevitable Reddit post linking here.
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(Photo by Christina Estes - KJZZ) By a 5-2 vote, Tempe council members approve a ban on sitting and lying on sidewalks along Mill Avenue. (Photo by Christina Estes - KJZZ) Business owners along Mill Avenue in Tempe have complained about people sitting and lying on sidewalks.
By a 5-2 vote, Tempe City Council members made it illegal to sit or lie on Mill Avenue sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The new ban comes after a year of hearing complaints from merchants like Chad Wilford who owns Fat Tuesday’s on Mill Avenue.
“When I’m constantly berated by people asking my guests that are trying to enjoy themselves for money it’s a problem," he told council members during Thursday night's meeting.
Residents on both sides of the issue also commented before the council's vote.
“This is outrageous that I can’t walk down Mill Avenue without fear of being assaulted, insulted and urinated on," one man said.
“I’ve been harassed by people that definitely have homes on Mill Avenue more often than people without them," a woman said.
“Passing an ordinance like this does nothing to show that Tempe is a compassionate oasis that I believe that it is.," another woman said.
One business owner told the council that Mill Avenue merchants have agreed to raise $100,000 over the next year to help people who are homeless.
The sidewalk ordinance calls for a warning first with a second violation resulting in a $100 fine for a Class 3 misdemeanor. |
Stereopony's been rocking the faces off of Japan since 2007 and we had the chance to be de-facificed ourselves at this years Sakura-Con. If you've enjoyed Mobile Suit Gundam 00 or Darker Than Black, you would probably recognize their music. These three girls have definitely made their mark in the J-Rock and anime world and there's no sign of them slowing down. Our very own Roger Lee sat down with them and talked a little bit about their career, their struggles, and the support they've received from fans friends and family alike.
T-ONO: First of all, we wanted to thank you for coming and making the trip here to Seattle. Are you excited to be back in the United States?
Stereopony: Yes, we are very excited.
T-ONO: Is this your first time in Seattle?
Stereopony: Yes, this is our first time on the west coast.
T-ONO: Have you had a chance to explore the city yet?
Stereopony: Not yet.
T-ONO: Are there any areas you're interested in exploring?
Stereopony: Pike Market Place and first Starbucks Coffee.
T-ONO: In 2007, you're group won the Young People Music Festival, shortly after that, the band was re-named to Stereopony; what was the reason behind that?
Stereopony: When we were writing our first song, there was another band called MIXBOX, in order to become a single band we changed our name to Stereopony.
T-ONO: What was your journey to fame like? What has been the biggest challenge as a band?
Stereopony: I wouldn't consider ourselves famous yet. As far as challenges, because we debuted in high school, balancing music and studying was difficult.
T-ONO: How do the other members in the band feel? Do they have a different opinion?
Nohana: I didn't really have a chance to play with my school mates, so I didn't really have a childhood.
Shiho: I feel exactly the same way.
T-ONO: What are some of your favorable moments?
Shiho: When we are performing live or when we are having the most fun.
Aimi: When we were still aiming for our big debut, we rarely had a chance to play with our high school friends, but when we were finally going to debut, our classmates gave us a big cake and said "Congratulations!" We were really happy about that.
Nohana: Being able to meet all of our fans that cheer for us.
T-ONO: How has your music evolved since you started as the 4-member band MIXBOX, up to your latest single?
Stereopony: The thing that has affected our music the most are the events that have happened through our lives, including high school graduation, debuting, and moving into Tokyo.
T-ONO: Just the other night you finished your first concert in Seattle. How did it feel?
Stereopony: It was really exciting. I know that a lot of the fans were probably seeing us for the first time, since this was our first time on the west coast, I was really happy to see people stay from the beginning to the end of the concert. It was great to see people's smiling faces.
T-ONO: How were your expectations after the concert compared to your expectations before you arrived in Seattle?
Stereopony: It was even more fun than we had expected.
T-ONO: What are some of the factors or influences in choosing which songs to perform during your live performances?
Stereopony: It depends on the location and where we are performing. Sometimes we just want to do a song at a specific location.
T-ONO: It was recently announced that Stereopony will be performing "Stand By Me" for Eureka Seven AO's ending theme, can you tell us a little more about this track?
Stereopony: "Stand By Me" is about the desire to be strong, the people around you that support you and also the will to be strong. I think this is a very important song for Stereopony as it brings a certain realism to our music.
T-ONO: After Sakura-Con ends you'll be flying to San Francisco where you will be performing your first US tour, how does it feel? What are your expectations?
Stereopony: We really like performing live, and with the performance at Sakura-Con we saw so many smiling faces. We just want to take the power that the fans gave us and give that power back with every performance.
We've included a special video message left by the band for their fans. |
Managing research material in the digital age is still a widely inefficient process. Alexander Naydenov, co-founder of PaperHive, looks at how this web platform could transform reading into a more social and active process of collaboration. Close to 1.2 million academic articles and books can currently be read and discussed with PaperHive. The platform enables contextual and structured discussions in real time. Comments are persistent, shareable and can become a part of the academic literature.
Researchers read 12-25 hours a week depending on their discipline. Yet, understanding research articles and books – some of the most complex documents in the world – is hard and inefficient in isolation. Students and inexperienced researchers waste time trying to decipher these texts alone, senior researchers dig through folders of articles irrelevant for their own work, and all at some point might repeat unknowingly others’ mistakes or include these as a citation in their own paper.
There have been incredible innovations in the field of scholarly communication in the last 10 years, often inspired by technological and social trends outside academia: social networks, collaborative writing tools, and a number of field-specific instruments for increased productivity. However, reading has mostly remained an uncooperative activity.
Startups, innovators and publishers have focused on fostering social sharing and discovery assisted by recommendation algorithms. University libraries have not been inactive in their attempts to support a more diverse user base which now largely consists of digital natives, but their efforts to do more with existing content are still futile (see – Outsell Library report “2016 Library Market Size, Share, Forecast, and Trends”). While programmers have stackoverflow as a go-to place for even some of the most specific questions, research questions related to a particular academic paper often remain unanswered in the author’s mailbox, or have to be answered again and again.
Dr. André Gaul, co-founder of PaperHive: “It is very frustrating to realise you wasted a lot of time rediscovering results, references or even mistakes that others found before – just because the relevant information is buried in a giant pile of sticky notes on someone else’s desk”. As a developer and an open source activist since the end 90’s André started working on a solution of the problem after finishing his mathematics PhD at the Technical University of Berlin.
Collaborative reading
PaperHive is a cross-publisher layer of interaction on top of research documents that enables contextual and structured discussions in real time. The web platform transforms reading into an active process of collaboration.
Researchers and students can attach questions, opinions, formulas, and figures directly in the margin of the original text where everyone can benefit from their contributions (see an example). Experts save time, benefit from the feedback of their colleagues, discover relevant related content, get in contact with future collaborators, and increase the visibility of their own work. All public discussions are licensed under the CC-BY 4.0 licence. The annotations are made available with the data models developed in the W3C Web Annotation groups. Comments are persistent, shareable and can become a part of the academic literature.
Deep links to specific passages or discussions make sharing of information with colleagues fast and easy. Readers do not need to scan through the entire document after receiving a recommendation for an important part of a document – no matter if it is a formula on page 10 in line 24, or an entire paragraph worth citing in an upcoming paper.
Close to 1.2 million academic articles and books can currently be read and discussed with PaperHive – including all documents on arXiv’s repository and the OAPEN online library and publication platform. More than 12 million more articles from Elsevier’s ScienceDirect database will be made available in the next weeks. A partnership with the global library consortium Knowledge Unlatched now also allows the interaction with all books the organisation has made open access. These include new works by leading experts in political science, anthropology, media, and history.
Publishers and repositories can easily integrate their content on PaperHive. The documents remain on the original website and by using the full power of today’s browsers, the integration works seamlessly with both open access and subscription-based documents.
Papers alive
Research and innovation are chain reactions of cooperation. PaperHive’s vision is in the spirit of organizations like arXiv and GitHub proving that research and creation are always a work in progress. ArXiv has truly changed the concept of a finished research document with its multiple versions of a scientific paper that once submitted is publicly accessible, (peer-)reviewed, improved, and later re-submitted. GitHub created a space where communities can develop and improve code collaboratively. By popularizing pull requests, becoming a contributor to free software projects became as easy as pushing a single button.
PaperHive adds another element to the concept of a living document. It enables readers to stay in touch with the articles of interest beyond just saving them in a folder. By hiving a document, researchers not only manage their literature but also make sure to never miss updates, interesting questions or further literature attached to an article.
The Researcher’s Companion
PaperHive’s extension for Google Chrome and Firefox serves as a researcher’s companion by notifying them about discussions on content they are currently reading. It also informs readers about open access versions of non-open access articles. The function now covers all pre-prints from arXiv. For example, if a reader is off-campus and cannot open the publisher’s version of an article, the PaperHive extension helps out by providing a link to the latest arXiv version (if available) which could save mathematicians, computer scientists and physicists from a lot of hassle.
Note: This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Impact blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please review our Comments Policy if you have any concerns on posting a comment below.
About the Author
Alexander Naydenov is co-founder and head of marketing at PaperHive. He has a M.Sc. in Business and Computer Science from Humboldt University, Berlin and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Mannheim. He previously coordinated one of the largest social entrepreneurship networks in Eastern Europe Where Ideas Find their Home. Alexander is passionate about behavioral economics and innovations in science communication. He tweets at @paperhive and @vremigrant. |
NEW DELHI: In a stunning revelation, members of an Islamic State (IS) module arrested in Kerala two days ago have told their interrogators that they were planning to kill senior RSS functionaries and high court judges in the state for which they had even prepared a list of targets. According to sources, this is the first such admission by IS operatives arrested in the country.Local police and intelligence agencies have beefed up security of the persons whose names were found on the hitlist of the IS module led by Majeed alias Omar Al Hindi , who recently came back from Qatar where he was in touch with some senior leaders of the so-called caliphate.The IS members, sources said, had prepared a list of at least eight RSS office-bearers and Kerala HC judges. The NIA had arrested six members of the module from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Apart from Omar Al Hindi, the others are Abu Basheer alias Rashid from Coimbatore, Swalih Mohammed T alias Yousuf from Thrissur, Safwan P from Mallapuram, Jasim N K and Ramshad Nageelan Kandiyil alias Aaamu from Kozhikode. Meanwhile, the agency detained another IS suspect who is not associated with the module but is said to be an important IS operative.The officials, however, clarified that none of these IS operatives had any connection with the 21 missing persons from Kerala who joined the IS in Afghanistan earlier this year.When asked about the motive to target RSS leaders in Kerala and HC judges, a source said, “We are still interrogating them but it appears that they wanted to show the presence of IS in south India by targeting political leaders and judges as such attacks would have increased their visibility."Omar Al Hindi named the new outfit Ansar-ul Khilafah Kerala after owing allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi . The NIA suspects that more members of the module are absconding while some facilitators and financiers are based abroad.As first reported by TOI, Omar Al Hindi was associated with Kerala-based organisation Popular Front of India, which has been earlier chargesheeted by the NIA in the professor T J Joseph palm chopping case. Intel agencies have arrested 60 IS Indian operatives till now from different states while many youths are under surveillance for promoting its ideolody. |
The parents of 43 ultra-Orthodox girls were tonighton their way to prison for two weeks today after defying a court order over their children's schooling that has highlighted the division between Israel's religious and secular communities.
More than 100,000 ultra-Orthodox men marched through Jerusalem to show their support. "They are going to jail with joy," said Barry Dubin, 28. "We ultra-Orthodox parents will not cave in to the courts."
The parents are Ashkenazi, originating from Europe, and are in a long-running battle to have their daughters educated separately from Sephardi girls originating from north Africa and the Middle East.
They reported to a police station this evening, according to a police spokesman. The mothers and fathers were being sent to separate jails to serve their sentences. Jerusalem's centre was gridlocked as a result of the march. Police were standing by in the city's Jewish religious areas last night, the spokesman said.
The relative scale of the demonstration, for a city whose Jewish population is half a million, was enormous. Another demonstration in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, attracted thousands more.
The reason for wanting separate education, the parents claim, is not racism but a desire to remove their daughters from the influence of those they consider less strict in their religious observance. Watching TV at home, having access to the internet, and a laxer dress code among the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox have been cited.
The ultra-Orthodox school in the illegal West Bank settlement of Immanuel segregated the girls, a move that was subject to a legal challenge resulting in an order to reintegrate. The parents of the 43 girls refused to send them back to mixed classes, leading to sentences for contempt of court.
Underlying the case is the rejection of what the ultra-Orthodox community's sees as state interference in their religious practice and life. "We don't give our girls all the knowledge that there is in the world," said Esther Bark, 50, a mother of seven daughters watching the male-only demonstration today. "We shelter them, and that's why they need a sheltered school. We can't mix a whole assortment of girls in one school."
As police helicopters throbbed over the mass of black-hatted demonstrators, Aaron Shuv, 28, said: "We only follow the rules of God. The Torah [scriptures] is above all government."
The issue had nothing to do with discrimination, said Dubin, a father of two. "No court in the world should have the right to tell me how to educate my sons or daughters. The court went against our rabbis."
Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community has swollen to a third of the Jewish population, assisted by a high birthrate and departure of thousands of secular residents. The secular population is increasingly resentful that its taxes support welfare benefits for the ultra-Orthodox, who reject paid work in favour of religious study.
The political leverage of the ultra-Orthodox has also increased since the election resulted in a coalition dependent on the support of small religious parties.
"The ultra-Orthodox community is getting stronger and stronger," said Yitzhak Brudny, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "The tensions between the religious and secular communities have become especially pronounced. It's both a class war and a cultural war. The ultra-Orthodox are dirt poor. Among secular Israelis and moderate Orthodox Jews, they are seen basically as parasites. And they have no desire to integrate with other communities."
Secular Israelis were enraged by the ultra-Orthodox refusal to abide by the law on the schooling issue.
"For many years the culture war has hung over us like a dark cloud, like a threat," Yossi Sarid, a former member of the Knesset, wrote in the Ha'aretz newspaper. "Now it is happening; the war has erupted. The great Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] rebellion has begun and is raging on several fronts … It will destroy basic values, without which a democratic, developed state cannot exist. It will be lost unless it fights back." |
As a growing middle class worldwide consumes more sugar, meat, soda, and other processed foods, the number of people suffering from the obesity-related disease type-2 diabetes has quadrupled in the last 40 years, to some 400 million people worldwide.
The disease, in which the body doesn’t produce or process insulin properly, has been considered chronic and incurable, a condition that only gets worse with age—so efforts have focused on prevention. But new research suggests that, for some people already diagnosed with diabetes, following an extreme diet could reverse the disease.
Researchers at Newcastle University created an extreme diet plan for a small trial involving 30 type-2 diabetes patients. For eight weeks, the patients drank a diet milkshake three times daily and ate some 200 grams of non-starchy vegetables, totaling about 700 calories a day.
At the end of the regimen, the average weight loss among participants was about 14 kg (33 pounds). And in many of them, the diabetes disappeared. Nearly half the participants had no symptoms of diabetes for nearly six months after they went back to eating normally. The results of the study were published in Diabetes Care.
Reversal of diabetes has been studied in those undergoing bariatric surgery, where reduction in the size of the stomach reduces patients’ ability to eat large quantities and often results in major weight loss. But this is the first study where the reversal has lasted for as long as six months.
It is worth noting that most of those who experienced reversal of symptoms had had diabetes for less than four years. They were also, in general, healthier than those who didn’t experience reversal of symptoms while on the extreme diet.
We still don’t understand why such reversal is possible. A leading hypothesis is that, following weight loss, removal of excess fat from the liver and pancreas can kickstart insulin-producing cells to normalize sugar levels.
Though the study hints at a cure, larger and longer-term trials are necessary to understand the method’s effectiveness. Still, patients who underwent the trial say they are happy they did it. Four years after the trial, at least one of those patients, Richard Doughty, still has no symptoms of diabetes. He eats about 1700 calories per day, but follows a strict exercise regime to lose many of those calories.
The diet is tough, but not impossible. “I’ve learned to enjoy my shift in lifestyle, and I like a whole range of food I didn’t know about before,” Doughty writes in the Guardian.
For those who can’t stick to such a diet in the long term, experts suggest that even a temporary reversal of symptoms can be beneficial, reducing the risks of diabetes-associated complications, such as kidney damage, loss of vision, heart attacks, and stroke. |
Just a week ago, President Barack Obama signed an executive order for a coordinated federal strategy into HPC to build the world's first exascale supercomputer. The Department of Energy, the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will work on the project.
Of course, the HPC world has been talking about exascale for a while, as have the major players. IBM and Intel are in a race of their own to get to exascale.
But what about AMD? Stop laughing, I'm serious.
Thanks to a paper submitted to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, otherwise known as IEEE, AMD has tipped its plans for what it calls an "Exascale Heterogeneous Processor," or EHP, with 32 of its new Zen cores, a huge new GPU die called "Greenland," and up to 32GB of High Bandwidth Memory 2 memory – all on a 2.5D interposer.
Zen is the codename for a new core being designed by CPU design wiz Jim Keller, who designed the 64-bit x86 extensions and HyperTransport interconnects for the AMD Athlon more than a decade ago. Zen is believed to be a clean sheet design, new from the ground up and a significant advance over the current designs.
The white paper abstract says in part:
To fully realize the capabilities of the GPU, we envision exascale compute nodes comprised of integrated CPUs and GPUs (i.e., accelerated processing units or APUs) along with the hardware and software support to enable scientists to effectively run their scientific experiments on an exascale system. [In the paper submitted to IEEE...] We discuss the hardware and software challenges in building a heterogeneous exascale system, and we describe on-going research efforts at AMD to realize our exascale vision.
The paper requires membership to access, but an Italian chip site managed to get it and found a diagram that gives an idea of the processor. It has 32 Zen cores surrounding the Greenland GPU core plus eight 4GB stacks of stacked HMB memory. Greenland has not been announced, so it's obviously a next generation design, since all of AMD's codenames for its GPUs have been south Pacific islands. The next generation is said to be "Arctic Islands," so Greenland is likely the first in the new generation.
Now there's a bit of a conflict among rumor mills. While WCCFtech was the first to report on the 32-core design, the unfortunately-named hobbyist site Fudzilla is saying it's a 16-core, 32-thread design. WCCFtech also believes there is a 16-core variant in the works, but it is standing by the 32-core design as well.
It's known that Zen will have significantly improved multithreading over the current design, and both WCCFtech and Fudzilla have gotten it right quite often, a lot more than DigiTimes, so I'm not sure who to believe. Maybe both.
Other details on this megachip include 64 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3, 14 lanes of SATA III, 4-channel DDR4 with a total capacity of 256GB per channel and a new memory interconnect called Global Memory Interconnect that will act as an interface between the Zen die and Greenland die or between the two chips on the same multi-chip module package.
It's still all speculation of course. But for once, it's good speculation. The only question is how hard will AMD come back after pretty much ceding the server market. Well, there's that and one more question: can AMD hang on? The mystery chip is not due until 2016 or 2017 and the company has taken it on the chin lately. Here's to hoping AMD can hang in there. |
Tomorrow evening provides, very likely, the last chance for Zab Judah to to redeem a career that has been stuttering since he reached the pinnacle of the sport way back in 2005. It was that year he became the undisputed World Welterweight Champion. It’s been a tough ride ever since.
There are very few fighters who possess the natural ability of a cat like Zab. It’s a rarity to find a fighter who achieved as much as Zab in the early 2000’s, only to blow it all in the latter half of the decade.
His career since then has been littered with one misstep after another. A farcical showdown with Floyd Mayweather in 2006 signified both the biggest fight of his career and the beginning of the trip down the mountain.
Always known for his occasionally thuggish tactics within the ring, the world observed a total meltdown against Mayweather. Realizing the fight was lost on points and that there was no way to get through Mayweather’s renowned shoulder roll defence, Judah lost control.
A series of low blows led to a brawl erupting between the two corners. The street dudes in both men showed up that day, along with those personas of their respective corners. You don’t grow up in a place like Brooklyn and not know how to maintain respect. Especially when everyone knows you as a boxer of some repute.
Judah went on to win a few fights and lose some big ones in the aftermath. It’s unfortunately been the story of his career. When faced with the top level of competition the mental fortitude required of an elite champion is simply not present. Then Judah met Amir Khan.
It looked, to this writer and many other observers, that we’d seen the end of the road for Judah. Going down in the fifth round to what was clearly not a low blow, it looked as though the fight had left the man.
It’s a terrible thing to see a once proud warrior, a man who never knew the word quit, lay on the mat and not want to get up. It’s entirely likely the body shot took all the wind out of him, and perhaps it was ring savvy that told Judah to sell the blow as illegal to gain more time for himself, but more than anything it looked like a man who was done with the punishment.
It wouldn’t be the first time a fighter realized in the middle of the bout that it wasn’t worth it anymore. That the cruel hands of fate had decided that there was no more left in the tank for Judah and it was time to call time on an outstanding career.
A dude like Judah doesn’t think like that though. He returned under a year later and exhibited a form we hadn’t seen in years. Maybe there still was fight left in this cat, if he could put on a clinic the way he did against Vernon Paris. Maybe.
And that’s the hope we all have as fans, that a once great warrior still has something left deep down in the reserves. We saw it with Erik Morales upon making his dubious comeback. Fight fans went from worrying for his health to wondering just how far he could make it in his last couple of years.
Unfortunately it was Danny Garcia, the very man Judah faces tomorrow evening, that put it all in perspective. In Garcia we had a young, hungry champion desperate to prove that he deserves to fight amongst the best. Watching El Terrible be decimated by the man was almost too much to watch.
So on Saturday Judah enters the ring, hoping for a very different result. He’s not as old and has not been as nearly as many wars as Morales. That is certainly in his favour. He also has a deep hatred for Angel Garcia, the loud mouth father of one of the sports rising stars. Claims of snitching reverberated last year, serving to stoke the fire that burns in Judah.
Saturday is the last chance for Judah. He needs to enter the ring and prove us all wrong for one last time. He just might possess the fire and desire necessary to do it.
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Christchurch's Orana Wildlife Park has taken the rare step of banning a visitor because his chanting and chest beating upset the gorillas.
Andrew Wright, a self-proclaimed wizard and energy healer, was banned last week after he visited the park's newly opened Great Ape Centre on two consecutive days and got the gorillas – Fataki, Fuzu and Mahali – so agitated that two of them charged the glass.
Staff monitoring the enclosure repeatedly asked Wright, who was chanting, beating his chest, mimicking the gorillas and intently staring at them, to stop what he was doing but he persisted, park marketing manager Nathan Hawke said.
KIRK KARGREAVES Gorillas Fataki (left) and Mahali became agitated after a visitor to the park chanted at them and mimicked their behaviour.
Wright was gutted by the decision, saying the animals responded positively to his chanting, which was designed to comfort them and make them feel relaxed.
The three critically endangered Western Lowland gorillas were brought to the $6 million centre from Sydney's Taronga Zoo. They have been on public display for a couple of weeks.
While the gorillas had not seem too troubled by Wright's behaviour on the first day, on the second day they had reacted aggressively to his presence. When he moved to the inside viewing area, where 20 to 30 other people were watching the gorillas, two of the gorillas singled him out and charged at the glass.
"The fact our big boy, who is 190kg, shoulder charged the glass, which he has not done before, says to us we have highly agitated gorillas. We spoke to him [Wright] and asked him to move along. As soon as he left the gorilla behaviour returned to normal," Hawke said.
Wright had caused problems at the park a few years ago when he used to visit dressed as a wizard and chant at the animals. Staff were no longer prepared to tolerate his unsettling behaviour, Hawke said.
The decision to ban Wright from the park had not been made lightly but the welfare of the animals had to be put first.
"We've had crystal healers in the zoo, aura people, horse whisperers and all sorts out here. We embrace everything but when it crosses the line of starting to upset animals then we have to do something. "I don't recall us ever banning anyone else. We don't do it lightly," Hawke said.
Wright, an itinerant, upset that Orana Wildlife Park refused to refund him the $69 he paid for an annual pass, denied his behaviour had upset the gorillas. He was bewildered by management's decision to ban him.
Wright said the gorillas had been playing with him and had responded positively to his chanting. One of the gorillas even came up to the viewing window and high-fived him, he claimed. .
"They weren't agitated at all – they seemed to be enjoying the singing," he said.
Wright said he had been using sound and vibration to soothe and heal animals for years. He had visited Orana Wildlife Park in the past without incident, although staff had asked him to leave his Tibetan bells behind on one occasion as they were making the cheetahs jittery.
"I don't know what the problem is. I've never had animals react badly," he said. He was gutted he was no longer welcome at Orana Wildlife Park as he loved spending time with the animals and it was one of his passions in life. |
David Thompson broke Alex Rodriguez's homer and RBI records while playing at the same Miami high school from which A-Rod graduated. Thompson also set the state of Florida’s career long ball record, breaking the prep mark previously held by Prince Fielder.
Now, after reaching the College World Series with the University of Miami as a junior, Thompson has turned pro. The New York Mets selected the 21-year-old Thompson, a third baseman, in the fourth round of last month’s draft. Through 11 games with the Brooklyn Cyclones, Thompson is hitting .289 (11-for-38) with two extra-base hits and six RBIs.
Thompson was playing for the Cyclones days after Miami was ousted from its first College World Series appearance since 2008.
“I kind of just got home, unpacked, washed my stuff, and packed and came right up to Brooklyn,” Thompson said.
Thompson initially was poised to be a two-sport student-athlete with the Hurricanes. Recruited to be a quarterback, he attended every football meeting and practice his freshman year, although he did not dress out for games because he required labrum surgery and was wearing a sling. He walked away from football and concentrated solely on baseball after his first year on campus.
“A couple of shoulder surgeries later, that helped determine that,” Thompson said. “Also, when the offensive coordinator that recruited me left, that’s when I knew it was time to just focus on baseball.”
Thompson’s sophomore season of baseball was interrupted by a medical issue.
“We played Georgia Tech on a weekend and got back on a Monday,” he said. “I was on a bike ride and, randomly, I just couldn’t hold onto the bike anymore. The next couple of days my arm swelled up and turned a little purple and I couldn’t really feel my fingers in my right arm.
“It was very alarming. I went to the hospital on Wednesday and didn’t get out for a couple of weeks. It was a long process.”
Thompson was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Because of a broken vein in his right arm and clotting, blood would flow down to his fingers, but was unable to return. Doctors twice tried to break up clots using a process known as “ballooning.” Each time, the clot returned the following day. Doctors eventually performed a procedure to remove his first rib as well as the troublesome vein. He was back playing eight weeks later.
This season, Thompson led the Division I level in RBIs (90 in 67 games). He nearly led the nation in homers as well with 19, but was overtaken in Omaha.
“Leading the nation in RBIs, that was a big accomplishment -- and almost leading the nation in home runs until [Arkansas’ Andrew] Benintendi (20) passed me in the College World Series,” Thompson said.
As for breaking A-Rod’s high school records, Thompson added: “It definitely was a huge accomplishment and a blessing to be able to break some of his records.”
ORGANIZATION LEADERS
Average: Ali Sanchez, GCL Mets, .500; Vinny Siena, Brooklyn, .390; Kenneth Bautista, GCL Mets, .364; Milton Ramos, Kingsport, .341; Patrick Mazeika, Kingsport, .327; Jeff McNeil, St. Lucie, .319; Michael Bernal, Brooklyn, .318; T.J. Rivera, Vegas, .309; Jayce Boyd, Vegas, .303; Luis Guillorme, Savannah, .300.
Homers: Alex Castellanos, Vegas, 15; Travis Taijeron, Vegas, 14; Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, 13; Michael Conforto, Binghamton, 10; Aderlin Rodriguez, Binghamton, 9.
RBIs: Josh Rodriguez, Binghamton, 53; Alex Castellanos, Vegas, 51; Dominic Smith, St. Lucie, 49; Matt Reynolds, Vegas, 48; Michael Conforto, Binghamton, 47.
Steals: Wilfredo Tovar, Vegas, 21; Champ Stuart, St. Lucie, 21; Patrick Biondi, Savannah, 15; Jeff McNeil, St. Lucie, 13; Jonathan Johnson, Savannah, 13.
ERA: Ronald Guedez, GCL Mets, 0.82; Tyler Badamo, Brooklyn, 1.35; Matt Blackham, Brooklyn, 1.45; Edwin German, GCL Mets, 1.80; Steven Matz, Vegas, 2.19; Casey Meisner, St. Lucie, 2.23; Michael Fulmer, Binghamton, 2.44; Nabil Crismatt, Kingsport, 2.63; Merandy Gonzalez, GCL Mets, 3.00; John Gant, Binghamton, 3.06.
Wins: Casey Meisner, St. Lucie, 9; Robert Gsellman, Binghamton, 8; Scarlyn Reyes, Savannah, 8.
Saves: Paul Sewald, Binghamton, 14; Akeel Morris, Binghamton, 13; Jon Velasquez, Binghamton, 13; Jimmy Duff, Savannah, 9; David Roseboom, Savannah, 8.
Strikeouts: Steven Matz, Vegas, 94; John Gant, Binghamton, 77; Casey Meisner, St. Lucie, 76; Brad Wieck, Savannah, 74; Martires Arias, Savannah, 73.
SHORT HOPS |
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Aug. 19, 2013, 10:29 PM GMT By Laura Poppick
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a 4,000-year-old man preserved in an Irish peat bog, marking the oldest European body ever found with skin still intact.
The cool, waterlogged conditions of Northern European bogs (a type of wetland) create low-oxygen, highly acidic environments ideal for body preservation. As a result, hundreds of "bog bodies" dating back thousands of years have been uncovered in the region, but many have shriveled down to mostly skeletons and tend to be closer to 2,000 years old.
A resident of central Ireland's County Laois came across the well-preserved "Cashel Man" — named for the bog he was found in — while milling for peat moss, which is used for a variety of farm purposes, including animal-bedding and field conditioning. [See Images of Cashel Man & Other Bog Bodies]
Having realized that he had come across a human body, the resident notified archaeologists at the National Museum of Ireland, who later conducted a formal excavation of the site. A summary of the dig appeared in the latest edition of the Irish journal Ossory, Laois, and Leinster.
"All that was visible to start with was a pair of legs below the knees, and a torso," Eamonn Kelly, an archaeologist at the National Museum and lead excavator of the project, wrote in the report. "The body appeared to be naked. Later, it was possible to work out that the torso had been damaged by the milling machine, which also removed the head, neck and left arm."
The team calculated the age of the body using radiometric carbon dating, in which the constant decay rate of radioactive carbon-14 is used to estimate age based on remaining levels of carbon-14 in the dead tissues. Surprised to find the body was roughly 4,000 years old, the team dated the peat above and below the body to confirm the results, and came up with about the same age. Previously, the oldest bog body ever found in Ireland was 1,300 years old, according to the Irish Times.
The team conducted computed tomography (CT) scans of the body after the dig, and found that the young man's arm and spine had been broken multiple times, seemingly from sharp blows before his death.
The researchers also found cuts along the man's back that looked like ax wounds. They uncovered axes capable of producing such wounds within the vicinity of the site.
Given this evidence of brutality, the team concluded that the young man had been killed in a ritual sacrifice, a practice commonly known in later eras, but not well documented in the Early Bronze Age of 2000 B.C., about the time this bog body would've lived.
"All the indications are that the human remains from Cashel Bog tell of the fate of a young king who, through folly or misadventure, was deemed to have failed to appease the goddess on whose benevolence his people depended, and who paid the ultimate price," Kelly wrote.
The international anthropology community has also taken note of the significance of this finding.
"This is really quite special," said Glen Doran, an anthropology professor at Florida State University who studies remains from North American bogs and was not involved in the study.
Any remains preserved as well as Cashel Man provide important opportunities to study past cultures, but Cashel Man's unusually old age makes him a particularly fruitful find. "There are fewer places that have deposits of that age, so when you find them, they represent very remarkable windows into the past," Doran said.
Follow Laura Poppick on Twitter. Follow LiveScience on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Original article on LiveScience. |
Autonomous cars can currently perform most of the basic driving tasks, like switching lanes or parking, but avoiding an oncoming vehicle or avoiding an animal on the road is still too complex for most systems.
That is why Georgia Tech has built two rally trucks, 20 percent the size of normal trucks, to test some of the irregular events that happen on roads.
See also: Semi-autonomous car hits new record at Indy track
A team of researchers from the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering and the School of Interactive Computing worked on the autonomous track, called the AutoRally.
Reaching a top speed of 20 mph – the equivalent of 90 mph at full size – the team could test multiple events at different speeds. The cars start to learn and adjust to the barriers on the road, learning how to avoid them.
The AutoRally trucks are fitted with a CPU, GPS, battery, and swarth of cameras and sensors to calculate “up to 2000 possibilities in 50 milliseconds.” The team’s goal is to make the truck react as quickly as a human would to complex situations.
Autonomous tech still not up to quick reflexes?
The inability to react to an unfamiliar situation is one of the main reasons people are still unsure about autonomous cars. In a new study from the University of Michigan, public perception of self-driving is still quite bad, with a lot of people cautious or against computers controlling cars — a study in the U.K. produced similar results.
Georgia Tech already provides all of its research and code online, allowing companies currently testing autonomous cars to try out the system in regular cars.
Google, the company that has worked the longest on self-driving, has been actively avoiding crashes, at least in public. It reported two crashes in California last month, both of which were caused by human error, though we have seen evidence of the autonomous car causing a crash. |
Just when some industry observers were beginning to think that it couldn’t get any worse for the NFL’s primetime ratings this year, it gets much, much worse.
The NFL served up the Texans and the Ravens on the week 12 edition of Monday Night Football, and NFL viewers seem to have resoundingly said, “No thank you.”
The MNF clash between Houston and Baltimore drew only a 6.0 in metered markets. That makes it the lowest rated MNF contest of the year for the NFL and ESPN. It also makes President Trump’s Tuesday morning Twitter shot at the league, incredibly well-timed and accurate:
At least 24 players kneeling this weekend at NFL stadiums that are now having a very hard time filling up. The American public is fed up with the disrespect the NFL is paying to our Country, our Flag and our National Anthem. Weak and out of control! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
The Week 12 debacle represents a 17 percent decline from last week’s edition of MNF, which saw a the Seahawks edge the Falcons 34-31.
According to Deadline Hollywood, “To add more context, last night’s MNF dipped 2% from the previous season low of the October 16 matchup between the winning Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts. Not sure a lot of that had to do with the Supergirl start of the latest Arrowverse crossover on the CW, if you know what I mean.
“For instance, looking back over a year, the drop between last night’s MNF and the comparable one of November 28, 2016 is harsh. Ravens-Texans fell 33% in MM ratings from the Green Bay Packers’ 27-13 win over the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago. (It might be added that the 2016 MNF also faced a Supergirl start to the DC heroes crossover of that year, and that the Packers and the Eagles have much greater national appeal.) Overall, that Week 12 game of last season saw a 4.2 rating in the key demo and 13.06 million viewers.”
All this said, ESPN still won primetime last night. Though, with NFL ratings hitting newer and lower lows, one wonders how long that will continue. |
A Newfoundland company wants to build a $4 billion wind farm 20 kilometres off Yarmouth, N.S., and sell the power to New England.
"We have world-class wind here," said Kirby Mercer, president and CEO of Beothuk Energy Inc.
He was in Halifax Monday to tell Nova Scotia's Department of Energy about the project. It would involve about 120 turbines producing upwards of 1,000 megawatts of energy.
A 200-nautical mile subsea cable would run between the farm and New England.
"[American utilities] are displacing a lot of coal and nuclear right now and they've been mandated to close very quickly," Mercer said.
"They're scrambling to get power, so we have exactly what they're looking for. It's preferred over hydro in the United States," he said.
New work for displaced oil workers?
Mercer would not say which American power utilities he spoke with specifically. He said he has not been in touch with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the U.S.
The project is in the early phases, but if it moves forward, Mercer estimates about 600 full time jobs would be created during the manufacturing stage and then "hundreds" of jobs during operation.
"So many similarities between offshore oil and offshore wind that it's a natural transition for people who may have been displaced in the oil sector to get involved in this right now," Mercer said.
Mercer said Emera, Nova Scotia Power's parent company, knows about the project proposal. He says it's too soon to say if they'll tap into it.
Beothuk is working with Jacob Capital Management, Siemens Offshore Wind, Talon Energy and Maderra Engineering.
Mercer says the offshore wind farm would have little impact on fishing operations. He plans to consult with stakeholders in 2016, including First Nations and fishermen. |
Downtown development: Developers looking for repeat success
The view to the North from the Stadium District building is the Cooley Law School Stadium, home of the Lansing Lugnuts. The Gillespie Group announced a similar project in Midland across from Dow Diamond. The view to the North from the Stadium District building is the Cooley Law School Stadium, home of the Lansing Lugnuts. The Gillespie Group announced a similar project in Midland across from Dow Diamond. Photo: NEIL BLAKE | [email protected] Photo: NEIL BLAKE | [email protected] Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Downtown development: Developers looking for repeat success 1 / 3 Back to Gallery
A building that helped revitalize Lansing's downtown could be replicated in Midland on an even larger scale. The developers are working to secure funding, receive a state Brownfield Redevelopment tax credit and build connections in Midland to ensure its success.
Gillespie Group, an East Lansing-based development company, built a residential, office and retail building across the street from what's now the Cooley Law School Stadium, home of the Lansing Lugnuts. The Lansing Stadium District project sparked a revitalization that stretched into downtown Lansing, filling vacant storefronts.
Now, Gillespie Group is teaming with Caddis Development Group on the Midland Downtown Stadium District, which would bring a four-story, 230,265-square-foot office and retail center to the old McKay Press property at 215 State St., across from Dow Diamond.
The parallels between the projects haven't been lost on any of the people involved. Both are near an established downtown district. Both are across the street from a minor league baseball stadium. Both are meant to be a catalyst for change, bringing office employees into the district during the day and visitors at night. And both are Brownfield sites requiring cleanup of past contamination in order to build.
"This is a model that worked for us in Lansing and it's what attracted us to Midland," Gillespie Group President Patrick Gillespie said recently while sitting inside the Lansing Stadium District building. "We're actually looking at other communities that have minor league stadiums because this has been so successful. We'd like to, I guess, not reinvent the wheel, but look at what we did here, learn from our mistakes and do it in Midland. The one in Midland is supposed to be two and half times the size of this one."
Restoring urban sites presents challenges because pollution must be cleaned up before construction can begin. One of the biggest challenges is paying for that cleanup.
"That's why we've applied for the environmental grants and state Brownfield assistance we're going after right now," he said. "You have to spend all that just to make the site buildable and that's a challenge, but I think everyone will agree this urban shift is green. You're not using up more land, you're tying into existing streets and infrastructure that's already there, you're putting people into downtown so they're probably closer to other services. That shift is going on, you can feel it. We're feeling it in Lansing, and it's growing."
While the potential tenants for the Midland location are not being named, Gillespie said they hope to attract businesses that would appeal to professionals and young adults who live and work downtown.
"We don't want to duplicate anything that's there, but complement," he said. "We'd love to have a piano bar, we'd love to have a sports bar, a coffee shop or Panera-type shop. That type of product."
Kevin McGraw, president of Caddis Development, said building excitement locally is critical to the plan.
"We try to figure what the needs and desires of the community are, weigh that with what makes sense in this climate and economic environment, and try to generate support for that," McGraw said. "In the end, it's not our project. It's a project that's had a lot of input from a lot of stakeholders that includes government and community leaders."
Part of the mission is to add vitality to downtown Midland, which gained traction with the H Hotel renovations and Dow Diamond construction.
"I don't see this as a new project; I see this as the continuation of what's already started there," McGraw said. "We're going to create a live, work and play environment that revitalizes not just the stadium district, but the entire downtown. That's going to have far-reaching positive implications throughout the city."
That is exactly what one young Midland resident says he and his friends want.
Jason Singer, 19, envisions a place he could go to at night to enjoy music and spend time with friends.
"I always go to Detroit or Grand Rapids or even Mount Pleasant to hear stuff or see stuff or do stuff," Singer said. "It'd be nice not to have to spend the money on gas to do good stuff."
The lack of cities with the right appeal is one of the reasons state officials say young people leave Michigan.
"I've thought about moving to Nashville or Grand Rapids or Austin," Singer said. "It seems like there's a lot more opportunities, more entertainment, more to options for people my age. Midland is more, I don't want to be offensive, but it's more an old person's town."
The Great Lakes Loons did offer the community a giant step forward in entertainment options.
Paul Barbeau, president and general manager of the Loons, said the Michigan Baseball Foundation hoped the Loons would be a catalyst for projects like the proposed building across the street. The foundation has gone as far as lending the developers office space at Dow Diamond as they work on the project.
"We're excited about the development team that has come together to do this proposed (project)," Barbeau said. "They have great expertise, track record and vision. They want to do more than just build a building, but build something that would be transformational for downtown."
The new building would serve as a connection between the stadium on one end of the district and the rest of downtown, creating a whole block's worth of new storefronts. Barbeau said having more restaurants and retail next to the baseball diamond will complement the downtown businesses.
"Part of what I get excited about is as you put more people into downtown, you start to establish a critical mass that gets other developers interested in things," he said. "I think it helps existing operators downtown, but also encourages more new things as well."
Lansing leaders saw this firsthand after Gillespie's Lansing Stadium District building opened across from the Lugnuts' stadium.
"It's definitely enhanced the retail sector near the development. It has helped us recruit and bring in new businesses to downtown," Lansing Economic Development Corp. CEO Bob Trezise said.
Trezise, who is familiar with downtown Midland because he was on the team that picked Midland to be a part of the Michigan Main Street Program, said this type of development would benefit the city.
"It's going to be good for Midland," he said.
One of the tenants in Gillespie's building in Lansing is the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau, which now benefits from all of the foot traffic from people heading to Lugnuts games and nearby restaurants.
Julie Pingston, senior vice president of the bureau, said the mix of tenants interact with each other, creating a network for referrals that wouldn't exist without the building itself. The project created the Stadium District of Lansing, a name that's taken hold with the public.
"It's nice that this is a dynamic, impressive building that really welcomes people and shows there's vitality in our community," Pingston said. "I know it used to be a parking lot, which wasn't as welcoming or engaging a facility to have."
Scott Walker, CEO of local economic development group Midland Tomorrow, hopes a similar feeling can be created in Midland.
"It's an extension of what the community had hoped for when the minor league ball diamond was first contemplated -- that there would be new development that would occur based on that ball diamond," he said.
When retailers left downtown Midland for the mall area, the downtown became stressed, Walker said. He said the office building now occupied by Chemical Bank was built to bring people back downtown so the district could grow again.
"This project grows on that," he said. "Having 200 to 300 additional people working downtown adds critical mass to allow downtown to continue to grow."
The project is not yet a sure thing. The developers are seeking Brownfield credits from the state, which would help cover the cost of the cleanup. They were given expedited support from the City of Midland to qualify at the state level in time before funding before the program ends. But the hurdles to completion go beyond that.
"It's contingent on several things," McGraw said. "It's contingent on finding acceptable and viable anchor tenants, adequate economic incentives and financing."
The pair hope the pieces fall into place and Midland can be their next success story, not just for their sake, but the community's as well. |
If there's one thing practically all futurologists once agreed on, it's that in the 21st century there would be a lot less work. What would they have thought, if they had known that in 2012, the 9-5 working day had in the UK become something more like 7am to 7pm? They would surely have looked around and seen technology take over in many professions which previously needed heavy manpower, they would have looked at the increase in automation and mass production, and wondered – why are they spending 12 hours a day on menial tasks?
It's a question which isn't adequately answered either by the right or by the official left. Conservatives have always loved to pontificate about the moral virtue of hard work and much of the left, focusing on the terrible effects of mass unemployment, understandably gives "more jobs" as its main solution to the crisis. Previous generations would have found this hopelessly disappointing.
In almost all cases, utopians, socialists and other futurologists believed that work would come near to being abolished for one reason above all – we could let the machines do it. The socialist thinker Paul Lafargue wrote in his pointedly titled tract The Right To Be Lazy (1883):
"Our machines, with breath of fire, with limbs of unwearying steel, with fruitfulness wonderful inexhaustible, accomplish by themselves with docility their sacred labour. And nevertheless the genius of the great philosophers of capitalism remains dominated by the prejudices of the wage system, worst of slaveries. They do not yet understand that the machine is the saviour of humanity, the god who shall redeem man from working for hire, the god who shall give him leisure and liberty."
Oscar Wilde evidently agreed – in his 1891 essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism, he scorns the "nonsense that is written and talked today about the dignity of manual labour", and insists that "man is made for something better than distributing dirt. All work of that kind should be done by a machine". He makes quite clear what he means:
"Machinery must work for us in coal mines, and do all sanitary services, and be the stoker of steamers, and clean the streets, and run messages on wet days, and do anything that is tedious or distressing".
Both Lafargue and Wilde would have been horrified if they'd realised that only 20 years later manual work itself would become an ideology in Labour and Communist parties, dedicating themselves to its glorification rather than abolition.
Here too, though, the idea was that this would eventually be superseded. After the Russian revolution, one of the great advocates of the cult of work was Aleksei Gastev, a former metalworker and trade union leader who became a poet, publishing anthologies with titles like Poetry of the Factory Floor. He became the USSR's leading enthusiast for Taylorism, the American management technique usually criticised by the left for reducing the worker to a mere cog in a machine, running the state-sponsored Central Institute of Labour. When asked about this in 1926 by the German leftist Ernst Toller, Gastev replied: "We hope by our discoveries to arrive at a stage when a worker who formerly worked eight hours on a particular job will only have to work two or three". Somewhere along the line, this was forgotten, in favour of musclebound Stakhanovites performing superhuman feats of coal-hewing.
American industrial theorists, strangely enough, seemed to share the socialists' view. The designer, engineer and polymath Buckminster Fuller declared that the "industrial equation", ie the fact technology enables mankind to do "more with less", would soon eliminate the very notion of labour altogether. In 1963, he wrote: "[W]ithin a century, the word 'worker' will have no current meaning. It will be something you will have to look up in an early 20th-century dictionary". If that became true over the past 10 years, it was only in the "we are all middle class now" sense of New Labour – not in the sense of actually eliminating menial work, or the divide between workers and owners.
Surveys have long shown that most workers think their jobs are pointless, and looking at the heavily contested vacancies at the average jobcentre – call centre staff, filing clerks and above all the various tasks of the service industry – it's hard to disagree.
Yet the utopian vision of the elimination of industrial labour has in many ways come to pass. Over the past decade Sheffield steelworks produced more steel than ever before, with a tiny fraction of their former workforce; and the container ports of Avonmouth, Tilbury, Teesport and Southampton got rid of most of the dockers, but not the tonnage.
The result was not that dockers or steelworkers were free to, as Marx once put it, "hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon and criticise after dinner". Instead, they were subjected to shame, poverty, and the endless worry over finding another job, which, if it arrived, might be insecure, poorly paid, un-unionised work in the service industry. In the current era of casualisation, that's practically the norm, so the idea of skilled, secure labour and pride in work doesn't seem quite so awful. Nonetheless, the workers' movement was once dedicated to the eventual abolition of all menial, tedious, grinding work. We have the machines to make that a reality today – but none of the will.
• Follow Comment is free on Twitter @commentisfree |
Migrants rest at a temporary shelter in a sports hall in Hanau, Germany, October 1, 2015. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
In recent weeks, the massive arrival of asylum seekers opened a debate about the economic and political repercussions of immigration in Europe. The discussion is not entirely new.
However, the current migration flow into Europe is somewhat different from those of the past. Unlike the litany of previous population movements, this one involves a combination of asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and economic migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Balkans, most of whom arrive in Europe by land or sea.
Many of these migrants endure long and dangerous trips from their countries of origin.
Still, though this refugee crisis is unique in many respects, previous migration experiences offer some indication of how it could affect Europe. For one thing, the process of integrating foreigners remains problematic for European nations.
Migrants walk to cross the border with Austria in Hegyeshalom Thomson Reuters
In most Western European countries, migrant workers tend to be disproportionally represented in the bottom segments of the national earnings distribution. Eurostat data also shows that in most EU countries, unemployment rates are higher among migrants.
Both disadvantages are particularly pronounced among non-European immigrants — a key aspect to keep in mind considering the backgrounds of the men and women currently arriving in Europe.
Moreover, migrants tend to go where jobs are available and migration policies are friendly. This fact will undermine any EU efforts to introduce one-size-fits-all policies such as the automatic relocation of migrants.
If a migrant wants to go to Austria, there is little the European Union can do to keep him or her in Romania. If Germany allows refugees to work three months after they arrive in the country while France makes them wait for a year, it is only natural that migrants will continue to choose Germany over France.
Stratfor
And as long as Sweden offers friendlier asylum legislation than Denmark, the former will be a destination country while the latter will be a transit country for asylum seekers.
In the months ahead, the European Union is likely to harden its resolve to stem immigration, taking steps to consolidate the so-called Fortress Europe. But this position will have little meaning without additional measures to integrate those who have already arrived and those who will undoubtedly arrive in the future. |
BERLIN — This morning, activists affiliated with the group “Dust to Glitter,” who had occupied the Volksbühne theater since last Friday, were forcibly evicted by police. Ten police vans arrived on the scene around 10am to clear remove activists who were occupying the theater — one of Berlin’s most culturally relevant institutions — to protest the city’s accelerating gentrification.
“It seems that the theater workers were not entirely supportive of the occupation,” Sarah Waterfeld, one of Dust to Glitter’s organizers, told press assembled outside the theater after the eviction. “The collective wants to stay in the house and they would like to invite to a performance. Nobody wants to leave.”
Chris Dercon, the recently appointed director of the Volksbühne, filed a compliant against the occupiers late Wednesday night and asked the police to intervene after negotiations between theater staff and the occupiers failed to reach an amicable solution, a spokesperson for the Berlin Police said in a statement this afternoon.
Wir werden Herrn Dercon jetzt in die #Volksbühne begleiten. Dort wird er die Anwesenden bitten, das Gebäude zu verlassen. pic.twitter.com/Vj5KqAOO0S — PolizeiBerlinEinsatz (@PolizeiBerlin_E) September 28, 2017
Protesters associated with Dust to Glitter had been occupying the theater since Friday night, declaring the building “property of the people” in their initial statement. They intended to develop a “People’s Stage” over the next three months, as well as an “anti-gentrification center” and a “parliament of the homeless.” Dust to Glitter activists had also been planning a production in the context of the occupation, B61-12, whose title refers to a nuclear bomb. Speaking with Hyperallergic, Waterfeld framed the occupation as a “transmedial and mimetic theatrical production.”
On Tuesday night, negotiations took place between Dercon, members of Dust to Glitter, two Volksbühne employees, Berlin Secretary of Culture Klaus Wöhlert, and other representatives of the Senate Administration, including Klaus Lederer, Berlin’s senator for cultural policy. Negotiations centered on “de-escalation instead of confrontation,” theater management said, but according to activists an ultimatum was given, allowing them use of the Green Salon and the Volksbühnen-Pavillon for their events, under the condition that “no techno parties” were held and that their actions would not disrupt the theater’s administrators, dancers, and stage workers as they prepared for scheduled premieres in November. Dercon’s program this year includes new productions by Tino Sehgal, Mohammad Al Attar, and Ari Benjamin Meyers, among others.
However, by Wednesday evening, talks had reportedly broken down after Dust to Glitter’s central demand — that the Volksbühne be operated not according to a top-down, hierarchical structure, but rather as a collective, on the basis of a two-year interim council — was deemed “unfulfillable” by theater management.
During this morning’s eviction, most activists left voluntarily, while five had to be carried away by police. According to activists present during the eviction, approximately 50 members of the group were present when police arrived and several were taken into custody, yet it’s unclear what they will be charged with or if they have been detained for questioning.
In a statement posted to Facebook late Thursday, Lederer, Berlin’s senator for cultural policy, said that while he supported the underlying concerns of the activists, he did not agree with their methods:
I regret that the occupants and occupiers did not accept the offer of the Volksbühne. It would have enabled a side-by-side without affecting the work of the Volksbühnen artists. The debate about displacement and defending freedom will continue. But I want to say once again: the Volksbühne was and is a public cultural institution, which belongs to all Berliners alike. It can continue to be a place for urban and social discourse. However, this must not be carried out in a manner seen by the employees of the house as an unfriendly act, if not as a hostile takeover.
By the time news of Dust to Glitter’s eviction spread on social media Thursday afternoon — largely via the Dust to Glitter Twitter account (@VB_6112) — activists associated with the occupation called for solidarity and for people to assemble on the lawn in front of the Volksbühne for a plenary. They remained throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
News of Dust to Glitter’s eviction brought widespread condemnation from artists and activists on social media, who also criticized Dercon for filing a criminal complaint against the occupiers. By late Thursday afternoon, an open letter began circulating online in support of Dust to Glitter, collectively authored by cultural workers in Berlin. One of them, Ivor Stodolosky, wrote: “Dialogue is at the core of Berlin’s post-war culture. If the art world is to be more than an entertainment industry backed by a police force, Dercon needs to talk. By letting violence talk, he is losing all credibility.”
In response, the Volksbühne issued a press release that quoted Dercon as saying, in part: “Our offer from Tuesday until now to use the Green Salon and the Pavilion was rebuked … . Tomorrow we will try again.” As darkness fell over the German capital today, Dust to Glitter activists remained on the lawn in front of the Volksbühne, surrounded by a significant police presence. For now, calm seems to have taken hold on both sides. Only time will tell whether plans to de-gentrify the theater will lead to more negotiations or friction between theater staff and activists.
Ironically, in 2014, Dercon was part of the jury that awarded Teatro Valle — an occupied theater in Rome —the European Cultural Foundation’s Princess Margriet Award.
“For many countries, these new models of cultural collaboration and not to forget self-organization are ways to lead us out of the mess,” he said in a statement at the time. “The future of cultural institutions and cultural makers will be determined by these initiatives, and the question of the commons, which has political questions beyond art, is a very important message of solidarity.” |
As I mentioned last month we are taking Henry VIII on tour to Tatton Park. This is the story that inspired us to do that…
Henry VII had a tremendous influence on the customs of court that his son, Henry VIII, would inherit. In 1485 Henry VII seized the crown from the now reinterred Richard III. Henry VII’s marriage to Elizabeth of York ended the War of the Roses but the country was still in a turbulent state. Competing factions vied for the throne and counties (which were very independent) were unhappy with the new king. To soothe his restless country Henry VII went on long progresses around the kingdom. He would visit towns and cities to listen to their grievances and attempt to pacify them by exchanging gifts. Where necessary he enforced his will to underpin his right to be king. Most importantly he promoted himself as king, declaring he and his future dynasty were there to stay.
The tradition continued with Henry VIII. He travelled for the same peace-keeping purposes as his father. However, with a more relaxed atmosphere in the country, Henry could take progresses a little less seriously. Progresses were an excuse to hunt in a fresh ground, a sport Henry was passionate about. Hunting was a time for political manoeuvring where courtiers and dignitaries could get close to the king. The trophies of the hunt also provided excellent gifts to offer to the host. Although Henry made the most out of his tour, with many trips out on the hunt in the company of his close companions, political negotiations were always an underlying factor and indeed the real purpose of a royal progress.
Henry’s court was naturally peripatetic, which meant it travelled from palace to palace as part of its normal agenda. A full court – around eight hundred people – could only stay in one place for a short amount of time before resources like food ran out and sanitary conditions became too foul to live with. Before each progress officials would survey local properties to gauge how well the land could accommodate the tour. Progresses were often very destructive. Plagues of people descending on an estate could cause large amounts of damage. It was suggested hosts make an inventory prior to a royal stay to chart any damage and get costs reimbursed: servants would steal furniture, food, and even the locks off the doors.
The country would have felt a lot bigger then and travelling by horse would have meant days of travel for a journey that now takes hours. A royal caravan travelled with great wardrobes of clothes, furniture, and tapestries and could travel up to seventeen miles in one day. Often progresses could go astray: William Knight, the king’s secretary, was guiding a pair of French ambassadors to join Henry in Winchester when he managed to lose them completely. When reporting this to Wolsey he was shamefaced, to say the least!
If you can manage not to get lost on the way to Tatton Park (and face the wrath of Wolsey) you can visit Henry and his court on progress Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th May.
Charlotte Barker
Curatorial Research Assistant |
“Believe it or not, there are grown men out there who are interested in watching more than just sports and violence on TV,” the subject said. “I’m one of them.”
The interviewer nodded and wrote something on his clipboard. He looked back up at the subject.
The subject adjusted his glasses and ran his hand across his forehead, wiping beads of sweat through his thin brown hair. A thudding sound from above broke the silence as a fan turned on somewhere. A stale, warm breeze passed over them.
“Also, Lauren Faust is a freakin’ genius.”
The interviewer put his clipboard down on the table between them. He slid his pen into the front pocket of his lab coat. “Do you not worry about what other people might think?” he asked.
The subject glanced around him at the walls of the tiny room, completely featureless except for the metal door behind the interviewer. “I don’t know,” said the subject. “I guess I just don’t think that the opinion of anyone who would judge me for something like that is really worth worrying about.”
“I see,” said the interviewer. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in toward the subject. The fan that had turned on earlier quietly sputtered and turned back off; the warm breeze stopped.
“Look,” said the subject, “I really need to go, unless you’re going to, I don’t know, arrest me or something, I don’t think you can hold me here. I have rights!”
The interviewer sighed and leaned back. “Very well,” he said. He stood up and pushed his chair under the table. “I’ll get the release papers for you to sign and you can be on your way. Just wait here a moment.” He reached down and took his clipboard, then turned and walked toward the door.
“You should give it a chance some time,” said the subject. The interviewer paused mid-stride—his hand outstretched an inch away from the door handle. He turned his head to see the subject grinning at him.
“The show, I mean,” said the subject. “I don’t think you really understand what you’re dealing with. It might surprise you.”
The interviewer frowned, then opened the door and stepped out of the room. The door closed behind him, followed by a soft click as the lock slid into place.
The interviewer turned the corner into the monitoring room, where a man in a military uniform was watching the subject on a TV screen.
“How dangerous is he?” asked the man in the uniform.
“I can’t tell with this one,” said the interviewer. “The others were obviously harmless, but this one is… different somehow. I don’t want you to terminate him yet, not until I’ve had a chance to study him further. But to be safe, I’m recommending level three containment protocols.”
The man in the uniform frowned and scratched his chin, then turned back to the TV screen. The subject turned his head toward the camera.
“I think…” said the subject, “that it’s going to surprise everypony!”
The screen cut to static for a moment, then shut off along with all of the lights. Less than a second later, the emergency backup lights clicked on in the hall outside the monitoring room. The man in the uniform and the interviewer looked at each other in the dimness.
“Shit!” said the interviewer.
“Get to the door,” said the man in the uniform. “Make sure he can’t escape!”
The interviewer rushed out into the hall and around the corner. A sliver of warped metal clinging to the hinges was all that was left of the door to the interrogation room. The interviewer’s eyes went wide at the sight of the empty room, and he slowly backed away.
“Sir, we need to get out of here!” yelled the interviewer. He turned to run to the exit at the far end of the hall. In his haste, he almost tripped over something heavy and low to the ground that blocked his way. He turned to see what it was, and his face went white when he saw that it was the eviscerated corpse of the man in the uniform. The interviewer gasped, then slipped in a pool of blood and collapsed to the floor. He struggled to a sitting position, and started scooting away from the body.
“Don’t you know…” said the subject’s voice. The interviewer looked all around him, but didn’t see the subject anywhere. The voice had a strange echo to it, as though it had traveled a long distance to get there.
The interviewer started to get to his feet. “Please…” he cried. The emergency lights flickered and went out, leaving him in complete darkness.
The hallway filled with a soft light, made of all the colors of the rainbow. As the interviewer scrambled toward the exit, the rainbow light quickly intensified. The interviewer screamed as his retinas detached and his skin burned and peeled from the heat of the light. A loud crack sounded, shaking the ground and rattling the walls.
Dazed, the interviewer dropped to his knees. Before darkness finally overcame him, the subject’s voice whispered softly in his shattered ear drums.
“…You’re all my very best friends.” |
Image copyright Reuters
Shares in Twitter have fallen more than 10% after the company reported that its fourth-quarter losses had nearly doubled.
The social networking service reported a loss of $167m (£133m) in the final three months of 2016, as against $90m in the same period a year earlier.
There were 319 million active users, 4% up on a year earlier, but revenue from ads fell slightly to $638m.
Donald Trump's ardent use of Twitter did little to boost users or ad income.
Fourth-quarter revenues were $717m, 1% up on last year's $710m.
Revenues and user numbers both fell short of analysts' expectations.
It was the company's slowest quarterly revenue growth since it became a publicly listed company in November 2013.
Some analysts had expected new US President Donald Trump's widely publicised use of Twitter would give the service a financial boost.
But during a conference call, chief operating officer Anthony Noto dismissed the idea that the "Trump effect" had been a key factor in user growth.
He said that while Mr Trump had shown "the power of Twitter" and broadened awareness of the service, it was hard for "an event or a single person" to make such a difference.
Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, technology correspondent
These were supposed to be the results that showed Twitter resurgent after a year of disappointment. The fact that it had been the prime social networking battleground during the US election and that every tweet from the new president garnered worldwide attention would have new brought new users - and advertisers - flocking in.
That was the theory. In fact, the figures showed the slowest growth in quarterly revenue in the company's short history and a very modest increase in user numbers. The company has put on a brave face, focusing on the growth in daily rather than monthly active users.
It also says that revenue growth is lagging user growth - but investors have grown impatient for evidence that Twitter has found a sustainable business model.
Donald Trump's tweets - and the reactions they provoke - may have become essential viewing for journalists and the markets. Whether they make Twitter a great destination for advertisers is a different matter.
'Toughest challenge'
Despite the increased losses, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said 2016 had been "a transformative year" for the service.
"We reset and focused on why people use Twitter: it's the fastest way to see what's happening and what everyone's talking about," he said.
"We overcame the toughest challenge for any consumer service at scale by reversing declining audience trends and re-accelerating usage."
He said daily active usage had risen for the third consecutive quarter and the upward trend was set to continue.
"While revenue growth continues to lag audience growth, we are applying the same focused approach that drove audience growth to our revenue product portfolio, focusing on our strengths and the real-time nature of our service.
"This will take time, but we're moving fast to show results." |
Nokia is already confirmed to enter the smartphone market by launching Android powered devices soon. Now the company is said to launch two new high-end smartphones running on latest Android Nougat based Nokia Z Launcher. The device will be manufactured by Foxconn while HMD Global looks after the marketing and distribution of the Nokia device.
Nokia will not get into the device distribution or manufacturing; it will just give authority to use its brand name and in return get the royalties. Two new Nokia smartphones with a screen size of 5.2-inches and 5.5-inches are reported to come soon. Both the devices are expected to come with similar kind of design and sports mostly the same hardware. The company opted for the AMOLED display panels with QuadHD resolution.
The devices shall be powered by Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor clocked at 2.1GHz along with Adreno 530 GPU. Recently, Qualcomm also unveiled the upgraded Snapdragon 821 chipset which is clocked at 2.4GHz and offers 10% better performance. It is also mentioned that both the devices are IP68 certified which means they are waterproof and dustproof.
The Nokia-Foxconn deal was announced in May 2016 through which Foxconn will manufacture Nokia’s Android smartphones. Since Foxconn has permission to use the Nokia name, it’s thought that it has simply slapped a more recognisable brand name and logo onto the handset in order to get more market interest when launched in western parts of the world.
The devices will be launched first in China, same as Nokia N1 Tablet and the pricing of these is said to be around 3000 Yuan (approx $450).
Source: Weibo |
There's either very sad news or very good news for AC/DC and their fans as two conflicting reports have surfaced online.
First, Australian radio station 3AW entertainment reporter Peter Ford stated that the band was close to announcing their retirement and that "the tour will not happen and we will never see AC/DC perform again or record again." Ford also tweeted that there was "some sad detail behind" behind their decision. The rumor could have some credence given the fact that frontman Brian Johnson had stated in a previous interview that recording of their new album had been delayed due to one of the band members being seriously ill. The new rumor also suggests that guitarist Malcolm Young has "returned to Australia to live with his family and for his own personal reasons he may not want to continue with the band."
But the above rumor later took a back seat as a conflicting report stated that the band was not retiring and had in fact booked studio time for their new album. According to The Australian , the group has booked a six-week stint set to begin May 1 in Vancouver to lay down music for their next album, which would be their first since 2008's 'Black Ice.' Johnson had stated earlier this year that he was confident that a new album would get done and that it would coincide with a tour.
So while the booking of studio time suggests that a new album may be in the works, it's also possible that the time was booked before circumstances changed. Stay tuned for more updates as these conflicting rumors sort themselves out. |
As much as a log about developing a game, this is also a log about the founding of a studio. My ambition is to take the work I've done so far and parley that into building a team of passionate professionals, not only to create this game but to grow into a development studio that works exclusively on VR titles.
Last week saw a lot of progress on that end. I found that UploadVR has free job postings while they build their credibility as a job source for VR companies. I also started to get responses from my tweets on the subject. The tweets were more immediately effective, especially when retweeted by friends who have been at this longer (I currently only have 20 followers @BoneyardChris) This lead to meeting a number of promising candidates.
That first week was jam packed with activity. It was my first week full time, so there was just a massive ton of things to catch up on. I caught up so much that this past week was slow by comparison, but there were some good accomplishments:
* Got my Washington State Business License
* Sent the build out to several people and companies for feedback and consideration
* Met with folks from the City of Seattle about reaching out to a more diverse set of candidates
* Learned about Seattle Startup Week, which is next week and has a ton of activity of interest and a big local VR meetup which I'll be attending. |
A guide has been issued to parents of university graduates
Advice on using "tough love" to motivate children to find a job and leave home after university is being issued to parents by the government.
The guide from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills admits graduates could find things difficult in the current financial climate.
It warns against nagging but also against being "too supportive".
The Conservatives have dismissed the measure, saying Lord Mandelson should focus on improving the economy.
BBC reporter Rachel Bulkeley said that with graduate unemployment at its highest level for more than a decade, the idea of staying at the parental home might seem more attractive than ever.
'No laundry'
Official figures released earlier this month showed more people in their late 20s and early 30s were staying put after graduating.
The government's new guide includes a list of dos and don'ts, and suggests that nagging comes out as the worst approach.
This, the guide says, can make young people more stressed, and graduates should be allowed some time to relax.
But it warns parents against being "too supportive," saying newly-qualified offspring should be encourage to be realistic, rather than wasting away the years pursuing their dream job.
The guide also advises against allowing a few weeks back home to turn into a few months. Its solution is to show some "tough love" by not doing their washing and ironing. |
The most precise measurement ever made of the current rate of expansion of the Universe has been achieved by physicists in the US, and there’s a problem: the Universe is expanding 8 percent faster than our current laws of physics can explain.
If confirmed by independent tests, this new measurement will force us to rethink how dark matter and dark energy have been influencing the evolution of the Universe for the past 13.8 billion years, and that means something in the standard model of particle physics has to change.
"I think that there is something in the standard cosmological model that we don't understand," lead researcher Adam Riess from Johns Hopkins University, who also co-discovered dark energy back in 1998, told Davide Castelvecchi at Nature.
So… wtf just happened? Well, right now, physicists explain the gradual expansion of the Universe - which has been in effect since the Big Bang - by the presence of dark matter and dark energy.
While invisible dark matter is thought to make up 27 percent of the Universe, and visible matter a measly 5 percent, dark energy is estimated to make up a whopping 68 percent of the known Universe, and the way all three interact could explain why everything has been expanding since the beginning of time.
According to the accepted model of cosmology, the biggest influence on the evolution of the Universe is the competition between dark matter and dark energy. While the gravitational pull of dark matter appears to be slowing down the expansion of the Universe, dark energy seems to be tugging it in the opposite direction to make it accelerate.
Astrophysicists were able to figure all this out thanks to measurements of radiation left over from the Big Bang, which we can now observe as the Cosmic Microwave Background, or CMB.
Earlier observations of the CMB made by Riess and other astrophysicists around the world have suggested that the pull of dark energy on the Universe has remained constant since the Big Bang, Castelvecchi reports.
This hypothesis was backed up by the most comprehensive analysis of the CMB, performed recently by the European Space Agency’s Planck Observatory, and scientists have since used Planck’s measurements to estimate the rate of expansion at any point in the Universe’s history.
Image of the cosmic microwave background. Credit: NASA
"For years, those predictions have disagreed with direct measurements of the current rate of cosmic expansion - also known as the Hubble constant," says Castelvecchi. "But until now the error margins in this constant were large enough that the disagreement could be ignored."
Now Riess and his colleagues have found another way to measure the rate of expansion - the brightness of certain types of celestial objects, such as stars and supernovae, known as 'standard candles'.
As Kelly Dickerson explains for Mic.com, standard candles are thought to emit the exact same level of brightness, which means physicists can use them as markers to measure how fast the Universe is expanding away from us.
Riess’s team analysed 18 standard candles using hindreds of hours of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, and calculated that the speed of expansion is about 8 percent faster than the Planck’s measurements predicted.
"If this new measurement is accurate - and our maps of the CMB are also accurate - then something about our fundamental understanding of the Universe is wrong," says Dickerson.
These results, which have been posted to pre-print website arXiv.org and are awaiting peer-review, have the potential of "becoming transformational in cosmology", cosmologist Kevork Abazajian from the University of California, who was not involved in the study, told Nature.
We’re going to have to sit tight and wait for these results to be independently confirmed or disproved, but we’ve been hearing pretty often recently of things happening out in our Universe that challenge our current laws of physics, so something’s probably gonna have to give eventually.
One thing’s for sure - it’s an exciting time to be a physicist. |
Regarding the discussion about feminism in videogames and the way the heroines are portrayed in them, “Street Fighter V” has been criticized because of two characters seen as extremely sexualized – including the Brazilian Laura.
In an interview for UOL Jogos, the producer of the fighting game series Yoshinori Ono guaranteed that Capcom wants to erase that notion so that their game doesn’t disturb the female audience.
“Our objective with ‘Street Fighter V’ is to start over from zero”, explains Ono. “We want the professional players and the casual fans of the series to return, but we also want to reach those who have never even touched a fighting game. So we can’t have something in the game that makes people think, ‘This is not acceptable’”.
Originally, the fighter Rainbow Mika slapped her butt during one attack sequence, but the action was removed. That led some fans to question if some kind of ‘censorship’ had occurred.
“We didn’t make any change because of external influences”, reassures Ono. “Those changes came up internally. We decided to remove that because we want the biggest possible number of people to play, and we don’t want to have something in the game that might make someone uncomfortable”.
The objective, according the producer, is to have characters that people like, and not put them off the game. “Probably we won’t be able to remove everything that could offend someone. But our goal is, at least, to reduce that number as much as possible so that they think ‘Ok, there is this issue here, but it is within the limits’. We want that everyone can play and enjoy without worrying about anything else”, he says.
“Street Fighter V” will be launched for PlayStation 4 and PC on the February 16, 2016.
*The journalist travelled at the invitation of Sony. |
Sacramento County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to ban outdoor marijuana crops, joining a growing number of California cities and counties that have prohibited cultivation in response to safety and nuisance complaints.
Sheriff Scott Jones told supervisors that marijuana plants have increased throughout the county because of a lack of clarity in federal and state laws and inconsistent prosecution. County aides and law enforcement showed numerous aerial photos of reported grow sites, including open space near Rio Linda High School and the Cherry Island Soccer Complex.
“We’ve seen a profusion – an explosion – of marijuana grows,” Jones said.
The new restrictions would apply to unincorporated Sacramento County and likely take effect in mid-June. The city of Sacramento already bans outdoor cultivation in residential areas, while Elk Grove prohibits all outdoor marijuana growth.
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Some advocates for medical marijuana said Tuesday that law enforcement overstated the risks associated with marijuana growth, though others were sympathetic with the county’s concerns about large grow sites. They asked supervisors to preserve the ability of patients to grow plants for personal use. Supervisors on Tuesday asked county staff to return May 28 with proposed restrictions for indoor marijuana grows specifically limited to medical use.
Local governments have moved quickly to regulate growth after a favorable state court ruling in November upheld their ability to ban cultivation despite the state’s 1996 initiative legalizing marijuana for medical use.
The ruling by the Sacramento-based 3rd District Court of Appeal, upholding a ban in the city of Live Oak, paved the way for similar ordinances across California. Most bans have focused on outdoor cultivation, while Fresno County has gone the furthest by prohibiting outdoor and indoor medical marijuana grows, according to the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan introduced separate indoor and outdoor ordinances Tuesday to ban marijuana crops, saying she has received many complaints from residents. In addition to safety and quality of life issues, marijuana grows create undue demands on the environment, including high water use in a drought, she said.
Supervisors unanimously approved the ban on outdoor cultivation. But MacGlashan said she agreed to continue the indoor ordinance discussion because she thinks a majority of board members prefer regulation instead of an outright ban, even though she does not agree with that approach.
The board in 2011 effectively banned medical marijuana dispensaries after as many as 99 such establishments had opened in the unincorporated county.
The nebulous nature of state and federal laws makes prosecution of marijuana cultivation difficult, Jones said. The county will rely largely on code enforcement officers to police its new ordinance, citing growers for civil infractions with backup by sheriff’s deputies when needed.
Dozens of plants can be found in residential backyards as well as in more remote areas, law-enforcement officials said.
Lt. John Laughlin of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said many of the marijuana grows are run by organized crime, and it’s not hard to figure out why: A single plant can yield $1,500 worth of marijuana in California, and much more in other parts of the country. The drug trafficking task force he serves on found a cornfield in Sacramento County with $52 million in marijuana, he said.
Marijuana crops lead to violence as people try to steal and protect them, said Michael Neves, an assistant chief deputy district attorney. The District Attorney’s Office is actively prosecuting 10 people on homicide charges involving marijuana, he said.
“It’s out of control,” said Neves, who said in late summer some neighborhoods will be permeated with the skunk-like smell of freshly harvested marijuana.
Neves pointed to the case of Kelly McClurg, a 60-year-old Wilton man who was shot and killed when two men stole his indoor pot grow in 2012. Three men were convicted in the case.
Medical marijuana advocates told supervisors Tuesday the county should take action against large growers who engage in criminal enterprise but not restrict the ability of patients to cultivate plants for their own needs.
“We agree with pretty much everything you said today,” said Bob Bowerman of the Sacramento chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
The debate on indoor growing will possibly hinge on how much marijuana is reasonable for a patient to have. Ron Mullins of Sacramento NORML told supervisors that prosecutor Neves’ assertion that 2 pounds was enough to last a patient a year was far off the mark. He estimated that he smoked 51/2 pounds of marijuana in a year.
“No way – that’s too much,” said Supervisor Susan Peters. |
Something is coming in 2017 for Microsoft’s Surface product line, but what could it be?
At Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington, placeholders have begun appearing in Building 88, purportedly teasing the 2017 line of Surface products. While there haven’t been any announcements as to what we can expect, there are rumours that an All-in-One Surface will be making its way to the living room in 2016, however, this could turn out to actually be 2017.
These rumoured releases also line-up with the so-called Surface Phone, which is claimed to also be launching in 2017, and will be ‘category innovating’, so there are high hopes for Microsoft’s next Windows 10 Mobile device.
Could we see a product launch involving a new 2-in-1, All-in-One and a phone, all in one year? It seems likely. As always, we will keep you up-to-date on the latest rumours and announcements regarding Microsoft Surface.
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Further reading: Microsoft |
Breitbart News is now the enemy, according to advertisers. Joining Allstate, EarthLink, and others is Kellogg Co. which has pulled its ads from the conservative site because it is perceived as a breeding ground for hate speech.
An announcement was made by Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles:
“We regularly work with our media-buying partners to ensure our ads do not appear on sites that aren’t aligned with our values as a company. We recently reviewed the list of sites where our ads can be placed and decided to discontinue advertising on Breitbart.com. We are working to remove our ads from that site.”
Along with these companies, the online ad service AppNexus Inc. barred the conservative website earlier this month from using its ad tools claiming Breitbart violated the company’s hate-speech rules, Bloomberg reports.
This pushback intensified as Breitbart’s former chairman Steve Bannon was hired on as chief strategist to President-elect Donald Trump. However, Breitbart CEO Larry Solov maintains the site “has always and continues to condemn racism and bigotry in any form,” despite the condemnation of others to the contrary.
As Bloomberg noted, Breitbart’s traffic has risen significantly. That’s true for other conservative outlets, too, as more Americans are moving away from a biased mainstream media. With over 19 million unique visitors in October, up 6 million over last year, Kellogg apparently doesn’t want to make breakfast great again. Instead, the company caved to social media activists who watch for ads to appear on conservative sites, screenshot them, and then pressure the company to pull them off.
One company not bowing to that pressure is Nissan. So far, the car company prefers to “place ads in a variety of sites in order to reach as many consumers as possible,” adding, “The placement of Nissan advertising is not intended to be a political commentary, and there are no plans to change the advertising mix at this time.”
One thing is for sure, conservatives love capitalism and will support companies that don’t discriminate against their beliefs. But as more and more companies alienate buyers by calling them all kinds of phobic, the free market will do its job of weeding out the winners and losers. After all, Kellog’s doesn’t make the only Frosted Flakes on the block. |
AI is a prediction technology. Its improvement is akin to turning up the volume knob on a speaker dial. But rather than volume, you’re turning up the AI’s prediction accuracy. What happens to Amazon’s strategy as their data scientists, engineers, and machine learning experts work tirelessly to dial up the accuracy on the prediction machine? In this example, it shifts Amazon’s business model from shopping-then-shipping to shipping-then-shopping, generates the incentive to vertically integrate into operating a product-returns service (including a fleet of trucks), and accelerates the timing of investment due to first-mover advantage from increasing returns. All this is due to the single act of turning the dial on the prediction machine.
How will AI change strategy? That’s the single most common question the three of us are asked from corporate executives, and it’s not trivial to answer. AI is fundamentally a prediction technology. As advances in AI make prediction cheaper, economic theory dictates that we’ll use prediction more frequently and widely, and the value of complements to prediction – like human judgment – will rise. But what does all this mean for strategy?
Here’s a thought experiment we’ve been using to answer that question. Most people are familiar with shopping at Amazon. Like with most online retailers, you visit their website, shop for items, place them in your “basket,” pay for them, and then Amazon ships them to you. Right now, Amazon’s business model is shopping-then-shipping.
Most shoppers have noticed Amazon’s recommendation engine while they shop — it offers suggestions of items that their AI predicts you will want to buy. At present, Amazon’s AI does a reasonable job, considering the millions of items on offer. However, they are far from perfect. In our case, the AI accurately predicts what we want to buy about 5% of the time. In other words, we actually purchase about one out of every 20 items it recommends. Not bad!
Now for the thought experiment. Imagine the Amazon AI collects more information about us: in addition to our searching and purchasing behavior on their website, it also collects other data it finds online, including social media, as well as offline, such as our shopping behavior at Whole Foods. It knows not only what we buy, but also what time we go to the store, which location we shop at, how we pay, and more.
Now, imagine the AI uses that data to improve its predictions. We think of this sort of improvement as akin to turning up the volume knob on a speaker dial. But rather than volume, you’re turning up the AI’s prediction accuracy. What happens to Amazon’s strategy as their data scientists, engineers, and machine learning experts work tirelessly to dial up the accuracy on the prediction machine?
At some point, as they turn the knob, the AI’s prediction accuracy crosses a threshold, such that it becomes in Amazon’s interest to change its business model. The prediction becomes sufficiently accurate that it becomes more profitable for Amazon to ship you the goods that it predicts you will want rather than wait for you to order them. Every week, Amazon ships you boxes of items it predicts you will want, and then you shop in the comfort and convenience of your own home by choosing the items you wish to keep from the boxes they delivered.
This approach offers two benefits to Amazon. First, the convenience of predictive shipping makes it much less likely that you purchase the items from a competing retailer as the products are conveniently delivered to your home before you buy them elsewhere. Second, predictive shipping nudges you to buy items that you were considering purchasing but might not have gotten around to. In both cases, Amazon gains a higher share-of-wallet. Turning the prediction dial up far enough changes Amazon’s business model from shopping-then-shipping to shipping-then-shopping.
Of course, shoppers would not want to deal with the hassle of returning all the items they don’t want. So, Amazon would invest in infrastructure for the product returns — perhaps a fleet of delivery-style trucks that do pick-ups once a week, conveniently collecting items that customers don’t want.
If this is a better business model, then why hasn’t Amazon done it already? Well, they may be working on it. But if it were implemented today, the cost of collecting and handling returned items would outweigh the increase in revenue from a greater share-of-wallet. For example, today we would return 95% of the items it ships to us. That is annoying for us and costly for Amazon. The prediction isn’t good enough for Amazon to adopt the new model.
That said, one can imagine a scenario where Amazon adopts the new strategy even before the prediction accuracy is good enough to make it profitable because the company anticipates that at some point it will be profitable. By launching sooner, Amazon’s AI will get more data sooner, and improve faster. Amazon realizes that the sooner it gets started, the harder it will be for competitors to catch up. Better predictions will attract more shoppers, more shoppers will generate more data to train the AI, more data will lead to better predictions, and so on, creating a virtuous circle. In other words, there are increasing returns to AI, and thus the timing of adopting this kind of strategy matters. Adopting too early could be costly, but adopting too late could be fatal.
The key insight here is that turning the dial on the prediction machine has a significant impact on strategy. In this example, it shifts Amazon’s business model from shopping-then-shipping to shipping-then-shopping, generates the incentive to vertically integrate into operating a product-returns service (including a fleet of trucks), and accelerates the timing of investment due to first-mover advantage from increasing returns. All this is due to the single act of turning the dial on the prediction machine.
Most readers will be familiar with the outcome of companies like Blockbuster and Borders that underestimated how quickly the online consumer behavior dial would turn in the context of online shopping and the digital distribution of goods and services. Perhaps they were lulled into complacency by the initially slow adoption rate of this technology in the early days of the commercial internet (1995-1998).
Today, in the case of AI, some companies are making early bets anticipating that the dial on the prediction machine will start turning faster once it gains momentum. Most people are familiar with Google’s 2014 acquisition of DeepMind – over $500M for a company that had generated negligible revenue, but had developed an AI that learned to play certain Atari games at a super human performance level. Perhaps fewer readers are aware that more traditional companies are also making bets on the pace the dial will turn. In 2016, GM paid over $1B to acquire AI startup Cruise Automation, and in 2017, Ford invested $1B in AI startup Argo AI, and John Deere paid over $300M to acquire AI startup Blue River Technology – all three startups had generated negligible revenue relative to the price at the time of purchase. GM, Ford, and John Deere are each betting on an exponential speed up of AI performance and, at those prices, anticipating a significant impact on their business strategies.
Strategists face two questions in light of all of this. First, they must invest in developing a better understanding of how fast and how far the dial on their prediction machines will turn for their sector and applications. Second, they must invest in developing a thesis about the strategy options created by the shifting economics of their business that result from turning the dial, similar to the thought experiment we considered for Amazon.
So, the overarching theme for initiating an AI strategy? Close your eyes, imagine putting your fingers on the dial of your prediction machine, and, in the immortal words of Spinal Tap, turn it to eleven.
The ideas here are adapted from our forthcoming book “Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence.” (Harvard Business School Press, April 2018) |
It’s that time of year again when nationalists debate whether we celebrate Yule or Christmas?
Do we celebrate the old traditions of years ago or do we celebrate the biblical story?
To me it matters not which you celebrate, in my heart I celebrate both, I love the mystic of the old traditions but I also love the magic of Christmas and the fond memories of my childhood where in the early hours of Christmas Day my sister and I would come out of our bedrooms and shout “he’s been he’s been” and then I would open my presents at the bottom end of my Father’s side of the bed and my sister would do the same at the end of my mother’s side of the bed.
It is important we keep both traditions going, we educate our children about the old ways, but we also let them celebrate the magic that as children we experienced.
Some may argue that Christmas is just a commercial racket nowadays and the true message of Christmas is no longer there, well true, but we have to remember that it is the Liberals, the Marxists that continue to erode the true message, they erode it so as not to upset the foreigners that have invaded our land, those that don’t belong here, those that seek to destroy and replace us, those whose Holy book preaches hate against the non-believer.
It matters not that their traditions offend us in our own land, it matters not to the Liberals that the foreigners preach hate against the indigenous people’s of this fine land.
And of course, I don’t disagree that Christmas is a money-making racket that makes millions for the store owners and traders, those who bayed for his blood at the Temple have made a fortune out of his name ever since!
Christmas or Yule is also a time for family and as nationalists’ family means everything, the blood that flows through our veins has celebrated with their families this period in one way or another for many, many years.
Let us remember at this time the young girls of Rotherham, Rochdale and many other British towns & Cities that have been groomed and raped and that have had their lives ruined by the invaders, let’s hope that through all the hurt that somehow, they can enjoy Christmas as others do.
Let us also think about the thousands that are homeless, betrayed by successive Governments, houses they should be sleeping warm and cosy in given to foreigners that have never paid a penny into the system.
Thousands of these homeless people are ex-servicemen, people that served their country, many that have seen active service, sent to far off lands to fight in wars that should not be Britain’s business. Once these people leave the forces many end up on the streets homeless, again betrayal by those that govern us.
Also at this time let us remember Christmas Day 1914 when amongst the Slaughter and blood shed Soldiers laid down their guns, climbed out of their trenches walked across no man’s land to embrace and shake hands with their racial Brothers.
Fellow Members & Supporters of the National Front, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas/ Yule and a happy New Year, let us enjoy the time out and the time off work and then let us throw our lot back in with the cause, it is us nationalists that will fight to keep the traditions going as the Liberal minded will eventually cave in.
This fight is never going to be an easy one, but fight we must, this is our land, Europe is our continent and our racial brothers across the Channel and elsewhere are under attack by the same forces as we are, the forces of darkness. We are the light and we fight for a New Dawn, a Britain, a continent where healthy white children, our future generations can live healthy and free lives.
Only the National Front has the answers for real change, change that will ensure that freedom & Safety.
In January join us, join the National Front, join us in the fight for the Britain of our dreams.
Merry Christmas/Yule & Happy New Year.
Kevin Bryan
Chairman National Front |
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Browns dramatically overhauled their roster prior to last season, creating a group that included 29 players with fewer than two years of NFL experience. That was 55 percent of the roster. Thirty percent were rookies.
Inevitably, the word "tank" began to come up more and more as the Browns limped to a 1-15 season, securing the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Now it seems to be the Jets' turn.
With the release of linebacker David Harris and the seemingly eminent cutting/trading of receiver Eric Decker, the Jets' roster has four players in their 30s. This continues an off-season of veteran shedding and a questionable approach to the quarterback position (the depth chart includes Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty). Type "jets tanking" into Google and you'll be flooded with results just days old.
The question is, are the Browns somewhat to blame for this? Former Colts GM Bill Polian thinks so. Polian told ESPN's Mike & Mike that the Browns not only tanked last season, they started a trend. "The thing that worries me is that the Browns essentially tanked the season last year and no one said -- except a few of us -- said anything about it. And it may well be that this is something that can spread around the league, and I don't think that's good for the sport in the long run. Because in the end it robs the customers of the chance to see a competitive team."
Mary Kay Cabot, Dan Labbe and I discussed this as part of our weekly podcast on the Browns. You can hear what we had to say on the topic, beginning at the 16:30 mark. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Listen to the podcast via SoundCloud below or Subscribe to the cleveland.com Sports podcasts channel on iTunes (click the link or search cleveland.com Sports podcasts).
You can listen to previous podcasts using the playlist below:
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A lobbyist for the NRA dismissed the push for tougher gun control as part of the "Connecticut effect," which will delay the gun lobby's agenda until it can "go through the process."
Bob Welch, a lobbyist who represents the Wisconsin NRA, told the Wisconsin’s NRA State Association: "We have a strong agenda coming up for next year, but of course a lot of that’s going to be sort of delayed as the 'Connecticut effect' has to sort of go through the process."
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He continued:
What’s even more telling is the people who don’t like guns pretty much realize that they can’t do a thing unless they talk to us. After Connecticut, I had one of the leading Democrats in the legislature—he was with us most of the time, not all the time—he came to me and said, 'Bob, I got all these people in my caucus that really want to ban guns and do all this bad stuff, we gotta give them something. How about we close this gun show loophole? Wouldn’t that be good?' And I said, 'No, we’re not going to do that.' And so far, nothing’s happened on that."
Here's the audio, via ThinkProgress: |
Diego Costa admits to weight issue
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Chelsea striker Diego Costa has admitted that he arrived back at Chelsea for pre-season overweight.
The defending English champions have endured a torrid start to the season and Costa himself has come under fire for poor form and for his temperament. He was suspended for three games after altercations with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, a sour event that also cost him his place in Vicente del Bosque’s Spain squad this month.
Costa has sought to take the heat off of under fire manager Jose Mourinho, suggesting the players must take responsibility for the team’s current slump. And Costa admitted his part in candid terms, “I’m going to be very honest: maybe a few weeks ago, five or six weeks ago, I was not on top of my game. At least physically. We talk within the players and we know that, maybe at the beginning, we were not 100% as we were supposed to be when we got here. I got injured at the end of last season and then I went on holiday.
“Maybe I got out of my diet and, when I came back, I was not the way I was supposed to be. I was a little bit overweight. That affected my game. You can be selfish and blame it on the manager but I’m not going to do that. I’m responsible 100%, and so are the other guys. So all we can do now is train very hard and work very hard to try to get back to that level where we were the season before.”
Costa, usually a taciturn figure in the media, suggested he was prepared to speak publicly for the squad, “I’m here because I’m happy with the manager but I’m not only speaking on my behalf. I am here to speak for everyone, for the group. All that matters at the end of the day is the group. Yes, he has supported me, but he has shown support for all of the players. I have spoken to all of the players and they all feel the same way about José. I don’t like giving interviews, but I’m speaking for the group. We all feel the same way about José.” |
The next revolution in agriculture and greenhouse gas reduction may be a 3000-year old farming practice of adding biomass charcoal to the soil. The practice was re-discovered by archeologists who were studying a site in the central-Amazon basin. Some 1500 years earlier the indigenous tribes had enriched the soil using charcoal from animal bone and tree bark. The soil remains today some of the richest and most fertile soil yet found.
Scientists from the American Chemical Society have begun a five-year study of the use of biomass charcoal for soil enrichment in order to understand its impact on fertilization, soil carbon changes, crop productivity and any impact on the microorganisms in the soil.
The practice holds promise for several reasons:
Soil need only be fertilized once with this method and the effect lasts for hundreds to thousands of years. The resulting agricultural method is carbon-negative since the enriched soil traps and holds carbon in the soil, which may offer significant benefits to decreasing global warming from agriculture and reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The charcoal required would be made from biomass like compost, leaves, wood chips and organic matter resulting in a non-toxic and stable fertilizer. Smoke generated during the burning process, called pyrolysis, could even be collected and cooled to use as a bio-oil renewable energy source. The practice could be a low-cost way to enrich soil in the most impoverished areas where poor soil quality and drought have led to high rates of hunger and malnutrition.
Scoring points on the altruism scale, scientists involved say they will not seek a patent on the process if the study is successful. They want the practice they call “Black Gold Agriculture” put into use as soon and as widely as possible. It’s a fascinating prospect that an answer to help save our earth would come from that very earth, and was in use for thousands of years.
Currently the only foreseeable downsides to the approach is the cost to transport the biochar mass and the need for different farming tools to spread the product over large areas. |
Quick Access
Review / Favorite Track / For Fans Of / Atmosphere Levels / Links (Music & Social)
Heavy-Acid-Blues Dripping All The Way !
Hey my fellow fuzzers, long time I haven’t written a review, so it was time I kicked myself in the ass 🙂 If you’re following the blog for some time now, today’s band might remind you something… Yes, indeed, I already featured this Portuguese Heavy Blues band back in February when they released their first EP “Fuzzadelic”. But only 3 tracks were really not enough to appreciate their bluesy-touch and those fabulous female vocals, so I wanted more from them !
Well here I’m served, The Black Wizards are back, this time with a full-length which sounds deliciously fuzzy, bluesy & hazy, way more powerful than their first release, let’s deep dive into the “Lake of Fire“…
How is the sound?
First thing that stroke me was indeed “the sound”, by that I mean the production of this album is just miles beyond the “Fuzzadelic EP“. It definitely has that retro vibe, and when you know they recorded the whole album in a live setting in only 24 hours, you understand those 4 talented musicians simply played with their guts, for the love of music, for the love of fuzz !
The first few notes from “Pain“, the first track of the album, will directly light up a part in your brain, I don’t know which part, but this huge, raw and fuzzy guitar sound should tell you something like “Hmmmm ok, this sounds badass, let’s hear more 😉 “. And when Joana’s vocals kick in, that part in your brain will just enter in fire and you should tell yourself “Yeah we’re into a biggy here, let’s RAWK !“.
And be ready because it’s only the first spell for those Black Wizards put on you, the next one “I Don’t Mind” is just as groovy as a good ol’ Radio Moscow song ! Blasting killer fuzzy riffs, acid-dripping guitar solos, it’s a pure pleasure for your ears !
The catchiness continues with “Waiting For A Train“, but then the smoke becomes thicker with “Blindfold“, slowing things off for a darker and even fuzzier sound, time to blow one up, oh my god this is good..!
The temperature level rises up again for “Gypsy Woman“, Joana shows us again how talented she is, easily competing with Elin from Blues Pills. It’s sexy, it’s bluesy, it’s sweet, it’s gritty, I love it ! Hope these ladies will inspire more and more other women to try taking up the mic 🙂 The 9-minutes song ends with a 2-minutes killer drums solo, so damn cool they decided to do this, it just feels like we’re in the middle of a Led Zeppelin gig, bring back that honest 70’s vibe baby !
“Lake of Fire” is in the same trippy & smokey vein as “Blindfold”, both lasting 7:42, what a coincidence 😉 Time to blow up the 2nd one…
“Wicked Brain” goes even deeper in the heaviness, it’s the longest track of this record and the one with the most “jammy attitude”. It starts with that uber-fuzzy riff, almost feeling like a doom song ! But let’s not speak too fast, our Black Wizards know how to add that groovy and bluesy layer, particularly during the 2nd part of the song with a long & trippy guitar solo, making the whole thing very pleasant to hear.
So yeah, hats off to them ! This record will, without hesitation, ends up in my Top Albums of 2015, I was really surprised by how they improved in less than a year. With “Lake Of Fire“, The Black Wizards clearly position themselves among the best bands in that Heavy-Acid-Blues genre Radio Moscow started some years ago. Every song is just so catchy, difficult to not move your head like crazy, and I think they can even appeal to the doomier crowd, with those darker, heavier parts and this huge fuzzy sound 😉
Why is this album worth listening?
Heavy Blues at its best !
Greasy fuzzy sound !
Sublime female vocals !
Impressive Acid-Wah-Wah Solos !
In what situation you should listen to this album?
Hope they’ll tour in Europe soon, so that I can feel the sweat dripping my hair and hairs 🙂
Something particular to note?
Look at this stunning artwork from Vasco Duarte ! (Artist Facebook page here) |
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been surrounded in trade rumours lately, and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
We've heard Tyson Barrie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Fowler & more, this one might shock you.
Talk last night had the Leafs inquiring about the Boston Bruins All-Star Center Patrice Bergeron. The one problem, looks like the Bruins want Morgan Rielly in return.
On the surface that might sound like a crazy idea, however acquiring Bergeron would give the Leafs the chance to flip JVR for a more experienced defenseman.
Money wise the deal is not a huge problem, with Bergeron making 1.875 million more per year over the same length of contract.
Many fans agree Kadri is not ready for first line minutes & Bozak should stay away from there as well. This deal would give the Leafs a legitimate first line center and a remarkable teacher for Auston Matthews.
Would you give up the Leafs future on the blueline to land Bergeron and his warrior work ethic? |
Story highlights Less than 900 mountain gorillas remain in the wild as a result of deforestation, poaching
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka has spent 20 years spearheading strategy for gorilla/human co-existence
She says each gorilla group provides $1 million for locals but tourism comes at a cost
Research is showing the effect of human interaction with world's largest primates
They are the world's largest primates and yet the constant threat of poaching, deforestation and human diseases means that soon the world's mountain gorillas could be completely wiped out.
Living in the dense forests of Central Africa -- in the Virunga Mountains spanning Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda -- the critically endangered gorillas face an uncertain future -- there are only 880 mountain gorillas left in the world, according to recent census data.
On a mission to protect the primates from extinction is Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a leading Ugandan scientist and advocate for species conservation in Bwindi, a World Heritage Site and home to nearly half of the world's mountain gorilla population.
One of Africa's premier conservationists, Kalema-Zikusoka has been working tirelessly for some two decades to create an environment where gorillas and people can coexist safely in an area with one of the highest rural human population densities in the continent.
JUST WATCHED Trailblazing vet protects gorillas Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trailblazing vet protects gorillas 08:10
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JUST WATCHED Ecotourism protects mountain gorillas Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ecotourism protects mountain gorillas 08:39
Can gorillas catch a cold?
When Kalema-Zikusoka first started working in Bwindi back in 1994, gorilla tourism was in its infancy and starting to become a strong financial resource for the local economy.
With mountain gorillas sharing over 98% of the same genetic material as humans, Kalema-Zikusoka decided to analyze how increased human interaction could affect the primates.
"I could see what tourism was doing for the gorillas -- both the good and the bad," she says. "And of course I realized how the communities were benefiting a lot because they are really poor and the gorillas tourism is helping to lift them out of poverty," adds Kalema-Zikusoka.
"My research at the time was looking at the parasites in the gorilla dam and I found that those actually visited by tourists have a higher parasite load than those that were not," she explains. "We can easily give them diseases and that's always a bad thing."
Fast forward two decades and the leading veterinarian is now the founder and CEO of non-profit group "Conservation Through Public Health" (CTPH), continuing her goals of protecting gorillas and other wildlife from disease.
"Our current research is focused on disease transmission between people and the gorillas," she says. "We analyze fecal samples from gorillas regularly, like at least once a month from the habituated groups that we can get close enough to, to try and see if they are picking anything from the livestock or from the people who they interact with.
"And then if they are, then we advise Uganda Wildlife Authority and we sit down and decide what should we do about it."
Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – CNN's Zain Verjee trekked through Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, in search of its mountain gorillas. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – The name "Impenetrable" proved apt, as she struggled through the dense undergrowth. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – Three hours of grueling walking took her to a group of the endangered gorillas. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – "When I lifted my eyes I saw a giant gorilla munching shoots and leaves, and then nonchalantly striding by," she says. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – "I observed gorillas' powerful arms, elegant posture, and occasional eye contact made me feel connected." Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park covers 32,000 hectares and is known for its exceptional biodiversity, with more than 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas No pain, no gain: Trekking 'Impenetrable' forest to see mountain gorillas – The trip proved an unforgettable experience: "Immersed in [the gorillas'] world ... I forgot my complex world." Hide Caption 7 of 7
Helping gorillas, helping humans
Kalema-Zikusoka says it is essential to educate the local communities surrounding the gorillas.
"We also have a parallel program ... where we improve the health of the community," she says. "And so as we're improving the health of the community, we're also looking and saying how is the gorilla health improving."
The CTPH community programs aim to prevent infectious diseases like diarrhea, scabies and tuberculosis which could potentially be passed on to the gorilla population.
"We had a scabies gorilla [in] 1996 when I was the vet for Uganda Wildlife Authority and that was traced to people living around the park who have very little health care," explains Kalema-Zikusoka.
"That same gorilla group almost all died if we hadn't treated them. The infant gorilla died and the rest only recovered with treatment."
The power of ecotourism
"I really feel that everyone should come out and protect the gorillas," says Kalema-Zikusoka. "Actually the community over here, they love the gorillas -- one is because of the economic benefit they get from them, but I think also they're really gentle giants."
Kalema-Zikusoka admits that gorilla tourism is a financial lifeline for locals -- each gorilla group brings a minimum of $1 million annually to the surrounding communities, in addition to providing employment in the tourism industry, says the scientist.
"It goes down to a certain balance between conservation and economics," she says. "And that is why we try to make as far as ecotourism experience where you limit the number of people who visit the gorilla groups."
Through her continued advocacy and the continued endeavors of the international conservation community, recent figures indicate the mountain gorilla population is increasing.
2012 census conducted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority identified 400 mountain gorillas now living in Bwindi National Park bringing the overall population estimate up to 880, up from 786 estimated in 2010.
"There's so few of them remaining [so] we are pleased that the numbers are beginning to grow," says Kalema-Zikusoka.
"Bwindi is actually a World Heritage Site and we have to do as much as we can to protect them." |
Team Liquid have signed Immortals' in-game leader Lucas "steel" Lopes and have benched their rifler, Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz the organization announced Monday.
After careful consideration, we are announcing the transfer of @steelegabr to @TeamLiquid. He received a good opportunity with TL and we wish the best of luck to Steel on his new team. Steel is a consummate professional, and we will always consider him a part of the IMT Family 💚 pic.twitter.com/zCBgCQhp1v — Immortals (@Immortals) November 13, 2017
Steel joined Immortals in November 2016, and is the last player from Immortals' 2016 roster to leave the org following the controversy surrounding former player Vito "kNgV-" Giuseppe. kNg was kicked off of the roster after threatening Counter Logic Gaming player Pujan "FNS" Mehta on Twitter.
Following kNg's departure, Immortals benched Henrique "HEN1" Teles and Lucas "LUCAS1" Teles. Ricardo "boltz" Prass is currently on loan to SK Gaming, and João "felps" Vasconcellos was transferred to SK Gaming.
While with Immortals, Steel led the team to second at the Kraków Major, second at DreamHack Austin 2017 and 3rd-4th at DreamHack Summer 2017.
"Steel is the most professional player I know. His positive attitude and skillset fit our needs perfectly and we are excited with what's ahead of us," Liquid coach Wilton "zews" Prado said in a press release.
Steel's first tournament with Liquid will be IEM Oakland, from Nov. 11-19. Liquid has yet to make a statement as to whether or not Stanislaw will return to the roster.
Daniel Rosen is a news editor for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter. |
The most moving reading I’ve done in the past six months has come from the anguished tweets on #YesAllWomen that followed the Elliot Rodger shootings in Santa Barbara, Calif. Even more depressing than his horrific actions is the feeling that the national debates about cultural misogyny, mental-health care and gun control that followed have already lost momentum — shoved back into their dusty corner, awaiting the next bloody tragedy. Public outrage has a short half-life. Fist-shaking and finger-pointing quickly degenerates into helpless shrugging.
But we can’t let go of this question: Why in America do our mentally disturbed take out their anger so violently? In a Sept. 19, 2013, op-ed article in the New York Times, Stanford University psychological anthropology professor T.M. Luhrmann explained how when schizophrenics in the Indian city of Chennai (formerly Madras) hear voices, they are told to do domestic chores like cook, clean or bathe. But schizophrenics in San Mateo, Calif., hear voices that tell them to take very violent actions like cutting off a head and drinking the blood. In India they clean; in America they kill. America also has the highest gun-ownership rate in the world. And our number of multiple killings is nearly as high as that for the rest of the world combined.
Even more disturbing is why so much violence in America is directed at women. The answer to this question, at least in part, is that it’s a result of a lifetime of cultural influences. And while there are surely plenty of cultural influences to blame, one of the sources of this negative influence is amateur and professional sports.
Surprised to hear me say that? I’ve spent much of my life in sports and promoting sports as a positive influence on our youth and our culture. The benefits are obvious: building healthy bodies, practicing sportsmanship (should we call that sportspersonship?), learning teamwork, creating a supportive community and much more.
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In fact, the image of girls and women in sports is much more culturally positive than that of mainstream society. In the sports world, women are praised for their athletic ability — not their physical appearance. We cheer the sweaty woman running down the field for her effort. Mainstream America tells her heels are required because she’s too short, makeup is required because her face isn’t attractive enough, cleavage is required to give men a reason to pay attention, hair coloring is required because aging is forbidden and blondes are sexier, Photoshopping is required because no woman (not even a model) can match the fantasy woman our culture promotes on the covers of almost every women’s magazine. (It’s not a coincidence that Rodger gave his object of hatred a hair color — “blonde slut.”) But in sports, women stand tall and proud in athletic shoes and uniforms because we’re more interested in what they do than how they look.
But — there’s a big but. Despite all the good in sports, there are many aspects of it that encourage our culture to look at women as less valuable than men.
The easiest way to determine women’s value to their culture is to look at how much we pay them in relation to men. Some studies suggest that in general women make less doing the same jobs as men (the Census Bureau concludes that women earn 77¢ for every dollar men earn). This national trend extends to professional sports. According to Forbes, the maximum salary for a player in the WNBA is $107,000, compared with the $30.5 million Kobe Bryant will make. Inbee Park, who won the 2013 U.S. Open in golf, received $585,000 for her victory. Justin Rose, the men’s winner, received $1.4 million. This disparity is seen less in tennis because Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open all pay male and female winners equally (which is why 7 of the 10 top-paid female athletes in the world are tennis players).
This discrepancy extends to coaching as well. For Division I college sports, men get paid significantly more. Male basketball head coaches averaged $71,511, while female coaches averaged $39,177. Even in gymnastics, which is predominantly female, male coaches are paid more. This doesn’t even address the fact that there are more opportunities for males than females to play sports, both as amateurs and as professionals.
Many will argue that the pay difference is the result of free-market supply and demand. More people want to see men play professional basketball than want to see women play, so the players are paid accordingly. You can’t argue with economics. There is truth to this. You can’t force people to attend a sporting event if they don’t want to.
However, this is something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. We can change things. First, we need to address why they don’t want to watch. This goes back to cultural biases. If we don’t value girls in sports in middle school and high school, then we don’t grow up to value them as professional athletes. And by value, I mean make athletic opportunities available, pay coaches equally and promote female sports with the same vigor with which we do male sports.
At the same time, the disrespectful and disparaging language used in sports furthers the gender gap. Male coaches often address their male athletes as ladies whenever they want to humiliate them. “Come on, ladies,” they’ll say, “lift your skirts.” Or, “You’re playing like a girl!” This is treated as a joke or good-humored tradition, but its long-term social effect is not funny. Even in movies and TV shows, we see tough women turning to men and saying, “Quit acting like a girl.” Cue audience chuckle at the reversal. But all that does is prove we’ve brainwashed women to be derogatory toward themselves.
We also need to address the culture of violence surrounding our athletes. When we see them resolving problems through violence, it can send a message to others to emulate them. Baltimore Ravens tackle Jah Reid was arrested for allegedly head butting, kicking and punching a man in a strip club (what attending strip clubs says about our culture of devaluing women is another matter). Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov was arrested on charges of kidnapping and assault of his girlfriend. Houston Rockets forward Terrence Jones was arrested for stomping on the leg of a homeless man. Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was charged with murdering a friend. This year alone football players Chris Rainey, Robert Sands and Daryl Washington were arrested for domestic battery or assault. We can’t as a culture glorify violence and then be surprised when our members resort to it as our “heroes” do.
Which brings us back to #YesAllWomen. Despite more than a million responses, it probably won’t change anything. It should be a national wake-up call that such a forum even needs to exist. And we should celebrate the opportunity for women to express their frustration. But we need to remember that while misogyny may be perpetuated mostly by men, it is enabled by both men and women in society who embrace gender inequality — or simply let it go unnoticed.
It’s reminiscent of the 1947 film Gentlemen’s Agreement, in which Gregory Peck plays a journalist who pretends to be Jewish in order to write about anti-Semitism. His Waspish fiancée realizes that there’s a “gentlemen’s agreement” to ignore distasteful anti-Semitic comments (and by implication racist, homophobic and misogynist comments) as if they never happened. She also realizes that ignoring them is part of the problem because the silence encourages them and thereby taints our whole society.
We can change things. Small things. One at a time. We start by not remaining silent in the presence of misogyny, not tolerating violence as a form of communication, and demanding gender equality in education, sports and jobs. Right now, tennis is showing us the way. All athletes need to help finish the job.
Abdul-Jabbar is a six-time NBA champion and league Most Valuable Player. Follow him on Twitter (@KAJ33) and Facebook (facebook.com/KAJ). Abdul-Jabbar also writes a weekly column for the L.A. Register.
Contact us at [email protected]. |
I don't normally watch the preseason, but with all the new additions I wanted to see the team in action. A basketball game was played, but that's not what's important here. I know a lot of fans haven't been able to see the team in preseason yet so let's jump right into some highlights from the game.
LaMarcus Aldridge was obviously the biggest addition to the team in the offseason and on the first possession of the game he shows that he has no problem passing up a good shot for a better one. Getting the ball to Tim Duncan for automatic scores is a quick way to endear yourself to the team and fans. The big-to-big passing on this team is going to be fun to watch.
We're going to see a bunch of pick-and-pops involving LaMarcus. If teams double the ball handler, LMA can make them pay from all over the floor.
Again, the big-big passing should be fun to watch all season. Easy.
Tony Parker looks to be in okay shape. He turned the ball over a bit and he wasn't great at the start, but he posted a +14 as part of the very effective starting five and got better as the game wore on.
And his jumper is alive and well.
If Jonathon Simmons wants a roster spot he should continue with the righteous feeds.
Tim still gets the ball out quickly and Kawhi Leonard still makes it look easy on the break.
38-year old Manu Ginobili is still doing Manu Ginobili. Yup, that's a goaltend.
David West did have a nice block...
But it's going to take a little time to adjust to The Manu Pass.
Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili collaborate on this beauty of a backdoor cut.
It looks like Boban Marjanovic, the 7' 3" Serbian center, is going to need some time to adjust to the NBA.
Up Next:
The Spurs will continue the preseason on the road when they visit Mike Budenholzer's Hawks in Atlanta on Wednesday night. You can catch that game on NBATV at 7 p.m. STTOTTM.
Bonus GIF:
Classic. Tim finished the game with 14 points (7-7 from the field) in 18 minutes. He also grabbed six boards and had two assists to no turnovers. |
Moshe Kahlon
Moshe Kahlon is not a household name in the United States, but as a former minister of communications, Kahlon has as his claim to fame a successful reform of the cell-phone industry credited with reducing service rates in the country by 90 percent—making the then-minister an instant political superhero and boosting his popularity above that of Netanyahu. In an election where socio-economic issues have dominated the conversation, the importance of this kind of measurable social reform cannot be overstated.
When Kahlon announced that he would be entering these elections, some centrist Israelis viewed him as a savior. Polls from back in December already projected that Kahlon—who had yet to even form a party—would come in with the fourth-highest number of seats, and his star hasn’t diminished much since then. Kahlon’s party, Kulanu, is expected to gain enough Knesset seats to be a significant member of any prime minister’s coalition, and Kahlon has made a point of not committing himself to either the right or the left.
Joint Arab List
For the first time in Israeli history, the country’s Arab parties have decided to unite and run as a single group for Tuesday’s elections. The parties on the list range from Hadash, a communist party, to Balad, an Arab-nationalist party that rejects both Zionism and a two-state solution. (Instead, it advocates a binational state that would, by virtue of demographics, not be Jewish.) The parties originally united for the sake of survival; a new law, which some see as designed to squeeze out smaller parties and disenfranchise Arab Israelis, raised the threshold of votes needed to get any seats in parliament. If the intent of the law was to reduce Arab Israelis’ voting power, it has definitively backfired—Arab Israeli voter turnout is expected to increase this election, and the joint Arab list is consistently ranking as one of the top parties in the polls.
While the Arab parties will certainly have more representation in the Knesset after this election, it is less certain how the unified list will affect who gets the premiership. Ayman Odeh, the chairman of the joint list, has declared, “The ultimate goal is to get out Netanyahu. That is the most important thing.” Odeh’s intentions, combined with his electoral power, would seem to mean that Herzog’s Zionist Union stands a better chance than not of gaining the premiership. However, the picture is complicated by the fact that, according to multiple reports, the Arab parties have no intention of joining a hypothetical coalition under Herzog. Given the possibility of a national unity government between Herzog and Netanyahu, the Arab list has one other enticing option before it: to be the leader of the opposition. This would provide the Arab parties with an unprecedented opportunity to promote their legislative agenda within the Knesset and on the international stage. |
Channel 4's F1 show off to slow start with 1m fewer viewers than BBC
Channel 4’s Formula One debut left the grid with 2.1 million viewers, around a million fewer than watched the opening race highlights on BBC1 last year.
The lunchtime highlights package of the Australian Grand Prix, the first of the new season, had an average of 2.1 million viewers, an 18.6% share, from 1.30pm on Sunday.
Channel 4’s F1 Chain gang left in a bind by Melbourne qualifying mess | Emma John Read more
It was down from the 3 million viewers (27.7%) who watched the Sunday lunchtime highlights of the race last year on BBC1.
But Channel 4’s two and a half hours of coverage, fronted by Steve Jones and David Coulthard, was around twice as long as BBC1’s highlights last year, and peaked with 2.7 million viewers.
The F1 audience was also enough to help Channel 4 to an all-day win over ITV on Sunday, with an 8% all-hours share of the audience, ahead of ITV, on 7%.
The race was won by Nico Rosberg with teammate Lewis Hamilton in second.
Channel 4, which swooped to pick up the free-to-air rights after they were dropped by the BBC, said it won the 1.30pm to 4pm slot for all individuals, 16 to 34s and ABC1s. |
Fox news is one of the most Valuable brands in the world, said to be worth about $11.2 billion.
It's owned and was created by Robert Murdoch, and nowadays it averages about 2 million primetime viewers. The company has for quite some time, received allegations of providing extremely biased reporting and people have for decades said that the channel shamelessly supports and promotes the Republican party; though the company has denied that there is any bias in their reporting.
Spreading Fear And Hatred
Fox news is well known for its perpetual fear-mongering, funneling impeccable efforts towards fostering division and strengthening support for the state as the solution; more force is always needed. There is never enough military spending, never enough war, and don't even think about ever questioning the actions of an individual in any sort of position of authority. Some might call this blatant propaganda, while millions of others still look at it as informed journalism.
During the ongoing conflict in Syria overseas, we have been able to count on the Fox news media reporting to unquestionably support the military endeavors. Maybe that is because those who work there and those who own the multi-billion dollar corporation really are just concerned about the safety for you and I and our loved ones.
There are interesting reports which demonstrate that like many things, they could be pushing an agenda to fuel an opportunity to reap some very lucrative financial rewards. Previous news reports have alleged that the owner of Fox, Murdoch himself, has been granted controversial oil exploration rights in Syria (along with Lord Jacob Rothschild).
Israel was allegedly the one to grant those exploration rights to them and they refer to the occupied Golan Heights territory (see image above) of Syria. Specifically receiving the rights is going to be Genie Energy which is a New Jersey-based company that Robert Murdoch is a major shareholder of. Critics have said that exploiting the minerals in these occupied territories is in violation to international law under the Geneva convention.
The reason that it violates international law is because they received the permits for their drilling from Israel and not from Syria.
The company looking to get into the oil and gas scene in that region, also has Dick Cheney as an adviser, former ex-CIA director James Woolsey is also an investor in Genie Oil. This specific region that they have been given the rights to explore, was seized by Israel back in 1967 during the Six Day War. The territory was later annexed in 1981 and has since been occupied by Israel; that occupation is also said to be in violation of international law.
Just a couple of years ago, a huge oil discovery was announced in the region and it's reported that Israel has already set-up efforts there to extract the resources. It is also reported that there is the potential to produce billions of barrels of oil. Chief geologist for Afek Oil has previously asserted that the strata for this project is about 350 meters thick, compared to an average in the world usually seen which is about 20-30 meters; this would mean that those reserves are 10x what is usually found/seen.
Afek Oil & Gas is a subsidiary of Genie Energy.
Israeli officials have called on the international community to reconsider their views on the situation when it comes to reaping the resources in that area, seemingly asking them to support their continued efforts for the oil exploration and prolonged annexation of the Golan Heights region.
Much of the content that Fox news produces, seeks to fortify collectives, rather than promote understanding, peace, and voluntary co-operation.
Just a couple of years ago, Murdoch had to step down as CEO from Fox after a phone-hacking scandal went viral, along with other allegations of controversial business practices. It was alleged that his news corporation engaged in rampant law-breaking. Though he is still the controlling shareholder of the company, but he passed off the reins of control to others. However, critics argue that he obviously wouldn't step back from influencing and controlling the subject matter that his media groups put out to the world.
Just recently it was also reported that they hosted a fake Swedish security advisor on (see link below). The O’Reilly Factor had a guest on the show, named Nils Bildt and he said that he was a defense and national security advisor in Sweden. According to news reports from Sweden, the Swedish Defense Ministry has said that no one by that name works for them. Awkward.
The content that Fox news produces seems to clearly go a long way with the public, to garner support for continued expansion of the US military around the world, to perpetuate an enemy. Terrorism is bad we all know this, and Fox news has been telling us this for years now, but haven't they learned yet that the current foreign policy of the US isn't working? That it is actually making things worse? If they are truly concerned for our safety then they ought to know that insisting that people offer unquestionable and blind support for those who rule over them, those in positions of authority etc, doesn't seem to promote their well-being either.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_News
https://www.forbes.com/companies/fox/
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-grants-illegal-oil-rights-inside-syria-to-murdoch-and-rothschild/5517488
http://www.businessinsider.com/israel-grants-golan-heights-oil-license-2013-2
https://www.rt.com/business/317906-oil-golan-heights-israel/
http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Tensions-Mount-In-The-Golan-Heights-Over-Oil-And-Territory.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_International_phone_hacking_scandal
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201502201018551817/
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fox-fake-expert-sweden/
Other Posts On This Topic:
The Voice Of A Journalist
https://steemit.com/writing/@doitvoluntarily/the-voice-of-a-journalist |
article
The nation's new, all-Republican leadership begins to take the reins of power Tuesday promising to cut taxes, roll back regulations and undo President Barack Obama's signature health law -- but with a complicated path for enacting its agenda and important policy details still undetermined.
Continue Reading Below
After new senators are sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden, a symbol of the departing Democratic administration, and House members by Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republicans among them plan to move quickly to turn back an era defined by Mr. Obama's ambitions to make the government a more powerful force in the economy.
Republicans will hold the White House and both chambers of Congress for the first time since early 2007 once President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in Jan. 20, creating high expectations within the party that it can enact long-held policy goals. When Mr. Trump met recently with Sen. David Perdue (R., Ga.), "all we talked about for the better part of an hour was how to get results in the first part of the year," Mr. Perdue recalled.
One of the first goals for Republican leaders is to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which they say hurts quality and choice in health care. The Senate's opening move, coming as soon as Tuesday, will be to initiate a controversial process to repeal the law, which has brought health insurance to more than 19 million people but has taken a hit as the number of insurers offering coverage has shrunk and premiums have jumped.
As with many of the Republican goals, the effort is creating a maze of challenges. The most pressing is how to develop a replacement for the 2010 health law without triggering the sort of disruptions that accompanied the law's rollout, which in turn contributed to the Democrats' loss of their Senate majority in 2014.
Many health insurers have stopped writing policies under the law, leaving insurance markets struggling in some states, including GOP-leaning Arizona, Alaska and Tennessee. Some Republican lawmakers, whose votes will be crucial to any repeal-and-replace plan, are worried that a repeal would yank the rug out from under people who need coverage.
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Republicans also know that a confirmation hearing for Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.), nominated to serve as Health and Human Services secretary, will become an early focal point for debate over any repeal plan, given the congressman's years of working to replace the health law's mandates with tax credits for the purchase of insurance.
Senate Republicans as soon as Tuesday will start a legislative process that would allow them to repeal much of the law with a simple majority vote -- a political necessity, given that they hold 52 seats in the chamber, shy of the 60 needed to pass most legislation. The first step would be to introduce and start debate on a budget resolution for the 2017 fiscal year, setting up passage by next week.
The resolution would direct Senate committees to reconcile tax and spending legislation with the budget blueprint, but also carry the broader goal of dismantling the Affordable Care Act. The resulting package would have special procedural protections allowing passage by a simple majority
Other early battles will include Senate consideration of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) to be attorney general, the first confirmation hearing on the calendar, set for Jan. 10-11. Mr. Sessions has drawn scrutiny from the left over his civil-rights record. A spokesperson for Mr. Sessions didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tentative hearings are also scheduled on Jan. 11 for Michigan philanthropist Betsy DeVos, nominated to be secretary of education, and on Jan. 12 for fast-food executive Andy Puzder, nominated to head the Labor Department. Both are lightning rods for Democratic criticism, though there is no sign that the minority party has the votes to stop the confirmations.
Further in the distance: an expected battle over whoever Mr. Trump selects to fill an open seat on the Supreme Court.
Democrats say they will fight Mr. Trump and his GOP partners on policy differences. Mr. Obama is scheduled to visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday to meet with Democrats from both chambers to discuss strategy on their most urgent goal -- defending the Affordable Care Act.
The coming fights aren't confined to domestic policy. Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on cybersecurity, which he plans to use to delve into the U.S. intelligence community's conclusion that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee's email system in order to interfere in the 2016 elections. That hearing could amplify GOP concerns about Mr. Trump on foreign policy, which have grown as Mr. Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and cast doubt on the intelligence community's conclusion in the hacking matter.
Taking up another foreign policy debate, the House this week is expected to vote on a resolution disapproving of the Obama administration's decision to allow the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements in Palestinian areas. The House vote will be an early sign of support for Mr. Trump, who urged that the U.S. veto the U.N. resolution.
Stocks and consumer confidence have rallied since Mr. Trump's elections, in part on expectations of tax cuts and a regulatory rollback, and so Republicans are under pressure to follow through.
To reduce the regulatory burden on business, the House this week plans a vote on a bill known as the REINS Act, which would empower Congress to approve major new regulations written by federal agencies. The House also plans to vote on a measure to allow Congress to repeal a block of existing regulations at one time.
Neither measure is expected to pass given procedural hurdles in the Senate.
Congress could also use its power under the 1996 Congressional Review Act to repeal newer regulations on a simple majority vote, instead of requiring the filibuster-proof majority that is typical in the Senate. Once Mr. Trump is inaugurated, Republicans could use the law to repeal rules made since 2016, according to a recent estimate by the Congressional Research Service.
A top target is a regulation that expanded the number of workers subject to overtime-pay rules. Mr. Obama blocked five such attempts to repeal key elements of his regulatory agenda.
A rewrite of the tax code is likely to be more of a slog than a sprint. Republicans want to make the farthest-reaching tax code changes since 1986, lowering marginal rates on individuals and businesses and repealing the estate tax. They'll aim to use a legislative strategy that relies only on GOP votes, but it will require Republicans to unify around a single plan and fight past any interest groups that feel threatened.
Key differences are already evident. House and Senate Republicans say they're aiming for a plan that doesn't add to the deficit, after counting revenue from faster economic growth. Mr. Trump, however, has proposed a tax cut that even his campaign's optimistic projections say doesn't pay for itself.
To fill the budget hole caused by rate cuts, the House plan relies on imposing the U.S. corporate tax on imports and exempting exports. That so-called border adjustment would improve incentives for U.S. manufacturing and limit the benefits companies can get from shifting their addresses and jobs abroad. But retailers, refiners and other importers are pushing back and warning of higher consumer prices. Senate Republicans haven't warmed to that plan and Mr. Trump hasn't embraced it either.
House Republicans haven't released any draft legislative language or a schedule for a tax measure, but they want to move quickly.
Republicans also will have to respond to Mr. Trump's promises to build a wall along the border with Mexico -- and decide how literally they must take those promises in order to satisfy his powerful base.
The party wants to move quickly in order to fulfill the image Mr. Trump has painted of a government that can produce good jobs and wages with the right leadership.
History shows that unforeseen events can force Congress to rip up the agenda. In 2001, Mr. Bush had only just completed his first tax cuts when terrorists struck New York and Washington on Sept. 11. Within days, the Senate voted unanimously, and the House voted with only one "no" to authorize the use of military force to combat al Qaeda. The decision underpins interventions in Iraq today to stamp out Islamic State and drone strikes in nations such as Yemen and Pakistan. By October, Congress had passed the Patriot Act, which authorized the government to collect Americans' phone records. |
The two associations representing police chiefs in B.C. should be subject to freedom of information laws, according to B.C. Privacy and Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham.
Journalist Rob Wipond was the first to raise issue with the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police after he tried to get some information about their role bringing license plate scanners into the province.
"The first thing I found was they really didn't want me to know. They didn't have a website. They wouldn't share their constitution or bylaws," said Wipond.
He ran into a similar problem when requesting information from the B.C. Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police. Both associations claimed they're private groups and not subject to access to information laws.
Wipond objected, arguing the chiefs are public servants and filed a complaint with B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner.
"They are signing contracts. They're setting police policy across the province. All these things are happening in secret," he said.
Commissioner Elizabeth Denham investigated, and agreed, noting the associations "exert significant influence over law enforcement policy decisions in B.C. without being subject to the same access laws."
Both associations are involved in developing policy connected with the justice and public safety ministries, police training and qualifications, road safety, and the chief coroner.
In 2010 the B.C. Association of Police Chiefs made a public appeal to MPs to save the federal gun registry.
Denham is recommending legislation declaring both police chief associations are, in fact, public bodies under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
"They should be subject to the kind of sunshine that access to information provides," says Denham.
B.C.'s Justice Ministry says it's reviewing the recommendation. |
Relaxnews
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild Am Sonntag, former Genesis member Phil Collins indicated that he was "thinking about doing new stuff" and possibly playing "some shows again, even with Genesis." A few weeks later, his former bandmate Peter Gabriel confided to Rolling Stone that the idea of a Genesis reunion "has never been ruled out."
Founded in 1967, Genesis rose to worldwide fame in the 1980s and 90s. The band reformed in 2007 for their last world tour together. According to the band's label, Atlantic Records, Genesis has sold over 150 million albums worldwide.
Last September, Peter Gabriel released the concept album "And I'll Scratch Yours," on which he invited Arcade Fire, Lou Reed, Elbow, David Byrne, Bon Iver, Paul Simon and others to record their covers of his songs. |
Republican President Donald Trump wants to relax restrictions on the political activity of churches.
It's a nod to the many evangelicals who helped elect him. But the idea could reach across the political spectrum and affect black evangelicals who align mostly with Democrats.
Current law doesn't prevent churches from all political activity. But the law called the "Johnson amendment" has since 1954 blocked churches and their leaders from making official endorsements and political contributions.
Some prominent black pastors say they like the law the way it is. They express concerns that donors could try to purchase endorsements and funnel money for political campaigns through churches.
Some of Trump's backers say they want only to give pastors the freedom to take strong positions without fear of the IRS stripping their tax-exempt status. |
From painted olives to monkey meat: international crackdown on illicit and dangerous foods
Posted
A global police crackdown has seized over 10,000 tonnes of illicit or dangerous food and drink, including monkey meat, dead insects and fake sugar spiked with fertiliser, the European police agency says.
Key points: Global police crack down on illicit foods
Products include: moonshine, monkey meat, sugar contaminated with fertiliser, painted foods
Operation Opson was first launched in 2011
In Italy, officers seized 85 tonnes of olives "painted with copper sulphate to enhance their colour", while British police recovered nearly 10,000 litres of fake or adulterated alcohol, including wine, whisky and vodka.
The raids were carried out as part of Operation Opson V, which involved law enforcement from 57 countries as well as global policing agency Interpol and its EU counterpart, Europol said in a statement.
The crackdown from November to February — hailed as the "largest-ever seizure" — also uncovered one million litres of fake drink, enough to fill more than 12,000 bathtubs.
"Police, customs, national food regulatory bodies and partners from the private sector carried out checks at shops, markets, airports, seaports and industrial estates," Europol said.
At Brussels' Zaventem airport — the scene of last week's bomb attacks — customs officials found several kilograms of monkey meat, while in France officers seized and destroyed 11 kilograms of locusts and 20 kilograms of caterpillars.
Nearly nine tonnes of counterfeit sugar contaminated with fertiliser was found in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, and in Burundi officers seized more than 36,000 litres of illicit alcohol as well as nine AK-47 assault rifles and three grenades.
In Greece, three factories producing illegal alcohol were closed down and more than 7,400 bottles of fake alcohol and labels were netted.
Thai police destroyed 30 tonnes of illegal beef and buffalo meat, unfit for human consumption, while in Australia testing on 450 kilograms of honey found it had been blended or adulterated, Europol said.
In Indonesia, officials found 70 kilograms of chicken intestines preserved in formalin, prohibited as a food additive.
Bolivian police discovered a warehouse containing thousands of cans of sardines with fake labels of a famous Peruvian brand ready to be stuck on.
"Fake and dangerous food and drink threaten the health and safety of people around the world, who are often unsuspectingly buying these potentially very dangerous goods," said Michael Ellis, who heads Interpol's trafficking in illicit goods unit.
"Today's rising food prices and the global nature of the food chain offer the opportunity for criminals to sell counterfeit and substandard food in a multi-billion criminal industry," added Europol's Chris Vansteenkiste.
First launched in 2011, Operation Opson grew from 10 European countries to encompass almost 60 countries worldwide.
AFP
Topics: food-safety, police, law-crime-and-justice, european-union |
Malcolm Turnbull and Christopher Pyne were the only ministers on the frontbench in the House of Representatives when Liberal backbencher Warren Entsch introduced his private member’s bill to legalise same-sex marriage.
A Senate minister, Simon Birmingham, who has been a strong supporter of same-sex marriage, went into the chamber as an observer.
Tony Abbott, who announced after last week’s special Coalition party room that the issue would be determined by a popular vote, was not in the building. He was visiting an Australian Federal Police training facility to talk about ice.
Turnbull and Pyne have both been outspoken over the last few days, with Turnbull arguing that any popular vote should preferably be before the election.
But Abbott is not intending to give his ministers a say in the timing. He reiterated at a Monday news conference that the vote “will be in the next term”.
This contrasts with Turnbull saying in a blog posted at the weekend that “the government has not made a final decision on the timing of a plebiscite. The prime minister has indicated a disposition to have this considered after the next election. The partyroom has not debated the matter nor indeed has the cabinet.”
Abbott said the government would finalise the precise process for going forward “very shortly”, but indicated that he did not expect it to be when cabinet meets later on Monday.
“We’re not going to dwell on this and we’re not going to drag out the process,” Abbott said.
As Abbott makes it clear he will not bring forward the vote even to the election, the central issue for cabinet is whether it will be a plebiscite or a referendum to change the Constitution. A referendum would very likely go down, because of the stringent requirements for passage.
Abbott has declined to be drawn on this, but his ministers are sharply divided. Social Services Minister Scott Morrison has led the charge for a referendum.
Abbott – who only recently said the question was a matter for parliament – said the decision had to be the people’s choice. “This is something that has been the way it currently is for thousands of years, hundreds of years. It’s a very big decision to make a change like this.” He dismissed the substantial cost of a popular vote.
Entsch went ahead with the cross-party bill despite the Coalition partyroom meeting last week deciding against a conscience vote and Abbott having signalled the bill won’t be facilitated to a vote.
The bill would exempt ministers from marrying same-sex couples if they choose not to do so. But it says it would not be appropriate to extend the right to refuse to perform marriages to civil celebrants.
“Under the Code of Practice for Marriage Celebrants and existing Commonwealth, State and Territory discrimination legislation, authorised celebrants who are not ministers of religion or chaplains cannot unlawfully discriminate on the grounds of race, age or disability.
"To allow other authorised celebrants to discriminate on the grounds of a person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status would treat one group of people with a characteristic that is protected under discrimination legislation differently from other groups of people with characteristics that are also protected,” the bill’s explanatory memorandum says.
Nor would the providers of services be allowed to refuse them to same-sex couples.
This has recently become one of the issues in the debate, with some arguing that it involves freedom of religion and beliefs.
“It is already unlawful under discrimination legislation for such persons to discriminate on the grounds of a person’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status,” the explanatory memorandum says.
“It is not considered appropriate to provide an exemption on this ground in connection with a marriage, when discrimination on this ground is not allowed generally.
"Persons who provide goods or services, or make facilities available, are currently prohibited from discriminating in connection with marriages on various grounds including race, age and disability. These prohibitions have been in place for significant periods of time.”
Entsch told the House that the bill “is designed to promote an inclusive Australia, not a divided one”.
Listen to the latest Politics with Michelle Grattan podcast with guest, Clare O'Neil, talking about her new book Two Futures. |
About
This is a project of photography, heart and stories,
I am Sharon Eva Grainger, photographer, and I work with Pamela Pakker-Kozicki, project writer. Want to hear how we got the name Dos Polacas? Click HERE. (Hint: It was when we were working on our first project in Mexico in 1997.)
Sharon, Pamela and 16-month-old Zenia
Now, after ten years of working together on a book project,“In the Hands of Our Elders” we have decided to take the next giant step. Part of the project will be a weblink with stories you can hear told by the elders in English and in Kwak'wala, their language.
Please help us raise the money to finish this labor of love and integrity.
Why are we driven to complete this project?
To paraphrase the words of an Australian aboriginal woman: We have not come to this decision as an effort “to help tribal people.” That would be wasting the time of the elders and our supporters. We have come to this decision because our liberation is bound up with resiliency of the elders, the energy of the indigenous youth and the integrity of native communities.
We have decided to create this book because assimilation has swallowed up untold numbers of indigenous cultures around the planet.
The kaleidoscope of world cultures has not yet turned monochromatic but the threat is on the horizon.
What supports the strength and continuity of native civilizations?
Who insures a culture's stability?
When a language dies, what remains of that way of life?
Every indigenous person we have spoken with has the same answer: their elders.
Mrs. Lily Speck of the Kwakwaka'wakw people, Alert Bay, British Columbia
This book celebrates the resilient spirit of tribal elders by using their own stories and and their portraits. The book will be in their words, not ours. The photographs are of their choosing. Please go HERE to read how Sharon takes a portrait.
The elders are the heart and soul of our project.
The hands of Auntie Ethel, Alert Bay, British Columbia
The book’s full title is In the Hands of Our Elders: A Project of Memory and Future with the Kwakwaka’wakw People of British Columbia. With your invaluable and generous help and support plus our efforts, this book and weblink will celebrate the elders, inspire non-natives and provide the youth with a lasting legacy.
Our ace in the hole
Dos Polacas’ real treasure lies in our unparalleled access to the indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest developed over the last twenty-five years. These personal connections allow us to sit at kitchen tables sipping coffee
Bill Henderson, carver
and in carving sheds watching artists at work. Every chance we get, we document the elders' humor, knowledge and personalities so they are not lost to the passage of time.
The twinkling eyes of Auntie Ethel
Now we need to record another 40 interviews interviews or so, gather yet more excellent photography and then publish it for the world, the community of Alert Bay, for you, our supporters, and for everyone interested in cultural sustainability through language.
So exactly what experience do we have?
Sharon's Background
My camera lens has been described as a visual bridge connecting people and translating indigenous cultures to the non-natives around them. Ceremonies and languages, stories and songs, crafts and art move back and forth across this lens-bridge.
I am a fifth generation artist, a professional photographer of over thirty years, published photography in Smithsonian publications and a National Geographic Photography Instructor. I have given talks on the native people of the Pacific Northwest for decades.
Both of Pamela and myself constantly learn from the elders. I have spent many years with native peoples of the Inland and Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. It has dramatically affected my attitude towards how and what I see. Against a backdrop of magnificent natural beauty,
I have learned about the richness and drama deeply woven into the daily lives of these native peoples who consider their land and territory as part of their community. It is my honor to be allowed to create portraits of these elders and their hands for this book.
Pamela's Background
The job of documenting elders belongs not only to the photographer’s eye but also to the writer’s words. The Kwakwaka’wakw elders talk and Pamela listens,
recording their voices, using their stories to strengthen vital cross-generational and cross-cultural exchange. Pamela and I have worked together on many smaller projects since 1997, when we produced the publication Opening Hearts about the Raramuri people (Tarahumara) of the Copper Canyon of Mexico.
For Opening Hearts, Pamela wrote the background pieces and sidebars, transcribed interviews, and assembled the pieces for publication. She put the complex culture and history of the Raramuri people into a context that allowed for non-Raramuri to begin to understand this tribe’s self-imposed isolation from the Mexico around them. Since then we have worked on numerous projects large and small. For In the Hands of Our Elders, Pamela’s role is to not only capture the elder’s spoken words but create the interview’s context on both an intimate and universal scale in as few words as possible. Pamela brings context and a written beauty to my photography.
We speak about the world in the same way. I use imagery and Pamela uses words.
Our goal is to have 90% of the words in our book be from interviews so that it is the words of the elders you read explaining their culture.
This project also stretches into the Kwak’wala language education. Pamela records the elders’ stories in both their native language and in English to be available through a weblink.
Book Summary
The money raised here will fund
travel,
equipment and
editing
100% of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to teaching Indigenous language. Pamela and I will not take any royalties or any of the profits from the sale of the completed books.
We are supported in this project by
These organizations support us by using their own social media to broadcast this project.
The book will contain: 150 pages of intimate black and white portrait photography of the Kwakwaka'wakw Elders by Sharon Eva Grainger
Sharon's stunning photography of the Pacific Northwest coast
Elders' personal interviews and stories
A dedicated webpage with Elders' recorded stories in both English and Kwak’wala And last, but certainly not least, we dedicate this work to children who are our greatest resource.
The Kickstarter funds go to publishing 500 to 1,000 books equipment travel 100% of the proceeds from book sales will go toward indigenous language education. |
The idea of this deck is to discover Mind Blast with Shadow Visions so that up to 4 of them can be used for a One or Two Turn Kill. You will always find a Mind Blast or another Shadow Visions (for Priest of the Feast and Lyra the Sunshard combos because there are so few spells in the deck.
Radiant Elemental and Mirage Caller allow you to cast your 2 cost spells for free.
Alexstrasza and Prophet Velen are all cards that can combo with Mind Blast to easily dispatch your opponent.
Lyra the Sunshard is good for this deck because cheap spells can be played on the same turn that you play her, especially with cost reduction. Also, with double spell reduction, Shadow Visions can fill your hand up infinitely by discovering the other Shadow Visions. This can also work as a Reno Jackson with Priest of the Feast because you can heal to full by constantly discovering your second Shadow Visions.
The rest of the deck is built to enable you to draw your combos.
TL;DR: This deck is a rather consistent OTK with Mind Blast because of the draw power that is in the deck and because of the spell isolation with Shadow Visions. It has the potential to draw endless Priest Spells with Lyra the Sunshard and heal to full with Priest of the Feast. Please post your comments below and upvote for visibility!
EDIT: I added Stubborn Gastropod and Volatile Elemental to make up for the lack of removal. Also, Tol'vir Stoneshaper has been working great because of the added elementals. |
A New Jersey lawmaker wants to change one of the state’s toughest gun laws.
Legislation introduced by Senator Ray Lesniak would eliminate the mandatory minimum three-to-five year sentence for unlawful possession of a handgun and leave the punishment up to a judge.
He says legal gun owners, many from out of state, with no intention of committing a crime, should not face that harsh penalty.
“What we have here are innocent folks who either don’t know the law or just made a mistake. These are bad cases, and these folks should not be in prison for making innocent mistakes. I’m a gun control advocate, an unabashed gun control advocate, and these cases make us look bad because they’re unfair. We want to control the massive influx of guns into New Jersey, but we want to do it in a fair way.”
Bryan Miller, who leads the anti-gun-violence group Heeding God’s Call, opposes the legislation.
“When these cases come up, there’s publicity about them. That’s opportunity for other people in other states to learn: Don’t bring these guns into our state.”
Legislative leaders say they have concerns about mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, but need to examine the measure before deciding whether to advance it. |
How two Irish students stole a masterpiece worth millions in an act of political protest
Updated
It was one of the great art heists of the 20th century, but the motive of the students behind it wasn't to flog the piece on the black market — this was an act of political protest.
On April 14, 1956 two Irish students, Paul Hogan and his mate Billy Fogarty, pinched Berthe Morisot's Jour d'Eté from Britain's Tate Gallery.
The impressionist masterpiece is now worth more than $10 million.
The pair believed the painting was the property of Ireland, and wanted to seize it back in the name of their country.
The Lane bequest controversy
Jour d'Eté was part of a priceless collection of 39 artworks known as the Hugh Lane collection.
Hugh Lane had died when the Lusitania, a British ocean liner, was torpedoed by a German U-boat back in 1915.
He had been the director of the National Gallery in Dublin and made it clear in his will that he wanted the paintings to remain in Ireland.
However the document had not been witnessed, and an earlier version of his will had called for the paintings to remain in London.
The British authorities refused to honour Mr Lane's last wishes and 41 years later Hogan and Fogarty decided to correct what they saw as an historical injustice.
Telling the story on the big screen
Two Irish filmmakers, Keith Farrell and Stephen Hogan, are now trying to turn the story of the art heist into a feature film.
Farrell says looking back, the arrogance of the British government was breathtaking.
"If you go back to the records, they say things like while 'the Irish state has a moral right to the paintings. We feel that they are not culturally aware enough to appreciate these work'," Farrell said.
"It was like, 'these dumb micks, how dare they want these paintings back'."
Stephen Hogan, who is the nephew of one of the protestors, said his uncle used his status as an art student to get close to Jour d'Ete.
"He managed to get a letter from the director of his course addressed to the head of the National Gallery, asking could he go in and copy a painting," he said.
"And he selected Jour d'Eté because it was such a beautiful and powerful image and he immediately connected with it."
Hogan and Fogarty cased the joint and worked out when the guards took their morning tea breaks.
They decided to strike mid-morning on April 14.
"Paul lifted the picture of the wall, nervously," Stephen Hogan said.
"Because it wouldn't come off easily, and the chap came back … they had to sit down and pretend it was alright."
When the guard left again the students summoned up their courage for a second time.
"They went for it again," Stephen Hogan said.
"And this time they managed it, they walked down the main corridor of the Tate.
"[And] a chap on the door stepped forward, Paul thought the game was up and said, 'it's alright, it's alright, it's all understood'.
"They never expected to get out that door, but they did."
'The photographer had no idea what he had captured'
Not only had they got the painting out, they had arranged to have a press photographer take a shot of the act.
Captured in that photograph is Hogan in his brother's coat walking out of the Tate Gallery with an impressionist masterpiece under his left arm.
"They'd been smart enough to let the Irish news agency know they were going to do a political protest," Farrell said.
"They booked a photographer and he was standing around and noticing there was no students coming.
"Suddenly this young man is coming down the stairs with a large painting under his arm and behind him someone with an Irish accent went 'take the picture', and he clocked off a couple of frames."
"I don't think he knew what he had until the news broke later that day that one of the Tate Gallery's famous paintings was missing."
The Irish students now had to work out what to do with the painting. They hailed a black cab outside the Tate and asked to go to Piccadilly Circus.
Neither men had been to London before but Hogan had chanced on meeting an Irish woman named Mary the night before.
They headed to her flat and hid the painting under the bed.
Under the spotlight
The artwork was now safe, but Hogan wasn't.
The photograph of him leaving the Tate with a priceless painting under his arm was published in newspapers all around the world.
And as the son of a senior civil servant in Ireland, the spotlight was soon on his family
"When it was discovered that he was the son of Sarsfield Hogan, the you-know-what hit the fan," Farrell said.
"Sarsfield was a typical civil servant, quiet, straight-laced and suddenly he has the press knocking on his door.
"Paul is now a wanted fugitive and it becomes the biggest news story of the day. It was massive."
In the end the fugitives decided to get Hogan's new friend Mary to hand the painting back to the Irish embassy in London — but not before they had passed themselves off as a pair of priests walking around London.
The painting was then returned to the gallery.
In the end the protest worked, with the Tate eventually agreeing to share the paintings with Dublin, while controversially retaining ownership of them.
Hogan and Fogarty were let off without charge.
"They were let go unmolested at Liverpool," Stephen Hogan said.
"And a phone call was made I think by DCI McGrath, who was also an Irishman and responsible for pursuing the two lads.
"I think he managed to get the home number and rung up and said, 'he's on the Liverpool ferry, you can pick him up there' and the granny, the mammy, was there in the car and the two lads came off and the only thing she said to Paul was 'get in the car' — no more was said."
Tate Gallery remains unamused
Hogan and Farrell are in the process of getting funding for a feature film on the story of Paul and Billy's act of art restitution.
But they're unlikely to get any money from the Tate Gallery.
Technically the painting is still owned by the Brits and when, a couple of weeks ago, they asked the Tate if they could shoot Hogan sitting in front of the picture in Dublin they were refused permission.
An official told the filmmakers, they were not willing to give permission for the display of their paintings in the context of art theft.
It seems the Tate Gallery remains unamused more than 60 years later.
Topics: art-history, arts-and-entertainment, crime, law-crime-and-justice, united-kingdom, ireland
First posted |
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Researchers at The Ohio State University have discovered how to control heat with a magnetic field.
In the March 23 issue of the journal Nature Materials, they describe how a magnetic field roughly the size of a medical MRI reduced the amount of heat flowing through a semiconductor by 12 percent.
The study is the first ever to prove that acoustic phonons—the elemental particles that transmit both heat and sound—have magnetic properties.
“This adds a new dimension to our understanding of acoustic waves,” said Joseph Heremans, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology and professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. “We’ve shown that we can steer heat magnetically. With a strong enough magnetic field, we should be able to steer sound waves, too.”
Joseph Heremans
People might be surprised enough to learn that heat and sound have anything to do with each other, much less that either can be controlled by magnets, Heremans acknowledged. But both are expressions of the same form of energy, quantum mechanically speaking. So any force that controls one should control the other.
“Essentially, heat is the vibration of atoms,” he explained. “Heat is conducted through materials by vibrations. The hotter a material is, the faster the atoms vibrate.
“Sound is the vibration of atoms, too,” he continued. “It’s through vibrations that I talk to you, because my vocal chords compress the air and create vibrations that travel to you, and you pick them up in your ears as sound.”
The name “phonon” sounds a lot like “photon.” That’s because researchers consider them to be cousins: Photons are particles of light, and phonons are particles of heat and sound. But researchers have studied photons intensely for a hundred years—ever since Einstein discovered the photoelectric effect. Phonons haven’t received as much attention, and so not as much is known about them beyond their properties of heat and sound.
Hyungyu Jin
This study shows that phonons have magnetic properties, too.
“We believe that these general properties are present in any solid,” said Hyungyu Jin, Ohio State postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the study.
The implication: In materials such as glass, stone, plastic—materials that are not conventionally magnetic—heat can be controlled magnetically, if you have a powerful enough magnet. The effect would go unnoticed in metals, which transmit so much heat via electrons that any heat carried by phonons is negligible by comparison.
There won’t be any practical applications of this discovery any time soon: 7-tesla magnets like the one used in the study don’t exist outside of hospitals and laboratories, and the semiconductor had to be chilled to -450 degrees Fahrenheit (-268 degrees Celsius)—very close to absolute zero—to make the atoms in the material slow down enough for the phonons’ movements to be detectible.
That’s why the experiment was so difficult, Jin said. Taking a thermal measurement at such a low temperature was tricky. His solution was to take a piece of the semiconductor indium antimonide and shape it into a lopsided tuning fork. One arm of the fork was 4 mm wide and the other 1 mm wide. He planted heaters at the base of the arms.
The design worked because of a quirk in the behavior of the semiconductor at low temperatures. Normally, a material’s ability to transfer heat would depend solely on the kind of atoms of which it is made. But at very low temperatures, such as the ones used in this experiment, another factor comes into play: the size of the sample being tested. Under those conditions, a larger sample can transfer heat faster than a smaller sample of the same material. That means that the larger arm of the tuning fork could transfer more heat than the smaller arm.
Heremans explained why.
“Imagine that the tuning fork is a track, and the phonons flowing up from the base are runners on the track. The runners who take the narrow side of the fork barely have enough room to squeeze through, and they keep bumping into the walls of the track, which slows them down. The runners who take the wider track can run faster, because they have lots of room.
“All of them end up passing through the material—the question is how fast,” he continued. “The more collisions they undergo, the slower they go.”
In the experiment, Jin measured the temperature change in both arms of the tuning fork and subtracted one from the other, both with and without a 7-tesla magnetic field turned on.
In the absence of the magnetic field, the larger arm on the tuning fork transferred more heat than the smaller arm, just as the researchers expected. But in the presence of the magnetic field, heat flow through the larger arm slowed down by 12 percent.
So what changed? Heremans said that the magnetic field caused some of the phonons passing through the material to vibrate out of sync so that they bumped into one another, an effect identified and quantified through computer simulations performed by Nikolas Antolin, Oscar Restrepo and Wolfgang Windl, all of Ohio State’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
In the larger arm, the freedom of movement worked against the phonons—they experienced more collisions. More phonons were knocked off course, and fewer—12 percent fewer—passed through the material unscathed.
The phonons reacted to the magnetic field, so the particles must be sensitive to magnetism, the researchers concluded. Next, they plan to test whether they can deflect sound waves sideways with magnetic fields.
Co-authors on the study included Stephen Boona, a postdoctoral researcher in mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Roberto Myers, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, electrical and computer engineering and physics.
Funding for the study came from the U.S. Army Research Office, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation (NSF), including funds from the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at Ohio State. Computing resources were provided by the Ohio Supercomputer Center. |
The 'FOX News Medical A-Team' talks about a photo that caught internet buzz over the weekend from February that showed Hillary Clinton needing the help of aides to walk up a set of stairs and reports of Clinton health problems in general.
What??? Hillary Clinton can't walk up stairs now - She is a f'ing joke - See crazy photo from #Reuters - #Hillary pic.twitter.com/D1qIg5h4oY — Murray (@Local_Globe) August 7, 2016
The picture, which shows Hillary Clinton apparently needing assistance to climb a flight of stairs at a campaign stop back in February was picked up by the Drudge Report, which posted this headline over the weekend, details Hillary Clinton's history with falls and speculating that the former Secretary of State could be experiencing a serious undisclosed medical condition.
Earlier today we reached out to the Clinton campaign for a statement, and a spokesman told us that the Drudge Report is shameful, and anyone who buys into that medical condition shameful, what is missing is a statement about the health issues.
FOX News' Sean Hannity sets up the photo and the Clinton response:Dr. Marc Seigel said "the public has a right to know" and speculated on what the issue could be but was more interested in previous spills and a concussion she had in 2012."I think the public has a right to know," Seigel said. "We're talking in 2008, Sean, I looked over a thousand pages of John McCain's records because of a melanoma he had 10 years ago. What about Hillary? In 2009, a severe fall. She breaks her elbow. In 2011, she boards a plane, falls. In 2012 she has a severe concussion which Bill Clinton says took her six months to recover from."Then she ends up with a blood-clot in the brain and a lifetime of blood thinners," Seigel said. "Just that point alone -- if she's prone to falling, you can see from that picture up there that it looked like she can barely get upstairs without two people carrying her. Guess what if she falls and hits her head? She'll get a blood-clot.""I want to know what her neurological records show," he added."The picture going up the stairs speaks a million words," Dr. David Samadi said. "Is she fatigued? Is she dehydrated? One of the main reasons she fell in 2012 and had the concussions was severe dehydration. They're holding her and going up the stairs. So she may be really dehydrated, she may have arthritis, she may have back pain, she may have fallen again. We don't know. There are questions that are unanswered. What we know today is she's on thyroid medication, she suffers from hypothyroid, low thyroid, that can cause fatigue and gaining weight and all of that.""I think a traumatic brain injury with symptoms down the road is very, very likely here especially since she had a blood-clot on her brain. As David mentioned that could lead to a seizure problem. Someone is carrying a [diazepam] pen that you'd use in case of a seizure, a Valium pen, that makes me wonder about that," Dr. Seigel said. |
Intel’s Fab 42 will Target Advanced 7 nm Technology and Create More Than 10,000 Jobs in Arizona
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 8, 2017 – Intel Corporation today announced plans to invest more than $7 billion to complete Fab 42, which is expected to be the most advanced semiconductor factory in the world. The high-volume factory is in Chandler, Ariz., and is targeted to use the 7 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process. It will produce microprocessors to power data centers and hundreds of millions of smart and connected devices worldwide. The announcement was made by U.S. President Donald Trump and Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at the White House.
The completion of Fab 42 in 3 to 4 years will directly create approximately 3,000 high-tech, high-wage Intel jobs for process engineers, equipment technicians, and facilities-support engineers and technicians who will work at the site. Combined with the indirect impact on businesses that will help support the factory’s operations, Fab 42 is expected to create more than 10,000 total long-term jobs in Arizona.
Context for the investment was outlined in an e-mail from Intel’s CEO to employees.
“Intel’s business continues to grow and investment in manufacturing capacity and R&D ensures that the pace of Moore’s law continues to march on, fueling technology innovations the world loves and depends on,” said Krzanich. “This factory will help the U.S. maintain its position as the global leader in the semiconductor industry.”
“Intel is a global manufacturing and technology company, yet we think of ourselves as a leading American innovation enterprise,” Krzanich added. “America has a unique combination of talent, a vibrant business environment and access to global markets, which has enabled U.S. companies like Intel to foster economic growth and innovation. Our factories support jobs — high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that are the economic engines of the states where they are located.”
Intel is America’s largest high-technology capital expenditure investor ($5.1 billion in the U.S. 2015) and its third largest investor in global R&D ($12.1 billion in 20151). The majority of Intel’s manufacturing and R&D is in the United States. As a result, Intel employs more than 50,000 people in the United States, while directly supporting almost half a million other U.S. jobs across a range of industries, including semiconductor tooling, software, logistics, channels, OEMs and other manufacturers that incorporate our products into theirs.
The 7 nm semiconductor manufacturing process targeted for Fab 42 will be the most advanced semiconductor process technology used in the world and represents the future of Moore’s Law. In 1968 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that computing power will become significantly more capable and yet cost less year after year.
Making a leading-edge computer chip is the most complex manufacturing process in the world, engineering magic that turns sand into semiconductors, the foundation of the knowledge economy.
The chips made on the 7 nm process will power the most sophisticated computers, data centers, sensors and other high-tech devices, and enable things like artificial intelligence, more advanced cars and transportation services, breakthroughs in medical research and treatment, and more. These are areas that depend upon having the highest amount of computing power, access to the fastest networks, the most data storage, the smallest chip sizes, and other benefits that come from advancing Moore’s Law.
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Marc Mezvinsky quietly shut down his hedge fund Eaglevale Partners back in December.
Bloomberg reports that Mr. Chelsea Clinton and his partners are now working to return money to investors, including Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein.
The decision to shutter the fund came just a few weeks after Mezvinsky's mother-in-law Hillary lost the election to president Donald Trump.
Mezvinsky has kept a low profile ever since Hillary's loss in the election, but was photographed by DailyMail.com heading out for a weekday jog in the middle of the afternoon last week.
He and his wife are now both without a full-time job.
Scroll down for video
Out of work: Marc Mezvinsky (above last week) shut down his hedge fund Eaglevale Partners back in December
On the run: Mezvinsky was seen going for a weekday jog in the middle of the afternoon last week
It was revealed last May that Mezvinsky suffered a huge loss after trying to bet on the revival of the Greek economy, forcing him to shut down one of his hedge funds.
He and his partners, former Goldman Sachs colleagues Bennett Grau and Mark Mallon, raised $25million from investors to buy up bank stocks and debt from the struggling nation.
That fund however has lost 90 percent of its value, investors with direct knowledge of the situation told The New York Times, and was closed.
Eaglevale Partners was started in 2011 by Mezvinsky and his partners, with their former boss, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein, one of the first investors.
Another is leading financier, Marc Lasry, co-founder of $13 billion hedge fund Avenue Capital, where Chelsea worked after graduating from Stanford.
'I gave them money because I thought they would make me money,' Mr Lasry told The Times last year, after investing $1 million in Eaglevale and urging a relative to do the same.
Mezvinsky was long gone from his job at Goldman in October 2013 when his mother-in-law Hillary was paid to give a speech to executives at the company during a technology conference in Arizona.
She was reportedly paid $225,000 for that appearance.
Mezvinsky and his partners had written to clients in 2014 to declare confidence in their 'Hellenic Opportunity' fund, predicting that Greece was on the path to a 'sustainable recovery'.
By that point they had collected $25 million but stopped taking money by the end of that year when it became clear the country's economy would collapse without a massive Eurozone bailout.
Family time: Chelsea and Marc with daughter Charlotte and son Aidan (above) outside their Manhattan apartment last September
The Wall Street Journal reported in February 2015 that Eaglevalle said in a letter to investors that year that they had been 'incorrect' to bet on Greece and that is why the company had lost money two of the three years prior.
The main fund dropped 3.6% in 2014, fained just 2.06% in 2013 and lost 1.96% in 2012.
But good news for the people working at the hedge fund, as most funds collect management fees meaning money comes in even if funds lose money.
The failure is a huge personal blow to Mezvinsky, who is also the son of political figures, albeit less well known that his wife's famed parents.
His father, Edward Mezvinsky, represented Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms in the 1970s and his mother, Marjorie Margolies, represented Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1995.
Ed Mezvinsky pleaded guilty to 31 charges of felony fraud in 2001 and spent five years in federal prison after he admitted scamming his friends and family out of $10 million in a Ponzi scheme.
Nanny diaries: Marc takes his daughter Charlotte to her first day of nursery school with one of the couple's nannies last September (above)
His son met Chelsea Clinton at a political retreat when the pair were children and they became lifelong friends. They became romantically involved after her 2005 split from ex-boyfriend Ian Klaus, when Mezvinsky became 'a shoulder to lean on', according to Chelsea's chief of staff, Bari Lurie.
The pair married in July 2010 and two years later Chelsea revealed their desire to start a family, with Mezvinsky telling Vogue his wife was 'the yin to my yang'.
They welcomed their first child, Charlotte, in 2014, and announced last December that Chelsea was pregnant again with their second son Aidan.
Shortly after starting Eagleville, Mezvinsky and Chelsea moved into a $10million New York City apartment opposite Madison Square Park.
The four-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot apartment is one of only four residences in the building, which despite the low occupancy rate still has a full-time doorman.
The apartment, whose hallways stretch a full city block, also has two dishwashers, two washer and dryers, dressing rooms with double-sided vanity mirrors, and two massive walk-in closets.
The bedrooms meanwhile face right into Vera Wang's bridal design studio, who designed Cheslea's dress for her wedding day.
Famous neighbors in the building include NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and jennifer Lopez, who paid $22million for the two-floor penthouse.
The apartment's current value is closer to $15million. |
It’s safe to say Faith Stowers and Brittany Cartwright will not be friends again anytime soon. The former SUR employee spoke to Us Weekly exclusively about how she doesn’t feel like she owes Cartwright anything after sleeping with her boyfriend Jax Taylor.
“I don’t owe Brittany anything, I’m not Brittany’s friend,” Stowers told Us in her first post-hookup interview. “Brittany doesn’t even text me back. I mean, I’m confused. The only reason why you text me in the beginning was cause you wanted a threesome.”
As previously reported, Stowers told Us that her relationship with Taylor started after he messaged her on Twitter. Then, after a party at Taylor and Cartwright’s apartment, Stowers said that Cartwright texted her to come back to their place and stay the night. Stowers decided not to, and got a message from Taylor the next day saying the couple wanted to have a threesome with her.
“I was like laughing, ‘LOL, you guys are hilarious. Brittany’s pretty cute though.’ I’m kind of flirting with the idea, but I’m not serious,” Stowers explained. “I think that’s what pushed the envelope for him. OK now I’m bringing up threesomes, here we go.”
Stowers also revealed to Us that she “actually liked” Jax and their relationship was “very intimate.”
“I actually liked Jax, like I actually appreciated his time, and so it was the fact that he lied to my face,” Stowers said, referring to Taylor denying he slept with her at Scheana Marie’s birthday party when the news of their affair was discovered. “This kid was almost in tears laying in my bed, talking about this girl, saying he was done with her and he felt trapped. But lie to my face at a party?”
“It was almost like he really, really needed this,” she continued. “It was … you could just tell, ’cause even when during the intercourse, it was very intimate, it was like … he just, I don’t know. He was in a whole other world, he was just so excited. I don’t know. I was into it, cause I liked him, I could tell he was more into it than I was. If that makes any sense.”
Stowers, who revealed on the hit Bravo series that she and Taylor didn’t use a condom, added, “I’m assuming the man is STD free, because I don’t have anything.”
Vanderpump Rules airs on Bravo Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
Reporting by Sharon Tharp
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Gracekelly A Best Effort Cache Synchronization Library In Java Project maintained by Flipkart Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham
GraceKelly
a best effort cache synchronization library for distributed systems
GraceKelly is a best effort cache synchronization library designed to shield distributed systems and services from direct exposure to unpredictable request loads. It improves load and response SLA predictability in distributed environments. It also enables graceful degradation with stale data as fallback, in a degraded distributed ecosystem.
Why is it needed?
A chaotic place
Any big distributed environment is inherently complex and chaotic. This complexity arises due to the complex dependencies between different services. The variability of the requests and responses that this environment is exposed to makes it a chaotic place
This chaos means the predictability of load and latency is reduced. This makes the environment and it’s SLAs vulnerable to arbitrary request loads. It’s necessary to shield the environment from such externally induced unpredictability. Since service SLAs are affected by service load, such shielding also ensures their predictability. This means, one must systemically strive to hold on to as much predictability as possible when building a service/system.
Sheilds up
Caches act as sentinels in an distributed environment. Although their primary function is to reduce latency, when used appropriately they excel at bringing predictability to a system. That’s because a cache request is extremely predictable, with almost no variability, either in response times or the load per request. One could say that there is positive co-relation between the percentage of Cache hits and the predictability of a system/environment.
Cache expiry
Every time there is a cache miss the environment and SLAs become a little bit more vulnerable. In this context, the common cache usage pattern of expiry based on a ttl and subsequent re-population seems risky. Using cache expiry as a proxy/trigger for cache synchronization exposes the underlying system to potentially harmful request pattern load for the duration of synchronization.
t0 – a heavily requested cache entry c1 expires
– a heavily requested cache entry c1 expires t1 – there is a cache miss for c1 and a request is sent to the service to fulfill
– there is a cache miss for c1 and a request is sent to the service to fulfill t2 – the cache has been repopulated with c2
The time between t1 and t2 is the duration of exposure. The predictability of the target service and all the services it depends on during this time is affected by the the per request load and the qps of all requests that result in a cache miss for c1.
What would be good to have is a cache library with regular caching semantics but one that accommodates refreshing a cache entry rather than expiring it based on ttl. This is exactly what GraceKelly is, it’s inspired by Gooogle Guava’s LoadingCache.
What does it do?
GraceKelly tries it’s best to refresh the cache entry that has expired. The refresh lifecycle is purely request triggered and doesn’t monitor/maintain the cache. For every request
It looks up the cache and returns the value if a cache entry is present.
If the returned cache entry has expired it dispatches a task to refresh the cache entry.
If for some reason the refresh fails, it can extend the ttl of the existing entry or do nothing.
Note that a cache entry is never removed(though it can be evicted by size constraints).
This does two things.
Shields the backend services and systems from exposure to unnecessary request load.
Decouples response SLAs from backend degradation and availability concerns, there by allowing for graceful degradation with stale data as fallback.
The Library
The library has a single Class Kelly that takes implementations of two different interfaces a CacheProvider and a CacheLoader. They pass around a CacheEntry
Kelly
Kelly is the primary class for Gracekelly that reloads cacheEntries when they expire. It has a very simple interface for usage.
/** * obtain an instance of a CacheProvider implementation * here the RemoteCache can be a wrapper to some kind of * memcached client. */ CacheProvider < CachedObject > cacheProvider = new RemoteCache (); /** * obtain an instance of a CacheLoader implementation */ CacheLoader < CachedObject > cacheLoader = new MyCacheLoader (); /** * Fix the threadpool size for the number of threads that will * be used to reload cache entries */ Integer threadPoolSize = 10 ; /** * Create a kelly reloading cache instance with the provided * cacheProvider, cacheLoader and threadPoolSize */ Kelly < CachedObject > cache = new Kelly ( cacheProvider , cacheLoader , threadPoolSize ); String key = "sample_key" ; CachedObject value = new CachedObject (); long expiryTtl = 300 ; /** * Create a CacheEntry instance with the given * key, value and ttl for expiry */ CacheEntry cacheEntry = new CacheEntry ( key , value , expiryTtl ); //put a CacheEntry in Cache cache . put ( key , cacheEntry ); //get value from cache CachedObject cachedValue = cache . get ( key ); //expire a cache key cache . expire ( key ); //doesn't remove from cache
One has to note that expired entries are not replaced as soon as they have expired but an attempt is made to refresh them using the CacheLoader the first time an expired CacheEntry is encountered during a get request.
CacheProvider
The CacheProvider interface is used to implement adapters to different cache implementations where the cached values are finally persisted and retrieved from. For eg: one would implement a CacheProvider for couchbase or memcached.
public interface CacheProvider < T >{ /** * Returns a {@link CacheEntry}<T> if it is present in the underlying cache, * or it returns a null otherwise. * @param key * @return {@link CacheEntry}<T> for the given key or return null if not present * @throws CacheProviderException */ CacheEntry < T > get ( String key ) throws CacheProviderException ; /** * Tries to update the cache with the given {@link CacheEntry}<T> for the given key * @param key * @param value * @return true or false based on the success of putting the {@link CacheEntry}<T> * into the cache. * @throws CacheProviderException */ Boolean put ( String key , CacheEntry < T > value ) throws CacheProviderException ; }
A trivial CacheProvider implementation for a local cache with a ConcurrentHashMap could look like the following.
public class LocalCacheProvider implements CacheProvider < String >{ private final Map < String , CacheEntry < String >> cache = new ConcurrentHashMap < String , CacheEntry < String >>(); @Override public CacheEntry < String > get ( String key ) throws CacheProviderException { return cache . get ( "key" ); } @Override public Boolean put ( String key , CacheEntry < String > value ) throws CacheProviderException { cache . put ( key , value ); return true ; } }
CacheLoader
The CacheLoader provides a single method to reload cache, based on an existing entry in the cache. The implementation of CacheLoader should be able to reload the cache given the key of the and the previous value of the CacheEntry.
public interface CacheLoader < T > { /** * Takes a {@link String} key and a value/Object of type <T> and returns a * {@link CacheEntry}<T>. The implementation of this method is supposed to * return the CacheEntry with the latest Value for the given key. * @param key * @param prevValue * @return {@link CacheEntry} of the type parameter specified during * declaration of this instance of CacheLoader * @throws CacheLoaderException */ public CacheEntry < T > reload ( String key , T prevValue ) throws CacheLoaderException ; }
CacheEntry
The CacheEntry class is a simple java object that holds data required to get, put and invalidate a cache entry. The generic parameter indicates the type of the object that will be stored against the given key. usage is as follows, where the ttl is in seconds
//cache entry valid for 5 minutes since time of creation CacheEntry < CachedObject > cacheEntry = new CacheEntry < CachedObject >( "key" , someObject , 300 ); String key = cacheEntry . getKey () //returns the key of the CacheEntry CachedObject = cahceEntry . getValue () //returns value of the CacheEntry long ttl = cacheEntry . getTtl () //returns the ttl in seconds
Maven Artifact
Add the following repository to your pom.xml
<repository> <id> clojars </id> <name> Clojars repository </name> <url> https://clojars.org/repo </url> </repository>
And add the following dependency to start using GraceKelly in your maven project.
<dependency> <groupId> com.flipkart.lego </groupId> <artifactId> gracekelly-core </artifactId> <version> 1.3.3 </version> </dependency>
Documentation
The api docs can be found here
Contribution, Bugs and Feedback
For bugs, questions and discussions please use the Github Issues. Please follow the contribution guidelines when submitting pull requests.
License
Copyright 2013 Flipkart Internet, pvt ltd.
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License. |
Equipment losses in World War II or Matériel losses in World War II refers to military equipment destroyed during World War II, the deadliest and most costly war in the history of the world.
Air [ edit ]
China : Total losses of the Nationalist Air Force were 2,468 aircraft (According to Chinese and Taiwanese Sources).
: Total losses of the Nationalist Air Force were 2,468 aircraft (According to Chinese and Taiwanese Sources). Finland : Reported losses during the Winter War totaled 67, of which 42 were operational, while 536 aircraft were lost during the Continuation War, of which 209 were operational losses (137 fighters, 51 bombers and 21 other). 327 aircraft were disabled ("attrition", too old, non-combat accidents) (Overall 603). [1]
: Reported losses during the Winter War totaled 67, of which 42 were operational, while 536 aircraft were lost during the Continuation War, of which 209 were operational losses (137 fighters, 51 bombers and 21 other). 327 aircraft were disabled ("attrition", too old, non-combat accidents) (Overall 603). France : From the beginning of the war until the cease-fire in 1940, 892 aircraft were lost, of which 413 were in action and 234 were on the ground. Losses included 508 fighters and 218 bombers. [1]
: From the beginning of the war until the cease-fire in 1940, 892 aircraft were lost, of which 413 were in action and 234 were on the ground. Losses included 508 fighters and 218 bombers. Germany produced 119,907 aircraft of all types, including bomber, transport, reconnaissance, gliders, training, seaplanes and flying boats. Most of them were either destroyed, damaged, captured or sold. [2] Estimated total number of destroyed and damaged for the war totaled 76,875 aircraft, of which 40,000 were total losses and the remainder significantly damaged. By type, losses totaled 21,452 fighters, 12,037 bombers, 15,428 trainers, 10,221 twin-engine fighters, 5,548 ground attack, 6,733 reconnaissance, and 6,141 transports. [1]
produced 119,907 aircraft of all types, including bomber, transport, reconnaissance, gliders, training, seaplanes and flying boats. Most of them were either destroyed, damaged, captured or sold. Estimated total number of destroyed and damaged for the war totaled 76,875 aircraft, of which 40,000 were total losses and the remainder significantly damaged. By type, losses totaled 21,452 fighters, 12,037 bombers, 15,428 trainers, 10,221 twin-engine fighters, 5,548 ground attack, 6,733 reconnaissance, and 6,141 transports. Italy : Total losses were 5,272 aircraft, of which 3,269 were lost in combat.
: Total losses were 5,272 aircraft, of which 3,269 were lost in combat. Japan : Estimates vary from 35,000 to 50,000 total losses, with about 20,000 lost operationally. [3]
: Estimates vary from 35,000 to 50,000 total losses, with about 20,000 lost operationally. Netherlands : Total losses were 81 aircraft during the May 1940 campaign. [3]
: Total losses were 81 aircraft during the May 1940 campaign. Poland : Total losses were 398 lost, 112 flew to then neutral Romania, 286 destroyed, 1 missing and unaccounted for. Aircraft losses by type: 116 fighters, 112 dive bombers, 81 reconnaissance aircraft, 36 bombers, 21 sea planes, and 9 transports. The Polish Air Force evacuated one day after the Soviet Invasion of Poland, September 18, 1939. However, some trainer aircraft kept on flying as scout planes. The last two were grounded on October 2, 1939 by the order of General Franciszek Kleeberg. The losses after the evacuation are not known (September 19-October 2, 1939). [3]
: Total losses were 398 lost, 112 flew to then neutral Romania, 286 destroyed, 1 missing and unaccounted for. Aircraft losses by type: 116 fighters, 112 dive bombers, 81 reconnaissance aircraft, 36 bombers, 21 sea planes, and 9 transports. The Polish Air Force evacuated one day after the Soviet Invasion of Poland, September 18, 1939. However, some trainer aircraft kept on flying as scout planes. The last two were grounded on October 2, 1939 by the order of General Franciszek Kleeberg. The losses after the evacuation are not known (September 19-October 2, 1939). Soviet Union : Total losses were 17,900 bombers, 23,600 ground attacker, 46,800 fighter aircraft, and 18,100 training, transport and other aircraft; an overall loss of over 106,400 aircraft; 46,100 in combat and 60,300 non-combat. Of which, 18,300 Lend-Lease aircraft were lost. Grigori F. Krivosheev states: "A high percentage of combat aircraft were lost in relation to the number available on 22 June 1941: 442% (total losses) or 216% (combat losses). In the air force over a half of losses were non-combat losses." [4]
: Total losses were 17,900 bombers, 23,600 ground attacker, 46,800 fighter aircraft, and 18,100 training, transport and other aircraft; an overall loss of over 106,400 aircraft; 46,100 in combat and 60,300 non-combat. Of which, 18,300 Lend-Lease aircraft were lost. Grigori F. Krivosheev states: "A high percentage of combat aircraft were lost in relation to the number available on 22 June 1941: 442% (total losses) or 216% (combat losses). In the air force over a half of losses were non-combat losses." British Empire United Kingdom: Europe 42,010 (including 30,045 fighters and 11,965 bombers) [3] Australia, Pacific and South East Asia: 250 [5]
United States: Total losses were nearly 95,000, including 52,951 operational losses (38,418 in Europe and 14,533 in the Pacific).[3]
Land [ edit ]
French 6,126 tanks (~3,000 destroyed, ~3,000 captured by Germans). 946 armoured cars and half-track.
UK 15,844 tanks and 1,957 armoured cars lost.[6]
On the Western Front in 1944–1945, 4,477 British Commonwealth tanks were destroyed, including 2,712 M4 Sherman tanks, 656 Churchill tanks, 609 Cromwell tanks, 433 M3 Stuart light tanks, 39 Cruiser Mk VIII Challenger tanks, 26 Comet tanks, 2 M24 Chaffee light tanks.
US ~10,000 tanks/SPGs/tank destroyers lost.
From June 6, 1944 through May 15, 1945 for US tank and tank destroyer losses in the European Theater of Operations, United States Army (Western Front): around 7,000 (including 4,295–4,399 M4 tanks, 178 M4 (105mm howitzer), 1,507 M3 Stuart tanks and 909–919 tank destroyers, of which 540 M10 tank destroyers, 217 M18 Hellcat and 152 M36 tank destroyers). Losses of 5th Army (Sicily, Italy): 3,377 armored vehicles, including 1,171 M4s.[11][12] Several hundred tanks lost in the Pacific Theater.
Germany
Soviet claims according to Grigori F. Krivosheev: 42,700 tanks, tank destroyers, self-propelled guns and assault guns, 379,400 guns and mortars and 75,700 combat aircraft.[13] According to Heinz Guderian (supplied by Q.M.G of the General Staff of the Army): Total 33,324 tanks, assault guns, tank destroyers, self-propelled guns, armored personnel carriers and armored cars lost on the Eastern Front from 22/6/1941 until November 1944[14]
Around 87,329 half-track trucks; 36,703 half-track tractors; 21,880 half-track armoured personnel carriers destroyed or captured.
226,300 Military cars and 97,470 Military motor-cycles destroyed or captured.
159,144 Anti-tank guns and Artillery destroyed or captured.
86,400 Mortars destroyed or captured.
Italy Around 3,500 tanks Poland 880 tanks and tankettes destroyed and captured; some crossed into Hungary. Moreover, all armored cars were destroyed within the first two weeks of fighting. Japan Around 3,000 tanks/self-propelled guns Soviet Union According to Grigori F. Krivosheev: "All losses of arms and equipment are counted as irrecoverable losses, i.e. beyond economic repair or no longer serviceable"[15]
83,500 tanks lost: 5,200 heavy tanks, 44,900 medium tanks, 33,400 light tanks (including 11,900 Lend-Lease tanks and self-propelled guns lost [16] )
) 13,000 SPGs lost: 2,300 heavy SPGs, 2,100 medium SPGs, 8,600 light SPGs
37,600 Armoured car and half-track (including 5,000 Lend-Lease armoured personnel carriers lost[16])
Soviet tank losses [17] Received Total stock Losses % of Total
stock loss Tanks 86,100 108,700 83,500 76.8 Heavy 10,000 10,500 5,200 49.5 Medium 55,000 55,900 44,900 80.3 Light 21,100 42,300 33,400 79.1 SP Guns 23,100 23,100 13,000 56.3 Heavy 5,000 5,000 2,300 46.0 Medium 4,000 4,000 2.100 52.5 Light 14,000 14,000 8,600 61.4 Tanks and SP Guns 109,100 131,700 96,500 73.3 Armored cars, tractors,
other armoured vehicles 59,100 72,200 37,600 52.1
Comparative figures [18] 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total Soviet Tank strength(¹) 22,600 7,700 20,600 21,100 25,400 German Tank strength(¹) 5,262 4,896 5,648 5,266 6,284 Soviet Tank Production 6,274 24,639 19,959 16,975 4,384 72,231 German Tank Production 3,256 4,278 5,966 9,161 1,098 23,759 Production Ratio 1:2 1:5.6 1:3.3 1:1.85 1:4 1:3 Soviet Tank losses 20,500 15,000 22,400 16,900 8,700 83,500 German Tank losses 2,758 2,648 6,362 6,434 7,382 25,584 Tank exchange ratio(²)
(German:Soviet) 1:7 1:6 1:4 1:4 1:1.2 1:4.4
Note: Table does not include assault guns or any other type of SPG.
According to Steven Zaloga:
(¹) "As of January each year, except for 1941 which is as of 22 June 1941. German strength is entire strength, not only the Eastern Front. In July 1944 the Germans had over 1,500 tanks in Normandy and several hundred in other theatres such as Italy and the Balkans. Likewise, the Soviet kept about 3,000 tanks in the Far East through much of the war."
(²) "German tank losses here include all fronts; the tank exchange ratio deletes estimated German losses to Anglo-American forces and so reflects only the Soviet-German loss."
Total material, arms and equipment losses [ edit ]
Grigori F. Krivosheev concludes: "Losses during strategic operations accounted for 61.48% of small-arms losses, 65.52% of tank and SP gun losses, 56.89% of gun and mortar losses and 58.6% of combat aircraft losses during the war. On average 11,000 small arms, 68 tanks, and 30 aircraft were lost each day. In such as the Baltic, Beyelorussian, Kiev and Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad defensive operations, 20-30,000 small arms, 90-290 tanks, 200-520 guns and mortars and 30-100 combat aircraft were lost daily. Losses were also high during the Battle of Kursk and Berlin offensive, with 70-90 tanks, 90-210 guns and mortars and 25-40 aircraft lost each day." [19]
Sea [ edit ]
According to Grigori F. Krivosheev, the Soviet Union lost 1,014 ships of various classes, 314 were 1st, 2nd or 3rd class surface ships and submarines, 139 motor torpedo boats, 128 submarine-chasers, 77 armoured launches, 168 minesweepers and 188 patrol and other boats.[23]
References [ edit ]
Bibliography [ edit ] |
If you’ve been watching Fox News since the shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, you probably already know that God, not gun control, is The Answer. But this morning, Fox & Friends made an attempt to dig a bit deeper than just blaming Godlessness. So they trotted out an unhinged Lt. Col. Dave Grossman who ranted that the pervasive evil of violent video games means Newtown is just the beginning!
Grossman was introduced as a “former West Point psychology professor.” But he seemed like he was in need of some mental health treatment, himself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our fighting men and women are no longer exposed to him.
Noting that Newtown shooter Adam Lanza was a loner who played “deadly video games,” guest host Kelly Wright asked whether that might have played a role “in perhaps, his psyche or his emotion?”
Grossman answered:
Look, guys, the kids that gave us Jonesboro in middle school, Columbine in high school, Virginia Tech in the college are now giving us Hell in every piece of the world. They gave us that massacre on the island in Norway. They gave us a mall massacre in Aurora, Colorado… This is just the beginning! What you saw in Newtown is just the beginning! This is a sick, sick culture feeding sick movies and sick video games creating very, very sick kids!
…I predicted this was gonna happen. It’s a trend!
The guy was so off the rails that Wright had to interrupt to get “a word in edgewise” and to ask, “What do we do in terms of addressing these video games? …There are some games out there that really teach people how to kill, according to your reports and reports from military and law enforcement.”
Grossman’s answer?
We have got to enforce the ratings systems… This is just the beginning guys. Please! Don’t look at this in isolation… Look at (these mass shootings) as a growing, moving trend and it’s gonna get worse. …The video games are providing the training, the desensitization, and the conditioned responses… It doesn’t take a lot of skill to walk up to a child, shove a gun in their face and blow their brains out. What it takes is desensitization and conditioning to do it again and again and again and again. …We have raised a generation of children who have learned to kill and learned to like it. When we get a sick kid in past years, they were chewing gum and talking out in class. Now we create a sick kid and they’re gonna come kill you. If you’re the parents who let your kids play these sick games, the blood is on your hands and, by the way, you might be the first one to die.
Wright seemed not entirely comfortable with this guest but he nonetheless said at the closing, “Very sobering thoughts and hopefully people are watching, taking heed of what you’ve said.”
Of course another thing all those massacres had in common were guns. But Fox would rather give a nut job like Grossman credibility than to offer up gun control as any kind of sensible solution worth considering. |
Chris Herhalt, CP24.com
Olivia Chow's lead in Spadina-Fort York is losing steam while the Liberals and NDP appear to be nearly deadlocked in Toronto Centre, new riding-specific polls suggest.
A poll conducted by Forum Research from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 in Spadina-Fort York found the former mayoral candidate and MP is ahead of Liberal incumbent Adam Vaughan by five per cent — 42 to 37 — compared with a Forum poll released Aug. 7 which put Chow 29 points ahead of Vaughan.
That Aug. 7 poll reached 345 adults between Aug. 5 and 7 and had a margin of error of plus or minus five per cent, 19 times out of 20.
The latest poll puts the Conservatives with Sabrina Zuniga at 17 per cent in the riding, and the Greens with Sharon Danley at 5 per cent support
Forum Research president Lorne Bozinoff says Chow’s slip in the polls is explained by the NDP’s general decline in major urban centres in Canada, which are rapidly changing with the growth of condominium development and gentrification.
“This is a broader challenge for the NDP, to try to remain relevant in a downtown urban setting,” Bozinoff said, alluding to several high profile defeats the provincial NDP suffered in downtown Toronto during the general election last year.
Even when compared to the last election in 2011, the area that comprises the newly-formed Fort York-Spadina riding has become home to thousands of new residents, most of them residing in condominiums.
“There’s some feeling that the condo dwellers are less likely to vote NDP and will eventually give Chow a run for her money,” Bozinoff said.
The most recent poll suggest Chow holds high support among those earning less than $20,000 per year and more than $80,000 per year, while the Liberals the lead among those earning $20,000 to $60,000 per year.
In the neighbouring riding of Toronto Centre, Forum’s poll conducted on Sept. 30 suggest Liberal Bill Morneau is five per cent ahead of NDP candidate Linda McQuaig — 42 per cent to 37 per cent.
Conservative candidate Julian Di Battista has 17 per cent support while Colin Biggin of the Green Party has four per cent support.
An earlier poll conducted released on Aug. 31 put McQuaig one per cent ahead of Morneau - 41 per cent to 40 per cent. That poll reached 488 adults in the riding and had a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20.
“I’m wondering if perhaps the NDP could still be in the lead if (McQuaig) wasn’t so far to the left. She needs to be as close to the centre-left as possible but still be seen as an alternative,” Bozinoff said.
The Spadina-Fort York poll conducted Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 reached 461 randomly-selected adults in the riding using interactive robocalls. It has a margin of error of plus or minus five per cent, 19 times out of 20.
The Toronto Centre poll conducted on Sept. 30 reached 597 randomly-selected adults in the riding using interactive robocalls. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four per cent, 19 times out of 20. |
The Internet can be an ugly place — one where the mere act of expressing an opinion can result in a barrage of name-calling, harassment and sometimes threats of violence.
Nearly half of U.S. Internet users say they have experienced such intimidation; a third say they have resisted posting something online out of fear, according to the nonprofit Data and Society Research Institute. Women, particularly young women and women of color, are disproportionately targeted.
Now Google is zeroing in on the problem. On Thursday, the company publicly released an artificial intelligence tool, called Perspective, that scans online content and rates how “toxic” it is based on ratings by thousands of people.
For example, you can feed an online comment board into Perspective and see the percentage of users that said it was toxic. The toxicity score can help people decide whether they want to participate in the conversation, said Jared Cohen, president of Jigsaw, the company’s think tank (previously called Google Ideas). Publishers of news sites can also use the tool to monitor their comment boards, he said.
People can also feed specific words and phrases into Perspective to check how they’ve been rated. A quick scan of some very ugly words yielded counterintuitive results: The n-word was rated as 82 percent toxic; c---, a term for women’s genitalia, was 77 percent toxic; k---, a derogatory word for a Jewish person, was 39 percent toxic; and c----, a slur for a Chinese person, was 32 percent toxic. If you add the phrase “you are a” to any of those words, the toxicity score goes up.
Cohen emphasized that Perspective was a work in progress and would only improve if people contributed to it.
Google’s troll-fighting efforts trail that of other tech companies and nonprofit groups. Earlier this month, Twitter — which has developed a reputation as a playground for abuse — launched new tools to cut on trolling. The company said it would begin retaining more user data as part of an effort to prevent people who have harassed other people from deleting their accounts and then reemerging under a new username. It also said it was tweaking its algorithms to flag certain tweets as “potentially abusive or low-quality.”
Hack Harassment, a group founded by Intel, Vox Media and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, is working to raise awareness. Other organizations, such as TrollBusters and Crash Override Network, are support groups for people who have experienced harassment online.
Last year, gaming entrepreneur Brianna Wu, along with Harvard professors, the International Women’s Media Foundation and the social-services agency Digital Sisters, sent a list of demands to technology companies for how they can clean up their services.
To build a model that can predict hate speech, Cohen said that the Jigsaw team had originally acquired a data set of 17 million reader comments from the New York Times. The company also mined the comment sections of Wikipedia and collected data from victims of online harassment who had kept a record of their experiences.
From there, the company hired several thousand people who rated the comments as toxic or not toxic, as well as whether they thought such comments were personal attacks. Jigsaw developed its toxicity scores based on the annotations. Because there was widespread disagreement on what constituted a personal attack, Cohen’s team ultimately decided not to use “personal attack” as a rating category.
It’s up to publishers to decide how to use the tool. Some may choose to show the scores to readers and use crowdsourcing methods that are similar to current systems where readers can flag offensive language to human moderators. Others may choose to use the data to clean up the language on their own sites.
Asked whether the site could result in censoring free speech, Cohen said that the software tool wasn’t intended to bypass human judgment, but to flag “low-hanging fruit” that could then be passed on to human moderators. |
An 11-year-old girl shot a cougar that was following her 14-year-old brother to their home at Twisp, in north central Washington, the state Fish and Wildlife Department said.
The female cougar killed last week was about 4 years old and weighed about 50 pounds — half of what it should weigh, said Officer Cal Treser.
“This cougar was very, very skinny,” he said.
It was the third cougar killed in a week in the area just outside Twisp, The Wenatchee World reported Tuesday.
The children’s father, Tom White, had chased the cougar away from their calves twice on Feb. 19. The next day his son went out to feed the dogs and was returning to a basement door when he spotted the cougar following him, Treser said.
“His dad was in there and said, ‘Close the door!’ and there was the cougar, right behind him,” Treser said.
His 11-year-old daughter had a tag to hunt cougars and shot the animal, he said.
So far this winter, Fish and Wildlife agents have tracked and killed five cougars for attacking domestic animals in the Twisp-Winthrop area. Five others in the Methow Valley have been killed by hunters.
The department issued five special permits allowing hunters to use dogs to track and kill cougars in response to an unusual number of cougar problems this winter. There may be more cougars than usual or they may be having trouble finding deer, their usual prey, agents said. |
A series of BYU connections in Hollywood yields extraordinary opportunity
Every Christmas season since 2006, The Killers have released a new single. In tune with the season of giving, the proceeds from sales go entirely to charity.
This year, Killers frontman Brandon Flowers went to personal friend, BYU alum and director of Napoleon Dynamite Jared Hess to produce a music video to go with the song. Hess pointed Flowers to BYU, suggesting students could create it.
Despite a window of just three weeks to plan, shoot and edit a live action animation video, BYU animation program director Kelly Loosli couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“With the high-profile nature of the project and the value that it would bring to students, plus the chance to participate in raising money for charity, we just couldn't pass this up,” Loosli said.
Loosli turned to his first-year animation students who had been in the program for less than a semester, and even some pre-major students, to work on the video. He couldn’t afford to pull junior and senior students away from other large group films, so it was the youngsters who found themselves with the chance to work on a music video for a platinum-record rock band.
“Working on a Killers music video was pretty surreal, especially because the opportunity came in my first semester,” said BYU animation student Josh Poulsen. “It was a lot of work, and we put in some crazy-late hours. It was the funnest and most enthusiastic group I’ve ever worked with, and the process was exhausting.”
The majority of man-hours for the production of the video took place in Provo. BYU media arts and animation students worked tirelessly on the postproduction. It was a meticulous process for the students to comb over video, transforming filmed elements into animated elements and transitioning within the video from live action to animation.
“Seeing the end product, it was really rewarding,” said BYU film student Cassie Hiatt. “When we were in the process, we thought it was something that was never going to end. It really took a lot of work and managing our time well. But now that it’s done, it’s awesome to look back at and think ‘Wow we did that.’”
Before the project got to the BYU campus, the actual filming took place in Los Angeles. The team had one day to shoot the video, and three hours with the lead character, Owen Wilson. Wilson’s involvement in the project came because of a relationship with Flowers.
Loosli needed to pull together a crew to shoot the video in LA quickly. He started by calling a few former students and some of his former classmates who are now working in the industry. Those calls immediately paid off and the crew came together quicker than expected, thanks to the BYU connections.
All of the BYU students, professors and alums donated their time on the project. Even the record label, iTunes, the band and the actors donated their time and resources, meaning 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of the single go to (RED), a charity founded by Bono which is supported by numerous musicians and works to fight against AIDS in Africa.
The cinematographer on the project was BYU alum Bengt Jonsson. A number of BYU faculty were involved: Mike Warner and Seth Holladay did visual effects; Cynthia Hogan was heavily involved in the animation; and Brent Adams, Tom Lefler and Kyle Stapley helped manage the project and resources. Key students involved in the project were Hiatt, Poulsen, Nick Dixon, Jordan Hunter, John Jackson and Stephanie Tse. |
Former Vice President Al Gore Albert (Al) Arnold GoreOvernight Energy: Trump ends talks with California on car emissions | Dems face tough vote on Green New Deal | Climate PAC backing Inslee in possible 2020 run New climate PAC will back Inslee for president Howard Schultz must run as a Democrat for chance in 2020 MORE is urging Americans concerned about climate change and considering a third-party presidential candidate to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' Former Sanders campaign spokesman: Clinton staff are 'biggest a--holes in American politics' MORE instead.
In an interview with ThinkProgress, Gore said he understands the “feelings and misgivings” of voters turned off by both Clinton and GOP nominee Donald 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.
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But he said voters who want to tackle climate change should vote for the former secretary of State, not Green Party candidate Jill Stein or anyone else.
“I particularly urge anyone who is concerned about the climate crisis, sees it as the kind of priority that I see it as, to look at the sharp contrast between the solar plan that Secretary Clinton has put forward, and her stated commitment to support the Clean Power Plan, and the contrast between what she has said and is proposing with the statements of the Republican nominee, which give me great concern,” Gore told ThinkProgress.
Clinton leads Trump in national polls, but her support dips when voters are asked about candidates like Stein and Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson Gary Earl JohnsonPotential GOP primary challenger: Trump's 'contempt for the American people' behind possible bid The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Kidney Care Partners — Trump escalates border fight with emergency declaration Former Mass. governor takes step toward Trump primary challenge MORE.
Gore, who saw his own presidential campaign hindered by the presence of a third-party candidate in 2000, said the “harsh reality is that we have two principal choices” for president.
“I respect those who analyze the situation differently, but in my experience it matters a lot,” he said.
Gore said he was voting for Clinton in a string of tweets before the Democratic National Convention last month, saying, “given her qualifications and experience — and given the significant challenges facing our nation and the world, including, especially, the global climate crisis, I encourage everyone else to do the same.”
He’s endorsed other candidates, including Patty Judge, the Democrat challenging Sen. Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyOvernight Health Care: Drug execs set for grilling | Washington state to sue over Trump rule targeting Planned Parenthood | Wyoming moves closer to Medicaid work requirements Senate reignites blue slip war over Trump court picks Lower refunds amplify calls to restore key tax deduction MORE (R-Iowa), but he’s yet to hit the campaign trail for Clinton or others. |
SOME of the people involved into today's search for missing Newport man Ben Caplan carried the search on to Caerleon today after combing the banks of the River Usk in Crickhowell.
The team walked back to Newport along the Usk from Caerleon.
One of the organisers of today's search Kat Foy, of voluntary organisation Missing Adults and Children in the UK said: “There’s been such an amazing response. I’ve not known an alert to have such a response. It’s really touched everybody.”
Meanwhile, the King’s Church organisation, Jesus Cares, have added their support to the appeal donating toys to Mr Caplans children as well as a food hamper to keep the family going over the Christmas period.
Ben is described as white, 5’9” tall, of a slight build with shoulder length straight brown hair. He has tattoos on both arms as well as his back and chest. He is originally from Glasgow and has a Scottish accent.
Anyone with information is urged to call Gwent Police on 101. |
ABOUT SUMMER CAMP MUSIC FESTIVAL
In an effort to reduce traffic and our carbon footprint, Summer Camp Music Festival and FestDrive are proud to offer bus service to and from the festival from Chicago.
We know that driving can be stressful and troublesome so leave that up to us; sit back, and relax on a shuttle to Summer Camp Music Festival!
PRICING AND SCHEDULE
Buses will run on Thursday, May 23rd with (1) convenient pick-up time at 1pm to get you to the festival. At 10am on Monday, May 27th all buses will depart their pick-up location at the festival to take you back to Chicago.
Chicago, IL – $42 One Way – $80 Round Trip
We will need to hit a 20 person minimum in order for the Chicago line to go LIVE, if it does NOT reach the minimum, we will issue full refunds 72 hours before the event.
PICK UP LOCATION
Patrons will be responsible for getting themselves to and from pick up location. You will be dropped off at the same location you were picked up at. Buses will have a designated shuttle drop-off/pick-up location within the venue lots and close proximity to the main entrance!
CHICAGO, IL – 570 W. Monroe St., NE Corner of Jefferson and Monroe, Chicago, IL 60661
SHUTTLE PASS PURCHASE CONFIRMATION
Once you purchase your shuttle pass, you will receive an order confirmation email from Eventbrite on behalf of FestDrive. Your bus pass e-ticket will be attached to your order confirmation email. This will be a check in system however, so all you need is ID for check-in. You can also use your mobile ticket at check in.
IMPORTANT: If you do not see your order confirmation in your inbox, make sure to check your junk/spam folder.
GETTING ON THE BUS
To board the shuttle bus, there will be a check-in system, so all you need is your valid photo ID for check-in. If someone else purchased your shuttle ticket for you, please have purchaser email [email protected] your name for check in.
All sales final. No refunds or exchanges. Buses operate rain or shine.
These buses are operated by FestDrive. FestDrive is 100% liable for buses to and from Summer Camp Music Festival
All Questions can be directed to [email protected]. Please reference “Summer Camp Music Festival” in the subject line or your e-mail may not be seen, we have several events going on.
BAGGAGE TRAVEL INFORMATION
Ticket allows you room for 1 carry on and 1 personal item plus 1 bag which will be placed under the bus in storage. Maximum size is 70 inches (length + width + height). Oversized items in excess of 70 inches but not more than 90 inches will be accepted for an oversize baggage fee of $25 per item*
CHARTER BUSES TO SUMMER CAMP MUSIC FESTIVAL
If you have a large group and are looking to charter an entire bus we can help as well. Please email [email protected] with the following information and we will be happy to provide you with detailed pricing:
– Group size
– Pickup date, time and location
– Any additional stops or information
– Preferred vehicle type |
A win for the Democrats in Congress next year will cause problems for the Donald Trump administration that may even result in the president resigning from his post, a political risk analyst has suggested.
"If the Democrats win in 2018 as far as the House of Representatives, they can then actually publish the tax returns of the president," John Raines, head of political risk at IHS Markit, told CNBC.
"So is there something in those tax returns that could actually cause damage to the president? All of a sudden he feels compelled to do something like resign."
If the Democrats gained a majority in Congress, they could take control of certain Congressional committees. Some of these committees have the power to request anyone's tax returns, including those belonging to the president. These committees could then share the returns with other members of the committee or make them public.
The president's tax returns have been a hot button political issue since the election campaign, when Trump became the first major presidential candidate since the 1970s not to release his tax returns. The president claimed he could not release them because he was under audit by the IRS. |
Middle school may have been a helluva lot easier if you had spent a little more time in the pool. New research out of Australia says that children who are taught to swim at an early age hit certain physical and developmental milestones faster than kids who learn later in life.
Over the span of three years, researchers surveyed the parents of more than 7,000 children age 5 and under and found that the age kids learned to swim correlated with when they began accomplishing certain skills.
In pre-school, early swimmers had better visual-motor skills (like cutting paper and drawing lines and shapes), but also fared better as they got older (i.e. understanding directions, math, and writing and reading skills).
Sharpen your memory, boost your creativity, and slay stress with
Turns out, some of what you learn in the classroom (or in your day-to-day experiences) is similar to what you learn in a pool, says lead study author Robyn Jorgensen, Ph.D., a professor and senior fellow at the Griffith Institute for Educational Research. There's a strong synergy between language and action with swimming that's essential for many cognitive and motor skills, she adds. Kids learn at an early age to hear language and make connections with their bodies (for example, counting to 10 while kicking).
And it doesn't take long to see the effects, either: When researchers observed swimming lessons, they found that the kids' eyes blinked in preparation for the ready cue -- "one, two, three, go! " -- a clear sign that young kids can understand language and react accordingly even if they can't communicate everything clearly.
Your move: Sign your kids up for lessons -- and keep 'em going. In Jorgensen's study, the earlier the child started and the longer they remained in the swimming lessons, the greater the gains, she says.
And it wouldn't hurt to jump in the pool yourself: Besides the added benefit of challenging yourself through switching up your workout, water is about 1,000 times denser than air, so a swim workout can be tougher on you. You'll burn almost the same amount of calories each minute as you would biking -- but you can kiss dodging traffic or worrying about your joints goodbye.
Build a body like Phelps and learn how to Swim Your Way to a 6-Pack. |
Here are five debate demands included in a draft letter to debate media sponsors. Leading Republican presidential campaigns and attorney Ben Ginsberg put the list together. No campaign has signed off on the draft so far. The Post's David Weigel and Robert Costa obtained the draft. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
Here are five debate demands included in a draft letter to debate media sponsors. Leading Republican presidential campaigns and attorney Ben Ginsberg put the list together. No campaign has signed off on the draft so far. The Post's David Weigel and Robert Costa obtained the draft. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
The format and content of upcoming Republican debates became increasingly uncertain on Monday after Donald Trump’s campaign said the real estate mogul would negotiate his terms directly with television executives instead of as part of a joint effort with his rivals.
The move by Trump, coming just hours after his and other campaigns huddled in a Washington suburb to craft a three-page letter of possible demands, thwarts an effort to find consensus after what most candidates agreed was a debacle hosted by CNBC last week.
As a celebrity billionaire who has been a leading factor in drawing record ratings, Trump has little interest in working to promote the wishes of his opponents, his allies said.
[GOP contenders demand greater control of crucial debates]
The maneuvering by Trump and the other Republican candidates was met with annoyance by network executives, who said they have little interest in altering a process they believe was settled months ago.
During the third GOP debate, candidates got feisty with the CNBC moderators. They took aim at the questions asked, at the "mainstream media" and at the moderators interrupting their answers. (Victoria M. Walker/The Washington Post)
“We agreed to this and now you’re saying you’re not agreeing?” said one executive who was granted anonymity in order to speak candidly.
“Do you want Ben Carson deciding who your moderators are? The answer is no,” said another. “Do you want Bobby Jindal’s campaign dictating how the debates will be run when Bobby Jindal may not even be in the race much longer?”
The consternation marked the latest turn in a debate process that has grown more problematic by the day. Officials with the Republican National Committee took control of the process for the 2016 presidential election after a long and eventful debate season that many in the party thought hurt its chances in 2012.
But the campaigns have been quietly irritated by the rigid process all year and broke into open revolt last week. The RNC responded by suspending NBC from hosting its Feb. 26 event, and it put a new staffer in charge of managing the debates.
RNC spokesman Sean Spicer, who had been overseeing the deliberations before being replaced last week, said he supports Trump and others as they negotiate directly with television executives. “These debates have always been about the candidates,” Spicer said. “The candidates will be and always should be determining the best format for them.”
All of the major commercial broadcast and cable news networks are scheduled to televise Republican debates through early March. The next debate, to be hosted by Fox Business Network on Nov. 10, is scheduled to go on as planned.
By negotiating on his own, Trump will aim to mold the debates to his liking, though it is unclear exactly what terms he will demand. One likely desire will be to limit the debates to two hours — following a three-hour CNN debate in September, Trump and Carson pushed CNBC to limit its forum to two hours.
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Politically, Trump’s go-it-alone approach continues his pattern of casting himself as a master negotiator and the one contender who can take charge of a party that has lost its way.
“I am very confident in Mr. Trump’s ability to negotiate the best deals with the networks, which will ultimately help all of the candidates in the race,” Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s campaign manager, said in an interview. “He’s the best negotiator in the field, by a wide margin, and we’ve seen that time and time again.”
After Trump’s decision, the campaigns of Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J) confirmed that they would not sign on to the group endeavor.
“Stop complaining,” Christie said Monday morning on “Fox & Friends.” “Set up a stage, put podiums up there, and let’s just go.”
In an interview, Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett played down Trump’s break from the pack and said it would not alter the course of the multi-candidate negotiations with the networks. Bennett said Carson’s campaign was reviewing the letter, which was drafted by longtime GOP attorney Ben Ginsberg, and would offer edits within 48 hours.
“If they want to send their own letter, that’s fine — a letter’s a letter,” Bennett said. “The Trump folks were clear about what they wanted, and the Carson campaign agrees with them 90 percent of the time. We’re getting opening and closing statements. We’re going to get some parity in questions. We’re going to actually get formats announced to the campaigns. Trump’s basically asking for the same thing — he’s just going to do it with his own letterhead.”
The draft letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post, included a series of questions for any network slated to host a debate. They incorporated concerns from the participating campaigns, warning moderators against belittling the candidates by holding “lightning rounds” or describing “how far away the bathrooms are” after commercial breaks, should candidates leave the stage. They even included a suggested room temperature — 67 degrees.
The only disagreement during Sunday’s meeting between the Trump and Carson camps, as Bennett saw it, was that Trump opposed letting more candidates on the main stage. “They don’t want more people onstage, because they think that would mean more people taking shots at him,” Bennett said. “I’d argue that putting more people onstage actually helps Trump the most, as everyone’s going to want to divide the time evenly.”
While two of Trump’s senior aides — Lewandowski and counselor Donald F. McGahn — attended the Sunday gathering, they were far from ready to sign the letter, and they left unconvinced that a cooperative push on the debates would be helpful to protecting Trump’s front-runner status or providing him with the most possible airtime, according to attendees.
“It is what it is,” said Matt Beynon, a spokesman for former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) who represented his campaign at the meeting, held in Virginia at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town hotel. “We would argue that there was a lot of common ground in that room. I had very low expectations, walking in there, that much progress would be made. . . . Mr. Trump is taking the course of action that looks best for him.”
Most Republican aides who came to Sunday’s conclave were not especially hopeful about finding consensus. Ginsberg, who oversaw the two-hour conversation, also made clear in his remarks to the group that his goal was to give them advice about how to deal with the networks, not necessarily urge them to work together.
Mark Levin, a talk-radio host and author suggested by some Republicans as a possible moderator, told Breitbart News on Monday that the RNC had lost control of the debates. “Reince Priebus should be fired or should resign,” Levin said of the RNC’s chairman.
Commentator Glenn Beck, who left Fox News to build a conservative media empire, released a public letter to Priebus recommending a perfect debate host: himself.
“Rather than being moderated by journalists who ask all the questions, I will host, and I will invite the greatest new conservative thinkers and media voices in America to prepare and ask questions live and by video,” Beck wrote.
“I’m with @glennbeck,” tweeted former Silicon Valley executive Carly Fiorina, the lone Republican candidate who did not send a representative to Sunday’s meeting. “What do you say, @Reince? Let’s have a conservative network host a debate!” |
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In the more than 125 years since he first appeared, Sherlock Holmes has popped up everywhere from fan fiction set in outer space to screen adaptations like CBS’s “Elementary,” set in contemporary Manhattan. But now, following a legal ruling, the deerstalker-wearing detective is headed to another destination: the public domain.
A federal judge has issued a declarative judgment stating that Holmes, Watson, 221B Baker Street, the dastardly Professor Moriarty and other elements included in the 50 Holmes works that Arthur Conan Doyle published before Jan. 1, 1923, are no longer covered by United States copyright law, and can therefore be freely used by others without paying any licensing fee to the writer’s estate.
The ruling came in response to a civil complaint filed in February by Leslie S. Klinger, the editor of the three-volume, nearly 3,000-page “New Annotated Sherlock Holmes” and a number of other Holmes-related books. The complaint stemmed from “In the Company of Sherlock Holmes,” a collection of new Holmes stories written by different authors and edited by Mr. Klinger and Laurie R. King, herself the author of a mystery series featuring Mary Russell, Holmes’s wife.
Mr. Klinger and Ms. King had paid a $5,000 licensing fee for a previous Holmes-inspired collection. But in the complaint, Mr. Klinger said that the publisher of “In the Company of Sherlock Holmes,” Pegasus Books, had declined to go forward after receiving a letter from the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd., a business entity organized in Britain, suggesting that the estate would prevent the new book from being sold by Amazon, Barnes & Noble and “similar retailers” unless it received another fee.
Chief Judge Rubén Castillo of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, stated that elements introduced in Holmes stories published after 1923 — such as the fact that Watson played rugby for Blackheath, or had a second wife — remain under copyright in the United States. (All of the Holmes stories are already in the public domain in Britain.)
But the judge rejected what he called the estate’s “novel legal argument” that the characters remain under copyright because, it claimed, they were not truly completed until Conan Doyle published his last Holmes story in 1927.
“Klinger and the public may use the pre-1923 story elements without seeking a license,” the judge wrote.
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The decision comes at a moment when Holmes is a newly lucrative commercial property, thanks to the show “Elementary,” the BBC series “Sherlock” (which is shown in the United States as part of PBS’s “Masterpiece”) and the Warner Bros. movie franchise; all three have entered into licensing agreements with the estate.
The BBC declined to comment on the effect of the decision on its agreement for “Sherlock,” whose third season begins on PBS on Jan. 19. Warner Bros. had no comment on the ruling. A CBS spokesman said, “The decision will not affect CBS’s production or distribution of ‘Elementary.’ ”
Benjamin W. Allison, a lawyer for the Conan Doyle Estate, said that it was exploring an appeal but asserted that the ruling did not imperil any existing licensing agreements or the estate’s separate claims under trademark law.
Mr. Allison also reiterated the estate’s argument that the “highly delineated” Holmes and Watson characters depend on elements introduced in the post-1923 stories, which remain protected, and which he said went beyond simple matters like Watson’s athletic career.
“Those stories are set at a variety of points in Sherlock’s fictional life, not just the end of his life,” he said. “They develop the two men’s characters in ways that almost any use of the characters depends on.”
Mr. Klinger said he planned to go ahead with “In the Company of Sherlock Holmes,” which he said carefully avoided any post-1923 elements. And he praised the ruling for opening the way for other creators, many of whom had previously paid fees to the estate but had rallied to Mr. Klinger’s cause under the Twitter hashtag #FreeSherlock.
“Sherlock Holmes belongs to the world, and this ruling clearly establishes that,” he said. “People want to celebrate Holmes and Watson, and now they can do that without fear.” |
From the eerie beauty of Suramar, to the verdant lands of Val’sharah, and the rocky heights of Stormheim—the Broken Isles are a rich landscape filled with mystery. And demons. (We’re dealing with that.) As you journey through the land and repel the Burning Legion, you may have missed a couple of noteworthy spots.
From precarious pathways to isolated islands, we’ll tell you how to get to some of the hardest-to-find places in Legion and unlock the Broken Isles Explorer achievement—bringing you one step closer to earning Broken Isles Pathfinder, Part One. Good luck, explorer!
If you use an addon or macros, check below for the coordinates—along with the names—of places you need to discover.
Highmountain: Ironhorn Enclave
Why is it tricky? The route takes you up mountain pathways that lead to the summit. The path isn’t always clear and, in some places, gets very steep. Make sure you have a sturdy mount and a warm coat. (Spoiler: snow.)
Start at Thunder Totem, take the path north, and keep going up the hill. At the top of the hill take a sharp right, avoiding the mobs ahead of you, and keep to the right of the river. On your left you’ll see a wooden bridge you'll use to cross the river. Once across, keep to the right and follow the path up the hill. The path takes you under strings of flags and twists left and right through the snow. It’s very steep and narrow in certain spots. Up, up, up you go until you reach a building and a distinctly unsafe-looking wooden bridge across a gaping chasm. Bravely—and carefully—cross the bridge. Once across, head slightly down the hill to your left. You’ll eventually reach a sharp right that takes you down a rocky path leading straight into a small dwelling. Make a left across the water and take the path upwards on the other side and there, as you arrive—out of breath and cold—is your flight path. Click that green exclamation point enjoy that nice, easy flight back down. Congratulations! You have discovered Ironhorn Enclave. *shiver*
Highmountain: Trueshot Lodge
Why is it tricky? It’s the Class Order Hall for Hunters, so if you’re not a Hunter you will be teleported out just a few seconds after discovering the area. Hunters like their privacy, apparently.
The easiest way to find it is from the Nesingwary flight path. Turn left up the hill and keep going up and left past the Pinerock Stalkers and Soothoof Hillstriders. You’ll see a cave entrance ahead of you, head to the right of that and keep climbing. You’ll spot a river on your left. Cross the river and join the path that heads up the hill and into Trueshot Lodge. Non-Hunters will be teleported back to the Nesingwary flight path, but congratulations! You have discovered where Hunters go to be alone... together.
Stormheim: Watchman’s Rock
Why is it tricky? It’s an island, so you’re going to have to swim. It’s also surrounded by high mountains. No biggie.
Start at the Stormtorn Foothills flight path and head east to the top of the cliffs, heading through Storm’s Reach and bearing left once you’re through. As you head to the very eastern point of the cliffs you will see a steep, narrow path that leads down to the shore. You should see a school of young sharks (non-aggressive and not hungry, thankfully). Either swim or call up your water mount to head out to the right side of the island and you’ll discover Watchman’s Rock. Congratulations! You have discovered a small island. Did you bring a flag
Stormheim: Shield’s Rest
Why is it tricky? Not everyone likes to swim (see above).
Swim out from Watchman’s Rock to the east coast of Shield’s Rest. The flight path is right on the shore. If you want to explore the island while you’re there, you can use your grappling hook to get around the elite mobs. Shield's Rest is not for the fiaint of heart or the untested—a World Boss is known to hang out here, too. Congratulations! You’ve discovered how to fly to somewhere really, really dangerous!
Val’sharah: Mistvale
Why is it tricky? It’s tucked away up narrow paths in the northwestern section of Val’sharah.
Starting from Starsong Refuge, take the path to the right heading north-west. Just before the arch take a right up the hill. You’ll pass through Ashamane’s Gate. Keep going straight and you’ll be in Mistvale. Congratulations! You’ve discovered a place that really isn’t all that hard to find. But only when you know how.
You missed a spot!
Did we catch all the hardest places to find? If not, let us know in the comments below and we will update the post to help as many people as we can. For more information on how to get around, see Varenne's excellent guide on Wowhead. |
Michael696 ,
After Updating, Purchased Levels Gone
After updating to 1.9.3 from 1.9.2, only the Official Easy level pack was present, instead of five Official packs and many more packs I had downloaded. Clicking the Restore Purchases button in the app's Settings told me purchases had been restored, but no levels were added. Plus there was an ad at the top of the level selection screen which I would hope is only displayed to users with the initial free version. I also did not see any way to purchase the IAP (that I already have bought). I deleted 1.9.3 and reinstalled 1.9.2 which I had saved outside iTunes on my computer, and all the level packs were available as before. Seems like a major bug in this release. |
Mozilla has issued the latest update to their Firefox browser, and unlike most recent releases this one packs some very significant changes.
For starters, Firefox 29 looks totally different.
The ‘Australis‘ interface that has been in development for what feels like a century finally rolls out across the desktop iterations of the browser, including on Linux.
While it bears more than a passing resemblance to Google Chrome (a comparison invited by its use of curved tabs and ‘hamburger’ menu) the redesign has not been introduced without reason. Mozilla say that the overhaul will “help you get things done, faster” while giving over more space to web content.
Elsewhere
Shiny new look aside, there are several other notable changes saddling up in Firefox 29.
The arrival of Firefox Accounts offers up an improved way to set up and sync bookmarks, settings, etc. between devices with secure end-to-end encryption.
The usual bunch of under the hood maintenance tweaks add a bit more pep to the Fox’s step. Keeping pace with Chrome a new Gamepad API has been enabled for web developers to toy around with.
An interactive drag-and-drop customisation mode lets you adjust the layout of the toolbar and new hamburger menu to suit your needs.
Other changes and new APIs for web developers can be found in the friendly release notes.
Install Firefox 29 in Ubuntu
Ubuntu users will find a (marginally modified) build shuffling down the update pipes on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and up (excluding 13.04 which is no longer supported) from later today. This build maintains support for the Unity Global Menu.
In the meantime, the super impatient can grab a tarball of the latest release from the official Firefox website
Download Mozilla Firefox for Linux |
Starlite was 16 when she was shackled and penned in a holding cell behind an Edmonton courtroom, where she stared at the man who had sexually assaulted her at knifepoint.
Susan, a drug addict and street prostitute, was eight months pregnant when she was forced to spend the night in the remand centre before testifying against the man accused of sexually assaulting and robbing her.
The treatment the two victims received at the hands of the Alberta justice system comes to light two months after CBC News reported a similar case that led to a provincial review.
The two new cases suggest a troubling pattern in the way the courts treat victims in such cases, says one of Edmonton's top criminal defence lawyers.
"I have seen a number of cases that have been disturbing in terms of how some of the witnesses are treated," said Brian Beresh, who pointed out that Starlite and Susan were both marginalized victims, unlikely to have access to legal advice, family or community support.
Brian Beresh, one of Edmonton's top criminal defence lawyers, says it appears that the Crown is more concerned with getting a conviction than with the well-being of the victims. (CBC)
"Particularly in terms of their rights, particularly in terms of their liberty. What appears to be first at issue is getting a conviction. I think that when that drives the process, it can result in great unfairness to individuals."
Both victims' names are protected by publication bans.
After reviewing the files, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley issued a brief written statement to CBC News.
"While pursuing justice, we must ensure that victims of crime are treated with dignity, compassion and respect," the statement said. "We have asked a special committee to look into policies and procedures around ensuring that victims are supported and respected through the justice system. I am asking that committee to take these cases into consideration."
That special committee was assigned in early June to review policies and procedures after CBC News revealed the court's treatment of sex assault victim Angela Cardinal.
The three cases highlight a gap in the justice system, said Deb Tomlinson, a member of the committee who is also CEO of the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services.
"There is no legal counsel there to speak on behalf of the rights and the wishes of the victim," she said. "I think that's our challenge, and certainly where the problems occur."
'Halfway through, I just stopped fighting'
On a mild Saturday night in May 2011, Starlite and her group-home girlfriend decided to go drinking. A man drove them to an apartment rented by Ali Hassan Saeed.
Starlite was drunk after downing 10 shots of vodka from a "sparkly shot glass" over two hours. She fell asleep in one of the bedrooms. When she woke up, her friend and driver were gone.
She said Saeed tried to block her from leaving the apartment, but she managed to get outside.
Starlite was sexually assaulted on the lawn outside this northeast Edmonton apartment complex. (CBC)
"He pushed me to the ground and we started rolling around," she said in an interview with CBC News. "He started to hit me and ripped my clothes off. I got him one good shot to the side of his face with my heel, and that got him more angry."
Eventually, Starlite gave up.
"I started crying. And halfway through, I just stopped fighting," she said. "Let him do what he had to do."
She was initially reluctant to report what had happened, but a police officer eventually convinced her to go to a medicentre for a rape kit. Hassan was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault.
'He had sex with me without my permission'
First scheduled to testify in December 2012, Starlite was arrested the night before for allegedly breaching a court order. According to facility records, she spent two nights in custody at the Edmonton Young Offender Centre, and then was released without testifying.
When Saeed's trial resumed in January 2013, Starlite was again arrested on the eve of her testimony, again for the same reason. Her testimony spanned two days, but she spent a total of six nights in custody at the young offender facility.
"He had sex with me without my permission," she testified during the trial. "I just wanted to pretend it didn't happen."
Later, after she spent time near her attacker in the courthouse holding cells, Starlite decided she did not want Saeed to be convicted.
"I'm in custody, he's in custody," she explained to the court. "I don't want to go through with this, and I don't want to charge him. Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance. I've thought about it all last night. I didn't even sleep."
The recent cases brought to light by CBC News highlight problems in the Alberta justice system, says Deb Tomlinson, a member of the committee assigned in June to review policies and procedures. (CBC)
Tomlinson said placing Starlite in the same cell block with her attacker was wrong.
"We have to ensure that does not happen," Tomlinson said. "I think we need to put policies and protocols in place that witnesses who are victims, and in particular vulnerable victims, are not placed in proximity to the alleged offender."
Ultimately, Justice Doreen Sulyma convicted Saeed of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced him to five years in prison.
Sulyma also took note of Starlite's apparent change of heart.
"I am of the view that her empathy for this accused as a fellow in cells, my words, very much drove her position on cross-examination."
Starlite returned to court in February 2013 to deliver her victim impact statement.
"Due to the effects from the rape, I had very low self-esteem," she told court, according to the transcript. "I felt sad, angry, worthless and upset. I felt lost and confused. I felt hopeless and anxious that it'll happen again. I feel embarrassed, vulnerable, violated and alone."
8 months pregnant, victim was jailed
Ryan James White was charged with attacking three street prostitutes between December 2010 and December 2011.
Susan was one of them.
The 24-year old street prostitute was supposed to testify at White's trial in September 2015. When she failed to show up, the judge issued a warrant for her arrest.
She was nearly eight months pregnant when police went to her home and took her into custody just before midnight.
Susan, who did not respond to requests for an interview, was not forced to share a cell block with her accused attacker, because he was free on bail.
She told the court she got "zero" sleep at the Edmonton Remand Centre. "I didn't show up last week, because I woke up and I couldn't walk," she testified. "I think the baby's getting on a nerve or something, because my legs just don't work some days."
'He grabbed my throat'
During the trial, she testified about two encounters with White. Both times she said she performed oral sex on him, then gave his money back.
Ryan White was sentenced to 10 years in prison for robbing and sexually assaulting street prostitutes. (Postmedia)
During the second encounter, she said: "He grabbed my throat. He wanted his money. I got out of the vehicle and walked."
She was asked: "Why did you give him his money back?"
"Because," she said, "he had his big, ugly hand around my throat."
Beresh, who was White's defence lawyer, said he was alarmed by the way Susan was treated by the court.
"I was surprised," he said, "because I was led to believe that this person could not be found and would likely not be called. Then all of a sudden, we learned that she's been arrested, conveniently the night before she's to be in court. I'm lost as to why she would be arrested the night before. Except for the convenience of the prosecution, as opposed to the morning of court.
"It seemed like no one took her personal interests into account at all."
White was later convicted of robbing Susan and of sexually assaulting two other street prostitutes.
He and Saeed were both prosecuted by then Crown prosecutor Avril Inglis, who was appointed a Court of Queen's Bench justice in June 2016.
Inglis declined CBC's request for an interview.
Starlite recently told CBC News her life spiralled out of control after she testified. She began using methamphetamine and experimented with injection drugs.
"I started going into escorting," she said. "I'm an addict. Homeless, right now."
The 21-year-old is currently on a waiting list for a drug rehab bed. |
Abdullah will contend with Theo Riddick to replace Reggie Bush, but his track record suggests he can do just that.
I thought I was going crazy last year. Ameer Abdullah had me hearing things.
When I watched him play, due to his ability to churn out big-plays at the drop of a hat, I kept hearing bad rap music playing in my head -- forgetting that the game I was watching was live and not just some YouTube highlight footage. And when I watched his games and focused on the defenders I kept hearing the Benny Hill theme music as defenders whiffed, broke ankles, and just looked utterly foolish trying to track him down.
Now, little 5"9", 205-pound Ameer Abdullah has me seeing things: visions of a modern day Barry Sanders running all over the NFC North. Of course, obviously, I lost my good senses following the Lions' pick of Abdullah at 54th overall, but there's good reason to be hyped. While I'm sure he won't be the next Barry Sanders (who could?), Ameer Abdullah at least has the resume to suggest he'll be a compelling potential replacement for the now 49er, Reggie Bush.
Abdullah in College
Abdullah had one of the best seasons in college football last year, rushing for 1,611 yards on 264 carries and 19 touchdowns as well as netting 22 receptions for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air. Still, this was only slightly more impressive than his junior year, when he put up 1,690 yards on 281 carries for 9 touchdowns on the ground and caught 26 passes for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He ranks 45th all-time in college football rushing yardage and finished among the Big-10 all-time leaders at 17th in rushing attempts, ninth in rushing yards, and second in kick return yardage.
Abdullah at the Combine
Though he disappointed some scouts with a 4.6-second forty yard dash at the combine, he dominated in every other category. He ranked 12th in the forty yard dash and seventh in bench press but finished first in the vertical leap, broad jump, 3-cone drill, and short shuttle. He also had the highest SPARQ score out of the entire running back class.
The numbers he put on display at the combine seem to be backed up in the box score as well. While his longest run of the year was only 57 yards (ranked 158th) he averaged a whopping 6.1 yards per carry over the last two years. This suggests that, while he might not have a high top-end speed, he's still able to power through defenders and use his agility to maneuver past them.
Abdullah in the NFL
The Lions should also look to make a concerted effort to target Abdullah in the passing game as well. He has great hands (he went the last two seasons without a single drop) and has been highly lauded for his route-running capabilities.
Even though many scouts had him ranked as a first-round talent, he's not without his flaws. While I did just say he has great hands, that's not really the case when the ball is already in his hands; he averaged a fumble once every 35.4 touches -- far worse than any back who went before him. He's a bit undersized and could struggle initially as a blocker or in a workhorse capacity if he fails to put more weight on his frame.
Abdullah with the Lions
The move makes sense for the Lions, who just lost Reggie Bush to the San Francisco 49ers and have not been efficient on the ground in recent years. According to our Net Expected Points (NEP) metric, the Lions lost 0.03 points per run play when adjusted for schedule and compared to league average. In 2013, their Adjusted Rushing NEP per play (-0.04) ranked 23rd.
Abdullah should compete this summer with Theo Riddick for Reggie Bush's vacant role while still being an immediate contributor in the return game. If he can bulk up, improve as a pass-blocker, and limit his fumbles, then he could even work towards stealing more carries away from Joique Bell.
Over the past three years, Detroit running backs as a whole averaged 410 rushing attempts and 100 receptions per year, so Abdullah should have plenty of opportunities to prove himself next year. So, can we expect some Reggie Bush-like numbers from him in 2015? It remains to be seen, but for a back with his talent and skillset, he appears to be in an ideal location. |
A general view is seen of the prosthetic leg belonging to Urs Kolly of Switzerland as he prepares to race in the 400m of the men's pentathlon P44 Athletics event at the National Stadium during day five of the 2008 Paralympic Games on September 11, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Aimee Mullins of the USA competing in the 100m race during the Paralympics at Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 21, 1996. (Photo by Phil Cole/AllSport)
Amy Purdy swaps her prosthetic legs as she prepares for a training session on December 16, 2013 in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Purdy is a a member of the US Paralymic Snowboard Team and co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Amy Purdy prepares to swap her prosthetic legs for a training session on December 16, 2013 in Copper Mountain, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Dr. Hugh Herr holds a prosthesis outside his office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wednesday, December 19, 2002, in Cambridge, Mass. Twenty years ago, Herr and his friend, Jeffrey Batzer, were rescued after an ice climbing accident on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Both men suffered severe frostbite, with Herr losing his legs six inches below the knees. Now Herr teaches an anatomy class at Harvard Medical School, has developed improved prostheses for knees andfeet, and has seven patents. (Photo by Elise Amendola/AP Photo)
In this photo provided by TED 2014 Conference, dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, left, performs on stage with dancer Christian Lightner at the 2014 TED Conference, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 19, 2014. Haslet-Davis took to the stage with a new prosthetic limb to perform for the first time since losing part of her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. (Photo by James Duncan Davidson/AP Photo/TED 2014 Conference)
Professor Hugh Herr, who heads the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab, stands amid mannequins displaying various bionic limbs his lab has developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts April 4, 2014. The homemade bombs that ripped through the crowd at the finish line of last year's Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring 264, showcased the city's medical talent but also taught valuable lessons in responding to a mass disaster. As victims slowly adjust to life without limbs, a ballroom dance instructor's story inspired the Massachusetts Institute of Technology biophysicist who is a double amputee to return her to the dance floor with a specially designed bionic leg. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Bob Radocy of TRS Inc. holds a basketball with a prosthetic hand designed for the sport at a gym in Boulder, Colorado August 21, 2009. Radocy designs and builds prosthetic attachments that allow amputee athletes to participate in multiple sports. (Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters)
Bob Radocy of TRS Inc. swings a golf club with a golf hand replacement at his home in Boulder, Colorado August 20, 2009. Radocy designs and builds prosthetic attachments that allow amputee athletes to participate in multiple sports. The golf hand stores energy on the backswing improving power through the downstroke. (Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters)
“This is a shot I have envisioned in my head for a while, and only possible to shoot today with the invention of the GoPro. Shot at a beach break near my home. The board broke on this wave, but the vision made it worthwhile. Shot with the GoPro Hero 3+ and a Gripstick Pro Mount”. (Photo and caption by Mike Coots)
“Top turn shot with the Hero 3+. This Merrick is a magic board given to me by Bethany Hamilton. GoPro made me this neat surf handle that works well. A bit akward to paddle with it in your mouth though as it feels like I am getting waterboarded”. (Photo and caption by Mike Coots)
Just this July, Mike Coots tried out a new foot designed especially for balancing by Ossur. He took this photo on his first day out with it, and it “felt really good!” he told. (Photo by Mike Coots)
Whether swimming, running, surfing, or dancing, the new bionics are making one thing inspiringly clear. “Nature is driving design – design is also driving nature”. (Photo and caption by Mike Coots)
Other aquatic athletes trade in their feet for fins. (Photo by NADF) |
biodiverseed answered:
I once saw a post by a gardener who did a lot of reforestation on a large acreage using hardwood cuttings of conifers: the process was basically taking hundreds of semi-hardwood cuttings and sealing them in tub containing a sterile potting medium for six months or more.
Apparently this was very successful.
I have planted a number of larger hardwood cuttings from conifers directly out in the garden: I tend to take a lot because the failure rate is quite high.
Cuttings are convenient in some respects, but when I can, I plant seeds preferentially: there is some safety in genetic diversity between plants. I have a number of tutorials for collection and planting conifer seed archived.
Cloning happens in nature as well though, so it definitely has a place. Hardwood cuttings are difficult, but not impossible to accomplish. Get yourself some rooting hormone and give it a go. |
Today’s the day! FIGMENT #1 arrives in comic shops around the world.
It’s my first Disney writing project, first Marvel comic, and a big step forward in my writing career. Everyone on the team has worked incredibly hard to create a whimsical and enjoyable story for readers young and old in the style of classic fairytale stories like The Wizard of Oz or modern graphic novel adventures like Amulet.
Filipe Andrade and Jean-Francois Beaulieu have pulled out all the stops on artwork for the series, taking my script and breathing incredible vibrant life into it. The people and places are energetic, atmospheric, and wondrous.
John Tyler Christopher‘s eye-catching cover set the tone right off the bat for our story and I can’t wait for people to see the rest of the illustrations he’s done for the other chapters.
Joe Caramagna‘s lettering really puts the button on the storytelling with great flow from panel to panel and perfectly chosen sound effects to enrich the art.
Jim Clark, Brian Crosby, Josh Shipley, and the rest of the Disney Imagineering team have been incredibly supportive, helping me bring new ideas and characters to Dreamfinder’s legacy while ensuring that the story fit in well with the classic Disney World attraction.
Bill Rosemann and Mark Basso at Marvel brought me on board and have shepherded the series through each stage of development with enthusiasm and excitement. Their comic expertise and advice helped refine my core ideas into something special.
It’s a real team effort and I’m proud to be a part of it. I really do hope you give the first issue a read and let me know what you think of it.
Thanks!
Find your local comic shop to buy a printed copy: http://comicshoplocator.com
Buy Figment #1 digitally on comiXology here: http://www.comixology.com/Figment-1-of-5/digital-comic/102647 |
Britain has acted to increase pressure on Israel over its West Bank settlements by advising UK supermarkets on how to distinguish between foods from the settlements and Palestinian-manufactured goods.
The government's move falls short of a legal requirement but is bound to increase the prospects of a consumer boycott of products from those territories. Israeli officials and settler leaders were tonight highly critical of the decision.
Until now, food has been simply labelled "Produce of the West Bank", but the new, voluntary guidance issued by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), says labels could give more precise information, like "Israeli settlement produce" or "Palestinian produce".
Nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which were conquered in the 1967 war. The British government and the EU have repeatedly said Israel's settlement project is an "obstacle to peace" in the Middle East.
EU law already requires a distinction to be made between goods originating in Israel and those from the occupied territories, though pro-Palestinian campaigners say this is not always observed.
Separately, Defra said that traders would be committing an offence if they did declare produce from the occupied territories as "Produce of Israel".
Foods grown in Israeli settlements include herbs sold in supermarkets, such as Waitrose, which chop, package and label them as "West Bank" produce, making no distinction between Israelis and Palestinians. A total of 27 Israeli firms operating in settlements and exporting to the UK have been identified: their produce includes fruit, vegetables, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastic and metal items and textiles.
Other retailers selling their products include Tesco, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, John Lewis and B&Q.
Goods from inside Israel's 1967 borders are entitled to a preferential rate of import duty under an agreement with the EU. Palestinian goods from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem also enjoy duty-free or reduced-tariff treatment. Settlement products fall outside these two categories.
"This is emphatically not about calling for a boycott of Israel," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "We believe that would do nothing to advance the peace process. We oppose any such boycott of Israel. We believe consumers should be able to choose for themselves what produce they buy. We have been very clear both in public and in private that settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace."
The TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, welcomed the public clarification that marking produce from illegal settlements on occupied territory as "produce of Israel" was illegal, but said the government should have gone further.
Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's chief executive, said: "We support the right of consumers to know the origin of the products they purchase. Trade with Israeli settlements – which are illegal under international law – contributes to their economic viability and serves to legitimise them. It is also clear from our development work in West Bank communities that settlements have led to the denial of rights and create poverty for many Palestinians."
Dani Dayan, the Argentinian-born leader of the Yesha Council, which represents Israeli settlers, said the decision was the "latest hostile step" from Britain. "Products from our communities in Judea and Samaria should be treated as any other Israeli product," he said, using an Israeli term for the West Bank.
Israeli officials said they feared this was a slide towards a broader boycott of Israeli goods. Yigal Palmor, Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, said his country's produce was being unfairly singled out.
"It looks like it is catering to the demands of those whose ultimate goal is the boycott of Israeli products," he said. "The message here will very likely be used by pro-boycott campaigners. It is a matter of concern."
He said the issue of different European customs tariffs should not extend to different labelling on supermarket shelves. "It is a totally different thing and not required by the EU."
Israel came under intense US pressure early this year to halt construction in settlements, but has only adopted a temporary, partial freeze. Palestinian leaders say they will not restart peace negotiations until there is a full settlement freeze in line with the US road map of 2003.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign said it welcomed the new guidance but urged Defra to go further: "The government must seek prosecutions of companies which smuggle settlement goods in under false labels.
"We have received many calls from people who were distressed when they bought goods labelled 'Produce of the West Bank' because they thought they were aiding the Palestinian economy, then realised they were economically aiding Israel's illegal occupation.
"Particularly following Israel's massacre in Gaza, consumers have been shocked at Israel's war crimes and want to take action. They do not want to feel complicit in Israel's occupation by buying stolen goods."
'Customers will now have honest information'
The most recent government figures suggest only about £800,000 of food products, about three-quarters of it olive oil (below right), was imported from occupied Palestinian territories in the three years between 2006 and 2008.
Sainsbury's, which sells dates and small amounts of basil and tarragon, welcomed "the greater clarity on how to label produce from occupied territories".
"This allows us to fulfil our commitment of providing customers with clear and honest information about the origins of their food," the supermarket chain said."We have full traceability back to settlement and/or grower."
Waitrose also said it would be following the guidance on the small number of West Bank lines it sold. "We source a small selection of herbs from the West Bank area, grown on two Israeli-managed farms, on which a Palestinian and Israeli workforce have worked side by side for many years," said a spokesman.
"We are not motivated by politics. Instead our policy is to ensure high standards of farming and worker welfare on the farms from which we source. Our buyers … have visited the two farms in the West Bank to ensure that worker welfare meets the high standards that we insist on. As part of our normal sourcing policy we will be carrying out an audit on these farms in the next six months."
This year the Co-op began selling Fairtrade olive oil from the West Bank – a move hailed by Gordon Brown, who said it meant British shoppers could help Palestinian farmers make a living.
Toby Quantrill, head of public policy for the Fairtrade Foundation, said farmers in Palestine faced barriers to trade which jeopardised opportunities to trade internationally on equal terms with people making similar products. James Meikle
This article originally contained comments wrongly attributed to Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's chief executive. This has been corrected. |
Fred Prouser / REUTERS, Barbara Kraft
Oracle founder Larry Ellison is no stranger to the real estate market — he's been called "the nation's most avid trophy-home buyer" and has all but taken over entire neighborhoods in Malibu and the Lake Tahoe area.
When asked by CNBC in 2012 why he would buy more homes than he could possibly live in, Ellison referenced his love of art.
"I'm going to start these art museums that are basically converted homes, and I have one for modern art, and I have one for 19th-century European art, and one for French impressionism," Ellison said to CNBC. "I've got Japanese. I own a home in Kyoto, Japan actually on the temple grounds in Nanzenji that is going to become a Japanese art museum. So, a lot of them are museums."
Though his 2012 purchase of the Hawaiian island of Lanai has been his largest overall investment by far, he's made a number of blockbuster purchases over the last two decades. |
ISTANBUL – The explosion that killed three of Bashar Assad's inner circle Wednesday eliminated the Syrian president's top security team and, along with fighting in the capital, may indicate the regime is crumbling, Syria analysts say.
"I think it could prove a decisive event," said Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center. "In the last couple of weeks, there have been dramatic events that have indicated a meltdown. Most significant has been the fighting in Damascus, which demonstrates a massive loss of control by the regime."
Fighting in the capital has intensified over the past four days as rebels from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) clash with regime forces. Salem said the nature of the bomb attack suggests Assad's opponents may have informers close to the regime.
"It implies cooperation or even infiltration," Salem said.
Sami Ibrahim, an activist with the Syrian Network for Human Rights in Damascus, said the attack has given a major boost to the rebellion, which has been hammered by Syrian forces in an uprising that has left 17,000 people dead in 17 months.
"There is a feeling of great happiness," he said. "Those people who died (in the bombing) were killers of the Syrian population for more than 1½ years."
Syrian SANA TV reported that the blast at the National Security building killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha; Assad's brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, who was a close confidant of the dictator; and Interior Minister Hassan Turkmani. Assad's location was unknown.
Shawkat oversaw the 30-year Syrian military occupation in Lebanon. Rajha, an artillery specialist, was the highest-ranking Christian in the mostly Alawite-Muslim regime. Turkmani headed the regime's response to the uprising and was accused by the Free Syrian Army of issuing orders to torture anti-Assad activists and fighters.
"The death of these key regime figures is a severe blow to the Syrian regime since this particular crisis unit led the repressive operations against the rebellion," said Col. Aref Hamoud of the Free Syrian Army, speaking from Turkey.
Both the Free Syrian Army, a rebel force made up of deserters and regime opponents, and Liwa Al-Islam, an Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the explosion. The FSA claimed its compatriots planted the bomb in the security briefing room.
Danielle Pletka, Middle East expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said developments show Assad "can't last."
"We've not seen any fighting in Damascus all this time, and now we see fierce fighting in Damascus," she said. "If that's the best the Syrian military can do and they have to move troops on the Israeli border to protect Damascus, it's the beginning of the end."
Despite the sense of victory after the attack, there is fear among the opposition over how the regime will react.
"I think it's going to lash out … much more shelling, much more use of combat aircraft, use of chemical weapons," said Andrew Tabler, senior fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute.
Tabler said the regime appears to have less of a hold over Syrian territory but will not necessarily collapse soon. Activists agreed, saying that unless the international community steps in, the bloodshed will continue.
"Without interference from the (United Nations) Security Council, from the USA and NATO, it will take more time and more people will die," Ibrahim said. "We are expecting massacres in Damascus after what happened today. The reaction will be very hard."
If the rebels are victorious, it will be "no thanks to the United States," Pletka said. "We have refused to facilitate defections. We bad-mouthed the opposition. We kowtowed to the Russians as they sought to protect their relationship with Assad."
President Obama refused requests from Assad opponents and some in Congress to arm the rebels, saying it would make the situation worse. He left that role to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, which could harm peace in the region and U.S. interests, Pletka said.
The Qataris and Saudis are "Wahabi Muslims who support extremist Islamists," she said. "The Turks support the Muslim Brotherhood."
If the United States had been more involved, it could have helped shape a transition to ensure a stable relationship between Israel and Syria, Pletka said.
Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the administration has supported sanctions and leads an international effort to get Assad to go.
"The notion that we either flood Syria with arms or we're not helping the opposition is ridiculous," he said.
The United Nations Security Council is to vote Thursday on sanctions against Syria that may allow for eventual use of force. Russia and China have vowed to veto such measures.
Pletka said it's not too late for the United States to protect its interests. It could work aggressively with the Syrian National Council, a political opposition group in exile, to help it form a transition plan that includes all of Syria's political parties, protects minorities and prevents more violence, she said.
"There is still going to be fighting even after Assad is gone because they'll be fighting for control of the country," Pletka said. "Assad leaving is the beginning of the transition, not the end." |
Earlier this month, you may have heard that we were partnering with our friends at THQ Nordic for worldwide availability of a physical retail version of Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 PC. Since then, our retail plans have shifted and Microsoft has made the decision to focus the release of the physical retail version to Europe only. THQ Nordic is a great partner and they are working with us to ensure this transition remains smooth for our customers.Halo Wars 2 for Windows 10 PC will remain available worldwide, digitally, via the Windows Store. We apologize to any customers affected by the change in our retail plans, and thank everyone for the continued support as we look forward to the release of Halo Wars 2 for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC on Feb. 21, 2017. |
Movies in which couples overcome various misunderstandings to eventually hug and kiss as the credits roll ask us to believe that their characters will be together forever.
So I got to thinking: assuming that the couples who get together at the end of movies stay together into the foreseeable future, what must they look like now? Surely they are still together, making coffee in the mornings, shuffling children off to this activity or that, taking trips to see plays and figuring out new digital cameras on the occasional Alaskan cruise.
I present the following as aids to your imagination, helping you to picture the lives of these fictional characters extended out ten, twenty, thirty years until the strange story of their first, accidental meeting is family legend retold every Thanksgiving to the grandchildren: “You know I used to fly Tomcats in the Navy — well, one day, Grandma waltzed into my classroom at Miramar, and I about flipped my lid. I told her about a MiG I’d seen recently, and she tried to freeze me out. And then I played volleyball for a while with Uncle Iceman.”
This entry was posted on Monday, June 21st, 2010 at 11:13 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |
As he prepares to take office Jan. 1, Bexar County District Attorney-elect Nico LaHood has been busy deciding whom to keep among the prosecutors employed by outgoing District Attorney Susan Reed.
At the same time, he has continued to work as a defense attorney. This month, LaHood insisted on personally defending a client, and shortly before going to trial, he sought to retain the prosecutors in the case, a scenario rife with potential conflicts of interest.
A mistrial was declared last week when a witness violated a judge’s ruling.
LaHood had placed himself in a powerful position by placing the prosecutors, Alaina Altis and Bridgett Clay, in an uncomfortable one: The defense attorney controlled their jobs. In agreeing before trial to retain them, LaHood turned his adversaries into future employees.
“I was doing my job,” Altis told me. “I’m supposed to prosecute cases that warrant that. This is a case that ended up in serious bodily injury to the victim. And so, because the court called the case to trial on (Dec.) 15th, it was my ethical obligation to proceed with the case if we found merit in it, which we did.”
When I called LaHood on Monday, he sounded irked by any scrutiny of the case.
“Let me tell you something,” he said, “you’re going into waters that you don’t understand.”
LaHood had calmed down about an hour later, when he invited me to talk at the courthouse. He’d just finished interviewing prosecutors for his new team and had chosen to retain the “vast majority” of them, he said, rejecting only 22.
In the recent case, LaHood was guided by ethics, he said.
His client, Omid Jamali, is accused of assaulting a man in March 2012 at the Grotto nightclub, striking Joshua Hernandez in the face hard enough to send him to the hospital. Jamali was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury.
The district attorney’s office contacted the State Bar of Texas about the case, and “they said that you have an ethical obligation to represent your clients,” LaHood told me, “so if the case is up for trial, there’s nothing inappropriate about doing it.”
LaHood had insisted on trying the case, District Judge Ron Rangel said.
“Judge Rangel knows the state bar rules,” LaHood told me. “That’s all. I don’t need his permission.”
LaHood referred me to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, highlighting a section requiring him as district attorney to recuse himself from any cases involving clients he represented as a defense lawyer.
“These are the only rules we have to go by,” he said.
In seeking before trial to retain the prosecutors, LaHood was being “kind” and “thoughtful,” he said.
“I just thought that was the right thing to do,” he told me. “Can you imagine them trying to try the case? Are they going to be hesitant to do their best work if they’re thinking, 'This guy could be my boss,’ and, 'What if I do something that ticks him off and then I get fired for it?’”
“I wanted them to know, 'Guys, do your best work. You have your job,’” LaHood added. “'You come at me as hard as you can. Try to beat your boss. How about that?’”
[email protected] |
My name is Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida , and I thank you for reading this important call to action.On Sunday morning, June 12th 2016, our community was rocked by the Pulse massacre that claimed the lives of 49 people, mostly LGBTQ and Latinx young people. The horror unfolded in the middle of Pride month on Latin night at Pulse, a popular gathering place for young LGBTQ people of color.In those early morning hours on June 12th, Equality Florida made two promises. The first was to do everything we could to take care of the survivors and the families left behind by this heinous act of hate, and to make sure every penny raised went directly to those most impacted by this terrible tragedy.After disbursing the funds raised, we turned our full attention to the second promise - as we remember those who were taken from us, we promised to. We cannot allow the Pulse massacre to be yet another national tragedy. This must be a national turning point that spurs us to new action.Since Pulse, Equality Florida has focused our efforts on uprooting the anti-LGBTQ animosity that leads to harassment, discrimination and violence by changing the culture in schools. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the two most important factors contributing to the wellbeing of an LGBTQ young person are family acceptance and a supportive school environment. Equality Florida and our partners have invested deeply in launching ato do everything we can to prevent bigotry from taking root in our young people’s hearts and minds.And we also know that houses of worship shape the world young people grow up in. For too many of us, the deepest wounds were inflicted as we sat with our families in pews and heard a message from someone we trusted that we should not exist. In the aftermath of Pulse I know a number of. Many have pledged to speak out against anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence.We need you to step up and speak out against all forms of violence, be they mass shootings, arson at mosques, vandalism at synagogues, and yes, even hateful words spoken from a pulpit, a pew, or over the dinner table. Join us at HonorThemWithAction.org . Also, every dollar raised on this campaign will go directly to our work of combatting the same anti-LGBTQ hatred and bigotry that caused the attack at Pulse.We must ensure the lasting memorial of Pulse is the real change of uprooting hatred, discrimination, and violence of all kinds in our culture. Thank you for your compassion, your love, your support. But most of all, thank you for standing with us to combat hatred of all kinds and to take action each and every day to make the world different, better, and safer for all of us.To qualify for matching from Tito's Handmade Vodka, donors must be 21 or older.Here are some photos highlighting what Equality Florida is doing to #HonorThemWithAction.In the aftermath of the horrific Pulse massacre, Equality Florida promised to call out bigotry and discrimination of any kind. No action, large or small, will go unchecked. This image was from the August 2016 “Rally to End Hate” when Senator Marco Rubio headlined a conference hosted by notorious anti-LGBTQ extremists in Orlando just two months after the shooting.Pictured is Equality Florida’s Director of Transgender Equality, Gina Duncan. Our initiative, TransAction Florida, is dedicated to achieving Transgender Equality in Florida through advocacy, education, and engagement.At Equality Florida’s 2017 Lobby Days, we spoke with legislators about the importance of passing statewide LGBTQ protections so that no person is discriminated against for who they are or who they love.Equality Florida is committed to addressing the epidemic of violence fueled by the normalization of hatred of LGBTQ people. We will continue to support common sense gun safety prevention measures and work to #DisarmHate.Many faith leaders pledged to speak out against anti-LGBTQ discrimination and violence. We are inspired by the many who have joined us to #HonorThemWithAction and combat dangerous rhetoric and hate violence of all kinds.--------------------------Who are we? Equality Florida is an organization that has been advocating for justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Florida since 1997. Gold rated by the leading charity ranking websites, we have spent nearly 20 years building our community’s strength to turn the tide on some of the worst anti-gay legislation and policy in the United States: Winning marriage in advance of the Supreme Court’s decision that was binding nationally; Passing dozens of city and county non-discrimination ordinances that protect more than 10 million Floridians; Enacting safe schools policies that have created welcoming and supportive environments for more than 2 million students; Shifting public opinion to help reverse the ban on gay adoption left by Anita Bryant’s gay-hating campaign in the 1970s. We have spent the last three months channeling direct support to Pulse victims and now are turning our attention to ridding our culture of the toxic dehumanization of LGBTQ people.--------------------------For those who prefer to send a check, please see below:Equality Florida ActionP.O. Box 20786,Tampa FL 33622-0786A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE EQUALITY FLORIDA ACTION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES (WWW.800HELPFLA.COM) BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA (1.800.435.7352). REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH42356. |
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