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Week In Geek: 13-19 June
London events for curious minds.
Monday 13 June
PSYCHOPATHS: Journalist Jon Ronson (of Men Who Stare At Goats fame) is at the Monarch in Camden for this month's Skeptics in the Pub, to talk about what makes a psychopath. 7.30pm, £2
SCI-FI: This month's book of choice at the Science Fiction Book Club is Kurt Vonnegut's classic Slaughterhouse 5. Join the meetup group to find the location. 7pm, FREE
Tuesday 14 June
GM FOOD: The Dana Centre has an evening devoted to this mainstay of public debate. 7pm, FREE but prebook.
ALIENS: The hardworking Lewis Dartnell is at the Grant Museum to talk about astrobiology and the prospects of alien life within our solar system. Includes free glass of wine and tour of the new museum. 6.30pm, FREE
Wednesday 15 June
ENERGY: Another event at the Dana Centre, this time looking at the ethics of biofuels. 7pm, FREE but prebook
MEDICINE: Quentin Cooper off of the radio is at Wellcome Collection to discuss Joseph Lister and antiseptic with Hugh Pennington. 7pm, FREE
ASTRONOMY: There's a lunar eclipse tonight. If the skies are clear, head on up to Blackheath for a special picnic with the Royal Observatory Greenwich's astronomers. 9pm, FREE
Friday 17 June
MUSIC: The British Library stays up past its bedtime for an evening of DJs, music and talks inspired by the current sci-fi exhibition. 7.30-11.00pm, £12.50
Have we missed anything important? Let us know below and we'll add to the listings. |
Fire truck. (Photo: MattGush, Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Firefighters had to use heavy-duty cutting tools to free three children who accidentally locked themselves inside a gun safe in Sterling Heights.
The kids, who were 3 and 4 years old, were hot but otherwise physically OK after being freed.
The newly delivered safe was in a garage on the 13000 block of Maidstone Court when the kids apparently crawled inside it late Sunday afternoon and it locked, Sterling Heights Fire Chief Chris Martin said. The instructions and combination information were in the safe with them.
Also on Freep.com:
With the day's temperatures in the high 80s, firefighters acted quickly.
"We used the Jaws of Life to pry some spots open, and cut with reciprocating saws with good blades" to remove the top of the safe, Martin said.
The children were freed after about 12 minutes. Their parents were advised to give them a cool shower. They were checked medically at the scene and needed no medical treatment.
Contact staff writer Ann Zaniewski at 313-222-6594 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.
Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2xvG6U3 |
After Acting Attorney General Sally Yates announced that she had ordered the U.S. Department of Justice not to enforce President Donald Trump’s recent executive order limiting immigration from terrorist safe havens, Trump immediately fired Yates and announced her temporary replacement. Yates took over the top Justice job following Loretta Lynch’s exit and pending Senate confirmation of Jeff Sessions, whose nomination is still pending in the Senate.
Josh Blackman, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, explained on Twitter on Monday evening that Trump has clear authority to fire political appointees like Yates. Blackman further noted that if Yates truly felt the law was unconstitutional or legally unenforceable, she had an obligation to resign her position rather than simply refuse to do her job.
“Duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed belongs to POTUS alone,” Blackman explained. “If appointee gets in the way, removal is the only option.”
“The notion that an official could simply refuse to follow President’s order, rather than resign, is itself contrary to [separation] of powers,” he continued. “The President’s oath to support & defend the Constitution matters. If his appointees (or worse, holdovers) disagree, they should resign.”
Yates was a holdover from the Obama administration. Trump announced that she would be replaced by U.S. Attorney Dana Boente pending Senate confirmation of Sessions.
You can read Blackman’s full explanation from Twitter below.
1/ The Federal Vacancies Act permits POTUS to replace Senate-confirmed officer with another Senate-confirmed Officer https://t.co/Qn62F9ZuAb — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
2/ Here is key section from 5 U.S.C. 3345(b), which permits the President to appoint another officer in an acting capacity for limited time pic.twitter.com/eigj2pOyZv — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
3/ How did I put this together so quickly? I took it from a draft blog post I wrote about repealing and replacing Richard Cordray. — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
4/ The key point is,as @jadler1969 noted, is that this decision trumps any extant Obama EO about chain of succession https://t.co/L25q6MM2q8 — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
5/ There is residual question about what powers an Acting AG can perform. But the same analysis that applies to Yates now applies to Boente — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
6/ Some people have asked about approving FISA warrants. I don't know the answer to that. — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017
7/ Yates should have resigned if she did not want to defend the Executive Order–especially of OLC approved and Civil could defend it — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) January 31, 2017 |
John Hayden, meet Brandon Saad.
Too soon?
I think it's a rule that we have to compare players, and I mean immediately. Failure to do so in my business could result in jail time, I believe. So, let's play the comp game in this giddy time for the Blackhawks.
I could’ve gone Andrew Shaw there, but the 5-foot-9, 179- pound pony keg that is Shaw always comes with a threat of tapping some stupid.
Hayden, meanwhile, comes from Yale, so there’s no reason to fear weapons-grade idiocy. What’s more, his 6-foot-3, 223-pound frame is not just closer to Saad’s, but surpasses it.
Saad is a man-child along the boards and going to the net, and early indications are Hayden is willing to go to the tough spots and make plays.
In his three NHL games, Hayden went scoreless in Ottawa on Thursday, scored a goal in the Hawks’ 2-1 win in Toronto on Saturday, and picked up the two primary assists on the two goals that helped the Hawks tie the Avalanche at 3-3 in a spectacular third period that would see the Hawks score five times Sunday.
Hayden’s five-on-five Corsi For percentage sits under 50 percent, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, but here’s the thing: He has yet to be on the ice for a goal against and the Hawks have had more high-danger scoring chances than they’ve allowed when he has been out there.
It’s worth noting that while trying to get the puck back, Hayden led the team with 12 hits last weekend.
If Hayden was tentative in making his debut in Ottawa last week, he’s looks past that now. Ivy League kid. Catches on quick. That’s a Hawks characteristic going back to 2009.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville reacts to the team's 6-3 win over the Avalanche on Sunday, March 19, 2017. (Chris Hine/Chicago Tribune) Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville reacts to the team's 6-3 win over the Avalanche on Sunday, March 19, 2017. (Chris Hine/Chicago Tribune) SEE MORE VIDEOS
You can mock me if you want. You’ll have to wait in line, but you can mock me. You can say it’s a small sample size, and yeah, it is. You also can say Hayden’s strong numbers come from playing with Jonathan Toews, but remember this: Toews and his linemates haven’t automatically had strong numbers all season.
First, though, remember this: Stan Bowman’s history of acquiring young talent.
In broad strokes, go back to Nick Leddy, draw a line to Teuvo Teravainen, put a star next to Artemi Panarin, underline Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Hartman, among other youngsters this season, and now circle Hayden’s name.
It never stops with Bowman. It can’t. Not when there’s a hard salary cap set by the NHL and a hard demand to win the Stanley Cup set every year by Bowman’s bosses.
The Hawks began this season with five rookies on the roster. They have used seven rookies to this point. They are in first place in the Western Conference.
The Hawks, do you hear me? The Hawks have done this while bringing seven rookies to a coach who allegedly hates kids, which has always been a lie because Joel Quenneville doesn’t hate kids, he hates mistakes.
To cite just one example, Schmaltz is one of the seven rookies to skate for the Hawks this season. He was sent back to Rockford to find confidence to make the right play instinctively, then he was recalled, and bang, his speed, vision, passing and eely ability to find spaces at center and on the wing on any line seems to be why laments about Teravainen don’t even echo these days.
So, back to Hayden, when I see the incoming talent and the growth of their games, even small growth in a short time, I’m going to think big until a player’s game tells me otherwise, same as I do with the Cubs, because, look, Bowman is hockey Theo Epstein.
Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, it doesn’t take long to call roll in that club around here. |
Truth be told, DoneDone is a piece of software I want to use as infrequently as possible. If I use DoneDone a lot, it means I’m making (or finding) a lot of mistakes. In a perfect world, there would be no need for an issue tracker because all programmers would write flawless code and all users would stay a safe distance away from edge cases. On the other hand, everyone would be canceling their issue tracker subscription and we’d have to find a new business.
But, let’s get back to reality. DoneDone thrives because regardless of all the processes we can put into place, bugs will happen. As one programmer put it, if you want to be a “zero-bug” programmer, it’s simple — don’t write any code.
A study commissioned by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that software defects cost the U.S. economy almost $60 billion per year. Even further, 80 percent of development costs are spent by software developers identifying and correcting defects.
Focus on the leak, not the puddle.
OK then. If we can’t be perfect, how do we do the next best thing — make less bugs? When posed this question, most programmers will automatically start to think about process.
More test coverage.
More code reviews.
More QA time.
More architecture.
No doubt, considering how to augment your process is a critical step. Deciding how to adjust your architecture to make introducing new bugs less likely is prudent. But, did you notice a common theme? All of these methods focus on mopping up the puddles created by us programmers. Instead, let’s start thinking more about how we can fix the leaks we create in the first place.
There is one timeless rule every programmer — regardless of language or medium — should follow, before code is even ready for someone else to test. When you’ve coded up something new, ask yourself these five questions, and test for them!
What happens if something is null ?
? What happens if there are zero of something?
of something? What happens if there is one of something?
of something? What happens if there are three of something?
of something? What happens if there are a lot of something?
Consider all of these cases, all of the time. It doesn’t matter if you work in Python, Ruby, or C#. Or, if you spend most of your time analyzing SQL queries. Or, if your day is spent working through HTML and CSS. These questions are ubiquitous for anyone developing any kind of software anywhere on the stack. Even the most thorough amongst us will occasionally let the answers to these questions slip away from us.
The fact is, many bugs manifest because we simply haven’t covered cases of quantity in our code. While it would be entirely impractical to test from 0 to infinity, you’ll get really good coverage by simply focusing on these five amounts: null, 0, 1, 3, and “a lot.” (We’ll get to what “a lot” means, exactly, later.) So, before a new feature even gets to internal QA, or even committed to your local Git repository, ask whether your updated code handles all five of these cases the way you’d expect.
Null is nothing…to overlook.
If you pull up a Google search right now, there are over 16,800,000 results for the infamous NullReferenceException message that every seasoned C# developer has become intimately familiar with. Let’s all say it together now:
Is your code assuming an object is instantiated when it might not be? When we’re coding up a feature, our first inclination is to start testing with perfectly hydrated objects to see that our logic is playing nicely.
But, don’t move on to something else until you’ve vetted that you’re accounting and handling situations when your objects are null. In fact, improper initialization (a common mistake leading to null references) was ranked among the top 25 most common programming errors according to the NSA and the Director of National Intelligence.
Be a hero, not a zero.
If you’re a front-end developer, ask yourself how a dynamically-driven piece of UI will behave when there aren’t any items to display. Sure, the files you received from your designer look great with those mocked out items. But, how does the implementation look when there are zero results? Should there be a message informing users of what normally would go inside this currently empty space?
The unchecked zero case is also often the culprit when it comes to issues like the length of a string. You may want to grab the last letter of a zero-based index string, but myString.IndexOf(myString.Length - 1) will throw a fit if your string has zero length.
One really is the loneliest number.
Consider all the times you’ve used a piece of software and were greeted with a message like “Thanks! One users have been notified!” It happens all the time. And, it’s easy to forget that lone case in most western languages where a numerical descriptor must be paired with the singular form of the noun as opposed to the plural. But, it is a bug. And it can be caught by having tested through the case when you have only one of somethings…I mean, something.
If you’re a back-end developer, are you making an assumption somewhere in your code that you only ever expect one record, without any technical constraints in place to ensure it? For instance, make sure you are placing unique constraints on appropriate columns in your relational database schema to ensure data integrity.
Three is more important than two.
From personal experience, I find a lot of low-hanging bugs occur because a programmer hasn’t considered the null, zero, and single item cases; Particularly, when the UI or object model calls for a list of items. When we’re building out lists in code, we’ll naturally start by mocking out a scenario where we have multiple items — a list of users in an account, projects with a client, tracked time within a day, and so forth.
So, how do we pragmatically test for the normal use case involving “a few” items to work with? You aren’t going to be testing every n from 0 to infinity. That’s not very practical. But, it’s easy to get lazy and mock out an object with just two items. After all, two is the smallest amount of items it takes to make a collection of something….Two users, two projects, two tracked time entries. Why go beyond that?
There’s a simple conceptual problem here though. A multiple-element list with two items is the only such list that has no middle. Sure, you can confirm your code is traversing a list of two items properly, but how can you be assured that your middle items are being accounted for properly? Perhaps you have some special tags dynamically applied to the first and last item in your HTML list. You’ll surely want to test your middle items aren’t getting those special tags.
So, when testing a few, make sure you’re not just testing for two. Three tells you even more of the story.
Test a big number to see the hidden leaks.
Finally, test for a realistic big number in your particular scenario. What happens if your app becomes well-used, and customers are logging thousands of items in your database? Does the app buckle under its knees when there are 574 widgets returning from the request? Is there a script being executed 574 times accidentally when perhaps it needs only be called once?
Much like the zero case, you may not have thought about the user experience when there are a lot of items on the page. Can your servers handle a scenario that entails thousands of records being retrieved and displayed? Does your database need some smart indexing and more strategically written SQL to get the data you want without greatly impacting performance? Does your UI handle them elegantly or was it optimized for handling just a handful? Or, can you simply avoid the problem altogether by only allowing a handful to page back at a time?
When dealing with big numbers, consider running performance times against something like Red Gate Software’s ANTS Performance Profiler. There are also plenty of mock data generators out there to help you test through such scenarios without a lot of heavy lifting.
Writing bug-free code is a battle of attrition.
Testing process and architectural patterns often get the front-page press when you read about writing more resilient code. But, what sorely needs more attention these days is thought-process. How do you improve the way you write code from the get-go rather than just improve the processes around validating it? Thinking through these five questions while writing code is one such way.
In the end, writing bug-free code is a battle of attrition. The more obstacles you can put in place to trip up potential bugs, the better off your codebase will be. Having more mental tools in your arsenal — as you are developing new code — not only keeps bugs from even manifesting during QA and automated testing, but also keeps you focused on building rather than fixing.
Ka Wai Cheung is the original creator of DoneDone and author of The Developer’s Code. Follow him personally on Twitter via @developerscode and read more at Life Imitates Code. |
This is the shocking moment a driver was flung out of his window and across three lanes of traffic in a fatal high-speed crash into a barrier.The 25-year-old victim, who died from his injuries, was attempting to overtake a vehicle near Taichung City, Taiwan, when he lost control of his car.Dashcam footage shows the dark-coloured vehicle swerving into a metal barrier around 9.40am on Saturday.Moments later the driver, who is only known as Lu, is thrown from his hatchback and into the barrier on the opposite side of the road.Lu was taken to hospital where he was given CPR for up to 30 minutes. He died later that day.Doctors confirmed he suffered from a severe skull fracture and a cerebral haemorrhage.The driver's overtaking manoeuvre is illegal in the country but is said to be rarely punished. |
Ever since Judy Blume bashed trigger warnings in books, I believed that she was clearly insane. In order to prepare for the terrifying plot points ahead everyone must hear these warnings! How will people ever survive if books don't have trigger warnings.
I felt that this was especially needed in children's books, because they are the worst in terms of promoting violence and witch craft. So, I want to present to you, the trigger warnings that should be in these popular children's books, for the safety of ideologies everywhere.
Trigger warning: this book contains content that positively promotes greediness and gluttony. This book also contains whimsical rhymes and bullying with the added layer of persuasive thinking. This book actively promotes subtle manipulation.
Trigger warning. This book features talking cats and fishes. This book promotes downgrading language and mischievous behavior involving books and fans and shelves. This book exhibits negative language such as "not one little bit." this book also promotes disobedience. This book features gender discrimination and segregation. Thing One and Thing Two are not identified as male, women, or transgender. The book also features magic.
Trigger warning. This book actively promotes taking advantage of trees, especially female trees. It also encourages the feeling of entitlement as you get to be an older male.
Trigger warning. This book features submissive practices and domination featuring animals. This book also features an island with talking animals and fantasy encouragement. This book features scenes where humans rule over animals. |
When it was over — after David Beckham got his hugs, Steve Nash received his face time with the commissioner and the Houston Dynamo played their part as the dutiful loser — the best coach in the MLS tried to put his personal pain in perspective.
"I don't know if I want to cry of throw up," Dominic Kinnear told the assembled media in California, including plenty of TV stations that took it upon themselves to broadcast a MLS press conference. "One of the two."
It's easy to feel for Kinnear (at least if you're not completely obsessed with an over-the-hill Beckham, which 98 percent of the outlets covering this MLS Cup were). His Dynamo keep making Cinderella runs to the MLS championship game — and keep getting knocked down by their much more star-studded, much more budget free big brother.
Dominic Kinnear is crushed and his ownership is happy. How messed up is that?
This time it ends in a 3-1 Galaxy runaway, with the rich kids erasing 59 minutes of brilliant Dynamo work in a six-minute spurt.
But hey, maybe Kinnear will get a raise out of it. For the Dynamo did exactly what its ownership hoped it would do on its league's biggest stage — lose. Dominic Kinnear is crushed and his ownership is happy.
How messed up is that?
This is the Dynamo reality that threatens to forever doom the most clutch franchise in recent Houston sports memory to always be second fiddle. The MLS absurdly allows the powerful Anschutz Entertainment Group to own both the LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo — and completely favor the Galaxy over the Dynamo in every way.
Which gives us these farces of an MLS Cup where LA is LA and Houston might as well be Peoria, Illinois.
That's how little regard AEG shows for the fourth largest city in the country, treating it like it's a minor market. Hey if Tom Cruise doesn't hang out in a city, does it really count?
This situation would be akin to the NFL allowing Jerry Jones to buy the Houston Texans too. Gee, which team do you think good old Jerry would favor? Which franchise would be suddenly operating at a huge competitive disadvantage?
Texans fans would never stand for that. Yet, because soccer's been so downgraded in America, Dynamo backers are conditioned to almost routinely accept this asinine outrage.
It's time for Dynamo fans to stand up and demand respect. To expect owners who actually burn to see the team win.
Spend almost $13 million on your LA team, bring in designated player after designated player (Beckham, Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan) for the good celebrities of California to clap for? Turn around and provide little more than $3 million for the entire Houston roster, don't get a single star who makes even $200,000?
OK, we'll still pack your new stadium in EaDo. Please sir, I want some more gruel.
It's time for Dynamo fans to stand up and demand respect. To expect owners — majority owners — who actually burn to see the team win championships.
If these back-to-back surprise runs have shown the brilliance of Kinnear's coaching, the final results have also driven home the limits of it. Yes, the Dynamo won titles in 2006 and 2007, but it was a different MLS back then. The league is growing and the Dynamo are being held back.
Would Major League Baseball have allowed George Steinbrenner to buy the Mets in his Boss heyday and then limit them to a $50 million budget while he spent $200 million on his Yankees? Of course not. And if the MLS ever wants to truly erase its small-time image, it needs to make a similar ownership stand.
The most devastating thing to happen to the Dynamo this season wasn't speedy forward Calen Carr — who the Galaxy absolutely couldn't cover — going out with a knee injury in the 59th minute of the MLS Cup on Saturday. No, that came when AEG pulled the plug on Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander's attempt to buy the team.
This franchise desperately needs an individual owner who will put its interests first.
Value Play
No, a new owner who puts a legitimate soccer star in Houston (preferably a striker who defenses will have to fear in ways they never will the overachieving Will Bruin) will not suddenly have Kobe Bryant at BBVA Compass Stadium. But J.J. Watt shows.
Shouldn't that mean something?
LA is LA and Houston might as well be Peoria, Illinois.
All those orange-clad fanatics who pour into Houston's most intimate (and arguably best) stadium game after game after game need to count. Sure, the Dynamo's local TV ratings are atrocious by anything but hockey standards. But all of the TV ratings in Don Garber's league are largely horrible.
This is an experience-it sport. That's why you have 2,000 Dynamo fans traveling to California for the MLS Cup, leaving the often-stoic Kinnear with a lump in his throat.
"I was so proud of our little corner," Kinnear said in that press conference.
Those people didn't show to coo over Beckham or to completely overstate the impact the Englishman's had on the league as so many are rushing to do. They didn't get on a plane to try and run into Kobe or Nash or any of the other Lakers stars sprinkled in the MLS Cup crowd.
They came for their team — you know, the forgotten bunch in orange?
Those Dynamo fans deserve an owner who cares as much as they do. It's really not much to ask. |
A while back, I tried to teach Noelle how to make friendship bracelets. I used to spend hours making these when I was a kid. It didn’t go overly well with Noelle. I’m not sure if she was still a bit too young or she just wasn’t interested. Determined to find something easier for her to make, I found some Pinterest posts on how to make woven bracelets (I wanted to give credit to one great post in particular but it’s a broken link now). I got out an old cereal box and some embroidery thread and sat down to test it out – it worked! Inspired by this super easy friendship bracelet idea, I created a simple template that you can print out, glue onto some light cardboard (cereal boxes or pasta boxes work well), cut out and you’re ready to go.
Oh, and I have no idea what the real name is for these sorts of bracelets but Noelle and I named them Jellyfish Bracelets because as you’re making them, they look like jellyfish (see photos below).
Materials:
Light cardboard box that you can cut up (cereal, oatmeal or pasta boxes for example)
Download Template
Paper
Embroidery floss – Up to 7 colours
Glue
Scissors
Any jewellery findings if you want to make it removable, otherwise just tie the bracelet right on your wrist
Instructions:
Download the printable template and print onto a piece of paper Cut out one of the circles from the paper and glue onto a piece of your cardboard (make sure to get the edges of the circle covered really well with glue). Let the glue dry completely. (If you aren’t patient enough to do the whole glue thing, you could just copy the template design directly onto the cardboard with a pen). Now cut the cardboard with the paper glued onto it around the edge of the circle to where the tips of the arrow heads are. Cut a slit in each line that has the arrow head, about the same distance as the line itself. Use the sharp end of your scissors to poke a hole in the middle, approximately the size of the circle. Now grab your embroidery floss and cut either 7 or 14 pieces (2 of each colour) all 18″ long for adults or about 14″ for smaller kids. I find that doubling up the floss (using 14 pieces) is thicker and goes a bit faster. Knot together all the embroidery thread at one end so that there is still a little tail of ends. Careful thread the ends of all the thread through the hole so that the knot is on the back side of your template/cardboard. Put one piece of each thread (2 pieces per slit if you’re using 14 pieces of floss) into each slit so that it’s snug into place – see Photo A. Now, turn the template so that the empty space is pointing to your chest. Count 3 slit spaces to the left from there (approx. the 10:00 pm position if it were a clock). Take that piece(s) out of the slit and place into the empty space that is facing your chest – see Photos B and C. Turn the template counterclockwise so that the empty space is again pointing to your chest and repeat step 7. Keep your thumb gently over the hole in the middle to make sure that the bracelet remains in position while you’re moving the threads around. You’ll also want to run your fingers through the threads underneath the template from time to time to prevent the threads from getting tangled. Eventually you’ll start seeing the bracelet appear underneath once you get going – see Photo D. Keep going until you’ve reached your desired length. Tie off the end and finish off as you please (I added some clasps so my daughter’s bracelets so she could take hers on and off but you can keep things simple and just tie the two ends of your bracelet together).
Book idea: Kids (and their parents) will love these fun 40 projects that include simple beading, sewing, felting, bookmaking, and so much more in the book Craft Camp: Over 40 Fun Projects for Kids
Looking for more great kids stuff: 10-minute superhero costume, printable robot colouring page , DIY I spy game, good karma cards, family movie night tickets, blank faces coloring pages, indoor fairy garden
You may also want to checkout my popular Pinterest Boards and Follow me on Pinterest.
Thanks for reading!
~ Jamey |
LEINSTER AND IRELAND prop Cian Healy has undergone a minor knee operation in order to ensure he will be fit for the forthcoming Six Nations.
Healy started three games for Ireland at the World Cup. Source: Billy Stickland/INPHO
The 28-year-old limped off during Leinster’s win over Munster at Thomond Park on 27 December around 20 minutes after he had replaced Jack McGrath in the front row, with head coach Leo Cullen identifying a “twisted knee” as the issue.
The42 understands Healy has since had surgery on his knee in order to clear out the joint, although the recovery from surgery is expected to be swift. At this point, it is not expected that the loosehead will miss Ireland’s Six Nations campaign.
Healy is currently serving a two-match ban for striking with the knee in a Champions Cup meeting with Toulon in December, meaning he would have missed this weekend’s Guinness Pro12 clash with the Ospreys under the terms of that suspension.
Leinster are hopeful that Healy will be fit in time to feature in the Champions Cup meeting with Bath at the RDS on 16 January or at least the final round visit to Wasps on 23 January.
Academy loosehead Peter Dooley is set to feature for the province against the Ospreys on Friday night in Liberty Stadium (KO 7.45pm, Sky Sports)
The Clontarf FC man has had a tough time with injury in the past 15 months or so. Healy tore his hamstring off the bone in September 2014, while he was forced to undergo serious neck surgery in April of last year.
The loosehead limped off against Munster late last month. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
The prop had some concerns over his recovery from that neck operation during the summer, but eventually returned to action in time to be named in Ireland’s World Cup squad. He started three games at the global tournament, including the quarter-final defeat to Argentina.
The ongoing strong performances of Healy’s provincial teammate McGrath mean the battle for Ireland’s number one shirt in the Six Nations is intense, while the likes of Dave Kilcoyne and Kyle McCall – who was not part of Ireland’s training camp yesterday – are also in good form.
Munster’s James Cronin was playing superbly before an ankle injury that makes him a Six Nations doubt, and Connacht’s Denis Buckley was similarly excellent up to being forced to undergo ankle surgery in December.
Ireland’s campaign starts against Wales in Dublin on 7 February. |
Codi Wilson and Chris Fox, CP24.com
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man who was gunned down in front of his car in the Junction Triangle Wednesday night was a father of five with no criminal record.
Speaking at a news conference Thursday morning, homicide Det.-Sgt. Joyce Schertzer told reporters that the man was shot to death after attending a birthday barbeque on Campbell Avenue, near Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street.
Schertzer said the victim, who has now been identified as Marlon Lennox Mason, arrived at the party in the early evening.
At around 10:30 p.m., he told his friends he was leaving and walked out to his car, which was parked out on the street.
Not long after Mason left the party, a series of gunshots were heard by people at the barbeque.
Mason’s friends rushed out to see what had happened and found him lying near his vehicle suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.
They loaded him into a car and rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police say Mason, who has no ties to gang activity, moved to Canada from Grenada 15 years ago and has extended family and friends in the city.
While police have not yet determined where Mason was employed, they said he volunteered at a University of Toronto radio station, where he hosted a morning reggae show.
Speaking with CP24 Thursday night, a coworker at the radio station described news of Mason’s death as ‘heartbreaking.’
“It’s kind of hurting me right now to see the way he passed,” Tony Scott said. “He was a good person, as far as I know. He was always there to help people.
“We are going to ask the community now to rally with us and help to see what we can do for (Mason) and his family.”
Earlier Thursday, police said they believe Mason was targeted however the motive for the shooting remains unclear.
“There is nothing in my investigation to date that would indicate any pre-existing baggage," Schertzer added.
It is not known how many suspects were involved but police say there is no evidence to suggest there was more than one shooter.
Investigators say they are currently interviewing a number of witnesses and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
"People are cooperating with the investigation," Schertzer said.
“We still have a lot of ground to cover."
A post-mortem examination was scheduled for Thursday.
Remember for instant breaking news follow @CP24 on Twitter. |
Green Partry Presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein speaks to pro-Bernie Sanders supporters outside City Hall in Philadelphia at the convention. (Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)
THE BIG IDEA:
By David Weigel, filling in for James, who is on vacation.
A specter is haunting the Green Party – the specter of Ralph Nader.
This morning, as America’s fourth-largest party gathers in Houston to nominate a presidential ticket, it’s struggling to capture the progressive voters who supported Bernie Sanders. Jill Stein, the party’s likely nominee, was rebuffed when she asked Sanders to join the party, and rebuffed again when she asked popular Sanders surrogate Nina Turner to be her running mate.
Why is progressive frustration with Hillary Clinton not boosting the Greens? It’s because sixteen years ago, Green Party nominee Ralph Nader won 2.9 million votes, and at least 2 million of those voters came to blame themselves for the victory of George W. Bush over Al Gore. (The combined vote for Nader and Green candidates since 2000 has never exceeded 900,000.)
The 2000 election was one of the founding traumas of the modern center-left. It’s no accident that Stein polls best with voters under 30; liberal voters who remember 2000 are likely to associate “voting your conscience” with giving away the presidency.
That’s most evident in the list of Nader supporters from 2000 who have never come back to the Green Party. Nader's running mate that year, Winona LaDuke, endorsed John Kerry in 2004 and then disengaged from politics. Michael Moore, who introduced Nader at some of his rallies, later apologized to Al Gore and has endorsed Democrats for president ever since. Many of the celebrities, academics and intellectuals who backed Nader went on to support Sanders; the only prominent one to support Stein this time is Cornel West.
“There were three claims made by Nader in 2000,” said Charles Lenchner, who voted for Nader that year but went on to found the grassroots group People for Bernie. “The first was that there was no substantial difference between Al Gore and George W. Bush. The second was that the campaign would be a boost to local organizing. The third was that the Green Party could emerge as a viable force in our politics. And none of that came to pass.”
Nader’s 2000 campaign combined a man and a moment in a way that exhilarated the post-millennium left. Bill Clinton’s presidency was deeply unsatisfying to anti-war and anti-globalist progressives. George W. Bush’s campaign sold itself as a “compassionate” center-right successor to Clinton; for much of 2000, it polled so far ahead of Al Gore’s campaign that a protest vote seemed harmless. And Nader himself was a consumer rights icon whose celebrity transcended right or left.
“Ralph Nader was an icon, and he still is an icon,” said Rosa DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United, who was running that union’s precursor when it endorsed Nader in 2000. “When you supported him, you were supporting decades of advocacy that you could be proud of.”
Stein, by contrast, entered national politics after some success as an environmental activist and Green candidate in Massachusetts. She has never had a following outside of the party, hence her yeoman efforts last week to convince Sanders supporters that they could transfer their hopes into her campaign.
But the Bush years and the Trump campaign have prevented the sort of “Tweedledum or Tweedledum” critique of the two parties that made Nader possible. Gore had voted to confirm Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court; Clinton pledges to appoint a liberal justice, and a seat is open. Even Stein struggles to suggest that a Trump presidency would pose the same challenges as a Clinton presidency. The argument for a Green vote this time is more of a bank shot – that four years of total opposition will strengthen the left, or that a Clinton presidency will eventually empower Republicans.
“The first term of a Kerry-Edwards administration and a Republican Congress would have implemented precisely the same policies as did the second term of Bush-Cheney in regard to Iraq, the housing market, etc,” said Andrew Bonnell, a professor at Ball State University who signed a 2000 letter of support from academics for Nader. “The landslide that would have swept Mitt Romney or John McCain or whoever into the White House in the aftermath of that presidency might well have made the Republicans unchallengeable at every level of politics for a generation. This time is like that.”
That’s more complicated than the argument Nader made in 2000 – that it simply did not matter whether “Gush or Bore” took the White House. Nader, who at age 82 is done with electoral politics, was wry about Stein’s appeal, and skeptical that a third party vote would hold up by election day. After all, his record-high Green Party vote was far short of what polling predicted.
“What I’d say to a ‘Bernie or Bust’ person is: Vote for the Green Party agenda and Jill Stein, because it’s the closest agenda to Bernie’s,” said Nader. “But if you called up the head of the DNC, and you said ‘Jill Stein is up to 5 or 8 percent,’ they’d say ‘Relax, she’ll go back to 1 percent.’ That’s what happens to voters on the left. They all get back in the fold the day before the election. They get cold feet.”
Nader did not say who he would support (“not Hillary or Trump, as you might guess”), and suggested that voters worrying about a close election in August were getting ahead of themselves.
“Let’s see where we are in October,” said Nader, speculating that Trump could collapse in the polls.
If Trump did not collapse, even Ralph Nader was willing to understand voters who considered Clinton a “lesser evil,” but were scared of the consequences if they voted for a third party – and Trump won.
“If you’re in a deep red or deep blue state, you can vote your conscience,” said Nader. “In the swing states, if you don’t vote your conscience, and you want to vote for Hillary, you have a moral obligation to organize the second she gets elected.”
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:
POST-CONVENTIONS POLLS BEGIN TO SHOW CLINTON OPENING UP SIGNIFICANT LEAD
Clinton now has a 10-POINT lead over Trump in a new Fox News poll, which surveys voters nationally, and she tops Trump by DOUBLE DIGITS in key swing states like New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Cautionary note: these are the first batch of post-convention surveys and we'll have to keep watching closely to see whether this is a real trend or a reaction to Trump's erratic recent moves, such as attacking the family of a Muslim-American war hero and refusing to back House Speaker Paul Ryan's reelection.
-- Clinton bested Trump, 49 to 39 percent in the Fox News poll, which was taken post-convention from July 31 to Aug. 2. The former secretary of state earned a five-point spike from the last survey, gaining among men, women, whites, young voters and seniors.
Key takeaway: Trump is falling way short of Mitt Romney's 2012 numbers: Trump is winning white voters by 10 points compared to 20 for Mitt; Trump is winning men by 5 points compared to 7 points for Romney; he takes white evangelicals by 50 points to 57 for Romney; and wins whites without a college degree by 16 points compared to 26 for Romney.
Voters continue to see Clinton as more qualified and knowledgeable: More than half of voters believe Trump is unqualified for office (58 percent) while a majority of voters (65 percent) believe Clinton IS qualified.
More than half of voters believe Trump is unqualified for office (58 percent) while a majority of voters (65 percent) believe Clinton IS qualified. Trump now tops Clinton among voters who think both are dishonest, 62 to 61 percent.
77 percent of voters said they are familiar with Trump’s ongoing feud with the parents of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in combat. A full 69 percent of voters said Trump’s comments towards the family were “out of bounds.” But Trump still retains a strong lead among veterans, leading Clinton 53 to 39 percent.
A full 69 percent of voters said Trump’s comments towards the family were “out of bounds.” But Trump still retains a strong lead among veterans, leading Clinton 53 to 39 percent. 12 percent of REPUBLICANS back Clinton compared to 5 percent of Democrats favoring Trump. Trump does hold an 8-point lead among independents.
-- In NEW HAMPSHIRE, a key swing state, voters also strongly favor Clinton, per a WBUR survey: Clinton holds a 15-point lead over Trump in the Granite State, up 47 percent to his 32 percent. (Eight percent of voters preferred Libertarian Gary Johnson.)
Clinton’s standing illustrates major strides towards party unity: 86 percent of Democrats now back her in the state, though she lost the Democratic primary here to Sanders in February. Trump, meanwhile, nets less than two-thirds of the Republican vote, down from previous surveys.
86 percent of Democrats now back her in the state, though she lost the Democratic primary here to Sanders in February. Trump, meanwhile, nets less than two-thirds of the Republican vote, down from previous surveys. 56 percent of voters believe Clinton emerged from the Democratic convention Philadelphia a stronger candidate , while only 39 percent said the same of Trump.
, while only 39 percent said the same of Trump. Meanwhile, Sen. Kelly Ayotte is also trailing her Democratic opponent in the polls, down by 10 points against Gov. Maggie Hassan in the race.
-- Clinton also jumped to a big lead in MICHIGAN: she tops Trump 41 to 32 percent in the state, per a fresh Detroit News poll. The Democrat's lead was just four points in May. Clinton also gained a “shocking” lead in Republican strongholds of west and southwest Michigan – up by five and six points, respectively, in each region.
--In PENNSYLVANIA, which Trump boasts he can win and is key to his hopes, Clinton jumped to a 13-point lead, according to a Franklin & Marshall College poll in the state. Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Katie McGinty also leads Republican Pat Toomey in the Senate race, up 38 to his 30 percent.
FALLOUT?
-- A new GOP campaign ad promises to “stand up” to Trump. From Politico’s Alex Isenstadt: “The commercial, from GOP Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado, represents the first time a House Republican has used explicitly anti-Trump messaging in paid advertising. It comes as many in the Republican Party — concerned about Trump’s impact on down-ballot races — are grappling with whether to take further measures to repudiate their presidential nominee after a string of controversies including an attack on a Gold Star family and his refusal to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan in his primary.”
“People ask me, ‘What do you think about Trump?’” Coffman, a 61-year-old Army and Marine veteran, says in the ad. “Honestly, I don’t care for him much.” “My duty is always to you, he concludes. “So if Donald Trump is the president, I’ll stand up to him. Plain and simple.”
Watch it here. We may be seeing a slew of other ads like it if Trump's numbers continue to fall:
A Transit Elevated Bus conducts a test run in north China's Hebei Province (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via AP)
GET SMART FAST:
A woman in her 60s was killed, and five others injured after a knife attack in central London square. Police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the attack. Early reports suggest mental health were a “significant factor” in the violence, though officials have declined to rule out terrorism as a possibility. (Elise Schmelzer) An Emirates flight from India with 300 people on board crash-landed at Dubai’s main airport, sending plumes of smoke into the air and temporarily halting traffic on the tarmac. Officials said there were no fatalities in the crash, and all passengers were safely evacuated before the plane was engulfed in a fireball. (AP) Military officials announced at least 33 U.S. service members, including a pregnant woman, have tested positive for Zika. Officials said all of the infections happened outside of the continental U.S. (Carol Rosenberg) Meanwhile, the Obama administration warned it is “rapidly” running out of funds to fight the mosquito-born virus, urging action from House Democrats as officials acknowledged existing funds could be depleted by the end of August. (Kelsey Snell) Bizarrely, Brazil’s army may have the mosquito repellant market cornered: Troops are given a sticky repellant that can reportedly stave off mosquitos in the harshest of Amazonian conditions (one New York Times reporter was lucky enough to try it.) But good luck getting your hands on a tube – the country spent 20 years developing the formula in a military lab, and has no plans to commercially produce its secret forumula. Obama commuted the sentences of 214 inmates on Wednesday, far surpassing his single-day clemency record as he seeks to end “unduly harsh” terms of federal inmates. (Greg Jaffe) The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Virginia transgender student from using the bathroom of his choice, giving his school district additional time to file an appeal on the issue. The move is an indication that the justices will likely rule on the case in the fall. (Moriah Balingit and Robert Barnes) The Pentagon blocked $300 million in military assistance to Pakistan, delivering a potential blow to U.S.-Pakistani ties. The decision also comes as a sign of ongoing tensions with an ally that some have accused of “double-dealing,” and failing to act against militants fueling violence in Afghanistan. (Missy Ryan) Texas agreed to weaken its voter identification laws, following a federal appeals court ruling that the state’s current restrictions discriminate against minorities. The state was also ordered to spend at least $2.5 million on voter outreach initiatives before November, which will be subject to approval of the court. (AP) Nepal’s parliament elected a former communist rebel leader as its new prime minister, a move that will likely portend further political instability in the nation. (AP) New research found that carriers of the gene for sickle cell anemia do NOT have an increased death risk. The study, conducted on nearly 50,000 active-duty soldiers, counters widespread concerns that those with the trait are more likely to die from intense training. (SF Gate) Exposure to microbes from farm animals can reportedly help lower asthma and allergy rates, according to newly-published research from Amish and Hutterite communities in the U.S. Findings were so compelling that scientists are now scrambling to replicate the "barnyard dust" in spray-bottle form to help improve the health of children who do not have regular contact with cows and horses. (New York Times) China test drove a gargantuan street-straddling bus on the roads this week, gaming out final designs for a public transit system that arches over two lanes of traffic. A full trial run is expected to take place next year in central China. (New York Times) Human rights advocates say Australia has banished more than 1,000 refugees to a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, subjecting them to “prisonlike” conditions for years as they sought to deter other asylum seekers from entering the country. (Lindsey Bever) A Busch Gardens flamingo famous for its toe-tapping “dance” routine has died after being picked up – and violently thrown to the ground – by an Orlando park visitor. Officials are unsure what provoked the man to hurt "Pinky," one of its most beloved attractions. (Sarah Larimer) An America’s Got Talent contestant was struck in the throat by a flaming arrow after an onstage “daredevil” act went terribly awry. The man, whose injury was captured on live television, has reported that he is okay. (Elahe Izadi) Sasha Obama landed her first summer gig: the First Daughter is now working the takeout window at a Martha’s Vineyard seafood restaurant, the Boston Herald reports. Job duties include working the cash register, bussing tables, and prepping the restaurant for its noontime opening.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the inauguration of the new parliament. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
BAD TIMING? DEBATE OVER PAYOUT TO IRAN RAGES:
-- The Wall Street Journal reports that senior Justice Department officials objected to sending a U.S. cash payment to Iran that coincided with the release of four U.S. prisoners, but objections were allegedly “overruled by the State Department.” More on the story: “The timing and manner of the payment raised alarms at the Justice Department ... Justice Department officials didn’t object to the $1.7 billion settlement, which they viewed as a bargain given decades of inflation and the circumstances of the original deal … But their concerns show that even within the Obama administration there were worries that the pallets of cash could send the wrong signal to Iran—and potentially to others—about U.S. policy when it came to hostages. Prosecutors were concerned that the U.S. would release too many Iranian convicts and drop too many pending criminal cases against people suspected of violating sanctions laws. They prevailed regarding some of the suspects—those accused or suspected of crimes of terrorism or other violence—but the objections on others were overruled, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
“[Paul Ryan] was among those who seized on the timing and cloak-and-dagger delivery method,” Carol Morello writes, “saying it proved suspicions that the Obama administration had tried to hide a payment for the four Americans …
“In fact, the money was earmarked to settle a decades-old Iranian claim on the money, plus $1.3 billion in interest. The funds were deposited by Iran before the 1979 revolution to buy U.S. military equipment, and they were frozen under President Jimmy Carter after Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Iran has been trying to recover the money ever since, at one point contending that it was owed $10 billion or more with accrued interest. …”
The White House and State Department both denied the money was part of any “quid pro quo” arrangement, while others “say that the transaction is as much about perception as provable reality.” “The timing may look awkward, but on the other hand, this dispute had been festering for more than three decades, and it was good to get it resolved — and to get Jason and the others out,” said Barbara Slavin, acting director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council. “Those who opposed the nuclear deal will call it ‘ransom’ and those who supported it will call it ‘compensation.’”
-- HOW IT'S PLAYING ON THE TRAIL: Trump falsely claimed he watched footage of the controversial money transfer, telling voters at a Daytona Beach rally that he laid eyes on a months-old video “recorded by the Iranian government and released to embarrass the United States.” From Jenna Johnson: "Remember this: Iran — I don't think you heard this anywhere but here — Iran provided all of that footage, the tape of taking that money off the airplane," Trump said at the rally. "Right?" “Trump provided no source for this exclusive information but described in detail what he saw in the video[:] ‘And they have a perfect tape, done by obviously a government camera, and the tape is of the people taking the money off the plane,” [he said]. ‘Right? That means that in order to embarrass us further, Iran sent us the tapes. …’”
What he was likely watching? Dark, grainy and widely-shared footage of the U.S. prisoners apparently landing in Geneva: After his remarks, The Post asked Trump’s spokespeople to clarify what Trump was talking about, emailing a link to a Fox News clip that showed the January footage from Geneva and asking if that was the video the nominee saw. “‘Yes,’ spokeswoman Hope Hicks responded in an email. ‘Merely the b-roll footage included in every broadcast.’ Hicks has yet to respond to a follow-up email asking why Trump thought the footage showed a money transfer and not the … hostage swap, and why Trump said it was recorded by the Iranian government.”
He also said Clinton was involved, a claim The Post’s Fact Checker patently denies. (He gets four Pinnochios.) “We will leave it up to readers to decide whether the facts warrant calling this some sort of ransom payment,” Glenn Kessler writes. “But Trump is completely off-base about Clinton’s involvement." (Read more.)
Watch Trump tell attendees about the "secret" video:
He also tweeted about the situation:
Our incompetent Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was the one who started talks to give 400 million dollars, in cash, to Iran. Scandal! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2016
Some conservatives defended Trump on this one:
Hitting Trump over Humayun Khan isn't media bias. Burying an American President paying ransom to state sponsor of terror in Iran is. — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) August 3, 2016
Trump attends a campaign event in Daytona Beach. (Reuters/Eric Thayer)
THE DAILY DONALD:
-- “Turmoil in the Republican Party escalated Wednesday as party leaders, strategists and donors voiced increased alarm about the flailing state of Trump’s candidacy and fears that the presidential nominee was damaging the party with an extraordinary week of self-inflicted mistakes, gratuitous attacks and missed opportunities.” From Philip Rucker, Dan Balz and Matea Gold: “RNC Chairman Reince Priebus was described as ‘very frustrated’ with and deeply disturbed by Trump’s behavior over the past week, having run out of excuses to make on the nominee’s behalf to donors and other party leaders … Meanwhile, Trump’s top campaign advisers are struggling once again to instill discipline in their candidate, who has spent recent days lurching from one controversy to another while seemingly skipping chances to go on the offensive against … [Clinton].”
-- Top Trump allies publicly urged him to reboot, “furious” at the Republican nominee for both his continued feuding with the parents of dead Army Capt. Humayun Khan, as well as his refusal to endorse Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain in their respective primary elections.
Top Trump surrogate and onetime veep contender Newt Gingrich warned Trump he was in danger of “throwing away the election” and boosting Clinton’s shot at the presidency : “The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable, because right now, neither of them is acceptable,” he said. “Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is.” He warned the mogul he only has a “matter of weeks” to reverse course: “He cannot win the presidency operating the way he is now,” he said. “She can’t be bad enough to elect him if he’s determined to make this many mistakes.”
: “The current race is which of these two is the more unacceptable, because right now, neither of them is acceptable,” he said. “Trump is helping her to win by proving he is more unacceptable than she is.” He warned the mogul he only has a “matter of weeks” to reverse course: Gov. Chris Christie also broke with his longtime ally, telling reporters that Trump’s remarks towards the Khans were “inappropriate,” and that the two parents have the right to say “whatever they want” in light of their son’s death on the battlefield. (Politico)
telling reporters that Trump’s remarks towards the Khans were “inappropriate,” and that the two parents have the right to say “whatever they want” in light of their son’s death on the battlefield. (Politico) Both running-mate Mike Pence and campaign manager Paul Manafort attempted to tamp down controversy on the issue: In a split with Trump, the GOP vice presidential nominee appeared on Fox News to say he “strongly endorsed” Ryan in his primary campaign. Meanwhile, Manafort denied rumors that campaign staffers were in crisis mode. The campaign is “focused,” in “very good shape,” and “moving forward,” he said on cable news channels.
In a split with Trump, the GOP vice presidential nominee appeared on Fox News to say he “strongly endorsed” Ryan in his primary campaign. Meanwhile, Manafort denied rumors that campaign staffers were in crisis mode. The campaign is “focused,” in “very good shape,” and “moving forward,” he said on cable news channels. Manafort also denied persistent rumors that Priebus, Gingrich and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani were trying to arrange an intervention with Trump to urge him to refocus his candidacy , saying in a Fox News appearance that he knew “nothing about it.” “Not me,” Gingrich said in an email when asked if he were part of an upcoming meeting.
, saying in a Fox News appearance that he knew “nothing about it.” “Not me,” Gingrich said in an email when asked if he were part of an upcoming meeting. The former soldier who served as Capt. Humayun Khan’s commander in Iraq defended him in a Washington Post op-ed, calling for “steady,” “empathetic” leaders that have respect for Gold Star families. “Humayun died trying to save the lives of innocent Iraqis,” he wrote. “His brave effort to approach the vehicle probably saved American lives as well.”
Amid the controversy, Trump suffered two more Republican defections: “Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), an Iraq War veteran, said on CNN that he is unlikely to vote for Trump because the nominee was ‘beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politics.’” And former Montana governor and RNC chairman Marc Racicot said he will not vote for Trump. “I’m not accusing people of being appeasers, but what I am saying is that there’s a transcendent set of values throughout our history that we subscribe to above party,” Racicot said in an interview, adding that he “thinks Trump lacks those values.” (Check out the full list of Republicans who have vowed not to vote for Trump here.)
Former Gingrich ally Vin Weber also rejected Trump’s candidacy, calling his presidential bid "a mistake of historic proportions" for the GOP. "’I won't vote for Trump,’ said Weber, who represented Minnesota in the House for 12 years beginning in the Reagan era. ‘I can't imagine I'd remain a Republican if he becomes president.’” (CNBC)
“People are more frustrated than they have been with past indiscretions,’ said Steve Duprey, a New Hampshire RNC member and confidant of both McCain and Sen. Kelly Ayotte. “People are just going, ‘Can you believe this?’ … Our nominee is losing opportunities to make the case why he should be elected instead of Mrs. Clinton and instead spending all of his time dealing with controversies of his own creation,'" Phil, Dan and Matea report.
“’I’m pulling for him, but he’s not driving on the pavement. He’s in the ditch,’ said Henry Barbour, an RNC member and longtime strategist in Mississippi. ‘I’m frustrated. There’s time to fix it, but there’s one person who can fix it. It’s up to him.’”
“Calling Priebus ‘very frustrated,’ a knowledgeable GOP strategist said, ‘It’s the totality of the week. The whole Khan thing kicking off the week was a concern to him, and then obviously all the other smaller issues were. The [failure to endorse Ryan and McCain] was like the cherry on the cake.’”
“[Trump] seems to understand that if you produce a steady stream of sufficiently stupefying statements, there will be no time to dwell on any one of them, and the net effect on the public will be numbness and ennui,” George Will writes in his latest column. “The nation, however, is not immune to the lasting damage that is being done to it by Trump’s success in normalizing post-factual politics. It is being poisoned by the injection into its bloodstream of the cynicism required of those Republicans who persist in pretending that although Trump lies constantly and knows nothing, these blemishes do not disqualify him from being president. It has been well said that ‘sooner or later, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.’ The Republican Party’s multicourse banquet has begun.”
A Trump protester is held back by his supporters during a rally in Daytona Beach.(Red Huber/AP)
-- Meanwhile, Trump tried to strike a different tone while campaigning in Florida, insisting his campaign is “doing incredibly well” and staffers are working harmoniously. From Susan Cooper Eastman and Jenna Johnson: “’So, I just want to tell you the campaign is doing really well. It's never been so well united. I would say right now it's the best in terms of being united that it's been since we began. We're doing incredibly well,’ Trump said, pointing to polls that show him tied or slightly ahead of Clinton in the battleground states of Florida and Ohio. ‘So I think we've never been this united.’”
He struck an upbeat note during the rally, focusing his ire Clinton and the Obama administration, Eastman and Johnson write. He said the U.S. has become “like a third-world nation,” accused Clinton of being "the founder of ISIS" and of creating the "mess" in Libya, and said he expects to win over Sanders supporters in November. "Wouldn't that be embarrassing?" Trump pondered. "To lose to Crooked Hillary Clinton? That would be terrible."
“Trump also warned that crowd that Clinton might appoint Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to the U.S. Supreme Court — and in doing so, repeatedly referred to Warren as ‘Pocahontas’ because of the controversy over Warren previously claiming to have Native American heritage. ‘If Hillary puts her people on the Supreme Court — okay? — like, who knows,’ Trump said. ‘Elizabeth Warren maybe will go. Maybe. Pocahontas, Pocahontas. They'll put Pocahontas. What an insult to Pocahontas, isn't it? I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, to Pocahontas. But she will put people so far left that our country will become Venezuela.’”
He also promised that once he becomes president, police officers will “no longer be shot on the job,” referencing the recent murders of on-duty police officers in Dallas and Louisiana. "We're going to make our country safe again, and we're going to make our country great again," Trump said during a Wednesday night rally. “And we're going to have law and order, and we're going to respect our police, because you have to respect our police. We're not shooting our police. It's never been so dangerous to be a policeman or woman. It's never been so dangerous." (Jenna Johnson)
Trump acknowledged that some police officers might also need to make some changes, vowing that “police are going to be careful.” “We can’t make those mistakes … and we’re not going to make those mistakes,” he said of police violence.
-- Trump’s campaign is also expanding their media presence as they seek to stop the bleeding and drive home a consistent message. Politico reports the team is bringing in veteran ad man Larry Weitzner, who has worked with both Chris Christie and former New York Gov. George Pataki, to help with the efforts.
-- They also released fundraising numbers: Matea Gold reports Trump’s campaign raised $82 million in conjunction with the RNC during the month of July. Per the FEC filings: “… 64 million came in the form of donations contributed online and through direct mail solicitations ... Another $16 million was raised through 20 pricey fundraising events held in conjunction with the RNC. In addition, Trump personally contributed $2 million to his campaign, for a total monthly haul of $82 million.” Clinton, for comparison, pulled in $90 million alongside the DNC last month.
-- Trump’s campaign will begin its outreach to African Americans this weekend. Buzzfeed’s Darren Sands and John Stanton outline the upcoming mobilization campaign: “On Sunday, an entire Charlotte church will endorse Trump. Trump surrogates will attempt a media blitz, trying to engage black women, veterans, and leaders over the next several days, culminating in the church’s endorsement at Antioch Road to Glory International Ministries. ‘Supporting Hillary is like being with an abusive ex, one that you already know left you broken and wounded,’ reads a post on the church’s Facebook page from last month. ‘At this point, give the new guy a chance.’ The event there — ‘A Day of Endorsement’ — will feature a small group of high-profile Trump supporters: black outreach director Omarosa Manigault (an ordained minister); Trump national spokesperson Katrina Pierson; Trump surrogate Pastor Mark Burns … and Eric Trump Foundation VP Lynne Patton. And that’s how Donald Trump’s black outreach campaign will officially begin.”
-- DISPATCHES FROM THE TRAIL: The New York Times spent several weeks documenting the angry and provocative comments at Trump rallies. “… What struck us was the frequency with which some Trump supporters use coarse, vitriolic, even violent language — in the epithets they shout and chant, the signs they carry, the T-shirts they wear — a pattern not seen in connection with any other recent political candidate, in any party,” they wrote. Check out their video here.
Clinton holds Trump and Clinton designed ties while visiting the Denver-based Knotty Tie Company. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
THE DAILY HRC:
-- New York Times, “Hillary Clinton Campaign Takes First Steps in Presidential Transition,” from Amy Chozick and Julie Hirschfeld Davis: “With her party’s convention behind her, Hillary Clinton has started to officially plan for her White House transition, putting two longtime aides in charge of the effort. John D. Podesta, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, will serve as the president and Minyon Moore, a senior adviser, the secretary of the Clinton-Kaine Transition Fund, a nonprofit group that will oversee the effort, according to paperwork filed on Wednesday … A cadre of policy aides to Mrs. Clinton, including Ann O’Leary and Ed Meier, will also help in the transition team’s effort, which will be largely focused on administration and developing a framework for Mrs. Clinton’s policy agenda and personnel appointments.”
The White House has been preparing for months for a smooth handover of power since January. On Monday, Obama’s chief of staff reportedly called both the Clinton and Trump campaigns to discuss the next steps in the process. Representatives from both Clinton and Trump’s campaigns were invited for transition-meeting planning, and invited to arrange formal intelligence briefings. Both teams are also now eligible to begin using GSA-provided office space in a Pennsylvania Avenue building a block from the White House for transition planning.
-- Clinton spent the day Wednesday campaigning in Colorado, zeroing in on the economy as she blasted Trump for manufacturing his products overseas. “If he wants to make America great again, he should start by making things in America - and there’s a lot he could learn by coming here,” Clinton said during a tour of the Knotty Tie company, highlighting a small business with U.S.-based operations.
-- Her visit comes as both Clinton and Trump have begun showering attention on Colorado. And both camps have warned that the state – despite Clinton’s wide lead over Trump in recent polls – is still very much in play. Abby Phillip reports: “Democrats have long hoped that they could make the state more firmly blue. Its relatively large Hispanic population, numerous college campuses and fast-growing urban centers seem to work in their favor. But the state still quietly holds onto its Wild West roots, especially when it comes to politics. Statewide and local races have swung from one party to the other in recent elections."
A man embraces a woman wearing a Gary Johnson cutout. Johnson appeared at a CNN town hall event on August 3. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)
CNN HOSTS LIBERTARIAN "TOWN HALL":
-- Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson and running-mate William Weld touted their credentials as former governors, casting both Clinton and Trump as “polarizing” candidates that threaten to divide the country more than ever. “If either Trump or Clinton are elected, things will be more polarized than ever,” Johnson said during the event. “I think it might be refreshing to have a party that was not terribly partisan holding the White House. And we would hire the best people from the Democratic Party that we could find. The smartest people from the Republican Party that we could find. The best people of the Libertarian Party." (Politico)
And Johnson addressed concerns that third-party voters were “wasting their votes”: “A wasted vote is a vote you don’t believe in,” he told the crowd.”
-- CNN announced it will hold a Green Party forum later this month, modeled after the “town hall” session for Johnson and Weld. In an announcement, CNN promised the likely Green ticket of Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka would "address the current state of the 2016 race and the platform of the Green Party in addition to fielding questions from voters." (David Weigel)
Paul Ryan gavels in the second day of the Republican convention n Cleveland. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
RYAN SUPPORTERS STRONGLY BEHIND HIM BEFORE TUESDAY PRIMARY:
-- Conservative Icon Phyllis Schlafly endorsed Paul Nehlen Wednesday, citing his preferences on immigration: "If [Ryan] can't get in line with [a] majority of the electorate on the biggest issue [immigration], he should resign and we should get someone who fulfills the wishes and the hopes of the majority who just nominated Trump," she said in an interview.
-- There’s little evidence Trump’s hostility towards Paul Ryan has affected him in his the Wisconsin Republican primary, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Only nine percent of Republicans in his district an unfavorable view of him in June and July surveys, while a full 84 percent said they viewed him favorably. (His district standing is similar to statewide numbers.)
In fact, support seems to go the OTHER way, with the Journal-Sentinel’s Editorial Board calling on Ryan to disavow Trump. “He must choose his party or his principles,” the board wrote of the House speaker August 2. “The Trump candidacy cannot accommodate both.”
--And so far, Ryan’s standing among Trump supporters does not seem to have suffered, despite his previous criticisms of the GOP presidential nominee. In Marquette’s last survey taken in early July, Republican voters across the state were asked if they thought Trump or another candidate should be the party’s nominee. Among Wisconsin Republicans who backed Trump, Ryan’s rating was 80 percent. Among “anti-Trump” Republicans in the state, Ryan’s favorability rating was 74 percent. “That is not what you’d expect to see if Ryan’s disagreements with Trump were turning off Trump supporters in the party,” the Journal-Sentinel’s Craig Gilbert concludes.
For Ryan to be truly damaged, three things would likely have to be true: “That Republican primary voters next Tuesday are a lot more pro-Trump than they were in the April presidential primary … that those primary voters are dramatically more anti-Ryan than most Republicans in Ryan’s district; and that after being very pro-Ryan for years, GOP voters have shifted sharply against the speaker since Marquette’s last poll in early July.”
SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:
It's Obama's birthday:
NBC made a (long) list of the things Trump has said or done in recent days:
Donald Trump in the last 24 hours (from NBC News)
pic.twitter.com/brHHxlXuZx — Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) August 4, 2016
The Trump campaign is going after media outlets for bias:
Trump campaign finally focusing on its true opponent: The New York Times pic.twitter.com/rN6XS6OQUD — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 3, 2016
The man who wrote The Art of the Deal is going after Trump on Twitter:
Trump selling copies of Art of the Deal for $184 to raise money for campaign. Isn't worth paper it's printed on. I should know: I wrote it. — Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) August 2, 2016
It's worth reading this whole tweetstorm from Jeb Bush's former national security adviser about Trump and nuclear weapons:
3. When we went into ICBM training, we went through a battery of tests and interviews. Are you sane? Are you willing to turn your key? — John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
6. There are a hell of a lot of bad actors out there who have nukes. They are restrained only by our ability to instantly lay waste to them. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
7. The nuke triad, which Trump doesn't have a clue about, has been the single greatest contributor to global peace for decades. You heard me — John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
15. The power is there to kill millions. Permanently alter the geopolitical landscape. It is a sacred, sobering responsibility. — John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
16. Idea that nukes would be used, say over Raqqa or Mosul, simply because we have no more allies and it's a simple, easy fix is nauseating — John Noonan (@noonanjo) August 3, 2016
Clint Eastwood thinks people are too hard on Trump (read his full interview here):
Feel-good story of the day pic.twitter.com/INFMElrWsy — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) August 4, 2016
You can now compare your hand's size to Trump's:
Turns out Trump's hands aren't so huge: Print and compare yours with #TrumpMyHand https://t.co/Udx4Mm7NKB pic.twitter.com/stoIuKFOmV — Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 3, 2016
Oliver North raised eyebrows with this comment:
.@OliverNorthFNC: “Why has this administration consistently bent over backwards for the Iranian regime?” #Greta pic.twitter.com/nRHBJQTvIJ — Fox News (@FoxNews) August 3, 2016
Ollie North, of Iran-Contra fame said this.
Of the conspiracy to covertly arm Iran fame said this.
He
said
this https://t.co/OyOEobnCaW — Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) August 3, 2016
Could be worse. Could be selling arms to them. https://t.co/TDfJKvOWRb — daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 3, 2016
the year cognitive dissonance died https://t.co/2qIg1b6bFc — chris hooks (@cd_hooks) August 3, 2016
Susan Rice is rooting for U.S. women's soccer:
The team won its first game in Rio:
Boooooom Baaaabbbyyyy!!! One down more to go! Great win by the Gals today 💪🏼👊🏼🇺🇸⚡️🙋🏼🎉🔥. #riomode — Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) August 4, 2016
HOT ON THE LEFT: "Tweet about hanging Hillary Clinton posted by Riverside County GOP,” from the Press Enterprise: “Two tweets from the official Twitter account for the Riverside County Republican Party featured illustrations of a hangman holding a noose with the words, ‘I’m Ready for Hillary,’ below. The portrait of the masked hangman features gallows with two other empty nooses in the background. The hangman wears an axe at this side and blood is visible on his shirt and apron. The tweets, [eventually taken down], were sent in response to another Twitter user who tweeted a picture of a man holding a ‘Republicans for Hillary’ sign.” The county party chairman later apologized, though he had characterized the post in an earlier email as being “nothing more than political satire.” HOT ON THE RIGHT UN backs secret Obama takeover of police, from Polizette: "United Nations Rapporteur Maina Kai on July 27, a representative of the U.N. Human Rights Council, who on the tail-end of touring the U.S., endorsed a little-known and yet highly controversial practice by the Justice Department to effect a federal takeover of local police and corrections departments ... the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice files a lawsuit in federal court against a city, county, or state, alleging constitutional and civil rights violations by the police or at a corrections facility ... The municipality then simply agrees to the judicial finding — without contest — and the result is a wide-reaching federal court order that imposes onerous regulations on local police."
DAYBOOK:
On the campaign trail: Clinton campaigns in Las Vegas; Kaine speaks in Baltimore. Trump is in Portland, Maine; Pence stops in Raleigh, N.C. and Virginia Beach and Norfolk, Va.
At the White House: Obama holds a National Security Council Meeting on the counter-ISIL campaign, then a press conference.
On Capitol Hill: The Senate and House are out.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I think he is a showman, a pied piper, the music man,” Libertarian candidate William Weld said. “More recently, it has gotten more serious and the noun that comes to my mind is a screw loose.”
NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:
-- A 36-year-old Metro employee was arrested and charged for attempting to provide support to Islamic State groups. The employee, Nicholas Young, was accused of sending codes for mobile messaging cards to an undercover federal agent in the belief that they would be used by ISIS fighters overseas to communicate. His arrest marks the first time a U.S. law enforcement officer has been accused of trying to aid a terrorist group. (Rachel Weiner)
-- The Nationals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-3.
-- A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into last week’s Silver Line derailment on the Metro rail found that officials may have known about problems in the area as early as 2009. (Lori Aratani)
-- A longtime film professor at the University of Virginia was arrested following allegations that he possessed child pornography. The professor, 72-year-old Walter Francis Korte, Jr., was placed on administrative leave. (Moriah Balingit)
VIDEOS OF THE DAY:
Watch highlights from U.S. women's soccer's first win in Rio (click below):
Jimmy Fallon walked through the pros and cons of holding the Olympics there:
Can the GOP dump Trump?
Pence praised McCain's leadership while campaigning in Arizona:
Watch Trump call Clinton "the founder of ISIS:"
Ryan's primary challenger used a man as his podium:
Trump opened money he said a Gold Star family gave him before his speech:
A D.C. transit police office was accused of trying to help ISIS:
The bones of a Smithsonian scientist are still there -- learn why here:
Here's rare video of an eagle attacking an osprey nest:
Finally, GOP strategist Liz Mair called Trump a "loudmouth d--k" live on CNN (click to watch): |
Kaboom. The Cauliflower Crust! This one has no almonds/nuts, uses pumpkin seeds and a thick chia gel to keep it together. With a few trials you will know what toppings and crust size work best for you. Make some!
I have another cauliflower crust on the blog. Cauliflower Potato crust pizza which is a de-constructed Gobi Paratha. I love that one more for obvious reasons. All the Indian spices 🙂 The potato also is a much better binder. I think potato just makes everything more delicious. But cauliflower is not far behind.
This crust is just cauliflower and some pepita, lightly roasted, then combined with chia seeds and herbs and topped with marinara, herbed white beans, onions, peppers and some daiya. Yes, I added those beans to test out the crust. They were heavy! And the marinara also adds more moisture to the crust. A thicker garlicky white sauce would work out much better. Add some celery seeds or ranch seasoning on top and beans tossed in buffalo sauce. yum. I cannot wait to make that version.
Make this gluten, grain, nut, soy, gum free crust. You can make this without oil too. And top it your favorite toppings. There is no salt in the crust. Sprinkle some on the pizza before serving.
Vegan gluten free Cauliflower Crust
More gluten-free and grain-free(or can be made grain-free) crusts from the blog.
Black eyed pea Crust with roasted cauliflower and blackberry tomato chutney
Cauliflower Potato crust topped with raita
Chickpea Quinoa chard crust
Mung Bean Sprouts and Spinach Crust
Millet chickpea Kale Crust topped with okra, olives, peppers
This cauliflower crust can also be converted to individual servings. Make smaller 4 inch crusts and top with favorite toppings or fresh greens and veggies and dressing of choice.
Steps:
Chia and flax gelling up while the cauliflower will get lightly roasted.
Bake the crust until not squishy in the center and firm. Then add the toppings.
I wanted to show how well it holds up with all those beans. I ate the tiny bite of the slice because it was ready to fall off 🙂 It is very loaded like a regular pizza. If the crust was packed well, baked well, the toppings not too wet, then the crust holds up well. If the middle part has moisture for any reason because of bake time or very moist toppings, then it might be fragile. It will however taste ah-mazing and you can serve it up with fork and knife.
Cauliflower Pepita Chia Crust topped with herbed Beans, peppers and onions
Allergen Information: Free of Dairy, egg, corn, soy, gluten, grain. Can be made yeast-free by omitting nutritional yeast. can be made oil-free.
Makes 1 9 inch crust
Ingredients:
MY LATEST VIDEOS
3 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flaxmeal
1/2 cup water
1/2 head of cauliflower (2.5 loaded cups of florets)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (or use sunflower or hemp)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Toppings:
Pizza sauce/thick marinara or thick white garlic sauce
red onion slices
roasted red peppers
daiya cheese shreds
White Bean Topping
1 15 oz can great northern beans or 1.5 cups cooked beans
2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp lemon juice
Method:
Mix the chia and flax into the water and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. Mix again after 15 minutes to redistribute.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Pulse the pumpkin seeds into coarse meal in the food processor, add cauliflower and pulse.
Remove from the processor and put the cauliflower pepita mix on a parchment lined sheet. Spread the grated cauliflower mixture and bake for 7 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a bowl. Cool slightly. Add the chia flax gel to the mix. Add garlic, thyme, rosemary, olive oil and mix well. It should become a soft textured dough.
Press the mix into a 1/4 inch thick crust (8-9 inches) inch crust on a parchment lined sheet. Pack it well.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the crust is golden and the center is not soft to touch. (bake time depends on the moisture content). Turn the sheet around after 20 minutes. Spray water on the edges so they don’t over brown.
Cool slightly. Add marinara or other vegan cheese sauce, onions, beans, peppers, cheese, or other toppings of choice. For the herbed beans, mix all the ingredients under white bean topping and add to the pizza.
Bake again for 10 -15 minutes. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately. do not store. 🙂
If the crust starts to brown too quickly, reduce the temperature to 375 and cook until done. |
Not to be confused with Nora , a cat that plays a piano on her own.
Keyboard Cat Directed by Charlie Schmidt Release date June 7, 2007 Running time 0 : 54
Keyboard Cat is an Internet meme. It consists of a video from 1984 of a female cat called "Fatso" wearing a blue shirt and "playing" an upbeat rhythm on an electronic keyboard. The video was posted to YouTube under the title "charlie schmidt's cool cats" in June 2007. Schmidt later changed the title to "Charlie Schmidt's Keyboard Cat (THE ORIGINAL)".[1]
Fatso (who died in 1987)[2][3] was owned (and manipulated in the video) by Charlie Schmidt of Spokane, Washington, United States. Later, Brad O'Farrell, who was the syndication manager of the video website My Damn Channel, obtained Schmidt's permission to reuse the footage, appending it to the end of a blooper video to "play" that person offstage after the mistake or gaffe in a similar manner as getting the hook in the days of vaudeville.[4] The appending of Schmidt's video to other blooper and other viral videos became popular, with such videos usually accompanied with the title Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat or a variant. "Keyboard Cat" was ranked No. 2 on Current TV's list of 50 Greatest Viral Videos.[5]
In 2009, Schmidt became owner of Bento, another cat that resembled Fatso, and which he used to create new Keyboard Cat videos, until Bento's death in March 2018.[3] The owner, Charlie Schmidt, has made certain remarks that he may adopt or get a “Keyboard Cat 3.0”.
Videos [ edit ]
The first such "Keyboard Cat" video, entitled "Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat" was created by Brad O'Farrell, who both secured Schmidt's permission to use footage and asked Schmidt to allow anyone to use the footage with or without permission.[6][7][8][9][10] Over four thousand such videos now exist, with a website created to collect them.[11][12]
Other appearances [ edit ]
The Keyboard Cat meme has been spoofed several times on television. Keyboard Cat was popularized by Stephen Colbert on May 18, 2009, during a "toss" with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[13] At the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Andy Samberg's opening monologue suggested that award winners whose speech went on too long would be played off by Keyboard Cat.[14] Kato Kaelin also spoofed Keyboard Cat in a segment of Tosh.0 entitled "Keyboard Kato" in the series first episode.[15] A television advertisement for Wonderful Pistachios features Bento, Charlie Schmidt's current Keyboard Cat, cracking one of the nuts during the song.[16] Bento died on March 8, 2018.[17] In the Mad episode "Avaturd / CSiCarly", Keyboard Cat is shown to be the music leader of the Na'vi alongside other famous blue characters in a spoof of the James Cameron film Avatar.
The meme has also appeared in various video games. In the Nintendo DS game, Scribblenauts, in which the player can summon numerous objects to assist in solving puzzles, Keyboard Cat appears as one of several possible Internet memes that can be called up in the game.[18] The timing of the popularity of the Keyboard Cat meme with the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo Convention was considered partially responsible for Scribblenauts' success during the convention.[19] An easter egg in Activision Blizzard's announcement for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm reveals the game's antagonist, Deathwing, playing a keyboard with the text "Keyboard Cataclysm: Play 'em Off, Deathwing".[citation needed] A teaser video from Ubisoft for its video game Splinter Cell: Conviction, entitled "Play Him Off, Keyboard Sam" parodies the Keyboard Cat theme.[20] The Xbox Live Arcade remake of Earthworm Jim includes additional content, including one boss character inspired by Keyboard Cat.[21] The animated series, Transformers: Rescue Bots "Shake Up" has a reference to Keyboard Cat in Frankie Greene's video, depicted a cat playing a keyboard in a similar manner.
During Weezer's 2009 summer tour with Blink-182, Keyboard Cat would play the band off every night at the end of their set.
The Keyboard Cat was featured in a cinema spot promoting the UK's EE telecom network,[22] and most recently in the 2014 reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[23]
Keyboard Cat also appeared and revealed herself to be a fan of the Carolina Panthers in a National Football League advertisement that first aired during Super Bowl XLIX.[24]
The Keyboard Cat appeared on one episode of Hawaii Five-0 Season 6 Episode 22.
On the homepage of the popular online game Bin Weevils, one can get a glimpse of a large television screen at the Drive-In Cinema where a "bin pet"-ified Keyboard Cat can be seen.[25]
Other memes [ edit ]
The Keyboard Cat meme has been integrated into other memes. An 8-bit version of both the cat and the song have been created.[26] Online clothing vendor Threadless sells a "Three Keyboard Cat Moon" T-shirt based on the infamous Three Wolf Moon design;[27][28] the shirt design was one of the most popular that the company has had, and they have had difficulties in meeting the demand for the shirt.[29] The shirt appeared in a television ad for the release of the PlayStation 3 Slim game console.[30] G4TV's Attack of the Show held a "Great American Keyboard Cat Competition" to give viewers a chance to create their own Keyboard Cat-inspired art, with over one hundred pieces submitted.[31] Several of the top works from this were given to the charity Kitten Rescue to be auctioned off through eBay.[32] The MLB AL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays used a variation known as "Rays Keyboard Kitty" (they also had one called "DJ Kitty") to rouse the crowd during its late season run, using a similar cat in Rays gear in several segments. On April 1, 2011, YouTube released a video showing the "Top 5 Viral Pictures of 1911",[citation needed] including a parody of Keyboard Cat titled "Flugelhorn Feline".
There are also a number of videos in which other music has been substituted in for the original song. For example, at the height of the popularity of the podcast Serial, a YouTube video was released that showed Keyboard Cat "playing" the Serial theme song.[33]
In one example, Keyboard Cat was appended to the end of a segment of Desperate Lives (1982), a made-for-TV movie starring Helen Hunt showing the effects of drug use (with Keyboard Cat starting after Hunt's character falls out a window and suffers from overdosing); after the video, the submitter then superimposed Keyboard Cat in the music video for Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams".[10] The music video segment has been jokingly called by some the "greatest music video ever."[34] While the video still exists at YouTube, copyright issues with Warner Music Group have forced YouTube to disable the audio.[10] The move has alerted groups concerned about copyrights and the remix culture to warn about potential limitation of creative expression through such actions.[10][12][34]
Lawsuit [ edit ]
On June 21, 2011, Schmidt filed a lawsuit in Seattle Federal Court against Threadless for their 2009 line of Three Keyboard Cat Moon T-shirts, a send up of the then popular Three Wolf Moon meme, due to copyright infringement.[35][36] Threadless counter-claimed by stating that Schmidt's copyright claim was not approved until September 22, 2010, more than a year after the production of the T-shirts, and that Schmidt had lost his copyright when he asked people to submit videos that paid tribute to Fatso.[37] As of May 2013 , this lawsuit has been settled.[38]
In May 2013, Schmidt and Christopher Torres, the creator of Nyan Cat, jointly sued 5th Cell and Warner Bros. for copyright infringement and trademark infringement over the appearance of these characters without permission in the Scribblenauts series of video games. Torres and Schmidt have both registered copyrights on their characters and have pending trademark applications on the names.[38][39][40] Meme manager Ben Lashes manages them and Grumpy Cat, Scumbag Steve and Ridiculously Photogenic Guy.[38][41] The suit was settled in September 2013, with Torres and Schmidt being paid for the use of the characters.[42]
See also [ edit ] |
Here’s one more reason to be confident about the big AT&T-Time Warner merger: It’s been done before, and it worked out pretty well.
In 2011, U.S. regulators approved the combination of Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, and NBCUniversal, one of the largest providers of TV programming and movies. Under the agreement, Comcast was required to meet 150 conditions and commitments.
Profits soared for the companies, and the merger didn’t stifle competition in online entertainment, as opponents feared.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Sling are among the many streaming video providers that have emerged much stronger in this decade, and consumers are benefiting from more choices and lower prices.
AT&T and Time Warner also want to combine broad distribution and premier content, just on a grander scale. In addition to millions of pay TV and broadband customers, AT&T has about 150 million wireless accounts, a key position of strength as more video entertainment goes mobile.
The Justice Department is evaluating the AT&T deal, which would be one of the largest acquisitions in history. AT&T has agreed to pay $108.7 billion, including debt, for a company that includes HBO, CNN, Turner and Warner Bros. studios.
AT&T expects the merger to be approved by the end of the year and has been putting key pieces in place. It recently shuffled management, hired a New York executive to oversee a new advertising unit and sold $22.5 billion in bonds to finance the deal.
One more hurdle
The last major hurdle is the Justice Department, and the Comcast deal is worth reviewing because of the parallels. Consumer groups raised many concerns then, as they have with AT&T-Time Warner today.
In 2011, regulators set conditions on everything from expanding broadband service to protecting the journalistic independence of NBC News. A top concern was protecting new streaming services.
“The transaction had the potential to stifle new online competition,” Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney said at the time. That would lead to less investment, less experimentation with new delivery models and less diversity in content, she said.
But with the conditions, the merger “will not chill the nascent competition posed by online competitors — competitors that have the potential to reshape the marketplace,” Varney said.
Indeed, Netflix has grown exponentially, new players have emerged and there has never been so many video options.
“We’re living in a golden age of TV and content, and money is pouring into this,” said Roger Entner, a longtime telecom analyst and founder of Recon Analytics. “That’s not because of the Comcast merger, but that deal certainly didn’t prohibit any growth in the industry.”
In 2011, Netflix had almost 24 million streaming customers. It now has over 100 million, including in the international market. Hulu has grown rapidly, and other video providers are flashing big ambitions.
As more choices emerge, more people are cutting the cord on cable and opting for “over-the-top” video, which provides shows and movies over an internet connection. In the last two years, Sling TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV and Playstation Vue have added almost 2.3 million subscribers, according to estimates by research firm MoffettNathanson.
Cable and satellite TV providers have lost almost the same number of customers over that time.
Even those who opposed the Comcast deal concede that new video models have developed just fine.
“The market is improving in a pro-consumer direction,” said John Bergmayer, senior counsel at Public Knowledge, a public policy advocate in Washington. “But I don’t wanna say it’s as good as it could be. It would be nice to see more new entrants, not just incumbents expanding their product line.” |
Hesperidin (4'-methoxy-7-O-rutinosyl-3',5-dihydroxyflavanone), a naturally occurring flavanone glycoside, was previously shown to produce an antidepressant-like effect with modultation of the serotonergic 5-HT1A and kappa-opioid receptors. In this study, the signaling mechanisms underlying their antidepressant-like effects were further evaluated by investigating in acute and chronic treatments. Results showed that chronic treatment of hesperidin or hesperitin (0.1, 0.3 and 1mg/kg, intraperitoneal, i.p.) have an antidepressant-like effect in the mouse tail suspension test (TST) without modified the locomotor activity in the open field test. Pretreatment with l-arginine (a nitric oxide (NO) precursor), sildenafil (a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor) or S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (a NO donor) significantly reversed the reduction in immobility time elicited by acute treatment with hesperidin (0.3mg/kg) in the TST. Hesperidin (0.01mg/kg, a sub-effective dose in acute treatment) produced an additive antidepressant-like effect with N(G)-nitro-l-arginine (an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)) or 7-nitroindazole (a neuronal NOS inhibitor) in the TST. Pretreatment of animals with methylene blue (an inhibitor of NOS/soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)) or ODQ (a specific inhibitor sGS) caused an additive effect with hesperidin in the TST. Hesperidin in the acute (1mg/kg) and chronic (0.1, 0.3 and 1mg/kg) treatments caused a significant decrease in nitrate/nitrite (NOX) levels in the hippocampus of mice. Chronic treatment with hesperidin (0.3 and 1mg/kg) also resulted in an increase in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels. These results demonstrated that the antidepressant-like effect of hesperidin is likely mediated by inhibition of l-arginine-NO-cGMP pathway and by increased of the BDNF levels in hippocampus.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. |
Image copyright AFP Image caption Russia has been accused by the West of deploying aggressive tactics along its borders
Lithuania is to reintroduce conscription over concerns about "the current geopolitical environment" in the Baltic states, President Dalia Grybauskaite says.
Conscription will be renewed for a five-year-period to "enhance and accelerate army recruitment", she said.
Ms Grybauskaite did not specifically refer to the situation in Ukraine, but neighbouring states have expressed worries about Russian aggression.
Parliament must still approve the plan.
Lithuania abolished conscription in 2008, but the new rules would see it reinstated for men aged 19-26, with exemptions for certain categories, such as university students and single fathers.
Up to 3,500 men would be recruited each year.
Latvia's defence minister has also suggested strengthening his country's military, by increasing army numbers to 7,000 men. However, there are no plans to introduce compulsory service.
Analysis: Bridget Kendall, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent
It was Russia's annexation of Crimea last year and President Putin's warning that he reserved the right to protect Russian speakers wherever they were which first raised the alarm in the three small Baltic republics.
In response Nato announced plans for a new rapid reaction force in the region. Now Lithuania says it will bring back compulsory national service starting this September.
It fears that unrest could be stirred up among its tiny minority Russian population.
An even greater worry is that it sits next to Kaliningrad, an enclave cut off from the rest of Russia but bristling with troops and armaments.
Lithuania's top general admitted there was not yet a military threat. But its foreign minister has voiced the fear that "we could be next" if tensions with Russia continued to deepen.
Lithuania was formerly a part of the Soviet Union, along with Latvia and Estonia, but sought to join Nato and the EU upon independence in 1991.
Its proximity to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has lead to fears about possible interference from Russia.
Russia carried out a military drill there in December that featured 9,000 soldiers and more than 55 naval vessels.
That is one of a number of incidents that have led to the deterioration of relationships between Moscow and its neighbours.
Last September Estonian security official Eston Kohver was detained by Russia at the border on accusations of spying. There was a dispute over whether he had been captured on Russian or Estonian soil.
The foreign ministry in Tallinn called it "a very disturbing incident", which lead to a rift between the two countries.
Military conscription in Europe
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mandatory military service was reinstated in Ukraine last year due to a "threat to territorial integrity"
Russia - All male citizens aged 18-27 must enrol for a 12-month draft of military service
- All male citizens aged 18-27 must enrol for a 12-month draft of military service Ukraine - Conscription was reinstated in 2014 in response to escalating violence in the east of the country
- Conscription was reinstated in 2014 in response to escalating violence in the east of the country Estonia - Compulsory military service for eight or 11 months from the age of 18
- Compulsory military service for eight or 11 months from the age of 18 Austria - Voted to retain compulsory military service in 2013. Men must serve six months in the army or nine months in civilian service when they reach 18
- Voted to retain compulsory military service in 2013. Men must serve six months in the army or nine months in civilian service when they reach 18 Greece - Males aged 19 to 45 are required by law to perform military service for nine months
- Males aged 19 to 45 are required by law to perform military service for nine months Turkey - Military service is mandatory for all men over the age of 20. They must serve between six and 15 months
- Military service is mandatory for all men over the age of 20. They must serve between six and 15 months Denmark - Conscripts serve an initial training period that varies from four to 12 months from the age of 18
- Conscripts serve an initial training period that varies from four to 12 months from the age of 18 Norway - Men aged 19 to 44 must serve in the armed forces for 19 months. Women born from 1997 onwards, will also be conscripted from the summer of 2016
- Men aged 19 to 44 must serve in the armed forces for 19 months. Women born from 1997 onwards, will also be conscripted from the summer of 2016 Finland - Men are called up at 18 but an increasing number are opting for alternative civilian service
- Men are called up at 18 but an increasing number are opting for alternative civilian service Germany - Compulsory military service was suspended in July 2011, but it remains in the country's constitution
Some analysts have warned that Russia could extend its actions in Ukraine and breed instability in Baltic states, whether through Russian-speaking minorities, energy policy or cyber warfare.
Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania agreed to set up joint military unit of several thousand soldiers in September 2014.
Officials said they planned to make the unit fully operational within 24 months so it could take part in peacekeeping missions or form the basis of a Nato battle group if one was needed in the future. |
The “Bernie or Bust” contingent is growing as the divide between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders widens, and the disenchanted supporters of the Vermont Senator could pose a major challenge for Clinton come November.
These voters have vowed not to support Hillary Clinton under any circumstances, preferring instead to support third-party candidates or, in some cases, even casting their ballots for Donald Trump if Sanders is not the Democratic nominee.
The Los Angeles Times recently looked at the growing “Bernie or Bust” movement, finding a number of Bernie’s supporters vowing to abandon the Democratic Party in November.
Bernie Sanders’ campaign has been on the razor’s edge in the Democratic race since his giant losses on Super Tuesday. His supporters gained hope through a long string of victories over the last month and a half, with hopes that last week’s New York primary would give him an upset victory and keep the momentum headed toward California, a big state with big potential to turn the race entirely.
Instead, Bernie Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton by more than 15 points. His path to the nomination is now almost impossibly narrow, and looks to get even more difficult after next Tuesday. Hillary Clinton now leads in the slate of states that will vote, with double-digit leads in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
As Sanders continues to lose and the reality of a Hillary Clinton nomination becoming clearer, many of his supporters are preferring to fold up and find a new candidate rather than back Clinton. A recent McClatchy-Marist poll found that one-in-four Sanders supporters don’t plan to vote for Hillary, and some of them are very vocal about it.
On Twitter, the hashtag #BernieOrBust has been gaining momentum, the Los Angeles Times noted. There is also an online pledge for supporters who vow not to cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton if she becomes the nominee.
“I don’t know if I can vote for her,” said 29-year-old Dennis Brandau. “I don’t even want to hear her talk.”
null
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For his part, Bernie Sanders seems to be doing his best not to fuel the movement. His rhetoric has dulled a bit since his loss in New York, and he has continually said he doesn’t want to play spoiler like Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate accused of siphoning support away from Al Gore in 2000, leading to a win for George W. Bush.
Many believe that the Sanders supporters — or at least a large enough chunk of them — will move over to Hillary sometime after the primary season is over and there is time to heal most of the wounds. That is what happened in 2008, when Clinton endorsed Barack Obama after a hard-fought primary.
But New York Times writer Albert R. Hunt noted that this year is much different, with more stark differences between the Democratic candidates.
He noted that Clinton will definitely need Sanders supporters in November.
“Yet if she is the Democratic nominee, she’ll need Mr. Sanders’s followers in the autumn and would be taking a risk to rely on Mr. Trump’s unpopularity to carry her to the White House. “In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, voters viewed Mr. Trump unfavorably, 65 percent to 24 percent, the highest negatives for a national political figure that the pollster Peter Hart said he had ever seen. But if it weren’t for Mr. Trump, the story would be about Mrs. Clinton’s negatives. In the same survey she was viewed unfavorably, 56 percent to 32 percent. She does poorly among some of Mr. Sanders’s core supporters, such as young people and independents.”
Hillary Clinton’s race for the Democratic nomination is winding down, with Tuesday looming as a potential death knell to Sanders’ campaign. But the growing “Bernie or Bust” movement means she will likely have to fight well into the summer to win over his much-needed supporters.
[Photo by David Calvert/Getty Images] |
Tesla will up its game in the renewable energy storage market with the largest lithium-ion battery storage facility in the world, to be built for Australia’s Hornsdale Wind Farm, with a completion date of December 1, 2017. The facility will use Tesla’s commercial battery storage Powerpack modules to deliver a capacity of 100 MW/129 MWh, which will store energy generated from the farm’s turbines during peak generation hours, and make it available consistently throughout the day when the grid needs it.
This system will be able to power around 30,000 homes at max capacity, which Tesla says is equivalent to how many were without power during a storm that caused a state-wide blackout in South Australia in 2016. The real goal, however, is to help stabilize the South Australian electric power grid, by controlling power delivery according to peak demand. Tesla adds that its Powerwall home battery storage devices are also being installed for residential customers in the country, which can further aid with grid stabilization.
Tesla has already built a large-scale energy storage facility for the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and at the system’s opening Tesla co-founder and CTO JB Straubel explained to me that Powerpack-based systems had potential for applications across renewable energy generation methods, beyond just solar. This wind-based installation, combined with its scale, is another signal to the world that Tesla’s energy offerings can fit a range of needs.
“Battery storage is the future of our national energy market, and the eyes of the world will be following our leadership in this space,” South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill wrote in a statement provided via email. |
Recent articles by Wayne Price
What is Primitive Accumulation? Marxs and Kropotkins ViewpointsA... A Green New Deal vs. Revolutionary Ecosocialism An Anarchist View of State Formation-- Review of Peter Gelderloos, Wo... Recent Articles about International Environment
Εγκλήματα τη ... by Yves Engler* Review of James Speth, The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalis... by Wayne Price Left to your Own Devices by Pink Panther The Ecological Crisis is an Economic Crisis; the Economic Crisis is an Ecological Crisis international | environment | opinion / analysis Wednesday July 07, 2010 09:47 Wednesday July 07, 2010 09:47 by Wayne Price - Personal opinion by Wayne Price - Personal opinion drwdprice at aol dot com PART I: How Capitalism has created an Ecological, Energy, and Economic Crisis The post-WWII boom was based on cheap oil. But oil is nonrenewable, polluting, and causes global warming. It was "cheap" because the capitalists did not pay to prepare for the day when it would be harder to access oil. We have reached that day, which is one aspect of the worldwide crisis of the return to the epoch of capitalist decay.
As I write this, the United States is suffering its worst ecological disaster since the Dust Bowl. Petroleum oil is gushing out of the ocean floor at BPs drill site in the Gulf of Mexico. For it to be gotten under control may still take months, if it can be done at all. In any case, cleaning up the ecological and economic destruction in the region will take decades; some of the effects are irreparable.
There could be no greater illustration that the worldwide crises in ecology, in energy, and in the economy are not separate problems. They are aspects of one and the same crisis of industrial capitalism in its epoch of decay. The Capitalist Economy Depends on Cheap Oil Originally capitalism took off in the Industrial Revolution by using coal. Without coal,there might not have been any industrial capitalism. And coal burning was the beginning of the greenhouse effect.
Competitive (non-monopoly) capitalism reached its height in the 19th century. By the 20th century it was facing fundamental crises and limits to growth. (This was due to the growth of semi-monopolies throughout the economy interacting with the tendency of the average rate of profit to fall.) This was expressed through World War I, the Great Depression, defeated European and Asian revolutions, the rise of totalitarian fascism and Stalinism, and then World War II.
Economists of all schools expected WWII to be followed by, at most, a brief boom and then a return to depressive conditions. Instead there occurred the post-war boom, a Golden Age of capitalismat least for the industrialized, imperialist, nations. It lasted from about 1950 to 1970. There were various reasons for this, including the reorganization of world imperialism, now centered in the U.S.; the history of working class defeats; and the expansion of peacetime military spending (the Permanent Arms Economy or the military-industrial complex).
But one major source of the boom after World War II was turning to the widespread use of cheap oil. Liquid petroleum oil is easier to transport and use than is coal, and, for a time, easier to get at. It became the basis for almost all forms of transportation, by land, sea, and air. It powers our machines in every area. Based on cheap oil, a whole new way of life developed after WWII: the suburbs. Today about half the U.S. population lives in suburbs. Cheap oil became the basis for the enormous automobile industry which in turn was the basis for the steel industry, while suburbization directly underlay the construction industry. The highly productive agricultural industry (i.e. farming) was dependent not only on oil-using tractors, etc., and trucks, but also on petroleum-based artificial fertilizers and artificial pesticides. And petroleum is used to make plastics. Plastic, chemicals, and artificial fibers are used in every aspect of our housing, clothing, and medical care.
In short, our entire way of life, our whole society, our food, clothing, and shelter, has been built on cheap oil. If petroleum became expensive and/or scarce, then all industry, the economy, and society would have to be reorganized. This is what we are now facing. The Problems of Being Dependent on Cheap Oil There are difficulties in being so completely dependent on petroleum oil. The first is that it is limited. Oil is a nonrenewable resource. Sooner or later we will run out of it. More significantly, sooner or later we pass the point of peak oil. This is the point where half the amount of oil in the ground has been used up. This point has been passed in the continental U.S. and we may be around it on a world scale. Meanwhile there has been an increase in the demand for oil as the worlds population increases and as oppressed nations (the Third World) attempt to industrialize.
That does not mean that there is no more oil. There is plenty still left. But it becomes harder to get at that oil. Once all that was necessary was to stick a pipe into the ground at the right place and oil would gush out. Now we have to set up huge floating rigs way out in the ocean and drill a mile down below the sea surface and then a mile or more below the sea floor. This was what was done at BPs site in the Gulf of Mexico.
The second set of problems with dependence on oil is that it is polluting. Humans, other animals, and plants did not evolve to function in a world with oil and plastics in the environment. Burning it puts particles in the air. It poisons us, creates asthma and cancers. Plastics are nonbiodegradable; once thrown away, plastic materials last forever. Pesticide residue is poisonous to people and other animals. And right now we see the effects of releasing vast amounts of oil into the oceansor rather we are just beginning to see the disasterous consequences.
Disasters are rationalized as accidents, such as the BP or the Exxon Valdez events or the Bhopal fire which spewed pesticides over a large area of heavily populated India. But human activities are never perfect and never will be perfect. No matter how many safety mechanisms are built into the processes, accidents will happen. (This is also true of attempts to make safe nuclear power as an alternative to burning fossil fuels. There is no safe nuclear power. Accidents will happen.)
Finally, there is the effect of global warming, climate change. More than just pollution, this throws the whole worldwide climate out of balance. It is melting polar ice and ice caps on mountains. It is raising the level of the sea and will drown islands and sea coasts and the peoples who live there. It will spread deserts and cause famines. It short, it will be a civilization-wide disaster.
Another difficulty is that oil, like many other natural resources, is not evenly distributed around the world. A few places have a lot and most places have none. This has played into imperialism, wars, and corrupt dictatorships. For example, right now the U.S. is fighting in Iraq (which has the worlds second largest oil deposits) and Afghanistan (which has pipelines for natural gas go through it).
What I have said about oil is also true about other fossil fuels, namely coal and natural gas. They are also nonrenewable, limited, resources. Getting at them causes destruction of the ecological environment (e.g. mountaintop removal for coal or fractioning natural gas-bearing ground). They also have negative effects on humans and the ecology, including contributing to global warming.
The use of oil and other fossil fuels has been essential to the last period of capitalist prosperity and now threatens disaster both ecologically and economically. But there are other ways in which industrial capitalism has plundered the natural world, looting its resources without paying for rebuilding them. Other minerals have been torn from the ground and released into the human environment where they do not fit our biology, such as mercury. Whole animal species are being exterminated in a continuing process, while jungles and forests (the earths lungs) are being cut down. Diseases spread through the mass use of airplane travel.
Much of this has happened as side effects of the expansion of big farms and ranches, mines and dams, and sprawling human cities and suburbs. Ruthlessly and thoughtlessly, industrial capitalism slashes the threads of the web of life in which humanity lives. The Bill Comes Due Imagine the capitalist management of an industrial factory. As they produce commodities, their machines and buildings (what Marx refers to as fixed constant capital) wear out a little. They take account of this by adding a cost to the price of the commodities. Over time they accumulate a fund so that, when the machines and buildings are worn out, they can buy new machines and structures.
But suppose they do not do that? Suppose they do not set aside a fund to rebuild the worn-out machinery but instead count that money as part of their profits (Marxs surplus value). Perhaps, under pressure from their workers, they use some of that money to increase the workerss wages (Marxs variable capital). This makes their profits look larger than they really are and it permits the capitalists to buy off the workers without losing any profits. But someday the machinery does wear out and the capitalists do not have money to replace it. Factory production will stagnate. Workers will be laid off. The high profits and the workers high standard of living will suddenly appear to have been fraudulent.
This is the situation of the world bourgeoisie as a whole in relation to the environment. The capitalists had seemed to be making huge profits and been able to buy off much of the working class (at least white workers in the imperialist countries). They had been looting the environment, ripping out natural resources which they had not created, counting as proft what nature appeared to be giving for free (a version of what Marx called primitive accumulation). They thought they were getting something for nothing, or at least for very little.
What the capitalist class should have been doing was to prepare for the day when energy and other resources would run out, or more accurately, would become rarer and much more expensive to access. It should have begun a transition from fossil fuels (and nuclear power) to renewable energy. It should have been cleaning up pollution and countering greenhouse effects. It should have fought desertification in Africa and elsewhere. It should have worked to balance population growth with economic growth by liberating women worldwide. It should have maintained the worlds jungles and forests and prevented overfishing in the oceans. It should have planned cities and towns so they did not destroy the countryside or need so much energy for transportation. And so on.
Nor is this only a matter of the environment and of energy. The capitalist class has failed to maintain the infrastructure and social services needed for advanced industrial nations such as the U.S.A. It should have been replacing water main pipes, train systems, dams, city housing, roads and highways, bridges, and schools. But it has not.
The capitalist class has not done what it should have to maintain its system and prepare for necessary changes. Of course, if it had done this, the post-WWII prosperity might have been less prosperous. There might have been more class struggle by the workers against the capitalists.
Now the bill has come due. The machinery is worn out and needs replacement, but the bourgeoisie does not have the pricenot without cutting into profits (which is unthinkable for them) or cutting way down on the workers pay and standard of living (which is definitely thinkable but which might cause working class unrest).
So the ecological crisis is an energy crisis and an economic crisis, and is also a political crisis.
There will be a great deal of suffering for many people in the coming years. There will be great social upheavals and mass struggles, the end of the conventional political consensus and the rise of the far-right and the far-left, including varieties of revolutionary anarchists and socialists. This has already begun to happen.
In PART II, I will discuss why the capitalist class cannot solve the ecological/energy/economic crisis and what program should be advocated by revolutionary anarchists.
Written for www.Anarkismo.net Originally capitalism took off in the Industrial Revolution by using coal. Without coal,there might not have been any industrial capitalism. And coal burning was the beginning of the greenhouse effect.Competitive (non-monopoly) capitalism reached its height in the 19th century. By the 20th century it was facing fundamental crises and limits to growth. (This was due to the growth of semi-monopolies throughout the economy interacting with the tendency of the average rate of profit to fall.) This was expressed through World War I, the Great Depression, defeated European and Asian revolutions, the rise of totalitarian fascism and Stalinism, and then World War II.Economists of all schools expected WWII to be followed by, at most, a brief boom and then a return to depressive conditions. Instead there occurred the post-war boom, a Golden Age of capitalismat least for the industrialized, imperialist, nations. It lasted from about 1950 to 1970. There were various reasons for this, including the reorganization of world imperialism, now centered in the U.S.; the history of working class defeats; and the expansion of peacetime military spending (the Permanent Arms Economy or the military-industrial complex).But one major source of the boom after World War II was turning to the widespread use of cheap oil. Liquid petroleum oil is easier to transport and use than is coal, and, for a time, easier to get at. It became the basis for almost all forms of transportation, by land, sea, and air. It powers our machines in every area. Based on cheap oil, a whole new way of life developed after WWII: the suburbs. Today about half the U.S. population lives in suburbs. Cheap oil became the basis for the enormous automobile industry which in turn was the basis for the steel industry, while suburbization directly underlay the construction industry. The highly productive agricultural industry (i.e. farming) was dependent not only on oil-using tractors, etc., and trucks, but also on petroleum-based artificial fertilizers and artificial pesticides. And petroleum is used to make plastics. Plastic, chemicals, and artificial fibers are used in every aspect of our housing, clothing, and medical care.In short, our entire way of life, our whole society, our food, clothing, and shelter, has been built on cheap oil. If petroleum became expensive and/or scarce, then all industry, the economy, and society would have to be reorganized. This is what we are now facing.There are difficulties in being so completely dependent on petroleum oil. The first is that it is limited. Oil is a nonrenewable resource. Sooner or later we will run out of it. More significantly, sooner or later we pass the point of peak oil. This is the point where half the amount of oil in the ground has been used up. This point has been passed in the continental U.S. and we may be around it on a world scale. Meanwhile there has been an increase in the demand for oil as the worlds population increases and as oppressed nations (the Third World) attempt to industrialize.That does not mean that there is no more oil. There is plenty still left. But it becomes harder to get at that oil. Once all that was necessary was to stick a pipe into the ground at the right place and oil would gush out. Now we have to set up huge floating rigs way out in the ocean and drill a mile down below the sea surface and then a mile or more below the sea floor. This was what was done at BPs site in the Gulf of Mexico.The second set of problems with dependence on oil is that it is polluting. Humans, other animals, and plants did not evolve to function in a world with oil and plastics in the environment. Burning it puts particles in the air. It poisons us, creates asthma and cancers. Plastics are nonbiodegradable; once thrown away, plastic materials last forever. Pesticide residue is poisonous to people and other animals. And right now we see the effects of releasing vast amounts of oil into the oceansor rather we are just beginning to see the disasterous consequences.Disasters are rationalized as accidents, such as the BP or the Exxon Valdez events or the Bhopal fire which spewed pesticides over a large area of heavily populated India. But human activities are never perfect and never will be perfect. No matter how many safety mechanisms are built into the processes, accidents will happen. (This is also true of attempts to make safe nuclear power as an alternative to burning fossil fuels. There is no safe nuclear power. Accidents will happen.)Finally, there is the effect of global warming, climate change. More than just pollution, this throws the whole worldwide climate out of balance. It is melting polar ice and ice caps on mountains. It is raising the level of the sea and will drown islands and sea coasts and the peoples who live there. It will spread deserts and cause famines. It short, it will be a civilization-wide disaster.Another difficulty is that oil, like many other natural resources, is not evenly distributed around the world. A few places have a lot and most places have none. This has played into imperialism, wars, and corrupt dictatorships. For example, right now the U.S. is fighting in Iraq (which has the worlds second largest oil deposits) and Afghanistan (which has pipelines for natural gas go through it).What I have said about oil is also true about other fossil fuels, namely coal and natural gas. They are also nonrenewable, limited, resources. Getting at them causes destruction of the ecological environment (e.g. mountaintop removal for coal or fractioning natural gas-bearing ground). They also have negative effects on humans and the ecology, including contributing to global warming.The use of oil and other fossil fuels has been essential to the last period of capitalist prosperity and now threatens disaster both ecologically and economically. But there are other ways in which industrial capitalism has plundered the natural world, looting its resources without paying for rebuilding them. Other minerals have been torn from the ground and released into the human environment where they do not fit our biology, such as mercury. Whole animal species are being exterminated in a continuing process, while jungles and forests (the earths lungs) are being cut down. Diseases spread through the mass use of airplane travel.Much of this has happened as side effects of the expansion of big farms and ranches, mines and dams, and sprawling human cities and suburbs. Ruthlessly and thoughtlessly, industrial capitalism slashes the threads of the web of life in which humanity lives.Imagine the capitalist management of an industrial factory. As they produce commodities, their machines and buildings (what Marx refers to as fixed constant capital) wear out a little. They take account of this by adding a cost to the price of the commodities. Over time they accumulate a fund so that, when the machines and buildings are worn out, they can buy new machines and structures.But suppose they do not do that? Suppose they do not set aside a fund to rebuild the worn-out machinery but instead count that money as part of their profits (Marxs surplus value). Perhaps, under pressure from their workers, they use some of that money to increase the workerss wages (Marxs variable capital). This makes their profits look larger than they really are and it permits the capitalists to buy off the workers without losing any profits. But someday the machinery does wear out and the capitalists do not have money to replace it. Factory production will stagnate. Workers will be laid off. The high profits and the workers high standard of living will suddenly appear to have been fraudulent.This is the situation of the world bourgeoisie as a whole in relation to the environment. The capitalists had seemed to be making huge profits and been able to buy off much of the working class (at least white workers in the imperialist countries). They had been looting the environment, ripping out natural resources which they had not created, counting as proft what nature appeared to be giving for free (a version of what Marx called primitive accumulation). They thought they were getting something for nothing, or at least for very little.What the capitalist class should have been doing was to prepare for the day when energy and other resources would run out, or more accurately, would become rarer and much more expensive to access. It should have begun a transition from fossil fuels (and nuclear power) to renewable energy. It should have been cleaning up pollution and countering greenhouse effects. It should have fought desertification in Africa and elsewhere. It should have worked to balance population growth with economic growth by liberating women worldwide. It should have maintained the worlds jungles and forests and prevented overfishing in the oceans. It should have planned cities and towns so they did not destroy the countryside or need so much energy for transportation. And so on.Nor is this only a matter of the environment and of energy. The capitalist class has failed to maintain the infrastructure and social services needed for advanced industrial nations such as the U.S.A. It should have been replacing water main pipes, train systems, dams, city housing, roads and highways, bridges, and schools. But it has not.The capitalist class has not done what it should have to maintain its system and prepare for necessary changes. Of course, if it had done this, the post-WWII prosperity might have been less prosperous. There might have been more class struggle by the workers against the capitalists.Now the bill has come due. The machinery is worn out and needs replacement, but the bourgeoisie does not have the pricenot without cutting into profits (which is unthinkable for them) or cutting way down on the workers pay and standard of living (which is definitely thinkable but which might cause working class unrest).So the ecological crisis is an energy crisis and an economic crisis, and is also a political crisis.There will be a great deal of suffering for many people in the coming years. There will be great social upheavals and mass struggles, the end of the conventional political consensus and the rise of the far-right and the far-left, including varieties of revolutionary anarchists and socialists. This has already begun to happen. Digg this del.icio.us Furl Reddit Technorati Facebook Twitter << Back To Newswire
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Watching the film in the aftermath ofBrexit, the Trump victory and the surge of Right Wing consciousness in the West in general, it is clear that Irving, undoubtedly one of the greatest living biographer of Hitler, understood human nature better than the British judge, Lipstadt’s legal team, the BBC and probably the rest of us altogether.
Back in 2000, the Holocaust narrative was as solid as a rock. The Jews were perceived as the ultimate victims and their plight at the time of World War II was unquestionable. No one dared ask how is it is possible that, three years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the newly-born Jewish state ethnically cleansed Palestine of its indigenous population? At the time of the trial, no one dared ask why is the Jewish past just a chain of holocausts – that is, no one except David Irving (and a few others).
At the time of the trial, I read an interview with David Irving that opened my eyes to the idea that history is a revisionist adventure, an attempt to narrate the past as we move along. I realised then that the past is subject to changes. It morphs along with humanity.
In that interview, Irving was quoted as‘ blaming the victims.’ “If I were a Jew,” he said, “I would ask myself why it always happens to us?” At the time, I was a still Jew but I took up Irving’s challenge. I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw so I decided to leave the tribe and I stopped being a Jew.
But Irving is no longer a lone voice. Two weeks ago, on Holocaust Memorial Day, it was actually the American president himself who managed to universalise the Holocaust by omitting to mention the Jews or their shoah. As we Westerns obliterate country after country with our immoral interventionism, the Holocaust is no longer a Jews-only domain and all the time more and more people grasp that it is actually Israel and its affiliated Jewish lobbies that are pushing us into more and more unnecessary global conflicts.
‘Denial’ was made to sustain a ‘progressive’ vision of the past. In this progressive but misguided universe, people ‘move forward’ but their past remains fixed, often sacred and always untouched. Nationalists, on the other hand, often see the past as a dynamic, vibrant reality. For them, nostalgia, is the way forward.
But some Jews are tormented by this nostalgia. They want their own past to be compartmentalized and sealed, otherwise, they are fearful that some people may decide to examine Jewish history in the light of Israeli crimes.
In the film, Irving is an old style British gent who sticks to his guns and refuses to change his narrative just to fit in with any notions of correctness. Irving states what he believes in and stands firmly behind it.
For Irving, one of the most damaging pieces of evidenced presented to the court was a little ditty he wrote to his daughter when she was just a few months old, and conceived by the court as the ultimate in crude misanthropy.
“I am a Baby Aryan,
Not Jewish or Sectarian.
I have no plans to marry-an
Ape or Rastafarian."
On the day of the verdict, Irving visited the BBC Newsnight studio to be grilled by Jeremy Paxman who read the little ditty to Irving. |
Shooters Element designs and manufactures CZ Scorpion EVO 3 enhanced parts. Among their latest products is an extended magazine release latch for the EVO 3. This accessory allows not only to detach the magazine as it was intended by the original design (by pressing the release paddle with the index finger) but also to do it AK or MP5 style.
According to Shooters Element, the extended mag release also works as a funnel to help guiding the new magazine into the Scorpion’s magazine well. In order to install it, you need to drive out the magazine release lever axis pin, remove the existing magazine release, then insert the new one and put the pin back into its place. Although it is a relatively easy operation requiring minimum tools and skills, the manufacturer still recommends a gunsmith installation.
This magazine release is available on Shooters Element’s website at $44.99.
The extended paddle gives more flexibility in terms of weapon manipulation. It is also just another option for those who prefer the AK style magazine release. Also, the CZ Scorpion EVO mags are not necessarily drop-free ones. So it should be more reliable and consistent to come up with your support hand, grab the magazine simultaneously pressing the magazine release button and pull the magazine out. It can be done with the original mag release too, but the extended one will make it much easier. Here are some tips on CZ Scorpion reloads by Travis Haley:
Here is also a video review of this product: |
Reinvention and resurgence are intrinsic to New York, and few parts of the city exemplify this better than the Bowery. After all, it has been many things—a pastoral country lane turned infamous area of ill-repute, and now, a playground for wealthy trendsetters and NYU kids.
Many of the buildings that existed during the Bowery’s late-19th- and early-20th-century heyday are either long gone or virtually unrecognizable, but some establishments were so notorious that their history lives on. One of those—McGurk’s Suicide Hall—offers a glimpse into the Bowery’s sordid past.
The building, which was located at 295 Bowery between Houston and East 1st Street, didn’t always have that grisly moniker. It was built in 1863 as a hotel primarily serving soldiers returning from the Civil War. But over the next few decades, the thoroughfare—which one attracted a respectable clientele—would change dramatically, becoming a haven for debauchery in New York.
This was precisely the type of locale that its owner, John McGurk, favored. An Irish immigrant, he owned several saloons in the area (all of which were shut down by the police) prior to opening “McGurk’s Saloon” in 1893. And from the onset, his bar was considered the most degraded destination on the Bowery.
According to Daytonian in Manhattan, the head bartender, known as “Short-Change Charley” Steele, “kept a supply of chloral hydrate ready to drug unsuspecting patrons” in order to steal from them with ease. (He was later arrested for murder.) McGurk’s was the first saloon in the city to employ an armed bouncer, “Eat-‘em Up” Jack McManus, a former boxing champion. Although he was repeatedly arrested for assault, he was never charged as “his victims were always stricken with memory loss when it was time to identify him.” (He was associates with Paul Kelly, founder of the legendary Five Points Gang, which may explain his victims’ sudden amnesia.)
Unsurprisingly, police raids were common at McGurk’s. In 1893, The New York Times recorded these raids, explaining how “agents found it overrun with men and women of the lowest type” where “everything was carried on openly and in a disgusting manner.” A year later, in 1894, McGurk was charged with operating a brothel but was released “due to the transient nature of his ‘hotel’ guests”—a raid would have been proven futile.
McGurk’s was also heavily frequented by prostitutes, many of whom severely down on their luck and in a poor, helpless state—and their actions helped lead to the saloon’s macabre appellation. In 1899 alone, there were reportedly six deaths and seven failed suicide attempts; some of the women jumped out of the top floor windows, others ingested carbolic acid. Luc Sante, author of Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York, discusses one of the more infamous prostitute suicide tales:
In October [1899], for example, Blonde Madge Davenport and her partner, Big Mame, decided to end it all, and so they bought carbolic acid, the elixir of choice, at a drugstore a few doors away. Blonde Madge was successful in gulping it down, but Big Mame hesitated and succeeded in spilling most of it on her face; the resulting disfiguration resulted only in her getting permanently barred from the place.
In perhaps the most heartless marketing ploy ever, John McGurk capitalized on this eerie phenomenon and renamed his saloon “Suicide Hall.” Despite the events that took place in his establishment, he did not take any blame. Sante’s book also includes this telling quote from McGurk:
Most of the women who come to my place have been on the down grade too long to think of reforming. I just want to say that I never pushed a girl downhill any more than I ever refused a helping hand to one who wanted to climb.
By the end of the 19th century, McGurk’s faced increased pressure from community leaders, City Hall, and the police—including, most notably, Theodore Roosevelt, who served as the police commissioner at the time. Given the increased number of arrests and charges (for prostitution, assault, election rigging, and the aforementioned murder charge against Charley Steele), the actions committed at McGurk’s could no longer be ignored. In 1901, there was yet another raid, but this time the police came equipped with multiple arrest warrants.
Within a year, a new police captain was at the helm who concentrated his efforts on “closing down disorderly houses and sending their proprietors to prison.” When informed by the police that he would have to close his saloon, McGurk feigned being a “nervous invalid” and requested one month in order to “dispose of his lease to some financial advantage.”
But clearly, the new captain didn’t know who he was dealing with: McGurk used the one-month leniency to skip bail by fleeing with his wife and daughter to California with half a million dollars in cash. McGurk would die in 1913 due to heart failure at the age of 59.
The “Suicide Hall” ceased operation in 1902 and 295 Bowery became the Liberty Hotel, a cheap lodging catering to a similar clientele. In the 1960s, the building was taken over by a cooperative of female artists, who lived there for more than 40 years. However, in the late 1990s the building—really, the land the building occupied—was being eyed by developers, a fate that would befall many of the Bowery’s old buildings in the years to come.
Its tenants and preservationists petitioned for the building to be landmarked due to its colorful history; however, the Landmarks Preservation Commission denied landmark designation, citing that it did not have “sufficient historical, cultural or architectural merit.” The building was razed in 2005 and the Avalon Bowery Place, a luxury apartment building, now stands there. |
Obama vows to cut contracts by 10 percent
The presidential candidates have gotten in a bidding war over promises to trim federal fat, with both using the issue to try to portray themselves as the one to shake up Washington at a time when voters are disgusted with government.
Sen. Barack Obama announced Monday that he would cut federal spending on contractors by “at least 10 percent" — an effort to move in on his rival's signature issue of budget earmarks.
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“Barack Obama will reform federal contracting and reduce the number of contractors, saving $40 billion a year,” says his 11-page “Plan to Reform the Greed and Excesses of Washington.”
The plan, which he was unveiling at midday in Green Bay, Wis., also says Obama "will require each federal agency to defend each of its noncompetitive contracts to the Office of Management and Budget.”
It sounds like a brochure for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), but it’s the headline of Obama’s plan: “STOP WASTEFUL SPENDING AND CURB INFLUENCE OF SPECIAL INTERESTS SO GOVERNMENT CAN TACKLE OUR GREAT CHALLENGES.”
Other new proposals in the blueprint:
— Expose Corporate Welfare and Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will shine a light on corporate welfare by creating an agency charged with identifying recipients of corporate subsidies and evaluating the effectiveness of these subsidies in promoting growth and opportunity. The agency will help identify wasteful subsidies that should be eliminated, and help prevent new corporate welfare initiatives from being passed. Obama will ensure that any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also publicly available by directing the Office of Management and Budget to post them on its website in an easily searchable format.
As president, Barack Obama will restore the American people’s trust in their government by making government more open and transparent. Obama will work to reform congressional rules to require all legislative sessions, including committee mark-ups and conference committees, to be conducted in public. By making these practices public, the American people will be able to hold their leaders accountable for wasteful spending and lawmakers won’t be able to slip favors for lobbyists into bills at the last minute.
— Enforce Executive Branch Ethics: Today the Office of Governmental Ethics (OGE) is only an advisory agency with no enforcement authority. Ethics decisions are made by roughly 4,000 individual ethics officers appointed by the head of each executive branch agency. These officers rarely have any ethics training and routinely reject the advice given by OGE. An Obama administration will give his OGE strong enforcement authority with the ability to make binding regulations, and it will work with inspectors general in all the federal agencies to enforce ethics rules, minimize waste and ensure federal officials are not using their offices for personal gain. The OGE will also be the clearinghouse of all public records relevant to ethics in the Executive Branch and place this information on its website, including records of waivers from conflicts-of-interest that are requested and granted, personal financial statements of appointees and the career histories of senior executive branch staff who enter and leave public service. Finally, the OGE will promulgate rules and procedures to record all oral and in-person “lobbying contacts” between registered lobbyists and political appointees and make those records available to the public in a searchable computerized database.
— Not Just Measure Performance, but Enforce Standards: Barack Obama will fundamentally reconfigure PART. He will open up the insular performance measurement process to the public, Congress and outside experts. Obama will eliminate ideological performance goals and replace them with goals Americans care about and that are based on congressional intent and feedback from the people served by government programs. Obama will also ensure that programs are not only measured in isolation, but are assessed in the context of other programs that are serving the same population or meeting the same goals. For instance, a veteran may be getting health care from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, disability benefits from a different federal office, other benefits from state programs and local food aid. Obama’s performance improvement effort will include cross-agency performance where service delivery requires coordination across federal agencies and multiple levels of government.
— Implement Consequences for Success and Failure: The president needs the flexibility to enforce standards when programs continually fail. Barack Obama will work with Congress to enable the president to take steps like sending in performance teams to reform programs; replacing existing management; demanding improvement action plans; and cutting program budgets or eliminating programs entirely. Obama will also experiment with giving government managers the ability to work with their teams to establish goals and to give bonuses when those goals are met. These steps will be guided by performance measures and will be transparent and visible to the public and Congress.
— Move Workers from Bloated Bureaucracies to the Frontlines: In many areas of the federal government there is too much Washington bureaucracy — too many layers of managers, and too much paperwork that does not contribute directly to improving the lives of the American people. At the same time, there are too few workers on the front lines in local offices across the country. We need more resources and better tools for food inspectors at the Food and Drug Administration, for nurses at VA hospitals, for air traffic controllers and baggage screeners, and for immigration border control agents. Barack Obama will thin the ranks of Washington middle managers, freeing up resources both for deficit reduction and for increasing the number of frontline workers.
— Eliminate Wasteful Redundancy: Too often, federal departments take on functions or services that are already being done or could be done elsewhere within the federal government more effectively. The result is unnecessary redundancy and the inability of the government to benefit from economies of scale and integrated, streamlined operations. Obama will conduct an immediate and periodic public inventory of administrative offices and functions and require agency leaders to work together to root out redundancy. Where consolidation is not the right strategy to improve efficiency, Obama will improve information sharing and use of common assets to minimize wasteful duplication.
— Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled as they have been during the Bush administration. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.
— Increase Use of Technology: Meeting 21st Century challenges will require a government that leverages 21st Century technologies and keeps up with the private sector. Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will work with each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices. Like he has in the campaign, Obama will employ innovative technologies, including blogs, wikis, social networking tools and other new strategies, to modernize internal, cross-agency, and public communication and information sharing.
— Sunlight on Corporate Tax Loopholes: The tax code is riddled with corporate loopholes and preferential regulations that benefit a handful of companies at the expense of the rest of the business community as well as ordinary families. Some large companies have managed to secure tax breaks or to hide their profits in overseas tax havens to not pay any American corporate taxes at all. Barack Obama will require any tax bill considered by Congress to include a Corporate Tax Impact Statement that would disclose which industries or specific companies would be expected to benefit from the new tax breaks.
— Restore Management and Oversight Capacity: The federal government’s ability to manage contracts has not kept up with the increase in the volume and complexity of federal contracts. Barack Obama will hire more contract managers and improve training. He also will ensure that contract oversight remains within the federal government so that a contract’s oversight is not outsourced to a business partner of the company doing the contract’s work. Such an arrangement contributed to wasteful spending in the Coast Guard’s $24 billion Deepwater contract and the Department of Homeland Security’s $30 billion border security contract with Boeing. Obama will also require audits of a quarter of large contracts each year, focusing in the first year on noncompetitive and cost-plus contracts. The audit will verify performance and cost savings, as well as whether the work was appropriate for contracting out, the competition was done fairly, and the contractor treated its workers appropriately.
In addition, cost-plus contracts have increased more than 75 percent under the Bush administration. These contracts are vulnerable to waste because they provide no incentive to control costs. Obama will encourage the use of fixed-cost or incentive-based contracts and when cost-plus contracts are necessary, force agencies to use mitigating procedures like incentives tied to performance goals and cost savings.
— Federal Contracts for Tax Delinquent Companies: In numerous studies, GAO has found that tens of thousands of federal contractors have tax debts totaling billions of dollars. Barack Obama will build upon his work in the Senate to prohibit seriously delinquent contractors from getting contracts for government work. |
ML Sharma is one of the defence lawyers in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder case
The Bar Council of India has issued notices to two defence lawyers for their remarks in a documentary "India's Daughter" - depicting the brutal gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student in Delhi in 2012 - that have sparked massive outrage and condemnation.
In its notice, the council, which met late last night, has given the lawyers - ML Sharma and AK Singh - three weeks' time to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them for their remarks.
In the film - banned in India and telecast by the BBC on Wednesday night - Mr Sharma has, at one point, said that there is no place for women in Indian culture. Both AK Singh and he make other outrageous comments too.
"Once they file their reply to showcause notice, we will examine and if we find that an enquiry needs to be initiated, then after holding the enquiry, the bar council has the power to revoke licence," Manan Mishra, Chairman, Bar Council of India told NDTV.
Mr Sharma and Mr Singh are the lawyers for the four men on death row for gang-raping and killing a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in Delhi in December 2012. The woman came to be known as "Nirbhaya" or fearless, and became a symbol for India's fight to check crimes against women.
Fellow lawyers want the licences of the two defence lawyers revoked and people are demanding, in hundreds of posts on social media, that they be punished.
Mr Sharma today said that he hasn't received the notice so far, adding there was no "misconduct" on his part.
On Thursday, he told NDTV that his views had been misrepresented, alleging that the filmmaker, Leslee Udwin, used only a part of what he said. "She took my interview for 10 days, showed only one line," he said. Lawyer AK Singh, whose comments about women provoked outrage too, had earlier said people who opposed him were "biased". He said he had received calls from many people who told him that they supported his views. |
Fantastic Contraption, a virtual reality game in which you use motion controls to build all sorts of interesting things in virtual reality, is coming to the Oculus Rift. It's also a game that requires, if not room scale, than at least a little bit of space to play in an optimal setting.
So how do you make a game that many assumed would be an "exclusive" for the the HTC Vive, a system that comes with motion controllers packed in and room-scale sensors, work on a platform that sells itself as a seated, non-moving experience? It turns out that, once the Touch controllers are released, the systems become nearly identical.
"The whole differences between the systems thing? They are slightly different," Andy Moore, one of the developers working on Fantastic Contraption, told Polygon. (He's also written about the different ways to play the game for this publication in the past.) "But if you were to blindfold me and change the controller model or whatever and ask me to guess which system I'm using, I probably wouldn't be able to tell all that easily."
Despite what endless online comparisons may suggest, the two platforms have more in common than they have differences. "The hardware is almost identical. The software and APIs [application program interface] are almost identical. The specs are almost identical," Moore continued. "The Vive can do seated and standing and the Vive you can mount both your lighthouses on one wall. And on the Oculus you can move one of the cameras to the back corner and get room scale."
It's more about how the technology is presented than the differences in how the two platforms work, Moore claims. "The only difference is marketing," he said. "Oculus is putting all their chips behind the fact that no one has a living room or wants to sacrifice the space, and and Valve is saying it's better this way. It's all a marketing thing."
The APIs reflect this, with Oculus' software being geared towards seated experiences. "But it's not limited to that," Moore said. "So we're really excited about room-scale Oculus support. But we understand that most people will have both cameras set up on their desk with the Oculus."
That introduces a problem with room-scale VR in that your body could potentially block the line of sight from the camera to one of the controllers in that situation, which would introduce tracking problems. This is called "occlusion," and blocking the camera and losing tracking on a controller yanks you right out of the game. This called for a change in how the levels of Fantastic Contraption are set up.
"In our game we don't have a sense of forward normally — we drop you in a sandbox and let you do whatever you want," Moore said. They had to change this for the Rift version. "So we spawn the player in the back of the space ... and then you can take a step forward, and turn left and right and build a car and you can see everything laid out in front of you. And that works. And that's what we demoed at the Oculus even just before GDC."
That relatively small design change allowed the player to face forward while playing most of the time, limiting the risk of occlusion while keeping the room-scale aspect of the game. This is possible due to the two cameras the Rift provides however, since the Touch controllers will come with a second camera.
"The hardware is almost identical"
"The single camera on the PlayStation is concerning," Moore said. It should be fine for most games where your hands can be far apart, but in Fantastic Contraption you sometimes need to bring your hands close together to manipulate your contraptions, and the team worries the PlayStation VR may have trouble keeping both hands tracked separately.
But that's down the road. For now, Moore stresses that porting between the Rift and Vive isn't as taxing as one might think.
"I mean, we're using Unity so most of it is drag and drop kind of easiness, but I think the APIs are pretty much identical and identically easy to get into," he said. "We started development on Contraption before we had the Vive dev kit, and converting that to work in Steam VR took three to four hours, and doing the same going to the Oculus API, that was another three to four hours. It's almost nothing. You could have taken a half day off and gotten it all done."
In fact, if you're a developer with the Touch development kit you can try it now, since Steam VR supports the Rift. "If you have a Rift and hands and cameras you can boot up Steam and play Contraption," he said. "It works. It's already in the game." |
RichFaces 4.5.2.Final is available for download.
Among other things, we have fixed several issues with Push and also enabled Websockets in our Showcase.
Important notes
Jar renaming
Two of our jars have been renamed:
richfaces-components-a4j to richfaces-a4j
to richfaces-components-rich to richfaces-rich
If you're using maven for your projects this doesn't affect you.
FileUpload issue in IE10/11
<rich:fileUpload> may not work for you with Mojarra 2.2.7+ and Internet Explorer. This is caused by an error in Mojarra code and an irregular behavior of Internet Explorer. The issue is not always present but breaks the component. The issue will be fixed in Mojarra 2.3.0-m02; if you're using the JBoss distribution of JSF the patch has been backported into 2.2.9-jboss-2. In the meantime, this JavaScript function can be used as a workaround - make sure to run it before you start uploading:
addNames = (function () { var added = false; return function() { if (!added) { $.each(document.forms, function() { $.each(this.elements, function() { this.name = this.name || ""; }); }); } added = true; } })();
Ui:repeat
Unfortunately several of our components do not function well inside <ui:repeat> in Mojarra 2.2.6+ as the behavior of the component was changed. We recommend using <a4j:repeat> instead until this issue is resolved.
Release Notes
Bug
[RF-12695] - rich:select incorrect behavior on IE with many selectItems
[RF-13913] - Problem with rich:collapsiblePanel state/PartialViewState
[RF-13925] - tooltip: the @onshow is called before the tooltip is displayed
[RF-13927] - Nested collapsibleSubTable not collapse All Sub Level SubTable
[RF-13928] - a4j:push events (dataavailable) do not trigger a4j:ajax listener
[RF-13929] - a4j:push does not work with subtopics and JMS
[RF-13930] - rich:select broken with empty list
[RF-13931] - Showcase: remove reference to richfaces-parent
[RF-13933] - ExtendedDataTable duplicates inside ui:repeat
[RF-13935] - JMS Push long delay between eneable and disable after upgrade atmosphere
[RF-13938] - page-fragments: inputNumber*: the setValue does not clean the input
[RF-13941] - ExtendedDataTable - selecting all rows not working
[RF-13942] - rich:select single item list still present
[RF-13945] - ajax requests in multipart forms cause error in < 2.2.0
[RF-13946] - The "onclick"event is not triggered when clicking on the bottom part of "rich:select" component.
[RF-13952] - richfaces-core defines finalName conflicted with components/rich/pom.xml
[RF-13954] - showcase: cannot be deployed on tomcat
Component Upgrade
[RF-13926] - Update weld-servlet dependency to 2.2+
Enhancement
[RF-13907] - Positioning attributes - JointPoint and Direction Doc is confusing
[RF-13914] - Showcase online: websockets don't work
[RF-13937] - page-fragments: ignore StaleElementReference exceptions in all waiting methods
Feature Request
[RF-13932] - page-fragments: autocomplete: reimplement confirm and select methods so they will not submit the form with HTTP unnecessarily
Task |
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tom Price (R) and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway brief reporters after their meeting on opioid addiction with President Trump at his nearby Bedminster golf estate, at a hotel in Bridgewater, New Jersey U.S. August 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several Democratic members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives asked on Wednesday for an investigation into a report that Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price used private jets to travel on government business.
Politico reported on Tuesday that Price took private jets on five occasions for official business, which cost tens of thousands of dollars more than commercial flights. Politico documented one chartered trip to Philadelphia from Washington that cost about $25,000.
“American taxpayers deserve assurances that their tax dollars are not wasted by the government’s highest officials,” five lawmakers said in a letter to the HHS Office of the Inspector General, citing the Politico report.
They asked for a review of Price’s “adherence to federal regulations and Department of Health and Human Services policies and procedures for travel.”
The lawmakers included Frank Pallone Jr., the top-ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Senator Patty Murray, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
HHS said in a statement that the agency’s travel department “continues to check every possible source for travel needs including commercial, but commercial travel is not always feasible.”
Last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his wife, actress Louise Linton, traveled on a government plane to Kentucky where they viewed the Aug. 21 solar eclipse with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and others. That trip prompted a federal watchdog this month to review the circumstances surrounding the travel. |
Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft and shortly thereafter traded to the Denver Nuggets. He has since played for the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA, and has had stints in Lithuania and Russia. At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), Weems plays both the shooting guard and point guard positions.
Early life [ edit ]
Weems was born with cleft feet, and as a child, he was told that he might not be able to walk or run. He stumbled as a youngster and endured painful childhood nights in corrective shoes before finding his stride and becoming a state long-jump and high-jump champion.[2][3]
High school and college career [ edit ]
Weems played basketball at West Memphis High School where he was named first team all-state as a senior after leading his team to the 5A state championship, and was also a 6-10 high jumper in track and field. In Weems' high school career, West Memphis posted a record of 68-10. Weems averaged over 20 points per game as sophomore and junior, and 14.0 rebounds per game as a senior.
After high school, Weems attended junior college at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, and was named 3rd team All-American, as well as all-conference and all-region as a freshman. Ranked as the number one junior college player in the nation by Rivals.com and Street & Smith's, Weems took UAFS to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship in 2006. Weems was named Honorable Mention All-American and was selected for the all-tournament team. In two seasons at UAFS, Weems led the team to a 62-7 record and back-to-back Bi-State Conference Eastern Division titles.[4]
Arkansas Razorbacks [ edit ]
Weems signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks as a junior, which was also Stan Heath's final season as head coach. He averaged 11.8 points per game and was named to all-tournament teams at the Old Spice Classic and the SEC Tournament as he helped the Razorbacks to their third consecutive winning season and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, losing to the USC Trojans in the first round.
Weems played his senior season with a new head coach, John Pelphrey, and was named first team All-SEC after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[5] Weems led the Razorbacks to their first NCAA tournament win in nine years with an upset victory of Indiana University. He finished the game with 31 points, out-dueling the much-heralded freshman Eric Gordon, who was held to only eight points.[6] After his team lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Weems later won the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship held at the Final Four.[7]
Professional career [ edit ]
NBA [ edit ]
NBA draft [ edit ]
In April 2008, Weems accepted an invitation to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, but later decided not to attend.[8] Instead, Weems worked out with several teams: the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, and Portland Trail Blazers, receiving increased interest because of his high scores in speed and agility drills.[9] Weems was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Bulls, but he was traded almost immediately to the Denver Nuggets for a 2009 second-round pick in a three-team trade involving the Portland Trail Blazers.[10][11]
NBA Development League [ edit ]
On December 10, 2008, the Nuggets, for whom he had yet to play because of a surgery for sports hernia and then a groin strain, assigned Weems to their NBA Development League affiliate the Colorado 14ers.[12][13]
Weems averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 10 games for the 14ers.[14][15] On December 14, Weems led the 14ers with 20 points, including 9-of-14 field goals, in a 129-108 home win over the Reno Bighorns.[16] Other notable Weems performances include a team-leading 24 points in a thrilling 99-98 loss to Sioux Falls on December 17,[17] a 26-point effort in a 111-104 loss to the Tulsa 66ers on December 20,[18] 25 points in a 99-95 victory over the 66ers on December 23,[19] and 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 131-120 14ers win over Fort Wayne on December 30.[20] On January 6, 2009, Weems was recalled by the Denver Nuggets.[14]
Denver Nuggets [ edit ]
Weems taking a jumpshot for the Raptors in a game against Miami , November 20, 2009
Weems scored 4 points in his NBA regular season debut with the Nuggets on January 17, 2009, when he substituted for Anthony Carter with 3:31 remaining in a 106-88 loss to Orlando.[21]
On July 31, 2009, he was traded along with Walter Sharpe and cash considerations to the Milwaukee Bucks for Malik Allen.[22]
Toronto Raptors [ edit ]
On August 18, 2009, Weems was traded by the Bucks to the Toronto Raptors along with Amir Johnson in exchange for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukić.[23] On April 7, 2010, Weems was placed in the starting lineup and scored a then career-high 21 points to lead the Raptors, but the Raptors lost the game to the Boston Celtics. He went on to score a career-high 25 points on November 17, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Europe [ edit ]
Žalgiris Kaunas [ edit ]
On July 8, 2011, Weems signed a one-year contract with the Lithuanian team Žalgiris Kaunas.[24][25] His contract was terminated in March 2012, after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.[26] Weems later complained on social media saying that he had to go to U.S. in order to heal his sore ankle, after not receiving any medical care in Lithuania.[27] Over 15 games in the EuroLeague, he averaged 15.5 points and 5 rebounds per game.[28]
CSKA Moscow [ edit ]
2012–13 season [ edit ]
On July 30, 2012, he signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow.[29][30] His signing was largely seen as a replacement to former team leader Andrei Kirilenko.[31] On October 18, 2012, he had a EuroLeague career-high 30 points in a 76–71 overtime win over Partizan Belgrade.[32] In his first season with the team, in a roster loaded with big European names like Miloš Teodosić, Nenad Krstić, Theo Papaloukas and Victor Khryapa, CSKA Moscow won 3rd place in the EuroLeague Final Four, after a 69–52 loss to Olympiacos in the semifinal game.[33] Weems was seen as one of the team leaders, a starting small forward who averaged 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 28 games in the EuroLeague. CSKA eventually won the VTB United League after defeating Lokomotiv Kuban, 3–1, in the final series.
2013–14 season [ edit ]
In the 2013–14 season, CSKA's roster didn't change much, and Weems was again one of the team leaders. On January 17, 2014, he had career-high 10 assists, along with 16 points, in 72–73 EuroLeague loss to Partizan Belgrade.[34] In May 2014, Weems was named the All-EuroLeague First Team of the EuroLeague, for his performances over the season.[35] Although his points per game slightly dropped to 12.2 in the EuroLeague, he improved his defensive play and generally had a bigger impact on the game itself. However, CSKA Moscow was yet again stopped in the semifinal game, this time to the eventual champion Maccabi Tel Aviv.[36] Later in the season, CSKA won its third consecutive VTB United League championship by defeating Nizhny Novgorod, 3–0, in the final series.[37]
On July 4, 2014, Weems extended his contract with the club until 2017.[38]
2014–15 season [ edit ]
In the 2014–15 season, CSKA Moscow advanced to the EuroLeague Final Four for the fourth straight season, after eliminating Panathinaikos for the second straight season in the quarter-final series, 3–1.[39] However, in the semifinal game, despite being dubbed by media as an absolute favorite to advance, they once again lost to Olympiacos. The final score was 70–68, after an Olympiacos comeback in fourth quarter, led by Vassilis Spanoulis.[40] CSKA Moscow then won the third place after defeating Fenerbahçe, 86–80.[41] Weems' third season saw a slight increase in statistics, as he averaged 13.1 points, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 26 games played. CSKA Moscow finished the season by winning the VTB United League, after eliminating Khimki with 3–0 in the final series.[42]
On June 16, 2015, he parted ways with CSKA Moscow in order to return to the NBA.[43] Over three seasons spent with CSKA, Weems played in 166 games, averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the EuroLeague and the VTB United League.
Return to the NBA [ edit ]
Phoenix Suns [ edit ]
On July 17, 2015, Weems signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns.[44][45] He made his debut for the Suns in the team's season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on October 28, recording 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in a 111–95 loss.[46] On January 26, 2016, he scored a season-high 12 points in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[47] On March 5, 2016, he was waived by the Suns after averaging 2.5 points, 1.3 assists, 1.1 rebounds and 11.7 minutes in 36 games.[48]
Philadelphia 76ers [ edit ]
On March 7, 2016, Weems was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia 76ers.[49] Weems struggled during his time with the 76ers, and after straining his right quadriceps on March 26 against the Portland Trail Blazers,[50] he was waived by the team the next day.[51]
Return overseas [ edit ]
Maccabi Tel Aviv [ edit ]
On June 14, 2016, Weems signed a two-year contract with Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.[52] On January 30, 2017, Weems was released by the club after he failed to complete an anti-doping test.[53]
Zhejiang Golden Bulls [ edit ]
In July 2017, Weems signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association.[54] Weems played 38 games for Zhejiang and averaged 31.7 points per game, 8 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
Anadolu Efes [ edit ]
On February 24, 2018, Weems signed with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes for the rest of the season.[55] On March 1, 2018, Weems made his debut in a 64–77 loss to Olimpia Milano, scoring 19 points, along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists.[56]
Guangdong Southern Tigers [ edit ]
On October 8, 2018, Weems signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.[57]
Career statistics [ edit ]
Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field-goal percentage 3P% 3-point field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game PIR Performance Index Rating Bold Career high
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
NBA [ edit ]
Regular season [ edit ]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2008–09 Denver 12 0 4.6 .320 .000 .375 .3 .3 .1 .0 1.6 2009–10 Toronto 69 19 19.8 .515 .133 .688 2.8 1.5 .6 .4 7.5 2010–11 Toronto 59 28 23.9 .444 .279 .766 2.6 1.8 .6 .0 9.2 2015–16 Phoenix 36 0 11.7 .393 .406 .538 1.1 1.3 .3 .0 2.5 2015–16 Philadelphia 7 0 11.1 .333 .222 .500 1.7 .3 .0 .0 2.4 Career 183 47 18.2 .465 .283 .702 2.2 1.4 .5 .2 6.5
EuroLeague [ edit ]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR 2011–12 Žalgiris 15 15 29.9 .474 .360 .686 5.0 1.3 .9 .2 15.5 12.7 2012–13 CSKA Moscow 28 27 28.8 .472 .385 .813 2.9 2.1 .8 .1 13.7 11.8 2013–14 29 27 28.5 .442 .354 .754 3.5 3.7 .9 .2 12.2 12.4 2014–15 26 22 26.9 .425 .371 .792 4.0 3.5 1.0 .2 13.1 11.8 2016–17 Maccabi 19 16 27.0 .509 .327 .703 3.3 3.4 .9 .1 11.6 11.1 2017–18 Anadolu Efes 6 6 30.4 .452 .318 .769 3.5 4.0 .7 .0 15.5 13.7 Career 123 113 28.3 .459 .361 .757 3.6 3.0 .9 .2 13.2 12.0 |
If you're a gamer, or even if you've just been around certain parts of the Internet over the past several months, you may have heard something about a game called Undertale. Having picked it up over the Christmas holiday (it's only like 10 bucks), I can easily say it has earned its reputation as one of the best games of 2015, if not all time.
Now, Undertale is not the most visually impressive game: at most times, it looks like a 16-bit SNES game, and during battles like almost freaking Pong. Its soundtrack is very well put together, but that's not where this game shines. Undertale holds you accountable for your choices in the game, even when you wouldn't expect it.
The very first character you meet in Undertale is this little yellow flower:
Isn't he so cute?
In the combat tutorial, he emphatically tells you that:
NOT CUTE, DEFINITELY NOT CUTE.
You are rescued from this duplicitous weed by Toriel, a friendly-looking goat woman.
Isn't she nice?
She helpfully guides you through the first part of the Ruins, the first zone of the game, scaring away enemy encounters and metaphorically and literally holding your hand and walking you through the puzzles.
Uh...thanks?
After a point, she tells you to "stay in this room" and wait for her to come back. Anyone who's played a more traditional RPG knows this is the time you actually begin your adventure and start playing the game. Undertale's combat mechanics are very unique, and deserve to be mentioned.
When the enemy monsters attack you, they launch bullets which you have to dodge using your soul (that little red heart):
It's harder than it looks, honestly.
You can end encounters in two general ways: Either use the FIGHT option to attack and kill monsters and collect EXP to increase your LV like usual in these sorts of games:
Land your hit in the green part for bonus damage.
Or, you can use the MERCY option to spare your enemies, after which they drop gold but give you no EXP. This can be challenging, as sometimes you have to use certain options in the ACT menu to make that happen. Or you can just lower their HP first. Your choice.
You can turn off the yellow highlighting if you want an extra challenge.
After continuing through the Ruins, solving puzzles, encountering many monsters, and cheering up a gloomy ghost, you reach the end, where Toriel is waiting for you.
It's hard not to be when everything is shooting bullets at you.
She welcomes you into her home, having cooked a delicious pie and prepared a room for you.
Aww. How sweet.
She even leaves out a slice for you. How kind.
You find her sitting in a comfy chair, reading.
I will admit, while the graphics might not be top-caliber, the spritework for this game is very high-quality.
Of course, like all RPGs, you must advance the plot eventually.
Uh...OK?
After several more rounds of dodging the question, Toriel heads into the basement, where she plans to destroy the door to the rest of the Underground. When you try to stop her, this happens:
Oh boy.
And then you enter a fight. The first thing I tried was talking; it had worked on pretty much every other enemy, so why wouldn't it work on her?
Well, you tried.
After just sparing her seems to do nothing, I decide I have to fight back. They did expect me to do that, right? I hit her, then tried sparing her. Nothing. Hit her again, spared her again. Still nothing. I tried this multiple times, until-
OH CRAP.
You literally broke her heart.
I walked in shock past the door, eventually reaching a chamber where that flower was waiting.
Stop mocking me.
I felt horrible for killing Toriel despite trying every other method to save her. But then the flower actually said something helpful.
But I could. This was a video game. I hadn't encountered another sparkly save point after killing Toriel. Therefore, if I reset, she wouldn't be dead and I could find a way to actually spare her.
And so I did. I quit the game, and when I loaded it, I was outside Toriel's front door. Perfect. I sped through the sequence before the boss fight once more, but when I actually got to the door...well...
...like what?
...uh, no...
Once the battle started, I tried talking to Toriel. Maybe if I did that enough...
...
Anyway, eventually I got this message:
Challenge accepted.
I remembered one of the NPCs earlier in the Ruins saying that I might have to spare someone whose name wasn't in indicator yellow. So I hit MERCY, and spared Toriel. Every turn. Eventually, she stopped attacking.
But the plot demands I must, ma'am.
And soon after that, the battle was over. With a final hug, Toriel heads back to the Ruins, and I head through the door leading to the rest of the game.
Goodbye, Goatmom. Bake lots of pies.
While I will admit some of that battle was strange, I had done it. I had spared Toriel. It took me some effort, but I figured out how to do it. And now that I had done it, I could continue the game like I had never-
...
And that is why Undertale is such an amazing game. It remembers the decisions, choices, and mistakes you make throughout the game, and is not afraid to make you see and feel the consequences of your actions. It is worth the praise it receives, and I can't wait to finish it.
I hope I never see you again for the rest of the game. |
You've been called the "spirit of the club". It's a cliché overworked. But, in your case, perfectly apt. Cruelly injured for the whole season and unable to join your brothers in the heat of the final battle you were the animating force, the touchstone, the one everyone turned to and sought out. Before the grand final you wrote about the loch locked inside of you, the secret sorrow at the deep heart of joy. You and Keats. "Ay, in the very temple of Delight veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shine." Things may not have turned out the way you imagined in your childhood dreams, your adult hopes. But something bigger, wider, deeper happened. Your particular trial made the whole a greater triumph. Your absence from the field made you even more present in the story. Your constraint generated enormous power. Congratulations, Bob, sprite of the club. (Sprite – a legendary creature with magical powers). Congratulations, tough elf, on 300 bone-jarring games. Congratulations and thanks for it all, the great long story you've told. Your story isn't done yet. It will run long after we're gone. Musician Paul Kelly with mate Bob Murphy Credit:[email protected]
WIL ANDERSON
Comedian I remember distinctly the first time I saw The Artist Formerly Known As Robert Murphy play for the Dogs. As a fellow Gippslander I was excited to see this player who had been described as having the skill of a young Robert (Robbie not Bob) Flower. But when young Robert took the field wearing the number 22 on his back, it seemed like the club was so poor they had got him a guernsey two sizes too big in the hope he would grow into it. Physically he probably never did - I have a theory the reason he ended up wearing number 2 was, when they took the jumper in, his shoulders weren't wide enough for two numbers - but 300 games later he is a giant of the club and the game. Sometimes as footy fans I think we are disappointed when the way someone plays on the ground doesn't represent who they are off it. But that has never been the case with Bob.
On the field his greatest skill is that he makes those around him better, and in turn makes the game better. And that's what he's like off the field too. A unique individual who loves being part of a team. So congratulations, Murph. As Bulldogs fans, we've had way more than our two Bob's worth. In fact there's an idea. Is it too late to clone him? JOHN SCHULTZ
Champion Footscray ruckman, 1960 Brownlow Medallist, mentor I first met Bob during the pre-season of 2000 when I was fortunate to act as a mentor at the induction of the 1999 draft players. Former players are often asked to speak to inductees to explain what they can expect. We, past players, are always interested in the composition of the team each year and when you speak at an induction you forever have a special interest in these players. I found Bob to be a particularly interesting person; he certainly thinks outside the square and is, in many ways, not your typical league footballer. I recall him lobbying to retain the old tree stump in the property room, the stump that the boot-studder had used for many years as a support when he worked on the boots. I think Bob thought it had historical significance.
What a draft year that was for the Western Bulldogs. Bob, Daniel Giansiracusa, Lindsay Gilbee, Mitch Hahn, Ryan Hargrave and Nathan Eagleton. They formed lifelong friendships and Bob and Gia, who is now a Bulldogs coach, still do part of Bob's pre-game warm-up together. When Bob seriously injured a knee in the dying minutes of an exciting game against the Hawks on Sunday May 10, 2016, he only needed five more games to achieve the dreamed-of footballer's goal of 300 games. It was an especially cruel blow because Bob had a similar injury in 2006 and he knew the hard work that the recovery would entail. His dilemma was whether to retire then or at his age try to recover the fitness and form that would assure him of a place in the side. Thankfully he decided to play on and what a joyous celebration it will be when he runs onto the ground for game 300. scz010809.002.001.picture Sebastian Costanzo.The Age.Sport. Feature pic of Western Bulldogs' Daniel Giansiracusa, Robert Murphy and Luke Penny. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo DIEGO ORTUSO
Osteopath In 2008 we struck a deal with a handshake, a so-called gentleman's agreement, Bob and me. "I will get you to 200, but you have to get yourself to 250." Back then he was injured, low, uncertain, hurting – but I knew he would get better, he just needed to become whole again. He couldn't even see himself making it to 150 games, but he worked hard – physically, emotionally and mentally.
I used to tell him in those dark days, "I begin the treatment and will help bind your wounds, but it's you who finishes it and heals them." He is smart. He understood what needed to happen. He trusts me and I trust his health. This is the basis of our relationship. He bestows upon me the great privilege of caring for that which is most precious to him – his health. Even more importantly, the health of those he loves most – his family. You can judge the size of the man by the size of the things that bother him, and recent setbacks have changed the way he views the horizon. But Bob understands perspective. In treatment we talk all sorts of things – about his body, what worries him, what's on his mind and what's in his heart. He's not a tortured artist, though – he loves stories and he laughs easily, which can only be a good thing in the magnified world he exists in. They also say you can judge a man by the company he keeps. Bob is wise enough to realise you only become better if you surround yourself with people who are better than you. He definitely has that in Justine. She is his wife, adviser, confidant, right-hand woman, the mother of his children and the real captain in his most important team. My wife describes Bob and Justine best. "When I'm around them I just feel like hugging them all the time." I'm proud to have watched the young rebel become a wise leader. Proud that he picked himself up from the ashes again. Proud that he stands up for what he believes in. Proud that on the field he can once again "move like Jagger". Proud to call him my friend. Robert Murphy (left) of the Western Bulldogs and Anthony Rocca of Collingwood after Murphy sustained a season ending knee injury during the Collingwood v Western Bulldogs AFL game at the MCG in Melbourne, Friday, May 26, 2006. Collingwood won the game 21.13 (139) 16.9 (105). (AAP Image/Martin Philbey) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE NEWSPAPERS ONLY, NO SALES, MAGS OUT, ONLINE OUT Credit:Martin Philbey
BEN HUDSON
Former teammate He cares for people, and that's probably something not as common in footy circles. He's the first to admit he's not your typical footy nut, but you can see how the young players at the Bulldogs admire the way he goes about things, and he shows that care and empathy that goes beyond when they cross that white line. I was lucky enough to share car rides with him to training, so I got to listen to his music and see what he wore into training. His fashion is left of centre and his music is the same, but that's what makes Bob unique and such a loveable character. He's pretty quiet and likes to keep to himself. Probably, in all honesty, he hates all the attention he's copping his week. When Luke Beveridge gave him his premiership medal, that'll go down as one of the greatest sporting moments. When Beveridge let him lift the premiership cup, it was very emotional, but at the same time you could see the passion and care and what it meant to him, but also to all the supporters in the west. For that iconic moment, he got to share that moment that not many captains or players get to do. You'd have to ask him how he felt about not being able to play, but I reckon, at that split second, he didn't care. Ruckman Ben Hudson owner of the Peoples Beard with his Western Bulldogs teammates for the start of pre-season training at Whitten Oval. Picture by PAUL ROVERE / FAIRFAX MEDIA 23 November 2010 Credit:Paul Rovere
PATRICK WALSH
Publican I've always said that if somebody was going to marry your sister you'd be pretty happy if it was Robert Murphy, and if you needed someone to find a target on their non-preferred side you'd be equally pleased. We met for the first time in my pub, not long after he wrecked his knee for the first time. I was struck by him from the start – he was interested and interesting. Always admirable qualities, but especially so for someone who lived in the rarefied air of AFL. I felt like we were from a similar place. We talked about music, travel, love, family, writing, Guinness and sunscreen, occasionally arguing about football despite the vast difference in our qualifications. Loading We've covered a fair bit of ground since then and my understanding of a footballer's life has changed how I watch the game. What hasn't changed is that I'm very proud of my friend.
Usually after Christmas we have a kick, where he does all the running. I have never got a better appreciation of how good he is than in these moments. It's like standing in the straight as the ponies head for home. If we get interrupted by his kids, or someone else's, his football face goes and the other Robert seamlessly appears. Then it's back to business, and just so you know, even when he's easing into it, the ball smacks into your hands well before but exactly where you expect. PHOTO shows?Bob Murphy at far right in Camping mode IMAGE SUPPLIED by Chloe Saltau THE AGE SPORT Source unknown 20th April 2017 |
Abstract Earth’s spin axis has been wandering along the Greenwich meridian since about 2000, representing a 75° eastward shift from its long-term drift direction. The past 115 years have seen unequivocal evidence for a quasi-decadal periodicity, and these motions persist throughout the recent record of pole position, in spite of the new drift direction. We analyze space geodetic and satellite gravimetric data for the period 2003–2015 to show that all of the main features of polar motion are explained by global-scale continent-ocean mass transport. The changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) and global cryosphere together explain nearly the entire amplitude (83 ± 23%) and mean directional shift (within 5.9° ± 7.6°) of the observed motion. We also find that the TWS variability fully explains the decadal-like changes in polar motion observed during the study period, thus offering a clue to resolving the long-standing quest for determining the origins of decadal oscillations. This newly discovered link between polar motion and global-scale TWS variability has broad implications for the study of past and future climate.
Keywords
Earth sciences
climatology
earth’s spin axis
polar motion
space geodesy
terrestrial water storage
polar ice sheets
hydrology
INTRODUCTION Polar motion is the movement of Earth’s spin axis as it wanders through the crust. Observations have tracked this motion for more than 100 years. Astrometric data, when combined with space methods, form a continuous time series since 1899 (1–4) and have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio to accurately determine the pole position to a level much less than 1 millisecond of arc (mas; 1 mas ≈ 3.09 cm). The time variations in pole position are described by the Cartesian orthogonal vector positions and Y(t) ŷ, with vector dyads and ŷ pointing along the longitudes of mean Greenwich and 90° East, respectively. When this time series is filtered to remove the 433-day Chandler and annual wobbles and shorter time-scale variability, a clear linear drift in X(t) and Y(t) is revealed (1, 2, 4, 5), with interannual variability dominated by a 25- to 35-year periodicity (called the Markowitz wobble) and 6- to 14-year decadal periodicities (4, 6). The origins of linear drift (1, 2, 5, 7) are far better understood than are interannual variability seen in the data (8, 9). Here, we identify the mechanisms that largely explain all of the observed polar motions during a 13-year time span, from April 2002 to March 2015, by analyzing monthly data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission (10). We develop our analysis from observed pole positions, or Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP), that are provided by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) and compute corresponding polar motion excitations, with components χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t), from EOP 08 C04 solutions (https://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/analysis/excitactive.html) by setting the Chandler period to 433 days and its quality factor to 179 (4). Because we are interested in frequencies below that of the Chandler wobble, it is reasonable to approximate [X(t) Y(t)]T ≈ [χ 1 (t) χ 2 (t)]T (see Materials and Methods). Figure 1 shows observed polar motion excitations χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t) since 1976, when satellite measurements were first available. The 20th century linear drift is generally explained by the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) processes (1, 2, 5) associated with 100,000 years of waxing and waning of the Pleistocene great ice sheets that periodically covered northern hemispheric landmasses (7). Strong deviation in linear drift since about 2000 is likely related to climate-induced mass redistribution (5), including the melting of polar ice sheets (11). Both Markowitz and decadal variabilities are thought to have excitation mechanisms that originate either from the subtle dynamics of Earth’s fluid core or from large-scale global mass transport at Earth’s surface. However, core mechanisms fail to explain the amplitudes of the observed decadal motions by more than an order of magnitude (9), and a comprehensive search for decadal-scale atmosphere-ocean mass transport and angular momentum exchange demonstrated that these fail to explain the decadal amplitudes by more than a factor of 3 (8, 12). Fig. 1 Observed pole position data. Mean monthly polar motion excitations (black lines) derived from the observed daily values after removing semiannual, annual, and Chandler wobbles. Smoothed solutions (blue lines) reveal quasi-decadal variability in the corresponding component of the 20th-century linear trend (dashed red lines). Cyan shadows in the background cover our study period, over which the drift direction deviates (solid red lines) from the long-term linear trend. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that both the strong deviation in linear drift since about 2000 (5, 11) and the decadal-like variability are explained by global-scale continent-ocean mass transport, with robust changes in terrestrial water storage (TWS) playing an unexpectedly large role. Rigorous incorporation of TWS changes reduces the variance of a fit to the polar drift data by about 66% for χ 1 (t) and by about 92% for χ 2 (t), a great reduction over those incorporating only cryospheric changes (11). The variability in TWS excitation signal fully explains the ~20-mas amplitude of the observed change in χ 2 (t) during the study period, offering a clue as to the origins of decadal-scale oscillations that are so ubiquitous in the 115-year polar motion record (3, 4, 6).
RESULTS We compute the variations in polar motion from the changes in Earth’s inertia tensor caused by the climate-driven surface mass redistribution (see Materials and Methods). It is therefore important to understand the spatiotemporal variability in the transport of water mass between the continents and the oceans. For convenience, we define a mass-conserving loading function, L(θ, λ, t), with dimensions of water equivalent height (WEH) as follows (1)Here, H(θ, λ, t) is the change in WEH on the continents with mask , S(θ, λ, t) is the associated change in sea level with ocean mask , and (θ, λ) represents the geographic coordinates on Earth’s surface. We compute H(θ, λ, t) by analyzing the GRACE Release-05 Level-2 monthly GSM data products provided by the Center for Space Research (available at http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/RL05.html). We use the standard processing of GRACE data, which are distributed in the form of monthly varying Stokes coefficients, as described in Materials and Methods. Briefly, we replace the degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients with more accurate values (13, 14), including those derived from satellite laser ranging (SLR) observations. We then calculate the total WEH gravity signal from Stokes coefficient anomalies, using a Gaussian filter with a 300-km radius. Finally, we remove the GIA signal (15) and scale the remaining WEH. This procedure forms our climate-driven surface loading H(θ, λ, t). Following Schrama et al. (16), we individually scale H(θ, λ, t) for the entire Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), three nonoverlapping subdomains of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS), and 15 regions of global glaciers and ice caps (GICs), with corresponding uncertainties arising from a suite of GIA computations and the choice of degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients. We scale H(θ, λ, t) for TWS over the noncryospheric continental domain using the so-called gain factors (17) to account for leakage errors and to restore the attenuated signals. The budget of continental mass directly contributes to the sea-level change. Continental mass variability, along with this ocean loading, induces perturbations in the gravitational and rotational potentials of the planet, causing the further redistribution of S(θ, λ, t), which is gravitationally self-consistent. Here, we compute S(θ, λ, t) by solving the perturbation theory of relative sea level on an elastically compressible rotating Earth (18). Figure 2 shows the least-squares retrieval of linear trend in L(θ, λ, t) during the study period, using the monthly GRACE solutions and associated sea-level computations. The GIS has lost ice mass at a pace of about −278 ± 19 Gt/year. Much of this loss comes from southern Greenland, where pervasive thinning occurs as a result of collective surface mass balance changes and increased outflux (19). The AIS has also lost mass, but at a more modest rate of −92 ± 26 Gt/year. However, there is great contrast in regional patterns, and coastal East AIS has mainly gained mass, especially in and adjacent to Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land, as a result of increased precipitation (19). The AIS is losing mass from the Amundsen Sea Sector and the Antarctic Peninsula at a rapid rate. These two loss areas involve changing ice dynamics and, to a lesser degree, surface mass balance (19, 20). Other continental signals in Fig. 2A are composed of those associated with TWS and global GICs. Among the features that stand out are the negative TWS signals around Eurasia (the Indian subcontinent and the Caspian Sea). Relatively large negative signals appear around the Canadian Arctic (−61 ± 5.2 Gt/year), Alaska (−42.1 ± 6.8 Gt/year), and Patagonia (−22.1 ± 6.6 Gt/year), reflecting the large mass loss from these glaciated regions (16, 20, 21). All of these features are consistent with numerous reports of cryospheric and hydrographic mass changes that are comparable to the time span of our study (19–23). A total mass loss from the continents of about −530 Gt/year raises the global mean sea level at a rate of about 1.46 mm/year. The linear trend in S(θ, λ, t) of Fig. 2D shows a large drop in local sea level around the GIS and along the Amundsen Sea Sector, and an enhanced sea-level rise in the corridor between South Africa and Dronning Maud Land. The pattern of in the corridor is caused, in nearly equal measure, by changes in gravitational attraction between the oceans and the continents [as induced by ] and by rotational feedback (see Materials and Methods). Although the values of S(θ, λ, t) are generally one order of magnitude smaller than the values of global H(θ, λ, t), they have a very long wavelength character and form an important component of polar motion excitations (24). Fig. 2 Climate-induced mass redistribution on Earth’s surface. (A) Linear rate of change in mass (in WEH per year) during April 2002 to March 2015, derived from monthly GRACE observations and associated sea-level computations. Solutions are reproduced with different color scales for (B) the GIS, (C) the AIS, and (D) the oceans. The variations in polar motion induced by polar ice sheets, global GICs, and TWS are shown in Fig. 3A. Because the pole excitations are related to the degree 2 order 1 spherical harmonic (SH) coefficients of L(θ, λ, t), χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t) are greatly sensitive to mass changes occurring around ±45° latitudes (fig. S1). Despite the proximity to the poles, the mass of ice sheets is changing so rapidly that they contribute greatly to drift in the pole position. Mass loss from the GIS yields positive and negative values of similar magnitudes. Positive trends for the AIS-associated χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t) are driven by the combination of mass loss from the Amundsen Sea Sector and mass gain in Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land. Mass loss from the Antarctic Peninsula acts to diminish while enhancing , contributing to a muted rate of χ 1 (t) compared to χ 2 (t) for the whole of the AIS. A similar interpretation can be made for TWS and global GICs. A large-scale water mass loss from Eurasia, as well as losses from southern South America, produce a large positive TWS-induced . Glacial mass loss signals of Alaska and Patagonia collectively drive a negative . In contrast, driven by GICs in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, High Mountain Asia, and Patagonia tend to operate with differing signs and, consequently, yield a muted negative excitation. Fig. 3 Climate-induced polar motion. (A) Polar motion excitations caused by four climate-related sources. (B) Total reconstructed (REC) and observed (OBS) excitations. We add global (nontidal) AOM-associated excitations ( and mas/year) to the reconstructed solutions and remove the 20th century linear trends from the observations (see Materials and Methods). (For ease of comparison, minor smoothing is applied to the observed data.) Large positive gradients during 2005–2012 (cyan shadow), followed by negative trends, are apparent for χ 2 (t), and it may be explained by analogous trends associated with TWS [see (A)]. As the space gravimetry time series lengthens, it might be possible to use observations of changes in the spin rate of the pole, proportional to the change in length of day ΔLOD(t), as additional constraints on continent-ocean mass transport. However, the interannual variability of this component of rotation is more strongly influenced by axial angular momentum transfer. Models of this angular momentum transfer currently lack the sophistication required for isolating surface mass transport from these ΔLOD(t) data (25). A separation would allow isolation of the change in Earth’s oblateness ΔJ 2 (t), which is fully independent of the SLR-based ΔJ 2 (t) used in our analysis. We elaborate on this issue in Materials and Methods. To model the more complete picture of climate-driven surface mass redistribution, we also consider (nontidal) atmospheric and oceanic mass (AOM) contributions that were removed from the GRACE GSM data products. We use complementary GRACE Release-05 Level-2 GAC solutions to compute the AOM-associated polar motion and to find that its contributions, particularly to χ 2 (t), provide some nonnegligible excitations (see Materials and Methods). We now combine the individual contributions of polar ice sheets, global GICs, TWS, and AOM to reconstruct the total climate-driven polar motion. Figure 3B compares our reconstructions with the corresponding components of observed data that are obtained after removing long-term linear trends. Henceforth, we deal only with these detrended time series, unless otherwise specified. The solutions provide an excellent reconciliation of the data: The TWS and the three cryospheric components together explain 88 ± 18% and 70 ± 34% of observed and , respectively. Adding global AOM contribution further improves the fit to by an additional 7%. We are also able to reconstruct the sharp changes in direction for χ 2 (t) at around 2005 and 2012; although the onset of eastward motion (positive ) at around 2005 is well documented (11), this reversal of polar motion toward the west after 2012 is a new observation with a causal origin that we can clearly isolate in this analysis. The large amplitude (~20 mas) of the reversal in χ 2 (t) in 2012 is comparable to those associated with observed decadal variabilities of polar motion over the past 115 years (3, 4, 6), thus suggesting that it is an emergent decadal-like oscillation. The complete picture of the redirected polar motion is more complicated than can be derived solely from changes in the ice sheets, and the large-amplitude swings must include noncryospheric mechanisms. Comparing polar motion excitations of Fig. 3 (A and B) reveals that TWS is the most plausible causal mechanism for the decadal-like oscillation during the study period (see also table S1); it has previously been identified as the dominant mechanism for annual and semiannual wobbles (26). This discovery requires a detailed analysis of the spatiotemporal variability of TWS: The trend in the global mass budget of TWS during the study period is small, and there is no anomalous variability in it at around 2012 (see Materials and Methods). However, we find that the spatial patterns of mass redistribution are strikingly different before and after 2012. As seen in Fig. 4, there is almost a complete reversal in wet (excess water mass) and dry (water mass deficit) patterns, and the intensity of wetness and drought has strengthened during 2012–2015. Mass gain in Asia and southern South America, accompanied by enhanced mass loss from western North America and Australia, is collectively consistent with the observed westward drift in polar motion since 2012. Fig. 4 Spatiotemporal variability in TWS. Linear trends in TWS mass redistribution (in WEH per year) during two periods (from January 2005 to December 2011 and from January 2012 to December 2014) derived from monthly GRACE observations.
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION Figure 5 summarizes our key discoveries about the changes in polar motion. Mean rates of change in the polar motion vector during 2003–2015, after removing the long-term linear drift signals, are shown in Fig. 5A. The total reconstructed signal has been partitioned to highlight the relative excitation strength of five major climatological components. The global cryospheric excitations alone explain 66 ± 7% of the observed magnitude of the polar motion vector, but the associated drift direction deviates by 38° ± 11°. Combining TWS excitations with cryospheric signals greatly reduces the variance of a fit to the amplitude and direction of polar motion: The reconstructed motion has 83 ± 23% magnitude and is within 5.9° ± 7.6° of the observed (detrended) polar motion (5.52 mas/year along 33.6° East longitude). The data fit to the magnitude is slightly improved (by 1.5%) when we add global AOM contributions, and the direction is better aligned toward the observations by 2.6°. The discrepancies between the observed motion and the reconstructed motion may be partially explained by the uncertainty in the assumed long-term linear trend (see Materials and Methods) or by the net effect of other smaller (motion) excitation mechanisms, including wind stress and ocean current variability. Figure 5B shows a comparison between the total observed mean annual pole position (including the long-term linear trend) and the total reconstructed mean annual pole position. The observed east-west wander of the pole during 2003–2015 is reproduced—owing to the excitation strength of variability in the spatial distribution of TWS—about the mean drift direction that is roughly along the Greenwich meridian. Fig. 5 Origins of observed polar motion. (A) Reconstruction and partition of polar motion during 2003–2015. Observed data have the 20th-century linear trends removed. Semimajor and semiminor axes of error ellipses are defined by the uncertainties in the magnitude and direction of the corresponding polar motion vector. For clarity, we do not show error ellipses for GICs, which have large uncertainties but very small amplitudes (see Materials and Methods) and AOM. (B) Observed (including the long-term linear trend) and reconstructed mean annual pole positions, in the excitation domain, with respect to the 2003–2015 mean position. Blue error band is associated with the reconstructed solution; red signifies additional errors that are related to uncertainty in the long-term linear trend. Near-decadal shifts in large-scale global wet and dry patterns (Fig. 4), which fully explain an emergent decadal-like oscillation of polar motion, are quite similar to those mapped as a drought index during 1900–1995 based on monthly air temperature and precipitation records (27). We propose that these form the causal mechanism for the long-sought origins of 10- to 20-mas decadal oscillations seen throughout the 115-year polar motion record (3, 4, 6). These are consistent with our current notional understanding of near-decadal shifts in patterns of ocean storage of thermal energy which characterize the current paradigm of decadal changes in continental rainfall and drought (28). The polar motion record may therefore offer yet unexploited information about the intensities, duration, and globality of wet and dry periods, providing possible data constraints on models of past changes in horizontal water vapor transport (29). Such model quantification will have important ramifications for climate change during the 21st century, as we now face an increased intensity of the global water cycle (30, 31).
MATERIALS AND METHODS Polar motion: Theory and methods Euler’s equations of classical mechanics that conserve angular momentum form the fundamental equations of motion for a rotating body. Consider body-fixed right-handed Cartesian coordinates with the origin located at the center of mass of the planet. In the present context, where the external torque is absent, we may express Euler’s equations as (32, 33) (2)Here, ω(t) is the angular velocity vector, I(t) is the inertia tensor that changes as a result of the redistribution of Earth’s (surface and interior) mass, and h(t) is the change in angular momentum attributable to motion relative to the rotating reference frame. Because the polar motion is minimally affected by the motion-induced change in angular momentum in the lower-frequency domains (lower than the Chandler wobble frequency) that we are interested in, the following discussion is based on the assumption that h(t) ≅ 0. In the chosen body-fixed coordinates and assumed initial equilibrium state, the products of inertia tensor vanish (that is, I ij = 0 for i ≠ j = 1, 2, 3) and the moments of inertia tensor for (assumed) rotationally symmetric Earth are given by I ii = A (for i = 1, 2) and I 33 = C, where A is the mean equatorial and C is the polar moment of inertia. Similarly, components of angular velocity vector are given by ω i = δ i3 Ω (for i = 1, 2, 3), where δ i3 is the Kronecker delta and Ω is the mean rotational velocity of Earth. Following the mass redistribution on Earth’s surface, both I(t) and ω(t) are perturbed from their initial equilibrium states. Let and Ωm i be the respective perturbation terms, where m i are nondimensional and typically on the order of ≤ 10−6. Inserting these perturbation terms into Eq. 2 and dropping second- or higher-order terms give the following coupled equation to be solved for m 1 (t) and m 2 (t) characterizing the rotational pole (32, 33) (3)Here, σ r is the Chandler wobble frequency for an elastic Earth (with 433-day periodicity) and k e is an effective degree 2 Love number that accounts for rotation-induced perturbations in gravitational and rotational potentials (18, 32, 33). The excitation functions are given by (4)Here, the first terms on the right-hand side are directly induced by mass redistribution and, hence, are often called “mass excitation functions” (33). The IERS reports the pole position vector, with components [X(t) Y(t)]T, in the celestial reference frame, whereas rotational pole [m 1 (t) m 2 (t)]T and excitation pole [χ 1 (t) χ 2 (t)]T are computed in the body-fixed terrestrial reference frame. However, for frequencies much lower than the Chandler wobble frequency that we are interested in, the celestial intermediate pole, the rotational pole, and the excitation pole all have virtually the same motion (4, 33), that is (5)The low-frequency polar motion estimates provided in this study are essentially those computed from Eq. 4. To evaluate perturbations in the product of inertia (particularly and appearing in Eq. 4) induced by climate-driven surface mass redistribution, we defined a mass-conserving loading function, L(θ, λ, t), as in Eq. 1. The loading function and the relevant components of inertia tensor are related as (18) (6)Here, a is the mean radius of Earth, ρ w is the water density, and L 21n (t) represents degree 2 order 1 SH coefficients of L(θ, λ, t), which follows from the following orthogonal relationship (7)Here, 𝒴 21n (θ, λ) represents the 4π-normalized degree 2 order 1 SHs, with cosine and sine components denoted by n = 1 and n = 2, respectively (18, 34). As shown in fig. S1, the inertia tensor, and hence polar motion, are greatly sensitive to mass changes occurring around ±45° latitudes. The integral appearing in Eq. 7 is applied over the surface domain of a unit sphere . Computation of H(θ, λ, t). To fully define the global loading function (Eq. 1), we computed H(θ, λ, t) by analyzing the GRACE Release-05 Level-2 monthly GSM data products provided by the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin. The monthly time series of these data were distributed in the form of Stokes coefficients up to SH degree and order 60 (10, 34). Here, we covered a 13-year period, from April 2002 to March 2015. There were only partial or no data available for a few months during the study period, and we filled these data gaps through linear scaling or interpolation between adjacent monthly data, as appropriate. Because GRACE cannot measure the degree 1 Stokes coefficients as a result of its sensitivity only to the center of mass frame, we used those obtained from the analysis of SLR observations (35) or those inferred from the GRACE solutions and ocean model outputs (13). We also replaced degree 2 Stokes coefficients with more accurate SLR-based estimates (14, 36). We did not apply the pole tide correction (37) because its effects on the continental WEH were minimal (on the order of 1%) and our estimates of oceanic mass variations [S(θ, λ, t)] follow from the solutions of the sea-level equation [see Computation of S(θ, λ, t)] that are independent of GRACE-inferred ocean mass redistribution. Nonetheless, the pole tide–associated errors should be within our uncertainty estimates, which were constrained by, among other factors, the plausible range of degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients (see Polar Motion: Results). After filling the data gaps and inserting more accurate degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients as summarized above, we followed the standard procedure to retrieve climate-driven monthly WEH signals, as discussed elsewhere (34, 38). We first obtained the Stokes coefficient anomalies by removing the corresponding mean values during the study period. We calculated the total WEH caused by both the surface mass redistribution and the GIA processes embedded in GRACE data, using a Gaussian filter with a 300-km radius. We isolated the climate-driven WEH by removing the GIA signals provided by A et al. (15) and finally applied appropriate (regional) scaling to account for the so-called leakage effects and attenuated signals. A detailed description of solution scaling and uncertainties thereof is provided in Polar Motion: Results. Computation of S(θ, λ, t). The budget of continental mass directly contributes to the sea-level change, via mass conservation. The variability in H(θ, λ, t) on the continents, along with this ocean loading, induces perturbations in the gravitational and rotational potentials of the planet, causing the further redistribution of S(θ, λ, t), which is gravitationally self-consistent. For an elastically compressible rotating Earth, the gravitationally consistent S(θ, λ, t) is given by (18) (8)Here, M is the total mass of Earth, is the acceleration resulting from gravity, is the Green’s function for an elastically compressible Earth that parameterizes the perturbations in gravitational potential and associated solid-Earth deformation, Λ 2mn (t) represents the degree 2 SH coefficients related to perturbations in rotational potential and associated solid-Earth deformation, and E(t) is the eustatic term that follows from the mass conservation constraint. The operator ⊗ appearing in Eq. 8 signifies the spatial convolution over the surface of a unit sphere . Computation of S(θ, λ, t) requires a priori knowledge of L(θ, λ, t), which in turn depends on S(θ, λ, t) itself (cf. Eq. 1). We therefore solved the coupled system of Eqs. 1 and 8 using a recursive scheme. All of our calculations were based on a novel mesh-based approach (18), which, unlike contemporary pseudo-spectral methods, remained numerically accurate and computationally efficient as the resolution requirements approached those of contemporary ice sheets or ocean models (on the order of a few kilometers). Polar motion: Results Accurate estimates of polar motion induced by the climate-driven global change in L(θ, λ, t) require careful retrieval of H(θ, λ, t) from the GRACE observations. A common practice is to directly compare H(θ, λ, t) obtained from the standard GRACE processing (hereafter termed “original” signal) with more accurate field- and model-based estimates and to scale it accordingly. In this section, we summarize our scaling approach and present estimates of polar motion (Eq. 4). To understand the origins of observed polar motion during the study period (Fig. 1), we partitioned the continental domain into the following four nonoverlapping subdomains that represent unique components of Earth’s climate system: the GIS, the AIS, GICs, and the continental hydrosphere. Although the first three components together characterized the global cryospheric changes, the fourth component accounted for the variability in TWS. Cryospheric changes. The largest uncertainty in the original H(θ, λ, t) is perhaps related to the GIA correction (15, 38, 39), especially for the AIS (19, 40). The choice of degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients is also shown to have a considerable impact on WEH estimates for polar ice sheets (16, 38). Using a suite of GIA models and various choices of low-degree Stokes coefficients, Schrama et al. (16) provided a rigorous estimate of mass evolution and uncertainties thereof for the entire GIS, three nonoverlapping subdomains of the AIS, and 15 glaciated regions that cover the global GICs. Their estimates are generally consistent with other published results (19–23, 38, 40), and we scaled our estimates such that the trend in total mass and uncertainties thereof were reproduced during the common time span. The corresponding solutions and uncertainties of χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t) presented below account for the lump-sum effects of GIA, degree 1 and degree 2 Stokes coefficients, leakage errors, and signal attenuation. Our domain of the GIS covered the ice sheet and peripheral GICs. We scaled the original H(θ, λ, t) for the entire domain by a factor of 1.64 (16, 19) so that the total mass loss during the study period is about −278 ± 19 Gt/year (fig. S2). Pervasive and sustained thinning of the southern GIS, as seen in the figure, was consistent with other published results (19, 22, 40) and was attributed to the combination of negative surface mass balance and enhanced outflux (19). The associated loss in gravity anomaly was reflected in the “sea-level fingerprint” (fig. S2A) that shows the drop in local sea level and the rise elsewhere, particularly around East Asia and the Drake Passage between the Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America. Our estimates of GIS-driven polar motion are shown in fig. S2B. We found that the GIS promoted a positive (2.82 ± 0.19 mas/year) and a negative (−2.20 ∓ 0.15 mas/year), consistent with the signatures of relevant SHs (cf. fig. S1). Because our error estimates were based on the basic assumption that the spatial pattern of H(θ, λ, t) is relatively stable, these could not fully quantify the uncertainties in drift direction. However, here, we considered the maximum uncertainty obtained from four possible combinations of limiting values of and . Consequently, the GIS causes the pole position vector to drift along 37.96° ± 3.82° West longitude at a rate of 3.58 ± 0.24 mas/year during the study period. Our AIS domain comprised the continental ice sheet and the relatively small peripheral GICs. We applied scaling factors of 1.16, 1.43, and 2.08 for the West AIS, the East AIS, and the Antarctic Peninsula, respectively (16, 19, 38). Although the net budget of the entire AIS is negative (−92 ± 26 Gt/year), the East AIS has gained mass at a rate of about 80 ± 16 Gt/year as a result of increased precipitation (19). Large losses are recorded for the West AIS (−137 ± 7 Gt/year) and the Antarctic Peninsula (−35 ± 3 Gt/year) as a consequence of accelerated ice dynamics and, to a lesser degree, increasingly negative surface mass balance (19, 20). The spatial distribution of for the entire AIS is shown in fig. S3. High rates of ice loss along the Amundsen Sea Sector and the moderate rates of loss in the Antarctic Peninsula and gain in Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land, as seen in the figure, are consistent with numerous reports of mass changes that are comparable to the time span of our study (19, 20, 22, 40). The associated shown also suggests a large drop in local sea level around the Amundsen Sea Sector and a rise around Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land. We computed the corresponding polar motion and found that mas/year and mas/year (fig. S3C). The positive rates for both χ 1 (t) and χ 2 (t) were consistent with mass loss from the Amundsen Sea Sector and mass gain in Dronning Maud Land and Enderby Land. Mass loss from the Antarctic Peninsula acted to diminish while enhancing , contributing to a muted rate of χ 1 (t) that was causally related to the entire AIS (cf. fig. S1). Following the same approach as for the GIS, we sourced the AIS-driven components of the polar motion vector to a direction along 64.24° ± 3.37° East longitude of amplitude 2.23 ± 0.18 mas/year during the study period. We formed a global GIC domain by creating 15 nonoverlapping regions (fig. S4). Our regional masks for mass change determination were based on the fraction of 0.5° × 0.5° global grids covered by regional GICs (21). We mapped this gridded information onto our computational mesh (18) by using an anisotropic mesh refinement algorithm so that the finer mesh, with a characteristic element size on the order of 10 km, is used in the glaciated regions. We then assumed that any element with ≥ 1% ice coverage has a GRACE signal dominated by GIC changes, and we defined the regional mask accordingly. Some of these regions have lost mass at a great pace, whereas others did not exhibit significant long-term trends during the span of our study (fig. S5). Alaska (−42.1 ± 6.8 Gt/year), the North Canadian Arctic (−33.9 ± 3.3 Gt/year), the South Canadian Arctic (−28.4 ± 1.9 Gt/year), Patagonia (−19.5 ± 4.8 Gt/year), and High Mountain Asia (−8.6 ± 0.6 Gt/year) are the areas with the greatest loss. We individually scaled all of these 15 regions to derive H(θ, λ, t) for global GICs. (See fig. S4A for during the study period.) The associated computation of suggests a considerable sea-level drop in the region north of ≈ 45° latitude. Figure S4B summarizes our estimates of polar motion excitations. By combining polar motions driven by individual regions, we found minimal overall contributions of global GICs with relatively large uncertainties: mas/year and mas/year. Figure S1 shows that glacial mass loss in Alaska and Patagonia collectively drives a negative . Similarly, χ 2 (t) caused by GICs in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, High Mountain Asia, and Patagonia tends to operate with differing signs, and hence yields a rather muted (negative) . TWS changes. Excluding the cryospheric domains, the mass redistribution in the continents may be interpreted as the TWS changes. By definition, we may express the TWS, W(θ, λ, t), as follows (41) (9)Here, V(θ, λ, t) is the vertically integrated water vapor anomaly, ∇Q(θ, λ, t) is the divergence of the horizontal water transport, and R(θ, λ, t) is the runoff. The first term on the right-hand side is equivalent to the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration. If we evaluate Eq. 9 on a monthly time interval during the study period, the TWS signal would essentially be the same as the monthly WEH signal derived from the GRACE observations, or W(θ, λ, t) ≡ H(θ, λ, t). Figure S6A shows the linear trend in the original H(θ, λ, t) that needs to be scaled appropriately. Landerer and Swenson (17) analyzed monthly TWS signals obtained from the GRACE observations and the Noah land surface model, simulated within the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS-Noah), and derived global gridded gain factors (fig. S6B). These scaling factors, when applied to the original H(θ, λ, t), helped to correct for the leakage errors and to restore the attenuated signals. Relatively large gain factors along the coasts, as seen in the figure, implied that a large signal loss prevails between the oceans and the continents. Figure S6C shows the corrected and associated variations in during the study period. The feature that stands out in the present context of polar motion is a strong and large-scale, negative TWS signal around Eurasia (the Indian subcontinent and the Caspian Sea). This and the global signals are consistent with the general picture that has emerged from the GRACE monthly variability on continental land masses (23, 42, 43). Such variability in global TWS induces changes in sea level such that it rises in the Atlantic Ocean and falls around the Drake Passage and the Asia Pacific. The total TWS mass evolution and our estimates of polar motion are plotted in fig. S6D. The trends in global mass budget are small for both the original and the corrected TWS signals, implying that the net contribution of TWS to the global mean sea level is minimal. The patterns of polar motion are generally unaffected by the gain factors: The reversal in χ 2 (t) since about 2012, for example, is apparent for both the original and the corrected TWS changes. However, we found some sensitivity of gain factors on the solved-for linear trend in polar motion, particularly for χ 1 (t), and this forms the basis of our uncertainty estimates. There is no physically or statistically rigorous basis for defining the uncertainties for TWS-driven polar motion, and we simply considered the solutions associated with the original TWS signals as the limiting values. Consequently, the respective contributions of TWS variability and uncertainties to and are 0.40 ± 0.43 and 2.40 ± 0.39 mas/year. This suggests that the robust changes in TWS cause the polar motion vector to drift along 80.5° ± 8.7° East longitude at a rate of about 2.43 ± 0.45 mas/year during the study period. Nontidal AOM variability. There is nontidal AOM contribution to Earth’s surface mass redistribution that is not included in the GRACE GSM solutions. The AOM-associated Stokes coefficients, which are provided as complementary GRACE GAC solutions, are computed from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) operational atmospheric model and the baroclinic Ocean Model for Circulation and Tides (OMCT) driven by the same atmospheric model. We estimated corresponding polar excitations using the following linear relationship (11) (10)Here, ΔC 21 (t) and ΔS 21 (t) are the Stokes coefficients and is the degree 2 load Love number. Results are shown in fig. S7. The figure shows, as expected, that the global AOM variability induces high (seasonal) amplitude excitations. We found that the AOM had negligible contribution to (−0.03 mas/year), but it had sizable effects on (0.22 mas/year) during the study period. Observed and reconstructed polar motion. To compare our estimates of polar motion with the observed data (Fig. 1), it is first necessary to remove the long-term trends from the observations. Here, we considered the GIA-driven true polar wander along 75° West longitude at a rate of 0.85° (great-circle distance) per million years (5) as the long-term trend of the pole position vector. Other estimates that are mostly inferred from ~100 years of polar motion record are generally within the 25% uncertainties (1, 2, 44, 45). Therefore, we used mas/year and mas/year as the long-term trends. Subtracting these from the observed rates of mas/year and mas/year (during 2003–2015) gave mas/year and mas/year. In what follows, we quantify how much of these detrended motions are explained by the cryospheric mass changes alone (11) and how many improvements we make to a data fit through rigorous incorporation of TWS and global AOM signals. Table S1 summarizes and during the study period. By combining the AIS, the GIS, and global GIC signals, we found that the total cryospheric changes accounted for mas/year and mas/year, and caused the pole position vector to drift along 4.4° ± 11.4° West longitude at a rate of 3.65 ± 0.38 mas/year. This suggests that the global cryospheric changes explain only about 66.0 ± 6.8% of the observed (detrended) polar motion and predict the mean drift direction within 38.0° ± 11.4°. By adding TWS signals, we obtained mas/year and mas/year, which is a great reduction in the variance of a fit to the data (by about 66% for χ 1 and by about 92% for χ 2 ). As a consequence, our total reconstruction of the pole position vector predicted a drift along 27.7° ± 7.6° East longitude at a rate of 4.56 ± 1.26 mas/year. This means that the TWS excitations, when combined with cryospheric signals, reduce the variance of a fit to the magnitude of the pole position vector by 74% and to the direction of the pole position vector by 97%, and explain nearly the entire amplitude (82.6 ± 22.8%) and mean directional shift (within 5.9° ± 7.6°) of the observed (detrended) polar motion. The data fit to the magnitude was slightly improved (by 1.5%) as we added the global AOM contributions, and the direction was further aligned toward the observations by 2.6°. Use of ΔLOD(t) as an additional constraint on ΔJ 2 (t) Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) has been operating since 1970 and has provided accurate determination of the rate of slowing of the axial rotation by the transfer of angular momentum from Earth to the lunar orbit by tidal dissipation (46). The slowing may, for example, be expressed as ω 3 (t) = Ω[1 + m 3 (t)]. The rate of deceleration is effectively secular on a time scale of 10 million years. Although the rate of slowing is roughly consistent with ancient eclipse observations that constrain the secular ΔLOD(t) (33), there is a systematic offset in the time of recorded eclipses (47). The offset in the LLR-determined m 3 (t) (from that observed in eclipse data) is, in fact, consistent with an additional slight secular increase in the rotation rate caused by a change in the polar moment of inertia C due to GIA (48). GIA processes are uncomplicated by angular momentum transfer, and a linear relation exists between the change in Earth’s gravitational bulge [that is, ] and the associated secular nontidal ΔLODGIA(t). A natural question to ask concerning our focus on the period of space geodetic observations is whether a ΔLOD(t) time series might contain additional information that constrains cryospheric and hydrological mass variability on interannual time scales. However, the motion terms in the excitation function associated with zonal winds and ocean currents have a relatively strong influence on the ΔLOD(t) time series (4). On centennial time scales, these angular momentum exchanges have comparatively short periods, and ΔLOD(t) can be adequately described by the mass terms in the excitation function. However, for data taken since the mid-1970s, when SLR data first became available for directly constraining , angular momentum (motion) terms have a non-negligible contribution to ΔLOD(t) observations, and the physical models that drive such motions must be carefully considered. A recent analysis (49) of the IERS time series for ΔLOD(t) has attempted to isolate the motion excitations and thus deduce a ΔLOD(t) proxy for ΔJ 2 (t), potentially providing a consistency check on SLR-based ΔJ 2 (t) observations (36, 49, 50). However, in addition to the angular momentum transfer within Earth’s surface fluid envelope, a relatively poorly modeled angular momentum coupling between the mantle and the core must also be considered. This fact necessitates using a filter to remove 7-year and longer periodicities (49) from ΔLOD(t) and suggests that useful inferences of large-scale surface mass transport from axial changes in rotation during the 13-year GRACE time series considered in our analysis will be quite difficult to obtain.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS Supplementary material for this article is available at http://advances.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2/4/e1501693/DC1 Fig. S1. SHs of degree 2 order 1. Fig. S2. GIS and polar motion excitations. Fig. S3. AIS and polar motion excitations. Fig. S4. Global GICs and polar motion excitations. Fig. S5. Mass evolution of regional GICs. Fig. S6. TWS and polar motion excitations. Fig. S7. Polar motion excitations due to nontidal AOM variability. Table S1. Polar motion excitation rates for different time periods.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
Acknowledgments: We wish to thank E. Larour for his contribution to solving the sea-level equation. Conversations with J. Mitrovica and J. Chen are also acknowledged. Funding: This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and with funding from the Cryosphere Program and the Earth Surface and Interior Focus Area as part of the GRACE Science Team and NASA Sea-level Change Team efforts. S.A. was supported through a fellowship from the NASA Postdoctoral Program. Author contributions: S.A. performed all of the calculations. Both authors contributed to the analysis of the results and to the writing of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Additional data related to this paper may be requested from the authors. |
The young founder of El Compadre, a recently opened offshoot of the critically acclaimed South Philly Barbacoa, tragically passed away Wednesday at the age of 23, family members shared on Facebook.
Isaias Berriozabal-Martinez, son of South Philly Barbacoa owners Christina Martinez and Benjamin Miller, died at his parents' home Wednesday morning of causes that have yet to be determined.
Last October, Berriozabal-Martinez opened El Compadre at 1149 S. 9th Street in what was celebrated as a revival of South Philly Barbacoa's in-demand torta catering business. He had been a fixture at South Philly Barbacoa and had saved up enough money to run El Compadre during the three years since he immigrated to the United States to join Miller and Martinez.
Like his mother, Berriozabal-Martinez was an undocumented Mexican immigrant who braved a dangerous trek to the United States from his hometown of Capulhuac. El Compadre's menu of tortas was inspired by the local culinary scene of his hometown and neighboring Toluca.
Miller and Martinez have been vocal advocates for the rights of undocumented workers in the United States, hosting workshops and film screenings to serve South Philly Barbacoa's patrons, many of whom hail from Mexico and ritually eat at the restaurant on weekends.
South Philly Barbacoa announced on Facebook that it will hold nine nights of vigils at the restaurant. |
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and Shi’ite militia fighters struggled to advance on Saturday into the two towns of al-Alam and al-Dour near Tikrit, their progress slowed by fierce defense from Islamic State militants.
“We are facing a strong resistance from terrorist groups and we are trying to surround Daesh inside al-Alam and al-Dour and cut all supply routes for them,” said al-Alam mayor Laith al-Jubouri, referring to the Islamic State fighters.
Army and militia fighters entered the southern and eastern parts of al-Dour on Friday. Commanders said at the time that the town had been completely recaptured, but officials said only parts of it had been retaken.
Canada said one of its soldiers was killed in a friendly fire incident, the first fatality for the country during its current military mission in Iraq. Three other Canadian soldiers were wounded.
The soldiers were with Canada’s special operations forces and were mistakenly engaged by Iraqi Kurdish forces following their return to an observation post behind the front lines, the defense department said in a statement.
Elsewhere in Iraq suicide and car bomb attacks killed at least 19 people on Saturday, police and medical sources said.
The deadliest attack took place in the northern town of Tuz Khurmatu where a car bomb blast followed by a suicide attack killed eight people and wounded 32 in the town center, police and medical sources said.
A bomb exploded near local government and political party headquarters in the town, and after passers-by gathered a suicide attacker blew himself up among the crowd, one police officer said.
In a separate incident, four mortars hit Baghdad’s southern neighborhood of Arab Jubour, killing two people, police said. A bomb blast killed one person in the capital’s northern Shaab district.
Three people were killed and 11 wounded when a bomb struck a bus in the district of New Baghdad, police said.
Members of Iraqi security forces and Shiite fighters sit on a vehicle in Al Hadidiya, south of Tikrit, en route to the Islamic State-controlled al-Alam town, where they are preparing to launch an offensive on Saturday, March 6, 2015. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
In the town of Khan Bani Saad, north of Baghdad, a parked car bomb exploded near a football match, killing two people.
In the western province of Anbar, a suicide bomber driving an army Humvee vehicle packed with explosives attacked a police post near the border crossing with Jordan, killing three policemen and wounding three, local security officials said.
Gunmen in another humvee opened fire. “It seems it was a failed attempt to control the post,” said one police officer. |
Seventh studio album by American rapper Kanye West
2016 studio album by Kanye West
The Life of Pablo is the seventh studio album by American rapper and recording artist Kanye West, released on February 14, 2016 by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings.[6] Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016 in Italy, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Production on the album was handled by West and a variety of producers, including co-executive producers Rick Rubin and Noah Goldstein, Mike Dean, Metro Boomin, Hudson Mohawke, Plain Pat, and Madlib. He also enlisted a wide array of guest vocalists, including Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, The Weeknd, Desiigner, Kid Cudi, The-Dream, Max B, French Montana, El DeBarge, Kelly Price, Kirk Franklin, Chance the Rapper, Rihanna, Sia, Frank Ocean, Swizz Beatz, Sampha, Vic Mensa, Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Young Thug, and Caroline Shaw.
The album was preceded by several promotional singles as part of West's GOOD Fridays giveaways, including the tracks "Real Friends" and "No More Parties in LA".[7] In the months before its release, the album's title and tracklist went through several publicized changes, and West's erratic activity on social media became the source of several controversies.[8][9] An early version of the album was premiered by West at Madison Square Garden on February 11, 2016, as part of his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show in collaboration with Adidas.[10] After several additional sessions and alterations, the album was launched exclusively through the streaming service Tidal three days later.[11]
Following its official streaming debut, West continued to make changes to The Life of Pablo, describing it as "a living, breathing, changing, creative expression" and declaring the end of the album as a dominant release form;[12] Def Jam confirmed his intention to continue working on the album over the subsequent months.[13][14] A largely updated version of the album, including alternate mixes and other changes was made available on other streaming services and for digital purchase on his website on April 1, 2016; no official CD release is planned. The album was supported by the singles "Famous", "Father Stretch My Hands", and "Fade".
The Life of Pablo received widespread acclaim from critics, with particular attention drawn to the fragmented, unfinished nature of its composition and release. Following Tidal's disclosure of its streaming data and the album's release to competing streaming services, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming West's seventh consecutive number-one album on the chart and the first to reach the summit primarily through streaming. In April 2017, The Life of Pablo became the first streaming-only album to go platinum, becoming West's eighth platinum-certified release.[15] It was named among the best albums of 2016 by multiple publications, and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, while "Ultralight Beam" and "Famous" were nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song.
Background [ edit ]
In November 2013, West began working on his eighth album, under the working title So Help Me God for a 2014 release date. The album was initially to include production work by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip.[19] Early recording sessions resulted in several tracks that were released as standalone singles or were given to other artists, including his Paul McCartney collaborations "All Day", "Only One", and the McCartney and Rihanna collaboration "FourFiveSeconds". Some of the earlier tracks to make the final cut for The Life of Pablo were "Famous" (formerly titled "Nina Chop") and "Wolves", the latter of which West performed on Saturday Night Live's 40th anniversary episode with Australian recording artist Sia and fellow rapper Vic Mensa. In 2015, West announced the new album title SWISH, though he clarified that this could still be subject to change. West announced in January 2016 that SWISH would be released on February 11, and that month released new songs "Real Friends" and a snippet of "No More Parties in L.A." with Kendrick Lamar. This also revived the GOOD Fridays initiative in which West releases new singles every Friday. On January 26, 2016, West revealed he had renamed the album from SWISH to Waves.[7]
In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West released several changing iterations of the track list for the new album while becoming embroiled in several Twitter controversies.[9][8] In February, West posted a tweet seemingly asserting Bill Cosby's innocence in the wake of over 50 women making allegations of sexual assault directed at Cosby[24] and became involved in a short-lived social media altercation with rapper Wiz Khalifa on Twitter that eventually involved their mutual ex-partner, Amber Rose, who protested to West's mention of her and Khalifa's child.[25] The feud involved allegations by Rose concerning her sexual relationship with West, and received significant media attention. The track "Famous" was met with scrutiny on social media for a controversial lyrical reference to American singer Taylor Swift, partially in relation to West's interruption of her 2009 VMA acceptance speech.[26][27][28][29][30]
Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo.[31] On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line.[32] Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the track list once more before its release to the public,[33] and further delayed its release to finalize the recording of the track "Waves" at the behest of co-writer Chance the Rapper. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016 following a performance on SNL.[11][10] Following its official streaming release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as "a living breathing changing creative expression"[34] and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form.[12] Although a statement by West around Life of Pablo's initial release indicated that the album would be a permanent exclusive to Tidal, the album was released through several other competing services starting in April.[35]
Recording [ edit ]
Initial sessions [ edit ]
The album was recorded between 2013 and 2016, with recording for the track "No More Parties in LA" starting in 2010, during the sessions for West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Reports stated that the album was written and recorded in several locations; including Los Angeles, Mexico, the Isle of Wight and Florence, Italy. West's recording in Los Angeles was rumored to be at Shangri-La Studios, which is the home base of Yeezus executive producer Rick Rubin. The production in Mexico occurred with Paul McCartney and frequent collaborator Rihanna. American rappers Pusha T and Consequence confirmed that they had ended their feud in order to work with West on his eighth album, with Consequence saying in an interview: "Pusha and I deaded everything and we creatively vibed with Kanye for this new LP."
In April 2014, in an interview with Self-Titled, GOOD Music's producer Evian Christ explained that while West wasn't always musically clear, he seemed "...interested in pushing aesthetic boundaries as far into the Avant as possible. Kanye is the one dude who's like, 'This is not experimental enough. This is too poppy. Make something else.' The other guys are like, 'We don't get it.'" Christ said that West's "a dream to work with", adding that "...no one else gives you that level of creative freedom. When he wants you to work to a blueprint, the blueprint is: 'Don't make a rap beat. Anything but a rap beat.'" In May 2014, in an interview with Billboard, James Fauntleroy of Cocaine 80s spoke of his recording sessions with West and said, "I went in there and did some stuff on that shit. I sang shit on there and left. We'll see how it turns out, when I went in it was early, [during] the early stages. I know there will be a lot more other people, a lot of interjections." In February 2015, while West was continuing to work on the album, he confirmed that the album is at about 80% completion. He went on to say that:
I'm trying to get it finished. I'm trying to get it to the people… Release dates is played out. So the surprise is going to be a surprise. There go the surprise... [It's] cookout music that just feels good. My last album was protest music. I was like, 'I'm going to take my ball and go home.'
In March 2015, in an interview with MTV, Big Sean spoke about the multiple recording locations involved this album, whilst promoting his own third studio album, Dark Sky Paradise: "...We done did a couple, to like Mexico, like how we did Hawaii before and stuff like that. We work as unit for sure, that's all I'm gonna say I'm not gonna drop nothing else." In an October 2015 interview with The Fader, Post Malone, who (along with Ty Dolla Sign) is featured on the track "Fade", discussed his experiences with West:
I met Kanye at Kylie Jenner's party and Kanye was like, 'Let's make something.' So I went over to Ye's and we just started working and then we just started talking. And we just kept on going. I went in the studio with Kanye and we just recorded the scratch vocals and then I wrote over it… He was just a normal guy, like me, and super cool. He was wearing all camo, just all camo. He was very quiet and he was very, very humble.
On January 27, 2016, West revealed the update of the final track listing on his official Twitter account. This updated track listing also revealed a number of the unannounced potential collaborators, which included Earl Sweatshirt, The-Dream, Tyler, The Creator, The World Famous Tony Williams, Diddy, Danny!,[44] ASAP Rocky, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, Teyana Taylor, Zoe Kravitz, Bibi Bourelly, Doug E. Fresh, How to Dress Well, and French Montana, as well as a return of his frequent production collaborators, such as Mike Dean, Hudson Mohawke, Plain Pat, Vicious, Anthony Kilhoffer, A-Trak, and Noah Goldstein. Following his album's premiere at Madison Square Garden, it was revealed that Brooklyn-based rapper Desiigner contributed vocals to "Pt. 2" and "Freestyle 4".[48]
Following the album's initial Tidal release, West declared his intentions to continue altering the music, declaring it a "living breathing changing creative expression."[14] On March 13, 2016, over a month after the album's release, West uploaded an updated version of "Famous", swapping out the lyric "She be Puerto Rican day parade wavin'" for "She in school to be a real estate agent," as well as making slight tweaks to the overall mix.[49] Three days later, West updated the album's Tidal track list with a reworked version of "Wolves", which included previously removed guest vocals from Vic Mensa and Sia, and separated the ending portion sung by Frank Ocean into a separate track called "Frank's Track".[50] On March 30, the album received a major update, with at least 12 tracks appearing in altered forms.[14] Updates included prominent vocal additions, new lyrics, and altered mixes.[14] Def Jam confirmed this incarnation to be "a newly updated, remixed and remastered version", and clarified the album would continue to appear with "new updates, new versions and new iterations" in the following months, calling it "a continuous process".[13] On April 2, a corrected version of "30 Hours" was quietly released, fixing the off-time vocals that plagued the March 30 reissue. Finally, on June 14, The Life of Pablo was updated to include an additional track titled "Saint Pablo" featuring Sampha, with other miscellaneous alterations throughout the album.[51]
Discussing the album's continued alterations, Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote "at what point is a record "over", and who gets to make the call? Kanye West is seeing how far he can stretch the point right now, in a way no pop star has ever quite tried", describing West as "testing the shifting state of the "album cycle" to see if he can break it entirely, making his album like another piece of software on your phone that sends you push updates."[52] Winston Cook-WIlson of Inverse described the album as "a fluid construct", writing that "as a way of holding the public's attention span, Kanye's choice to continue to tweak The Life is Pablo indefinitely is genius [...] It encourages people spend time processing an album that deserves it: a bewildering, sprawling, and controversy-courting piece of art.[53] The album's unconventional updates post release inspired other artists to do the same, with Future and Young Thug making similar alterations after the release of their albums.[54][55]
Music and composition [ edit ]
The Life of Pablo was noted for its "raw, occasionally even intentionally messy, composition" in distinction to West's previous albums. Rolling Stone wrote that "this is a messy album that feels like it was made that way on purpose, after the laser-sharp intensity of Yeezus", stating that "It's designed to sound like a work in progress." Carl Wilson of Slate suggested that "the point is that in the context of all this sonic landscaping, in West's kamikaze, mood-swinging way, Pablo now seems undeniably (not half-assedly, as I'd been about to conclude) like an album of struggle", adding that the album created "strange links between Kanye's many iterations—soul-sample enthusiast, heartbroken Auto-Tune crooner, hedonistic avant-pop composer, industrial-rap shit-talker" while making use of bass and percussion lines "that are only the tail-end decay of some lost starting place, some vanished rhythmic Eden." NME described Pablo as "an album on which, at a moment's notice, Kanye veers from futuristic beats on the likes of 'Feedback' to bog-standard modern trap – as when up coming rapper Desiigner turns up on 'Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 2' – to vintage soul on 'Ultra Light Beam'. The song "Famous" features a segue from "braggadocious, bell-ringing hip-hop" into samples of Sister Nancy's dancehall song "Bam Bam" chopped up over the chord progression featured in Nina Simone's "Do What You Gotta Do."
Prior to the album's release, West tweeted out that the album was a hip hop album, as well as a gospel album. Additionally, in an interview on Big Boy Radio, West stated "When I was sitting in the studio with Kirk, Kirk Franklin, and we're just going through it, I said this is a gospel album, with a whole lot of cursing on it, but it's still a gospel album", adding "The gospel according to Ye. It's not exactly what happened in the Bible, but it's this story idea of Mary Magdalene becoming Mary." "Ultralight Beam", particularly, is noted to feature several gospel elements, from "the sound of a 4-year-old preaching gospel, some organ", as well as a church choir singing the refrain of "This is a God dream." Chance the Rapper and his instrumental collaborator, Donnie Trumpet bring elements of soul revivalism into the track during Chance's guest verse. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote in his review of The Life of Pablo, "West's version of gospel touches on some of those sonic cues – heavy organ, soaring choirs – but seems more preoccupied with gospel text and the notion of redemption."
Lyrics and themes [ edit ]
Entertainment Weekly noted the album's frequent meditations on matters of faith, family, and West's own role as a cultural figure while observing that "Pablo frequently (some might say abruptly) toggles between Sad Kanye and the bombastic and celebratory Kanye." The Daily Telegraph described West as "constantly veering between swaggering bravado and insecurity bordering on paranoia, smashing the sacred against the profane and disrupting his own flowing grooves with interjections that sound like they are spilling over from another studio altogether." GQ wrote that the two-part "Father Stretch My Hands" "begins as a gospel song about fucking models, transitions halfway into a soul-baring confessional dance track, then drops in two entire verses of an entirely different song about drug-dealing and cars by an 18-year-old Brooklyn rapper, before resolving into a meditative piece for vocoder by a contemporary classical composer and ending with a snippet of the sampled gospel song that the whole thing started from, just to remind you how far we've traveled from there in the span of four minutes."[67]
The song "Famous" included the controversial lyric "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous." The lyric refers to country/pop singer Taylor Swift, whose acceptance speech West interrupted at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and was heavily publicized and criticized by media outlets and listeners.[68] Kot called the song "an example of just how brilliant and infuriating West can be at the same time." Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote that the lyric "feels like a piece of bathroom graffiti made to purposefully reignite the most racially-charged rivalry in 21st-century pop." "Feedback" features West's riposte to his critics: "Name one genius that ain’t crazy." The interlude "I Love Kanye" features self-aware a cappella lyrics referencing West's image in the public. Tracks such as "FML", "Real Friends", and "Freestyle 4" feature "gloomy, doomy" discussions of trust issues, antidepressants, and familial problems. The song "Wolves" features the lyrics, "Cover Nori in lamb's wool/ We surrounded by/ The fuckin wolves", among other Biblical allusions, offering a comparison between West and his wife Kim Kardashian to Mary and Joseph.
Promotion and release [ edit ]
On January 8, 2016, West's wife Kim Kardashian announced via Twitter the release of "Real Friends", which initiated the return of West's GOOD Fridays. West had previously done a weekly free music giveaway leading up to the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. "Real Friends" was released the day and it was announced via SoundCloud, simultaneously along with the album's release date and a snippet of the forthcoming GOOD Friday release, titled "No More Parties in LA", which features guest vocals from Kendrick Lamar. "No More Parties in LA" had its proper release on the following week, also via West's Soundcloud account. The song was produced by Madlib and West, and contains a sample of "Suzie Thundertussy" performed by Walter Morrison. West premiered The Life of Pablo at Madison Square Garden during his Adidas Yeezy Season 3 fashion show event. On February 12, West released a new track, titled "30 Hours", as part of his GOOD Fridays series.
On February 14, West performed "Highlights" and "Ultralight Beam" on Saturday Night Live. The Life of Pablo was later released exclusively through the streaming service Tidal on the same day. It was available for purchase for a few hours but reverted to streaming-only after that.[76] West announced that the album would be available outside of Tidal a week later, however, on the following day, West claimed that he would never release the album outside of Tidal, encouraging his fans to sign up for the service. On the same day, Pigeons & Planes detailed that the version of the album, which was made available for streaming on Tidal was not its final version. After an active weekend, during which he was finishing his album, he stated that he was $53,000,000 in personal debt and called for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1 billion in West's ideas. He also called on other tech billionaires to help him.
Streaming and commercial release [ edit ]
The album initially received an exclusive Tidal release on February 14, 2016. West urged the public to download the application to hear the album, which resulted in it temporarily reaching the number one spot on the US App Store. West later tweeted that he "was thinking about not making CDs ever again", and stated that he would never release the album outside of Tidal.[82] Following its Tidal exclusive release, it was announced that "Famous" would be the lead single to the proposed "final album." Its initial exclusive release on Tidal resulted in a large increase in subscribers to the service, 250 million streams in the first 10 days, and 400 million streams in the first six weeks before its release to other streaming platforms.[83]
On April 1, 2016, West released an updated version of the album for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play. He also made the album available for purchase on his official website.[3][84] "I Love Kanye" was the next song from the album to be released on streaming services other than Tidal.[85] "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1 & Pt. 2" and "Fade" would be released as singles in the following month.
Lawsuit [ edit ]
The release on to other streaming platforms and West's website, along with his claims that the album would be a Tidal exclusive forever, caused a lawsuit to be filed on April 18, 2016 against West, Tidal, and Jay-Z (whose company, "Project Panther Ltd." owned Tidal) by law firm Edelson PC, on behalf of California resident Justin Baker-Rhett, for false advertising. The lawsuit, which was seeking class-action status, claimed that Tidal and West never intended to have the album as a Tidal exclusive forever, but decided to say so in an attempt to boost Tidal's struggling subscriber growth.[86][87]
Tour [ edit ]
In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo.[88] The performances featured a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling.[88] West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of his wife Kim Kardashian.[89] The remainder of the tour was later canceled on November 21, 2016, following controversy over comments made by West that week regarding his support of president-elect Donald Trump and public criticism of other artists.[90] West was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center.[91][92]
Critical reception [ edit ]
The Life of Pablo received generally positive reviews from critics upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 35 reviews. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield dubbed it both a mess and masterpiece: "This is a messy album that feels like it was made that way on purpose [...] West just drops broken pieces of his psyche all over the album and challenges you to fit them together." The A.V. Club's Corbin Reiff opined that "it feels far different from any of the tightly constructed, singular works of West's past", asserting instead that "as a beautiful, messy, mixed-up collection of 18 songs, it's a brilliant document." Writing for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica stated, "West [...] has perfected the art of aesthetic and intellectual bricolage, shape-shifting in real time and counting on listeners to keep up", concluding that "this is Tumblr-as-album, the piecing together of divergent fragments to make a cohesive whole."[101] In a positive review, Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote that "a madcap sense of humor animates all [West's] best work, and The Life of Pablo has a freewheeling energy that is infectious and unique to his discography", finding that "somehow, it comes off as both his most labored-over and unfinished album, full of asterisks and corrections and footnotes." Robert Christgau for Vice found the record "wittingly casual and easy on the ears", writing that, "unlike Yeezus, it won't top many 2016 lists—it's too blatantly imperfect, too flagrantly unfocused. But that's also its charm, and I prefer it."[102]
Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly was somewhat less enthusiastic, calling The Life of Pablo "an ambitious album that finds the rapper struggling to compact his many identities into one weird, uncomfortable, glorious whole [...] Like the man himself, the album is emotional, explosive, unpredictable, and undeniably thrilling." Alexis Petridis was more critical in The Guardian, finding it "at turns, rambling, chaotic, deeply underwhelming, impressively audacious, and completely infuriating", suggesting that "[i]t appears to have had ideas thrown at it until it feels messy and incoherent" despite concluding that "when The Life of Pablo is good, it's very good indeed." The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick wrote, "The Life of Pablo is certainly rich in musical scope, chock a block with inspired ideas", but also felt the work to be "so self-involved it crosses over into self-delusion, marked by such a tangible absence of perspective and objectivity it is as if [West] has actually lost sight of the elemental basics of his art." Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot felt that "The Life of Pablo sounds like a work in progress rather than a finished album." In another mixed review, PopMatters's Evan Sawdey wrote that "The Life of Pablo's obscurities and eccentricities make it ripe for endless dissection by West's fans and followers, but make no mistake: this album is flawed, it’s problematic, and most of all, it’s no masterpiece."[103]
Year-end lists [ edit ]
The Life of Pablo was named among the best albums of 2016 by multiple publications.
Commercial performance [ edit ]
The album debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number-one for the chart dated April 12, 2016 with 94,000 album-equivalent units, with 28,000 of those coming from pure album sales.[141] On April 9, 2016, it was reported by Billboard that the album was set to debut atop the Billboard 200, making it the first album to reach the summit with over 50% from streaming.[142] However, when official numbers were distributed for album sales for the first half of 2016, The Life of Pablo was revealed to have sold only around 30,000 CDs and physical downloads and that added streaming brought the album's sales totals to 339,000.[143] As of March 27, 2017, the album has been certified Platinum (1,000,000 equivalent album units) by the Recording Industry Association of America.[144] Also, it went Gold in the UK based solely on streams alone on March 3, 2017, becoming the first album to ever do so in that country.[145]
It was reported that West had lost $10 million in album sales due to the infringement, as Tidal did not report the streams to the Nielsen Music.[146] These details were later alleged to be deformed reports from news outlets, as Tidal had not yet revealed the number of streams or in the increase of subscribers following the album's release. It was later claimed by Tidal that subscribers more than doubled to 3 million users after the album was released, with the album gaining an estimated 250 million streams within the first 10 days.[147]
The Life of Pablo was ranked as the 27th most popular album of 2016 on the Billboard 200. [148] The following year, it was ranked as the 64th most popular album of 2017.[149] Two year after its release, The Life of Pablo was ranked as the 143rd most popular album of 2018.[150]
Track listing [ edit ]
This track listing reflects the final June 14 version. Credits adapted from West's official website[151] and Tidal.[152]
Notes
Sample credits[151]
Personnel [ edit ]
Charts [ edit ]
Certifications [ edit ]
Region Certification Certified units/Sales Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[169] 2× Platinum 40,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[170] Gold 100,316[171] United States (RIAA)[172] Platinum 1,000,000 ^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone
Release history [ edit ]
Citations [ edit ] |
Proposals signify major shift in political opinion as laws would represent the first rollback of the NSA's powers since 9/11
Members of Congress are considering 11 legislative measures to constrain the activities of the National Security Agency, in a major shift of political opinion in the eight weeks since the first revelations from whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The proposals range from repealing the legal foundations of key US surveillance powers to more moderate reforms of the secretive court proceedings for domestic spying. If enacted, the laws would represent the first rollback of the NSA's powers since 9/11.
The Guardian has spoken to six key lawmakers involved in the push to rein in the NSA, and those involved in the process argue there is now an emerging consensus that the bulk collection of millions of phone records needs to be overhauled or even ended.
Justin Amash, the Republican congressman whose measure to terminate the indiscriminate collection of phone data was narrowly defeated 10 days ago, said he was certain the next legislative push will succeed. "The people who voted no are, I think, hopeful to get another opportunity to vote yes on reforming this program and other programs," he said.
In the Senate, Democrat Ron Wyden said there was similarly "strong bipartisan support for fundamental reforms", a direct consequence of revelations about the nature and power of NSA surveillance. "Eight weeks ago, we wouldn't have had this debate in the Congress," he said. "Eight weeks ago there wouldn't have been this extraordinary vote."
On Thursday, Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia, to the fury of Washington. The White House said it was "extremely disappointed" in the decision, and hinted that Barack Obama may pull out of a bilateral summit with Vladimir Putin in September.
But even as Snowden was leaving the Moscow airport where he has been holed up for more than a month, Obama was telling key members of Congress at a meeting at the Oval Office that he was "open to suggestions" for reforming the NSA surveillance programs that have embroiled his administration in controversy.
Wyden, a long-standing critic of dragnet surveillance, is backing a range of legislative efforts that would end bulk phone records acquisition and revamp the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court, which grants the NSA legal authorization for its mass collection.
Several senators are supporting a bill introduced on Thursday by Democrat Richard Blumenthal which would introduce a public advocate into some proceedings at the court, which currently only hears the US government's case. In the past 30 years, it has turned down just 11 of the nearly 34,000 warrant requests submitted by federal authorities.
Senior administration officials have indicated they are open to Blumenthal's proposals – which would not in themselves curtail the NSA's powers.
Another measure directed at the Fisa court is being brought by House Democrat Adam Schiff, who sits on the powerful intelligence committee. Under his plan, the court's judges, who are currently selected by the chief justice of the supreme court, would be appointed instead by the president, a process that would require them to undergo a congressional confirmation process.
"Then you have these judges publicly vetted on their fourth amendment views prior to being placed on the court," Schiff said, referring to the constitutional freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Other measures seek to make government surveillance more transparent. This week Democratic senator Al Franken introduced a bill to force the US government to regularly report on the number of Americans whose data is being collated by the NSA. It would also permit internet companies to disclose the number of requests they receive for data. "The American public deserves more transparency, and my bill goes a long toward doing that," Franken said.
A similar bill has been introduced by his Democratic colleague Jeff Merkley, who wants to compel the administration to disclose the key legal ruling from the Fisa court that governs how phone records are collected.
Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who on Friday introduced a bill promoting greater transparency around surveillance orders received by private companies, stressed the cross-party nature of the measures. "If you've noticed, we've not had a rash of bipartisan efforts in the House," she said, referring to the gridlock that has held up other legislation.
There are other lawmakers who are pushing for more profound reforms. They include Republican James Sensenbrenner, the author of the post-9/11 Patriot Act, which the NSA has used to justify some of its data collection methods. His support of the Amash amendment last week revealed how far Congress has shifted in the weeks since the Snowden leaks were published.
Sensenbrenner said the Patriot Act was being interpreted to allow for forms of surveillance that were never envisaged when it was passed. He now supports an Amash-style bill that would prevent the NSA from hoovering up phone records without specific justification.
Most of the efforts focus on constraining the NSA's ability to spy on Americans. There is less congressional support for limiting its spying on foreigners' internet communication. One major exception is a measure introduced by House Democrat Rush Holt, that would repeal both the Patriot Act and the Fisa Amendments Act of 2008, two legislative pillars of post-9/11 surveillance.
Holt, who previously served on the intelligence committee, represents the most sceptical wing of Congress. "I learned that the heads of the NSA and other intelligence agencies are schooled in secrecy and deception. You can't always believe everything they say," he said. "They say these have stopped 50 attacks or something like that, and though I'm not on the intelligence committee right now, and I can't speak item-by-item, I can be pretty sure that there's probably not too much truth to it."
His bill represents the most radical congressional attempt at surveillance reform. Its prospects are not good, particularly because it would curtail Prism, one of the NSA programs to spy on the internet communications in foreign lands.
Schiff said Prism was more popular in congress for two reasons. First, Prism "is focused outside the United States and not on US citizens". Second, Schiff said its effectiveness is "much more substantial" than the phone records collection.
Intelligence officials have struggled to show how collecting bulk phone metadata was critical to foiling even one terrorist plot.
Lawmakers may fume at the idea of collecting the phone records of Americans, but they seem nonplussed at the notion the NSA can freely access the emails of foreigners.
Even those who do have concerns about Prism – such as Wyden – are looking for ways to ensure Americans are not ensnared in its dragnet, rather than ending it entirely.
"It has become increasingly apparent that the balance between security and liberty has been tainted," Sensenbrenner said in a statement after he left the White House meeting. "The conversation was very productive and everyone agreed something must be done." |
From 1967 to 1983, Johnny Bench of the Cincinnati Reds earned the Rookie of the Year award, two National League MVP awards, 14 trips to the All-Star Game, and 10 Golden Glove awards. For good measure, he played in four World Series with the Big Red Machine. Bench is widely considered to be one of the greatest catchers of all time. These day's he's into baseball cards. He joined Bill Littlefield to discuss his hobby and more.
JB: I am such a big fan [of baseball cards]. I mean growing up in a small town in Oklahoma with Mickey Mantle as my idol and being a true card collector hoping to get Mickey Mantle's '52 card, rookie card, which was my total goal in life even though I never got it. And now, when I go around to memorabilia shows I go around buying my cards back up. Of course, now Topps is coming out with their 2014 Series 1 set.
You can get all the young stars, players of the past. You can win top-50 rookies, win memorabilia — you can even win a Mickey Mantle. I never got a Mickey Mantle card, so I may have to try and do it this way. I may have to go online myself if I can get my kids to figure out how to get me online.
BL: Johnny, you're working with the Topps baseball card company. Do you remember receiving your first card after you reached the majors?
JB: Surely you jest. Of course I do, my goodness gracious. That's what made you a major leaguer. So I loved it. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now I say "Look at me." You could carry 'em around, "Here, have my card."
BL: Were there other cards that you remember from your boyhood besides that elusive Mickey Mantle card?
JB: Rocky Colavito. I don't know what it was, but that name, just sort of like Rocky. And he looked like a Rocky, and he was kind of like — you have some really cool cards, and I was a fan of all the players and everything else, but we only got the paper once a week in my town. So it wasn't like they had the box scores and you knew everything was going on.
But, you know, the Game of the Week, when my dad and I would go down and get a half gallon of Neapolitan ice cream, and we'd watch the Game of the Week. And of course the Yankees were on their most of the time. Tony Cuccinello! I mean here was Dizzy [Dean] throwing out the name doing all the stuff. And here I am 19-years-old, and I'm in Connie Mack Stadium and there's Johnny Callison and Richie Allen. And you go to the All Star game and here's Willie Mays, and here's Hank Aaron, and you're catching behind him, so yeah I was a lucky man.
BL: In the 1970s the Reds went to the World Series four times, winning twice, and went to another two National League Championship Series. Your first full season with the team was 1968. How quickly did you realize you were part of an extraordinary team?
JB: Well, in 1970 we started off the year 70-30. In our era, I'm playing with Tony Perez in '68, Pete Rose, Tommy Helms, Vada Pinson. And we were close. We were really close. It just seemed like we needed one more thing to make it happen. In 1970 we started off with Lee May hitting and we were just dominating.
We had teams say, "Why don't we just give it to them now?" And then we were 32-30, and yet here we were 32-30 to end the year and we won 102 games. I mean, it was just phenomenal. And then when we failed a little bit in '71 the trade was made for Joe Morgan for Cesar Geronimo for Jack Billingham. Dennis Mickey came over and Ed Armbrister. And that's when we really got it. We had a swagger. That's when Joe had a chip on his shoulder and Pete Rose was Pete Rose. And we had a Gold Glove center fielder and Gold Glove shortstop in David Concepcion. We had Ken Griffey. I mean we had other teams come out to watch us take batting practice. They'd watch us take batting practice. It was that kind of ball club.
BL: St. Louis Cardinals legend Lou Brock, one of the games greatest base stealers, spoke to you after you had thrown him out early in your career — threw him out at second base by a pretty significant margin. Tell us a little bit about what happened next.
JB: Well, we had a pitcher named Jack Fisher, and Lou had stolen 33 bases in a row I think it was. And he took off against Jack, and Jack looked slow, but he wasn't. I threw it to second and Lou, he hadn't started his slide. He stopped and looked back at me, just looked back at me like, "What the hell was that?" And so after the game I'm sitting in my locker and I look up and it's Lou. He looked down and said, "Next time, kid, make it look close." And it was the most amazing thing to me. I'm a young kid.
He told me later on at the Hall of Fame when we were sitting around, he says, "You know you threw me out three times in one game." I said, "Did I really?" He said, '"You know what I told you when I came up the fourth time?" "Knowing you Lou, you said 'If I get him I'm going again.'" And he did. That's what it was.
BL: You started playing pro golf in the 1990s on the Senior PGA Tour and Champions Tour. What was it like trying to compete at the elite level at a second sport?
JB: It was fun. They accepted me. I wasn't going to beat them. They already knew that. These guys were so good. But it was really cool. It was a fun thing. I brought people in to the tournaments. One time Chi Chi [Rodriguez] and I had everyone on the golf course following us. And I played with Arnold Palmer 'cause we usually by that time had the worst scores, and so we played together probably 10 times. And I played with Jack Nicklaus in Park City and it was fun.
BL: What catchers do you enjoy watching particularly today?
JB: Buster Posey. This kid Salvador Perez from Kansas City is a stud. You got Yadier [Molina]. You got Mike Zunino up in Seattle. Believe me there's some great catchers out there and until they start leading the league in RBIs or home runs, you're not going to hear a lot about them. There's only 13 catchers in the Hall of Fame I think and that's one a decade. So they don't come along that often. |
Did you just miss the Kickstarter? Not to worry, our web store will be opening in the months to come!
"Lorica" is Latin for body armor; in Christian monastic tradition, a lorica is a prayer of protection. It's also an armor-inspired line of clothing designed to slay, wherever you take the fight.
(Note: due to the unexpectedly overwhelming response our products have received, First Run leggings will ship in installments, some of which may be later than the posted date of June. See the update section for more information).
THE DESIGNS
Our first release consists of three designs based on real medieval armors. (Armor images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where all three of these armors are currently on view).
THE MATERIALS
Our leggings are constructed from a fabric that is 14% spandex and 86% recycled yarns derived from plastic bottles. In fact, about 20 bottles go into each pair. But they're stretchy, soft, and moisture-wicking to keep you dry and stank-free no matter how hard you're working. So basically you can save the earth by getting your sweat on in comfort. IT'S LIKE MAGIC.
THE FEATURES
Our leggings are designed for both function and fashion, fighting and flying.
THE SIZING
Available in sizes XS through XXL, two rise heights (high-waisted, 5" waistband; standard rise, 3" waistband), and two inseams (regular; long), our leggings accommodate your body and style. (For reference, our models range in height from 5'2 to 5'8 and are all wearing regular length).
As a backer, you will receive a survey at the conclusion of the Kickstarter which will ask for your preferred design, size, rise, and inseam before we ship your goodies!
THE REWARDS
Peep our limited edition run of unisex chainmail tees, available only through this Kickstarter. (Our limited edition shirts are all sold out at this time!)
(Note: our promo tees are not made from the same recycled fabrics as our leggings, and are only printed in the USA. See the size chart here: our model is 6'3 and wearing a medium).
And for the first week of our campaign, enjoy an "early bird special" on one, two, or three pairs of Lorica leggings (in any combination of size, waist style, or design) at a special Kickstarter-only price tier. After the first week, you'll still be able to take advantage of backer tiers that will get you a pair (or two, or three) for less than the future retail value. Suit up the squad!
THE GOALS
The $10,000 I ask for here covers the cost of the first run of production, as well as the cost of pattern development, sizing, and sourcing. But if we get even further, I have so many dreams for where this brand could go. You with me?
(Note: You will be able to order these stretch goal items after the conclusion of our Kickstarter when our web store formally launches. If I might make an estimate, possibly August or September would be the earliest they'd be ready to order. To be the first to know when they'll be available, sign up for our mailing list.)
$20,000: Skater Dresses -- REACHED
You read right! I have the patterns, but need your help to fund sample-making and a first run! Here were my first prototypes if you need an idea of the fit:
Need a sneak peek for further convincing? I got started on a Henry VIII bodice not too long ago...
$30,000: Plus Sizing -- REACHED
Goddess-sized women out there, I see you. I am dedicated to making Lorica accessible to all bodies, and would love to be able to develop another series of sizes designed for your shape. I'm thinking a line of S+, M+, L+: let me know your thoughts! Clothes should fit YOU, not the other way around.
$40,000: Bodysuits/Leotards -- REACHED
When I was a kid, I had a dream one night that I got Pokemon Stadium in the mail months before it was released. I woke up crushed to find that it wasn't still in my N64. I have the same feeling today thinking about how I could be wearing an armor bodysuit right now. Help me make the dream a reality!
Here's a rough mockup of what the Scudamore bodysuit might look like. I think I'd prefer a cap sleeve, though, to keep more of the pauldrons in the picture. Y'all will be the first to see the real samples when they're made in some months' time!
$70,000: Reversible Hoodies -- REACHED
Business on one side, Faire on the other, how sick would reversible hoodies be? So many ideas for these. Mail (chain, scale)? An all out cuirass, pauldrons, vambrace ensemble? SO MANY POSSIBILITIES.
$90,000: Men's Leggings -- REACHED
Gentlemen, I've heard your cries for equal representation, and I am here for you. If we get this far, we can start development for leggings with extra room in the thigh and calf that also provide for the comfort and support of certain anatomy.
THE CREATOR
Elie Hutchinson is a graphic designer and art director in advertising by day, avid gamer by night. Watch my intro video and put a face to the name, learn a little more about the origin of the brand, and enjoy me being really awkward on camera! :D
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THE COMMUNITY
Follow us on Instagram for more warrior eye candy, or on Facebook for updates and behind-the-scenes tidbits! |
I have noticed that the leftist pundits, when they strive to "explain" Hillary Clinton's defeat, they rush themselves to add something about Clinton and the popular vote. This should be regarded, psychologically, as a compensatory reaction to her shameful, and not quite narrow-margin, defeat.
Unexpected? Sure, if you think about: the whole Democratic Party, the GOP NeverTrumps, the mainstream media, the confused independents, and most of the international community (who were all living in their own parallel realities, fed by a vicious MSM). Logical? Of course, if you count in the "silent majority" (who chose to screw up the pollsters' biased questions and vote to save this nation), the disgusted ones (who decided to stay home or vote for the third parties), and a few others of us, the non-MSM commentators (who have chosen not to be muzzled by the Establishment elite and its propaganda arm, the same MSM).
Procedurally, on December 19, 2016 (that is, "on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December of that year," according to the U.S. Constitution, Article Two, Section 1, Clause 4), the chosen 538 electors of the Electoral College (which is a process, not a place) will meet in their state capitals and vote for president. On January 6, 2017 (according to the U.S. Code, Title 3, Chapter 1, Article 15), the U.S. Congress meets to approve the Electoral College vote. In order to become a U.S. president, any presidential candidate needs a minimum of 270 electoral votes (out of the total of 538) in order to be elected president.
The "compensatory" narrative infers two premise situations in which Donald Trump can not or should not become the 45th president of the United States.
The "Faithless Electors"
I call this "the latent" or "soft version" of the "popular vote" issue, according to which Trump cannot become president. It has been argued that, theoretically, Hillary Clinton can still get to the magic number of 270 electors, if she can get enough "faithless electors" (who chose either to abstain from voting or to vote "their conscience" and ignore the will of the voters they represent).
One can imagine that, encouraged by the results of the current "popular vote," some electors might decide to do just that.
In reality, this will not happen because:
(a) there won't be enough "faithless electors" to make up the difference between the current 306 electoral votes won by Trump and the 232 won by Clinton. She will need a lot of Republican "faithless electors" to turn the table in her favor.
(b) only 31 [21 —ed.] states out of 50 allow "faithless electors" to cast their vote (the rest of 19 states penalize them if they chose to do so).
(c) even if a sufficient number of "faithless electors" can change radically the current situation (and there has not been any precedent in which they ever swung an election), the pre- (and also post-) January 20 Republican-controlled U.S. Congress will vote to void these votes.
Questioning the Fairness of the Electoral College System
I call this "the overt" or "hard version" of the "popular vote" issue, according to which Trump should not become president. The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College in order to avoid "mob rule" of some populous states like California, New York, and Texas against the rest of the country. The current system favors the Republicans, who are in control of more numerous but less populous states.
By repeating the "popular vote" syntagm, the liberal pundits and their followers seem to suggest that the Electoral College should be abolished. They do not say this verbatim, but the anti-Trump rioters in several American cities appear to fight exactly for that. Of course, the issue is not new – just ask Al Gore about it. Trump himself blasted this system by tweeting that "[t]he electoral college is a disaster for a democracy" when Mitt Romney lost the elections in 2012.
The liberal left is pushing the issue even farther, suggesting through social media that states like California should secede. A similar movement appears to be taking place in Oregon.
The U.S. Constitution is silent on the issue of state secession. In 1860, eleven states attempted to secede from the Union and failed in the loss of the Civil War. In 1863, president Abraham Lincoln approved West Virginia's "secession" from Virginia. In 1869, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that individual states could not secede from the Union "except through revolution or through consent of the States."
The Reductio ad absurdum Argument
Let's put all this aside and pretend, for the sake of argument, that Hillary Clinton won by "the popular vote" and there is no Electoral College. Here, I am giving all the die-hard Democrats this. What will happen next?
Most likely, these circumstances would result in a "Confederate North-Eastern States of America" rebellion pushing for secession.
I would include here 11 "rebel states" (wouldn't this be ironic?), from the "southern" Maryland up to the "northern" Maine (including D.C. and Virginia, but not New York). All of them small. All of them controlled by Democrats. All of them constantly complaining for their interests being crassly ignored by the Republican "Union." And all of them ending up taking their 75 electoral votes with them. See the map.
Is this the scenario the left is prepared to pursue? And if the answer is affirmative, then I can only end with Clint Eastwood's catchphrase: "Go ahead. Make my day!"
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and over 100 articles on law, politics, and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. |
Emerging from blogs to CNN, from bars to barbershops, the past days have seen a growing view that justice for Eric Garner is somehow more righteous than for Michael Brown. The "murky" details of the Brown case contrast with the long and gruesome video of Garner's killing. Even prominent conservatives, from Charles Krauthammer to Bill O'Reilly, allow that the Garner case troubles them while the Brown case does not. The Washington Post's Aaron Blake reports polls showing that whites are twice as likely to oppose the grand jury decision in New York as they are the decision in Missouri, and also seems to endorse such conclusions.
To television correspondents, the protests seem to be better in New York as well. The supposedly extreme violence of the response in Ferguson and St. Louis to the non-indictment in the Brown case hardens into a tale that ignores the communities' spectacular practice of militant nonviolence over many months. Missouri becomes the bad counterpoint to the alleged sophistication and "restraint on both sides" on display in New York. The tactical innovations of the Missouri movement, networked nationally and with several of its leaders present in the early days of the Garner protests, changed what could be imagined in New York City. Such breakthroughs too easily get lost in the mass media shuffle. Awareness that we are seeing a national movement leaping past the traditional civil rights leadership is far clearer to participants than to commentators. That movement is led not only by a new generation but also by activists from unexpected places.
The stark differences in media portrayals of the cases of and of the movements surrounding Brown and Garner will almost surely narrow. If New York City grand jury testimony is not released there are likely to be selective leaks, for example of autopsy results on Garner's general health, that attempt to undermine the force of the video. These may send troubled conservatives to the ask-no-questions fold regarding Garner's death. If the Department of Justice refuses to indict in the New York case as well as the Missouri one, a broad swathe of liberal opinion will also lose concern. If the movement in New York can sustain its rolling occupation of public places, the coming police violence will remind us that urbane New York is the state of the murderous attacks on Attica prison protesters and the city of fierce police raids on Zuccotti Park, the Occupy movement, and undocumented immigrants.
Thinking more seriously about the police murders of Brown and Garner together yields critical insights. In the days after the Brown grand jury decision, protests raced from city to city. The media usually saw them as being about solidarity with Ferguson. And they gloriously were. However, they also spread because in each city where they occurred, police violence had left its own bloody trail. That the closure of Lake Shore Drive by Ferguson protesters in Chicago can be reported on without reference to the reign of falsification and police torture conducted by the recently convicted Jon Burge and others indexes the poverty of U.S. journalism.
When New York marchers closed the FDR Expressway over the Ferguson decision, and before the Garner one, they of course had in mind the cases of Garner and of the unarmed Brooklyn resident Akai Gurley, killed by police this November. Going further back some mourned death and torture in the cases of Sean Bell, Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Nicholas Heyward, Jr., Anthony Baez, Eleanor Bumpurs, Ramarley Graham, Kimani Gray, Tamon Robinson, Patrick Dorismond, and many others. As inspiring as it was that activists came to St. Louis to support justice for Michael Brown, it has mattered equally that the sustained energy of young African-American activists in Ferguson has reanimated movements against police brutality across the nation, and to some extent, the world.
Finally, and most importantly, thinking about the Brown and Garner murders together offers a way to get beyond the "who was more innocent" narrative pushed in the media. The video in the Garner case bears on the Brown one; its presence shows what prosecutors and police are eager to defend and the slant they bring in approaching a fatal encounter between police and a person who is African-American. Despite what the video clearly showed, the same people defended police conduct in both instances. The very same talking heads who repeated the pro-police St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch's contention that all evidence led to non-indictment in the Brown case did not linger long over the fact that video evidence did exist in the Garner case.
The Democratic politician and St. Louis Police Officers Association bureaucrat Jeff Roorda, himself fired as a policeman in 1997 after being charged with filing a false report, did double duty in the media. He argued that the police side of the case against probable cause had been proven correct in the Brown case. In the Garner case, Roorda became an instant expert exonerating the officer despite the visual evidence and medical examiner's report establishing probable cause that a crime had been committed.
Roorda recently held that McCulloch rightly only went through the motions of a grand jury procedure, knowing that Darren Wilson was innocent in Brown's death. He further implied that the prosecutor of the Garner murder in Staten Island did the same proper thing. This judgment, made at the junction of white supremacist common sense and police and prosecutorial common sense, defines the problem. It also underlines the utility of thinking deeply about what the Garner case has to teach us about the Brown case.
David Roediger is the President-elect of the American Studies Association. He is the author of the recently released Seizing Freedom: Slave Emancipation and Liberty for All. |
Ndamukong Suh has, in all likelihood, played his last down in Honolulu Blue. Like most Detroit Lions fans, I will be sad to see him go. It wasn’t just that he was a transformative force on defense. It isn’t simply because I love hearing the echoes of “SUUUUUUUUUUH!” at Ford Field on game day. It has been great to have a guy on defense that was outright feared by other teams. When other things went wrong on defense we could hang our hat on Suh and say “Yeah… but did you see what he did to Cutler last week?”
As the clock ticks down and free agency approaches, one has to wonder if the front office has prepared for this. Further, some may ask themselves if they have not just anticipated but planned for this eventuality.
” … it’s a possibility, there’s no question about that. But we’re not necessarily going to tell you.” – Jim Caldwell
One point of speculation is that the Lions may bring in a nose tackle and convert their defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4. When asked by reporters that the 2015 NFL Combine if the Lions may move to a 3-4, Coach Caldwell responded by saying, “I hope not to have to find that out. But if we do, obviously, we’ll have to cross that bridge when it comes. Now do we look at it and think about it, because it’s a possibility, there’s no question about that. But we’re not necessarily going to tell you.”
While I don’t know that this will happen, there are some actions that in retrospect may point to just this shift.
Both of the finalists in the coaching search by the Lions were likely looking to guys in 3-4 systems for their defensive coordinators
When searching for a new head coach teams frequently ask their candidates who they have in mind for positions on their staff. While we may not know for certain what these coaches (Whisenhunt and Caldwell) answered, we do know that in the end they wound up with two guys (Horton and Austin respectively) who were coming out of 3-4 systems.
In an unusual move the Lions decided early in 2014 that they would not exercise Nick Fairley’s option for 2015
Nick Fairley isn’t the guy that we want at NT. He just isn’t a 0-technique guy. He is big enough to take up some space, but lacks gap discipline. He can stop the run, but is best used in a more aggressive style. Clearly he isn’t a 3-4 DE. He doesn’t fit well in that system.
Darryl Tapp
Obviously we could have just signed him to play 4-3 DE. However, he did play some 5-technique in Washington. So he has experience in the 3-4 system. Of note is that he was one of the first players that we re-signed in 2015.
Kyle Van Noy
In spite of having a pretty decent line-up of linebackers in 2014 (Tulloch, Levy, Whitehead, and Palmer) the Lions traded up to grab another linebacker: Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy, obviously, a standout playmaker at BYU in a 3-4 system.
Tulloch indicates that he will return to the Lions in 2015
While many were speculating that Tulloch, coming off a torn ACL, would be a cap casualty, he recently Tweeted that he will be returning to the Lions in 2015. So in a position that the Lions were fine with most last season (Whitehead, Levy, and Palmer) they will likely be adding two more linebackers (Tulloch and Van Noy).
Clearly all of this is just the off-season boredom talking. However, it may also be that the Lions front office has known since late 2013 that they would be unable to bring Suh back after his contract. And who can honestly blame them? While Suh is a dominating defensive tackle, committing 40% of your cap dollars to just three players is not a recipe for success.
The Lions have significant young talent with contracts expiring in the next two years. Extending or re-signing these guys will obviously be a priority.
DeAndre Levy (2016)
Riley Reiff (2016)
Tahir Whitehead (2016)
LaAdrian Waddle (2016)
Ezekiel Ansah (2017)
Darius Slay (2017)
Larry Warford (2017)
Theo Riddick (2017)
Sam Martin (2017)
It would be difficult to do so if we were to give Suh the $17+ million per year average that he is likely looking for.
At any rate, I am reminded of the words of Dr. Seuss who told us “Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.” I, for one, am thankful for the time that Suh has been in Detroit. When he plays against 30 of the teams in the NFL I will smile any time I hear that familiar cheer of “SUUUUUUUUUUUUUH”. I am preparing myself for life after Suh. I just hope that the Detroit Lions have done the same.
Forward down the field… |
There’s an enduring popular image of divorced women as bitter and jaded, while divorced men are portrayed as all too happy to break free. But this proves wrong when put to the test.
Women love four things, according to hack comedians and romantic comedies: chocolate, shopping, nagging dudes like it’s their job, and marriage. On that last count, we’re told, love rises to the level of obsession: Women long to be brides their whole lives and then cling to their marriages when they become wives. But new studies suggest women are less happy in mediocre heterosexual marriages, more likely to call things off and more content with post-divorce life than men. Taken together, the findings debunk a lot of long-held—and outdated—gendered ideas about one of our oldest institutions.
Women and men are equally likely to end non-married intimate relationships, including when the couple lives together. That all changes once vows are exchanged. A 2015 study involving more than 2,000 heterosexual married couples aged 19 to 94 found that women initiate divorce in nearly 70 percent of marriages. Researchers theorize this might be a result of gender norms that make heterosexual marriage an unequal partnership, with women getting the short end of the stick. We know that married couples divide housework evenly until they have a child, after which the woman takes on the bulk of childcare and housework loads shift disproportionately to her.
Marriage does a better job for men of improving health outcomes, decreasing chronic illnesses, and extending life spans, than it does for women. Married men make more money than their unmarried male counterparts, but there’s no such income bump for married women. In fact, researchers note that post-marriage, women’s “earnings and careers are thought to suffer.” This might contribute to the reasons why, as study author Michael Rosenfeld of Stanford University told Science Daily, “Women seem to have a predominant role in initiating divorces in the U.S. as far back as there is data from a variety of sources, back to the 1940s.”
“I think that marriage as an institution has been a little bit slow to catch up with expectations for gender equality,” Rosenfeld added. “Wives still take their husbands’ surnames, and are sometimes pressured to do so. Husbands still expect their wives to do the bulk of the housework and the bulk of the childcare. On the other hand, I think that non-marital relationships lack the historical baggage and expectations of marriage, which makes the non-marital relationships more flexible and therefore more adaptable to modern expectations, including women’s expectations for more gender equality.”
According to Rosenfeld, this incongruity between women’s wants and expectations, versus the realities they often encounter in marriage, leaves them discontent and more likely to opt out. He says this dissatisfaction with gender roles in marriage “supports the theory that sociologists refer to as ‘the stalled gender revolution,’ meaning that as much as women’s roles in society have changed, women’s roles within the families have changed very slowly.” Traditionalists would blame feminism for this, and they’re actually right—except for the misguided idea that women wanting more is a bad thing. Don’t worry, traditionalists! Women still carry an unequal share of the psychic, emotional, and household physical labor of marriages; they’re just a lot less cool with it than they used to be.
“Women have a much higher bar now as to what it takes to stay in a relationship,” University of Washington sociologist and sexologist Pepper Schwartz told The Stir, a parenting blog. “The tone of relationship trumps marriage.”
Despite all this, there’s an enduring popular image of divorced women as bitter and jaded, while divorced men are portrayed as all too happy to break free. But this again proves wrong when put to the test. According to an online survey of 2,000 U.S. adults by Avvo, a legal research company, 75 percent of divorced women report having no regrets over the decision to part, whereas just 61 percent of divorced men say the same. Women are also much more likely to find dividends in blissful singledom than bummed-out wedlock. “Seventy-five percent of women say they’d rather be alone, successful, and happy than be unhappy in a relationship overall, versus 58 percent of men believing the same,” the researchers write.
“Men are more fearful of being on their own once they’ve been domesticated by their marriage, and even though men are more likely to think that marriage is an outdated institution on principle, they’re more likely to want to stay put even if things aren’t so great,” says Schwartz. “Women, on the other hand, prize happiness over marriage, and are less fearful of independence generally.”
For men, the cost of divorce is often higher and far more serious than for women, and greater than previously calculated. The health benefits men receive from getting married find their inverse in divorce. After marriage dissolution, men gain more weight than women, and even sleep worse. The Huffington Post points to a study from University of Nebraska researchers that finds compared to married men, divorced men are “more prone to various diseases, ranging from common colds to life-threatening health problems like cancer and heart attacks.” Divorced fathers are more likely than divorced mothers to sink into depression—which they are 10 times more likely to experience than married men—and to treat their depression by self-medicating with alcohol. Relatedly, divorced men are also more likely to abuse harder drugs. All of these issues lead to increased mortality rates, which researchers estimate may be as high as 250 percent higher than that of married men. Divorced men also die by their own hands, at a rate 39 percent greater than married men.
The role of toxic masculinity, which can be lethal even in small doses, has an undeniable role to play here. Women are often allowed to express feelings of loss, grief, and sadness after divorce in a way societally imposed constructions of masculinity deny men. The very human need to confront those feelings, when repressed, forces their sublimation into unhealthy and often risky behaviors. What’s more, women often have wider and more emotionally profound support networks than men. Not because men prefer it that way, but because of our culturally held notions of how relationships between heterosexual men should function and look. Psychology Today notes that “when asked who they would turn to first if they were feeling depressed, 71 percent of men selected their wife whereas only 39 percent of women selected their husband.” The trauma and sadness of divorce can leave people with a deep need to process their feelings. For men, the sudden loss of a trusted spouse and close confidante can be particularly rough.
While women may fare better than men after divorce, they seem to show a marked unwillingness to share responsibility for the demise of their marriages—and by large margins. The Avvo study found that 64 percent of women surveyed said their ex-husbands were responsible for the marriage failing, while just 44 percent of men said the same. When asked whether both spouses should share the blame, just 29 percent of women—compared with 42 percent of men—said they agreed with the statement.
“As the saying goes, it takes two to tango and two to ruin a relationship, but women are less likely to take their share of the blame,” Schwartz said. “Gender roles and traditional stereotypes of domestic partnerships absolutely play a role here. It might be that women believe that self-blame is not empowering, and men may feel as though it’s not masculine to blame their wives.”
Either way, it probably doesn’t help a struggling marriage when one half of the partnership decides all the problems are the fault of the other half. In fact, that can only exacerbate problems. Pepper Schwartz suggests this outlook isn’t a good one, and that couples should probably check in with an unbiased, objective source—say, a clinician—who can help them get past blame and toward healing.
“Get counseling. Go into therapy and get a third-party opinion,” she told Stir Cafe. “It’s not fair to say nothing’s wrong, then call it quits.”
Kali Holloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.
This originally appeared on Alternet. Republished here with permission.
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In her first election economic speech in Ohio Tuesday, Hillary Clinton warned that a Donald Trump presidency will throw the United States back into a "Trump recession."
But in an interview with "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell, the presumptive Republican nominee dismissed the criticism.
"We're going to put people back to work again, we're not going to allow countries to steal our businesses," Trump said.
Clinton: Trump will "bankrupt America"
Clinton bolstered her argument by claiming that economists all agree that "Trump would throw us back into recession," saying the Independent Tax Policy Center found his tax plan would increase the national debt by more than $30 trillion over 20 years. But Trump believes his economic plans will help create an "absolute unbelievable country" by bringing in "tremendous amounts" of money, jobs and companies.
"It would bring back jobs and it'll bring back business," Trump said. "Companies now are leaving the United States, corporate inversion... We have almost $5 trillion sitting out there where they can't get the money back. They can't bring it in because there's no mechanism to bring it back in and the tax is so high... And yes, the tax is going to be cut from the highest taxed nation anywhere in the world to a fairly low tax - not the lowest in the world, but to a fairly low tax."
If there's one thing the opponents can agree on, it's that he is the "king of debt." Clinton mocked the presumptive GOP nominee's self-declared nickname during her speech, to which Trump responded on Twitter:
I am "the king of debt."That has been great for me as a businessman, but is bad for the country. I made a fortune off of debt, will fix U.S. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2016
"Nobody knows debt better than me. I've made a fortune by using debt and if things don't work out, I renegotiate the debt," Trump said. "Well, you go back and you say, 'hey, guess what? The economy just crashed. I'm going to give you back half.'"
But Trump said that while he likes debt for "my companies," he does not like national debt, which has hit $19 trillion.
"It's going to be very soon $21 trillion... And I will tell you, we are sitting on a time bomb and Hillary Clinton doesn't have a clue. And President Obama has pretty much doubled the debt since he's been in office and somebody's going to pay a big price. We have to start chopping that debt down," Trump said.
Clinton's criticisms of Trump's economic policies came just hours after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified in a Senate Banking Committee Hearing. Yellen slammed Trump's proposal to load up on debt and cut it down by making a deal with creditors, warning that it would bring "very severe" consequences.
"I wouldn't renegotiate the debt... If I do a deal in a corporation as an example and if the economy goes bad, I'll often times renegotiate that debt. But that's a different thing, that's just a corporate thing," Trump said of Yellen's criticism. "And other people like me, very big people in the world of business, they do that. No, I wouldn't do that. But I think it could be a good time to borrow and pay off debt. Borrow debt, make longer-term debt."
The Clinton camp has spent $23 million in television advertising in eight battleground states, but Trump has spent none. When asked why he did not fight back, Trump referred to his "good business practices."
"When I spent less money than anybody else and won the primaries-- like in New Hampshire -- I spent a million dollars and a certain opponent spent $8 million and I won in a landslide. Nobody said, 'gee, he did it without spending the money.' That's called good business practices," Trump said. "And by the way, we're raising quite a bit of money. I'm raising it for the party. I'd rather just spend my own money. To me it's simpler. But you don't need to spend... a billion, $200 million. In other words, she's going to spend $300 million a month... I talk to my people all the time and say, 'why do you have to spend a billion dollars?' That doesn't make sense."
Still, Clinton entered June with $42 million in the bank, compared to Trump's $1 million. In the past two presidential elections, the candidate with the larger expenditures - Barack Obama and George W. Bush before that - emerged as the winners. But calling Clinton's cash "blood money," Trump said he did not want to "devote the rest of my life to raising money from people."
"And you know... every time she raises money, she's making deals. Just saying, 'could I be ambassador to this? Could I do that? Make sure my business is taken care of.' I mean, give me a break. All of the money she's raising, that's blood money... Look, I was one of the biggest donors. I gave a lot of money to the party... So I understand the system better than anybody," Trump said. "Look, she's getting tremendous amounts of money from Wall Street. She's going to take care of Wall Street. She's getting tremendous amounts of money from lots of people. She's going to take care of all these people." |
I saw the issues with doing Irish this week. On the one hand, there is almost no way to do anything other than Irish on the weekend of St Paddy’s day. There is no way I could imagine writing a blog post about something like Korean food on a weekend like this. But on the other hand, St. Paddy’s Day is the weekend where it seems that everyone and their mothers go out to their local bar and have way too much to drink.
But Baltimore’s whole St Paddy’s Day celebration was only tangentially Irish. Maybe it was Irish inspired, or maybe it was just a huge celebration at the beginning of spring to have a reason to get out in the city.
St Paddy’s Day
Maybe its appropriate to find out that many Irish expats celebrated St Paddy’s Day much more than the Irish in Ireland do. Parades outside of Ireland started in the 18th century, and then spread back to Ireland after the fact in 1903. That’t not to say that St Paddy’s Day isn’t a big deal in Ireland, as its a bank holiday, and St Patrick is considered the patron saint of Ireland.
In fact, the bank holiday status of the day meant that pubs were actually closed in Ireland on St Paddy’s Day, and didn’t start opening until the 1970’s because tourists would go to Ireland to celebrate, and find all of the pubs closed. Dublin was probably one of the worst places to celebrate the holiday!
So, now that we know the truly Irish way of celebrating would be to take the day off, go to church, and fast (as it is during lent), lets throw that all out and celebrate it the way its actually celebrated.
The Celebration
I didn’t do a post last week because I had friends in from out of town, but that also gave me a chance to take part in some of the festivities downtown. I thought it was odd that Baltimore was having its parade a week early until I found out that Annapolis did theirs the week before on the 5th! We really turn this into a full month celebration around here.
There was the Shamrock Shindig in Pierces Park, which involved two non Irish food trucks, some Irish music, and space for kids to run around. I took Zuzu down for a walk to check out the 5k race and the parade which were starting back to back at 2pm, and by the time I got there at 1:30, it seemed that they were already packing up.
Since the parade was going down Pratt St from Charles to Market St, they were just getting all of the traffic off the road as I got down there. So I got to have the unusual experience of walking right down the middle of Pratt St, until I was yelled at and told to get out of the street because there was still traffic coming (there wasn’t).
I love running in the city, and regularly use it as a way to get down to the MARC train on my way to work. Baltimore has a lot of really good running spots, including the Waterfront Promenade along the harbor (5 miles), the Gwynn’s Falls Trail (15 miles), the Jones Falls Trail (8.1 miles), and Patterson Park (2 mile figure 8, but a bunch of other trails). With those options, I have never felt the allure of paying an entry fee to run with a large group of people. I prefer running alone, and I am not blazing fast.
But I can go out there and support everyone that did make it out. Running your first 5k can be a huge deal, and a little encouragement around the last half mile might be appreciated. Or at least that’s what I did!
The people running had a cross section of ages, and of levels of effort. The guys that ran by drinking beers definitely stood out, as well as the grey haired guy that was pretty close to the beginning of the group. I was also surprised at the number of young kids cranking out 3.1 miles out there. And of course, all of the costumes.
The parade was similar to one you would expect during a 4th of July parade: local groups, politicians, old cars. It did also have some Irish types of things like the Teelin Dance School from Columbia, who was one of the high points of the parade.
The other high point was two string bands that were in the parade. They look like something you would expect in Mardi Gras, and it surprised me that it was an Irish thing!
Turns out that I was right to be surprised that it was…because it wasn’t. It was cool, but it had nothing to do with St Paddy’s Day in any way. And they were from Philly, not Baltimore. Just seemed an odd fit.
Dinner
The original plan was to go to the Life of Reilly for dinner on St Paddy’s Day. But when I picked this as the Irish restaurant, it was because it was in Butcher’s Hill, which had no other representation in this project. But their menu has loaded tots, Jalapeno Poppers, crab cakes, linguini alfredo (Italian) and burgers. They had some Irish looking things, like Guinness Stew, but I wasn’t getting very authentic feeling from the menu.
And it didn’t get much better when I looked elsewhere. Most of the Irish pubs that I looked at seemed to be normal pubs that had an Irish sounding name, and put up some shamrocks around the bar.
There are about five bars that seem to have some kind of Irish theme around Canton, so I decided to hope that one of them would be good and set out.
We started at Mahaffey’s because I knew they were doing corned beef for at least St Paddy’s day, and you can’t go wrong with corned beef. As you would expect around 7 on a Friday St Paddy’s day, it was pretty packed. But they also had an upstairs where we were able to catch a bit of March Madness and sit down with a couple beers and crab dip while we waited for some friends.
They only had three real Irish beers: Guinness, Smithwick’s Irish Ale, and one other. The interesting thing was that they were all between 4–5% ABV, and had a similar flavor. I started with the Smithwicks Irish Ale, and then had Guinness, because it’s not St Paddy’s Day until you have had a Guiness. I don’t have to spend much time describing Guiness, but I did notice that the Smithwick’s had a similar flavor to Guiness: the non carbonated nitro feel, with a dark, heavy look, but light taste. Not my go-to type of beer, but not bad.
But it was the corned beef which made me realize how un-Irish this evening was really going to be. Besides the plastic cup for the beer, the disposable plate, and the plastic silverware, they thin sliced their corned beef, left the fat all in there, and cooked it in such a way that it was really tough. And they definitely did not cook the cabbage and potatoes with it.
The corned beef you get at the store might be a step down from brining your own beef, but this meal was a big step down from there.
Our friends got there later, and we decided to try and find them a better Irish dinner than we had.
We walked along the, very Irish sounding, O’Donnell St toward the Canton Square. Canton was first settled by the Irish merchant, John O’Donnell, after which the street is named. The neighborhood is named Canton because the port did trading with a Chinese port also called Canton. Canton is a beautiful neighborhood that has the water to its south, and Patterson Park to its north. Normally, its a quieter bar scene than you find in Fed Hill or Fells Point.
But not on St Paddy’s Day.
Claddaugh’s Pub is one of the Irish pubs in the area, and they had a long line out their door, a tent extending their room across Curley St, and probably a capacity crowd. We were not going here for food.
We then went to Mike McGovern’s Irish Pub off the square. It was a very chill bar that I would definitely go back to. They had a good selection of Irish whiskeys, and fair selection of beer. I am more of a whiskey kind of guy, so this was speaking my language. However, they did not have food for our friends.
So, we set off for O’Donnell’s Pub and Grille, which I knew had food, and even had corned beef. We got up there, only to find another completely packed bar. They had their minds set on Irish food, but there wasn’t any room to even think about getting diner there. They bailed to head out of the city for their Irish fix, and we decided that we might be beyond the point in our lives where we would go to a Claddagh’s style St Paddy’s party.
So I went to my neighborhood watering hole. I had my normal beer, a Boh (or five) at Bender’s. Sometimes its fun to get out of your comfort zone and explore, but sometimes its fun to kick back with your neighbors, drink a Boh, and watch my March Madness bracket get decimated. |
After four solid days of negotiations, the US-Israel talks on a deal for slowing settlement construction in the occupied West Bank still does not appear to be close to resolved, with all indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing to reject all specific proposals.
Netanyahu actually initiated the talks as a way of trying to resolve a disagreement over the rate of settlement expansion with the Trump Administration, and he is said to have agreed “in principle” with the idea of slowing construction. Getting him pinned down on exactly what that means is another matter.
Netanyahu already made the announcement that the deal, which hasn’t been reached, won’t include any restrictions on construction in occupied East Jerusalem. The most recent US proposal would’ve conceded that point and given a specific metric on construction in the main settlement blocs in the West Bank, but Netanyahu rejected it because it called for halting expansion in the isolated settlements.
The deal is a complicated one for Netanyahu, as he risks upsetting the far-right members of his coalition with any deal that imposes real limits, but he also recognizes that simply ignoring Trump Administration warnings about building too much risks alienating another US president, which after the last few years of the Obama Administration he desperately wants to avoid.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz |
AUSTIN, Texas – Legendary Texas running back and 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams will highlight Saturday's Nissan Heisman House tour stop outside of Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium before the Longhorns host the No. 10/11 Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The Nissan Heisman House will be located on Winship Circle at the intersection of Deloss Dodds Way (23rd Street) and San Jacinto Blvd. It is free to fans and open from 8 a.m. until kickoff at 11 a.m. 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams, who rushed for 21 NCAA records during his Longhorn career, will appear from 9–10:30 a.m. participating in a Chalk Talk session with ESPN anchor Neil Everett and an autograph session with fans.
Features of the Nissan Heisman House allow fans to:
>>Register for Heisman House credentials, which allow fans to check in and instantly share their experience via social media
>>Take pictures with the Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football
>>"Catch a Ride with the Heisman Winners" in the all-new Nissan Rogue
>>Virtually paint your game face in your favorite team's official colors with the Diehard Fan app
>>Vote for the winner of the 2017 Heisman Memorial Trophy
>>Win prizes by participating in interactive games
>>Participate in an autograph session and photo opportunities with Ricky Williams
>>Watch live interviews between ESPN's Neil Everett and Ricky Williams |
Nattamai (English: Village Chief ) is a 1994 Indian Tamil family drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It starred R. Sarathkumar, Meena and Kushboo in the lead roles. The film became a blockbuster among 1994 Deepavali releases and completed a 175-day run at the box office. It is considered to be one of the most popular Tamil films of the 1990s and in general. It became a trendsetter for many films in later years. The Goundamani-Senthil comic duo was one of the most popular aspects of the film.
R. Sarathkumar earned both the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Tamil for his performance in the film. The film was later remade in Tollywood as Pedarayudu starring Mohan Babu, in Bollywood as Bulandi starring Anil Kapoor, both of which had Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in an extended cameo role, and in Kannada as Simhadriya Simha with Vishnuvardhan.
Plot [ edit ]
Shanmugam (R. Sarathkumar) is the village head, fondly called Nattamai. He is widely respected by everyone for his genuineness. He lives with his wife Lakshmi (Kushboo) and brother Pasupathi (R. Sarathkumar). Pasupathi is married to Meena (Meena). There is a long-standing enmity between Nattamai and his paternal cousin (Ponnambalam). A flashback is shown where Ponnambalam's father kills Shanmugam's father (Vijayakumar), following which Ponnambalam's family is expelled from the village. Ponnambalam waits for the right time to attack Nattamai's family. Ponnambalam's mother (Manorama) is Nattamai's paternal aunt. A new teacher (Rani), comes to the village and everyone suspects an illegitimate relationship between her and Pasupathi. One day, the teacher gets killed along with a death note mentioning Pasupathi as the reason behind her death, following which Nattamai expels Pasupathi out of the village. The teacher was actually killed by Ponnambalam, with plans of trapping Pasupathi in the murder. Manorama overhears the truth but gets locked by Ponnambalam at her home. Ponnambalam tries to kill Nattamai but gets killed by Manorama. Finally, Manorama informs the truth to Nattamai, which shocks him. Nattamai dies at the spot due to the guilt of giving a wrong judgment, and Pasupathi becomes the next Nattamai.
Cast [ edit ]
Production [ edit ]
Director K. S. Ravikumar initially approached Mammootty to play the lead role.[1] For reasons unknown, he declined the offer. Sarath Kumar was then signed for as the lead. The film became the fourth collaboration between Ravikumar and Sarathkumar. When K. S. Ravikumar approached Kushboo for Nattamai's wife role, initially she hesitated as in most part of the film she had to look old, except in a brief flashback. She asked him whom he will cast if she denies, Ravikumar said he will approach veteran actress Lakshmi, this made Kusbhoo to take up this role.[citation needed] Mahendran was introduced as child artist through this film.[2] Vijayakumar was initially supposed to play the role of the elder brother, but just a few days before shooting began, Ravikumar decided to have Sarathkumar play both the brothers and Bharathiraja was Ravikumar's initial choice for the character of Vijayakumar.[3][4]
Controversy [ edit ]
In his early days as an actor, R. Sarathkumar was considered to be close to AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa.[5] However, Sarath's proximity to Jayalalithaa landed him in deep trouble when the film 'Nattamai', which was still running in Tamil Nadu theatres, was aired by Jayalalithaa's television channel JJ TV, using a U-matic tape, which Sarathkumar gave her for personal viewing at her residence. What the understanding between Jayalalithaa and Sarathkumar was we will never know. However, this caused a furore in the film industry as the producer R. B. Choudary threatened action against Sarathkumar for misusing a tape given to him for personal viewing. An embarrassed Sarathkumar explained that he was taken by surprise and that he never expected Jayalalithaa to give it to the channel for telecast. He sought an explanation from both Jayalalitha and JJ TV, but without success. The ruling party reacted predictably, using every forum to attack Sarathkumar.[6]
Soundtrack [ edit ]
Soundtrack was composed by Sirpy and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu.
"Naattamai Paadham Patta" - Malaysia Vasudevan, Sindhu
"Kotapaakum Kozhundhu Vettalaiyum" - Mano, S. Janaki
"Meenaponnu" - Mano, Sujatha
"Naan Uravukaaran" - Mohammed Aslam
Release [ edit ]
Nattamai was released on 2 November 1994, during Diwali.[7] The Indian Express wrote that there was "never a dull moment" in the film.[8] It became a blockbuster and completed a 175-day run at the box office.[9]
Remakes [ edit ]
Owing to its success, the film was remade in Telugu as Pedarayudu (1995),[10] It was remade in Kannada as Simhadriya Simha (2001). It was also remade in Hindi as Bulandi (2000).[11] Rajinikanth reprised Vijayakumar's character in Telugu and Hindi remakes.
Legacy [ edit ]
The tagline Nattamai, theerpa maathi sollu (Chieftain, change your judgement) became popular after release.[12] It became a trendsetter for many films in later years. The success of the film inspired similar themes about village chieftain. Vijayakumar's portrayal of village chieftain received critical acclaim and he went on to be typecasted with similar characters in later films. The film gave breakthrough in the career of Sarathkumar and the actor did similar films - Suryavamsam (1997), Natpukkaga (1998), Maayi (2000), Diwan (2003) and Ayyaa (2005) which featured him in double roles in the backdrop of village.[13][14]
In popular culture [ edit ]
Nattamai has been parodied and referenced many times.[15] In a comedy scene from Aahaa Enna Porutham (1998), Goundamani mocks at the superstitions of village panchayat saying that chieftain should have assistant tagging along with him and should have a pot of water.[16] Comedian Vivek has parodied this aspect in many films. He did a similar spoof in Sandai (2008) and Thoondil (2008) and made fun of village rituals in Kadhal Sadugudu (2003). Scenes from the film was parodied in Shiva starrer Thamizh Padam (2010), Ponnambalam who did the negative role in the original film had appeared as village chieftain in this film.[17] |
Feature Los Blancos founded 115 years ago this week
On Thursday October 6, Real Madrid will celebrate their 115th anniversary.
"Impossible!" will no doubt be the reply from those well aware of Los Blancos' official 1902 founding, and on the face of it they appear to be right as the club states that they came into being on March 6, 1902.
But the fact is that something does not tally about Real's founding.
If you go to the club's official website, you will see that on the one hand it says that the club was established in 1902 by Juan Padros, but on the other their first president is specified as Julian Palacios who held the position between 1900 and 1902.
If there was a president in 1900, what happened between that year and 1902?
Three different dates
This exact confusion over dates also appears in the 'Golden Book of Real Madrid" in 1952 to mark the club's supposed 50th anniversary. In it, one of the authors, Manuel Roson tells of how Palacios and others claimed to have founded Los Blancos in 1901.
What happened was that in March 1902, the founders of Real Madrid decided to officially register the institution as a legal entity, with the application accepted a month later in April of the same year.
The exact date of Real's founding is not known So although Real Madrid were officially registered in 1902, they actually came into existence before then.
The meeting of the partners has long been confused with the foundation of the club itself, but as any parent who takes a long time to register the birth of their child will tell you; a child is not born at exactly the same time as one registers it.
Two clubs, one president
In October 1900, the so-called Nueva Sociedad de Fut-ball was founded by Julian Palacios. Nueva Sociedad were not very successful, according to press clippings from the time.
Indeed, they lasted only a year, because in October the following year 1901, the first reference to Madrid Football Club appears.
On October 6, 1901 Real Madrid played their first game, if Madrid-based newspaper La Correspondencia de España is believed.
It wrote: "The Madrid Football Club played its first match at Retiro yesterday, close to the Pigeon Shooting facility."
The fact that both Nueva Sociedad, like Madrid FC, was chaired by Julian Palacios perhaps generated the confusion that they were the same club, though Palacios himself was clear that they were two different clubs, according to Rosón in 'The Golden Book'.
In fact, according to 'Arte y Sport's' March 8 1903 edition, Madrid FC came from the merger of Club Sky and Nueva Sociedad.
It seems clear then, to conclude that Real Madrid were founded in early October 1901 and played their first game on Sunday October 6, with official registration happening in March 1902. |
Grist 50
Meet the fixer: This politician reps bipartisan climate action.
When you’re from fast-flooding south Florida, you don’t have the luxury of ignoring climate change, no matter how reality-adverse the rest of your party has become. Carlos Curbelo, whose district stretches from Key West to just outside Miami, has urged his fellow Republicans to take the threat of rising seas and stronger storms seriously since he was first elected to Congress in 2014.
He joined with Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, a fellow Floridian, to form the Climate Solutions Caucus. As of last week, the group had grown to 34 members — 17 Dems, 17 Republicans. (Keeping the 1:1 ratio is a built-in requirement.)
Curbelo has found that many GOP lawmakers secretly understand and accept climate science — they’re just afraid to say so publicly because the issue has become so polarized. (Curbelo isn’t loved by greens across the board — he has voted to weaken some environmental regulations — but is generally considered an ally by climate hawks.) “You’ve got to be smart about how this issue is framed,” he says. “Republicans are great fans of American energy independence, innovation, and business growth.”
Still, with a climate-denying, pro-polluter president from his own party, Curbelo’s task is even tougher. “If the administration attempts to reject or undermine or suppress the climate science,” he says, “I will speak out strongly against it.” Get that man a waterproof microphone.
Meet all the fixers on this year’s Grist 50. |
Everyone knows that needles shouldn’t be shared with other people, but what about when the same needle is used again on yourself? It’s not uncommon for my clients to get 2 or 3 piercings at a time and I want all of those piercings to be as comfortable as possible. The picture to the left, shows you exactly what happens to a needle each time it is used. The more the needle is used, the rougher it gets, which causes unnecessary trauma to the tissue.
I’ve often heard of bargain-basement piercers who will use the same needle over and over again on the same person, just to save a few dollars! OUCH! For your safety and comfort, please make sure that your piercer uses a brand new, sterile needle -every- time.
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Japan Wonders Whether It Is Worth Joining TPP Negotiations After All
from the as-everyone-should dept
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement began as a cosy treaty between just three nations: Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. But once the US joined in 2010, this small-scale partnership suddenly became something much more significant. As USTR Ron Kirk put it in a press release at the time: The development of our negotiating positions will be a collaborative effort with elected leaders and stakeholders here at home, in order to shape an eventual Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that is a new kind of trade agreement for the 21st century, bringing home the jobs and economic opportunity we want all our trade deals to deliver. That "new kind of trade agreement" began to take shape as other major Pacific rim countries signed up: first Australia, Peru, and Vietnam, then Malaysia. More recently, Canada and Mexico have joined, albeit as junior partners with diminished negotiating powers. Another important player in the region that has expressed an interest in participating is Japan. But it seems that domestic politics may well scupper that plan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is facing challenges in handling the issue of Japan's participation in the talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework.
While Abe hopes to express willingness to take part in the talks during a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama set for late this month, he is still wavering on the issue due to strong opposition from within his own Liberal Democratic Party [LDP]. Here's where the problem lies: A strong backlash, however, is expected from some LDP members who are concerned the party will lose votes from agriculture-related sectors if Abe announces Japan's bid to join the talks. That's not really surprising; after all, in the same press release quoted above Kirk states quite bluntly: USTR will now intensify consultations with Congress and with American stakeholders to develop objectives for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations, in order to enter already-scheduled talks in March with a robust U.S. view that seeks the highest economic benefit for America's workers, farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and service providers, and that reflects our shared values on labor, the environment, and other key issues But if US farmers and ranchers gain "the highest economic benefit", it's quite likely that those in the agricultural sector in the other TPP countries will lose out -- precisely what Japan's LDP members fear. Of course, the standard line is that free trade agreements are great because everyone gains, but the reality is not so rosy. Indeed, even the US has been suffering overall in the case of the recent FTA with South Korea, which is being held up as a model for future treaties: In the first eight months of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea, implemented in March 2012, U.S. goods exports to Korea fell by nine percent (a decrease of more than $2.5 billion) in comparison to 2011 levels for the same months. Ironically, some of the biggest downfalls in U.S. exports occurred in the automotive and meat industries -- the two sectors that the Obama administration had promised would experience export growth under the deal. The decline in U.S. exports under the FTA brought a 21 percent increase in the U.S. trade deficit with Korea, in comparison to the same period in 2011. Using the same ratio employed by the Obama administration, this trade deficit expansion implies the net loss of over 16,000 U.S. jobs under just the first several months of the Korea FTA. Given the fact that the US economy has already been damaged by this recent FTA, the fears in Japan that its agricultural industry will be hit, the many concerns about TPP's investor-state dispute mechanism, plus its negative impact on online freedom and access to medicines, the question has to be: why bother with an overly-complicated, secretive treaty whose risks are many and real, while the gains seem few and uncertain?
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+
Filed Under: free trade, japan, tpp, us |
After more than two decades on the run, a man wanted in connection with the kidnap and torture of two young women in Portland was arrested Monday in Mexico, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
Paul Erven Jackson, 45, had been at large since 1991. Mexican immigration authorities working with the marshals arrested Jackson at a hotel in Guadalajara.
Jackson appears to have been living in Mexico for several years under the name Paul Bennett Hamilton, said spokesman Deputy U.S. Marshal Eric Wahlstrom. He will have court proceedings in Mexico before he is brought to Oregon. His return has not been scheduled, Wahlstrom said.
CNN's "The Hunt with John Walsh" featured Jackson's case in July. After the episode aired, a tip came in that helped marshals find him, Wahlstrom said.
Police say Jackson and his older brother, Vance Roberts, kidnapped prostitutes, drove them to Roberts' home in Hillsboro and held them captive for days.
After the brothers' 1990 arrest, their mother bailed them out, and they vanished. Without explanation, Roberts surrendered in 2006. He denied kidnapping and raping the women, and he never gave up Jackson's whereabouts.
Convicted in 2007, Roberts is now serving a 108-year prison sentence for his crimes.
Police believe the men may have additional victims, but the two they know of are Michaelle Dierich, kidnapped in 1988 at age 20, and Andrea Hood, abducted in 1990 at age 17. Both women told The Oregonian/OregonLive last year about how Jackson's disappearance still affects them.
"I've got to face that guy," Dierich said then. "He's got to go to trial. He's got to be locked up."
Not long after Hood threw herself through a window in 1990, escaping Roberts' house after 36 hours of repeated sexual assaults, police served a search warrant at the home.
Inside, they found Polaroids of women in bondage, women's underwear, rope, sex toys and chains. A soundproofing project was underway in the bedroom closet.
Hoping to identify the women in the pictures, police circulated the photos among officers. A Portland officer recognized one of the women as Dierich. They weren't able to identify any others.
Hood and Dierich shared their story on TV and in print, hoping that it would lead to Jackson's capture. But with each passing year, Hood said, the chances of that seemed slimmer.
In a phone interview Monday, Hood said she was shocked by the news of his arrest.
"There was always that hope in the back of my mind that he'll get caught," she said.
Hood expressed thanks to police for staying on the case through the years.
"I think there will be some definite healing that's able to happen now," she said.
See our past coverage for more details:
Story of
Story of
A look back with
-- Emily E. Smith
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503-294-4032; @emilyesmith |
Among all the arguments about how many non-EU immigrants we should let in, campaigners are proposing a scheme for private sponsorship of Syrian asylum seekers. The idea of sponsorship for immigrants goes back to Athens in the 5th century bc.
Metoikos (literally ‘household-changer’), our ‘metic’, was the category into which any non-Athenian wanting residence in Athens was placed. While having no citizen rights, of which Athenians were very jealous, they did have access to the courts; but they were unable to own property, so were always lodgers, had to serve in the military, pay a metic tax and, if they became wealthy, were liable for taxes on the rich. Most came to do business, many very successfully.
Before they could register as a metic, they had to have a citizen sponsor (prostatês: ‘one who stands in front of, guardian, patron’) to support their application for metic status. Presumably the sponsor helped the metic to register with the state and his local authority, and (possibly) to continue to support them in some way or other during their stay (the sources hint at legal matters).
One of the purposes of the sponsor may have been to reassure citizens about a metic’s general character. Two of Athens’ metics mused on the question. The Sicilian speechwriter Lysias talked of a contract between city and metic, that honest, law-abiding behaviour should meet with fair treatment from citizens; ‘discretion’ and ‘orderliness’ were expected of metics. Aristotle, from Chalcidice in the north, observed that while metics played a vital role in the city, they had no share in citizens’ political rights; but then, ‘no one would consider a metic mean-spirited if he thought of himself as unfitted for office’. A good metic, like Aristotle, knew his place.
British citizens too will expect immigrants to adjust to our ways. One wonders if private sponsors might be asked to take some personal responsibility here. |
A GOP group steps up to boost Jeff Sessions
Sen. Jeff Sessions in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo11: Patrick Smith, Getty Images)
A Republican non-profit group that pummeled Democrat Hillary Clinton with negative advertising last year is back on the air with a new commercial, this time urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general.
The 30-second ad from the 45Committee calls Sessions a “civil rights champion” who will “put public safety first.”
The 45Committee is part of the political network aligned with TD Ameritrade founder J. Joe Ricketts and cadre of other Republican donors and operatives. The Ricketts clan, which owns the Chicago Cubs, initially funded efforts to defeat Donald Trump during the Republican primaries before swinging to his side last fall.
The 45Committee, which started in April 2015, is spending $750,000 on the pro-Sessions television and digital advertising campaign, officials said. The commercial is airing on national cable television. Later this week, the group will launch TV and digital ads to back Georgia Rep. Tom Price, Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services and is likely to spend as much on those ads.
The 45Committee can raise and spend unlimited sums but doesn’t have to disclose its donors’ identities,
Another Ricketts-aligned organization active in 2016, a super PAC called Future45, received the lion’s share of its money from casino magnate and Trump supporter Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson, who donated a combined $20 million. Ricketts gave $1 million to Future45, and Linda McMahon, the WWE co-founder whom Trump has tapped to run the Small Business administration, contributed $1.2 million.
The 45Committee is positioning itself as an outside advocacy group that is equipped to help Trump's administration wage policy battles with Democrats in the years ahead.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on Sessions’ confirmation. Another conservative group, the Judicial Crisis Network, funded a digital advertising campaign to support Sessions ahead of his confirmation hearings in the Senate earlier this month.
The Judicial Crisis Network and other conservative groups are expected to spend big sums on another confirmation fight looming in Washington: Trump’s still-to-be-named pick for the Supreme Court.
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It seems like only yesterday we were talking about how Joss Whedon had a problem with the state of modern blockbusters. Oh, wait, that was only yesterday. Well, though I can’t imagine his stance has changed, those opinions may not exactly rule him out of the blockbuster game for good, as there’s one badass hero he still wants to do justice: Black Widow.
Speaking with IGN, Whedon dished on how much he wants to do a Widow movie, giving it a sort of JASON BOURNE treatment:
If someone pointed at me and said, 'Do you wanna make a Black Widow movie?' the answer would be, 'duh'. I think that character really is very interesting and very earthbound, so it's the kind of action that I got to do less of with somebody like Thor or The Vision. When you get into your Superman territory, it's harder to maintain the gritty action that the Russo brothers do so brilliantly, and she's got that kind of thing and [you can] really do a spy thriller. Like really do a good, paranoid, 'John le Carré on crack' sort of thing. That would be really fun.
But even Whedon is grounded enough to admit there’s more than one reason he wants to do a Widow movie, and it’s one I’m sure we could all respect:
Scarlett Johansson is just delightful. She works really hard, but she just spends most of her time cracking me up, so it would be a fun shoot.
In the same interview, Whedon mentioned a new screenplay he was working on, but it sounded like nothing fanboys would clamor over:
Every movie I've directed has been an adaptation of something that has already existed, so I am working on an original screenplay that is not that. I can't say much about it, but I hope it's a step forward.
A Black Widow movie is something the world desperately needs, not only for the sake of more DARK KNIGHT-level, grounded superhero movies, but because of the shocking lack of female heroes getting their own marquee. Ever since the hubbub last year over Widow not getting her own action figure along with the other male heroes for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, the world has demanded that female heroines get as much respect as the boys do. I think a Widow movie would not only be very progressive for women in the genre, but would also be wholly unique as a smaller spy thriller, juxtaposed alongside the massive-scaled AVENGERS movies. Simply put, it would be [email protected] badass, and Whedon would make it just so. |
“You are a lowdown, mean, despicable, evil manifestation of a human being that preys on little children,” Justice Nick Borkovich said in a Hamilton courtroom in 1993 after a jury found Cooper guilty of 16 counts of sexually and physically abusing five girls and one boy between the ages of seven and 14.
Then the judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
• • •
How does a child survive such a thing?
Why does one child achieve an impressive career and a happy family, while another battles the demons of drugs and mental illness?
For Cooper’s victims, the effects of his abuse did not end when he was locked up. They continue forever.
Five of those children — now adults — have chosen to tell their story. All are Cooper’s stepchildren. Years ago, they took the rare step of asking a judge to lift the ban on publishing Cooper’s name. Their names, however, remain protected. Their identities and those of their closest relatives have been changed for this story.
Still, they want you to know what Cooper did so you can protect your children from him and keep the parole system accountable.
If you, too, have been the victim of childhood sex abuse, they want you to know you are not alone.
Cooper declined an interview for this story.
• • •
Cooper’s distant past is a mystery. Even to those who lived with him for years.
At a parole hearing in January, he alluded to his terrible childhood, but offered no details.
Family members say he was in the air force and was dishonourably discharged. It’s unclear why.
In 1958, when he was 22, he was convicted of assault. No details are available.
His first marriage in Springhill, N.S., produced a son and a daughter, according to family. It ended in divorce. Court files were sealed and family says Cooper never had contact with them again.
He found his way to Hamilton and started a real estate business. He moved to a house in Waterdown and purchased a farm with 500 cattle, pigs and chickens, on land that now is a golf course. He became an auctioneer and opened an antique shop called The Country Cupboard.
Those houses, that farm, that shop would become the scenes of unthinkable crimes against children.
• • •
To six-year-old Lynn, her new daddy looked like TV’s Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners. Only scarier.
“The loud voice, the threatening posture. He was six-foot-something and very beefy. Intimidating,” she recalls.
Lynn’s mother, Patricia, was divorced and had custody of three small children: Margaret, Paul and baby Lynn. She met Cooper when he was selling real estate.
To her, he was charming, made good money and paid a great deal of attention to the little ones. Patricia was about 25 when they married in 1967 and Cooper legally adopted her kids.
The new family moved into a nice house and took up a cosy middle-class position in the community.
“I don’t remember that we ever lacked for anything,” says Lynn.
Cooper was strict. He punished the children for not cleaning the house well enough or doing enough yard work. He spanked their bare bottoms with a “big, thick, wide leather belt.”
“You became very afraid,” says Lynn.
So afraid that when she turned seven and he began demanding oral sex, she did what he told her to do. Sometimes in the bathroom at the house. Or in the basement.
“He’s so much bigger than you, you do it because you’re scared.”
He threatened to kill her if she told. He had a gun collection.
Cooper arranged for time alone with each child.
“He convinced my mom he was trying to connect with his adopted children,” Lynn says.
He took her to Gage Park for walks, steering her behind trees to perform fellatio on him.
He brought her to his realty office to dust. When she finished, he’d lock the door, take her to a back room and force her to please him.
Lynn doesn’t think he had intercourse with her. Then again, she has blocked some things out.
‘To me, he was a giant. He terrified me.’
Margaret’s first memories of Cooper are of a fat man with black hair.
“To me, he was a giant,” she says. “He terrified me.”
The family moved to a house on Fern Place, where Margaret was diagnosed with a bladder condition that caused her to wet the bed.
For that, Cooper “used to beat me really bad.”
He would make her stand beside her bed, pants down, while he fetched the belt. Waiting and sobbing, she would wet herself in fear.
As further punishment, Cooper made her sleep on a cot in the root cellar. “It was a cold room in the basement with a cement floor and wooden shelves lined with pickle jars. I was afraid of the dark for a long time.”
When she was seven, Cooper struck her so hard she fell to the floor and was knocked unconscious. Patricia yelled at him: “You’ve finally done it. You’ve killed her.” Another time, Cooper punched Margaret in the face, cutting her with his diamond ring.
Each child took a turn watching for Cooper at the window while the others played. Fun was forbidden. He made them crawl around picking lint off the carpet so he could watch Gunsmoke without the interruption of the vacuum cleaner.
When Margaret was 11, her mother spirited her and her siblings away from Cooper to British Columbia. Patricia married one of Cooper’s friends. That man molested Margaret.
Margaret made a decision — she would rather live with Cooper and be beaten than stay with her newest daddy and be molested.
She moved back with Cooper, who now lived in Waterdown with his new wife, Barbara, and their son, Walter.
“The beatings continued,” Margaret says.
He isolated her. She was not allowed to have friends and was forbidden from communicating with her mother.
When she got a D in home economics, Margaret cried and told a teacher, “I can’t go home. He’ll kill me.” The teacher rolled her eyes and dismissed the whole thing by saying, “You’re so dramatic.”
Once, Cooper broke a wooden spoon while he was hitting her with it.
When she was 12, Cooper gave her an option. “I don’t have to beat you,” he said. “There are other ways to punish you.”
He began taking Margaret to The Country Cupboard, his quaint antique shop on Dundas Street East in Waterdown, to have her dust. At lunch, he’d lock the door, turn the window sign to “CLOSED” and take her to the basement.
He forced her to perform oral sex. Eventually, intercourse.
At home, he came to her room, told her to strip and lie down. He used a vibrator on her. She was 13.
At 14, Margaret wanted to go back to her mother in B.C. She hatched an escape plan with her grandfather. He was to pick her up from school and take her to the airport.
The night before she was to leave, Margaret wet her bed. “I got the worst beating of my life.”
Cooper tied her to the bed and struck her with a “cat-o’-nine-tails,” a type of whip. “He beat me 35 times with that and then 35 times with the belt. I had to count the strokes. I was blood from the top of my shoulders to my legs.”
Margaret prepared to die. But she fought back one last time.
She told Cooper she wanted to go to her mother. Her defiance jarred him. He drove her to the airport.
• • •
In 1969, Cooper and Patricia had a baby they named Morgan James Cooper.
Morgan lived with his father for only a year before Patricia moved him to B.C.
When he was nine, Morgan began breaking into homes. By 24, he preyed on women.
Police in Matsqui, B.C., investigated a spate of break-ins involving homes of single women. Little of value was taken, but photos of the women were stolen. Morgan snatched pictures off fridges and bulletin boards. Sometimes from bedside tables as the women slept.
Morgan began waking them, getting a thrill from their fear.
Then he started raping them.
In August 1993, he raped a single mother of two while holding a knife to her face. Three weeks later, he raped another single mom, threatening to harm her sleeping baby if she didn’t obey. A few weeks after that, he sexually assaulted a teen at knifepoint, telling her he’d been in her house before and would return.
The string of 50 break-ins ended when Morgan was arrested in a stolen car. Police pinned a number of break-ins and one sexual assault on him. In 1994 — around the time his father was receiving his landmark sentence in Ontario — Morgan was sentenced to five years.
It took another six years and advances in DNA science to link him to two more sex assaults with a weapon.
Between 1983 and 2000, Morgan racked up 150 convictions and on Dec. 7, 2000, he was designated a dangerous offender.
He recently was denied full parole by the Parole Board of Canada.
• • •
When Patricia learned Cooper was involved with Barbara, a divorcee from England with three children, she warned her he was a pedophile.
Barbara’s children were being raised by their birth father and his new wife on Mill Street in Waterdown.
When Cooper married Barbara — already pregnant with their son, Walter — they moved into a house a few doors down from her other kids. When her ex-husband and his new wife moved to Hamilton, the kids didn’t want to leave Waterdown, so they moved in with Barbara and Cooper. Elaine was 11, Jason, 9, Christine, 8.
To outsiders, Cooper seemed a generous man. “He took in all of these children,” says Elaine.
Cooper isolated the children immediately. He told them their real father didn’t want them and forbade them from having contact with him.
Then his abuse began.
He would wear nothing but a bathrobe around the house and flash the children. Though Elaine was capable of bathing herself, he insisted on washing her, groping her as he did so. He would tuck her into bed at night “and abuse would happen then.”
But Elaine was strong. She glared at him across the dinner table.
“I hated him. I kept thinking, ‘He’s not going to break me.’ I could remove myself from my body. I would do my utmost best to not cry. To show him he wasn’t hurting me. It was survival.”
As punishment for her defiance, Cooper made her siblings hold her down while he wrote “Bitch” on her bare stomach with permanent black marker and drew bull’s eyes around her breasts.
“It was control. It was humiliation. It was, perhaps, sexual for him.”
Cooper took Elaine to The Country Cupboard to dust. He molested her there.
Pattern of control, cruelty and abuse
Jason was beaten. Belittled. Raped.
“He looked like a monster,” Jason recalls of Cooper. “The first time I met him, he took the cap gun out of my hands and pistol-whipped me across the knees.”
Cooper punched him in the face. Whipped him, stripped him, tied him to a bed and hit him with a leather belt. He raped him with an electric cattle prod. Had anal sex with him.
Then there was The Bucky Beaver Show.
“I’d been buggered and stuff,” says Jason, “so I had a lot of excrement in my pants. He made me stand naked in front of my family and eat (feces) out of my underpants while having my (groin) buggy whipped.”
At 10, Jason used his own money to take a taxi from Cooper’s Waterdown house to his father’s home in Hamilton. He arrived covered in welts and signs of sexual abuse. He never returned to Cooper’s home.
The Children’s Aid Society was called. It interviewed the children with Cooper in the room. No charges were laid.
Elaine and Christine remained in Cooper’s home. He and Barbara adopted a little girl, Marie.
• • •
Christine, the youngest of Barbara’s children, was Cooper’s favourite to sexually assault.
“He was massive,” Christine says. “Especially for a little, tiny eight-year-old. I was his pet.”
Christine was initially excited about Cooper’s farm. She loved animals.
Cooper roused the children at 4 a.m., trucking them to the farm to clean stalls and dole out feed.
“If you weren’t moving fast enough, he’d jab an electric cattle prod in your ass and he’d hit the button,” she says.
He would not allow anyone to bathe before school, so the siblings went to class reeking of manure. They were shunned by classmates.
Making friends was made more difficult because Cooper parked his car by the playground at recess to watch Christine.
“He’d spy on me to make sure I was not playing any kissing games.”
After school, the kids would go to the farm again for chores until 7 p.m. Cooper and Barbara sent a note to school asking that Christine not have homework because she was “a farm girl” with work to do. In Grade 5, she missed 72 days.
If Christine misbehaved at home, Cooper told her to bring him the buggy whip from the front hall closet. He would use it on her bare bottom in front of the family.
Tickle games became a chance for Cooper to grope Christine. Bedtime stories were sex tales he made up. When tucking her into bed, he touched her “private parts.”
Weekends, Christine would go to The Country Cupboard to dust. When she finished, Cooper closed the shop and took her into the back room.
“He’d give me Playboy and Hustler magazines. He’d have me read them to him as I sat on his lap. ‘Don’t you wish you looked like that?’ he’d ask.”
He bought ice cream, took it back to the shop, slathered it on his body, and made her lick it off.
“I would detach myself,” she says.
• • •
When she was 12, Cooper allowed Christine to be friends with a girl in the neighbourhood.
One weekend, Christine brought her friend to The Country Cupboard to dust.
Cooper raped both girls.
• • •
When Elaine was 15 and Christine was 12, Barbara put them on a flight to England in the middle of the night to escape Cooper.
They lived with grandparents for three months. Cooper wrote to them, saying he missed and loved them.
The girls missed Canada.
Alone, they made their way from England to their birth father in Hamilton. Christine hadn’t seen him in four years.
Survivors are testaments of strength
All the children tried to tell. They went to parents, teachers, social workers and police. Nothing was ever done.
When Christine was 13, Cooper was charged with touching the younger sister of the friend she brought to the antique shop.
Barbara wrote a letter to Christine “to ask you to reconsider testifying against Jim.”
“What is past is gone and putting Jim in jail will only serve to disgrace Walter, Marie and myself. Also, it will only cause him to hate more.”
She points out that in seeking a divorce from Cooper, “this mess has ironically cost me $60,000 in lost settlement money.”
“I truly hope you will reconsider and save yourselves the agony and the embarrassment and in turn save Walter and Marie the shame that you are putting them and me through.”
The charges were dropped.
On a Grade 8 bus trip to Ottawa, Christine sat with a guidance counsellor she liked.
“I just had this big breakdown. I told her I was sexually abused and whipped and beaten. I spilled my guts. And she believed me.”
A social worker came to the school and interviewed Christine. She told everything. They did nothing.
At 16, Christine told her brother Jason that Cooper had raped her.
Though they witnessed each other’s beatings, the siblings were never certain about the sexual assaults.
Jason told their birth father and stepmother, who phoned police and the children’s aid society.
This time someone listened.
In November 1987, Cooper was arrested.
• • •
He had no criminal record, so Cooper made bail.
One condition was to remain in the country. But someone at the police station mistakenly returned his passport to him. He skipped out to England.
Later, he explained his disappearance by saying he thought he had been acquitted of the charges.
He found a new girlfriend with a 14-year-old granddaughter in England. He bought a couple of houses and a furniture store.
For three years, he lived what he called “a beautiful life.” Until Christine did what the police were unable, or unwilling, to do.
At 19, she flew to England. Within two weeks, she tracked down her rapist and alerted police to his whereabouts. Scotland Yard detectives arrested him in Burnley, Lancashire. He was extradited to Canada on June 17, 1992.
• • •
When Toni Skarica talks of prosecuting James Cooper, he weeps.
“It was the most horrific case,” the veteran Crown attorney says. “It went on for a long time. And the details of it ...
“He was pure evil. It’s like he had no feeling at all. No conscience. He is so out there, the normal rules of behaviour don’t apply. I hated him. I could see the jury hated him.”
The house, the farm, The Country Cupboard, they were places of “absolute terror and horror.”
One by one, the six victims — now young adults — testified. They described the shocking details of what Cooper did to them.
Cooper said it was all lies.
• • •
In May 1993, the six men and six women of the jury took four hours to find Cooper guilty of 16 counts of gross indecency, assault causing bodily harm, sexual intercourse with a child under 14, unlawful confinement, buggery and illicit sexual intercourse. Another 64 charges were dropped.
Cooper held a Bible and showed no emotion as the verdict was read.
The Crown made a dangerous offender application against Cooper and the province granted a hearing. But Cooper’s clean criminal record was an impediment. Skarica had hoped to introduce similar abuse allegations by Walter, one of Cooper’s biological sons, but the boy recanted his story.
Skarica abandoned the dangerous offender application.
Justice Nick Borkovich handed down a 30-year sentence — the heaviest at the time to a first-time offender for similar crimes in Canada. He said Cooper lied under oath and was incapable of being rehabilitated.
Cooper appealed and his sentence was knocked down to 21 years, despite the fact the Ontario Court of Appeal called it “one of the worst, if not the worst, cases of sexual and physical abuse of children to come before this court.”
James Alfred Cooper has had many years in prison to consider why he raped and tortured six children.
On Jan. 3, 2008, after serving two-thirds of his sentence, Cooper was released from prison.
He moved to a halfway house in Peterborough before getting his own apartment. Dan Haley, a chaplain there, visited Cooper in prison for 15 years. Cooper also had help from Circle of Support (founded in Hamilton) which seeks to keep offenders out of trouble as they reintegrate into society.
In the four years since his release, Cooper has breached his conditions three times.
In May 2009, he had a relationship with a woman and travelled to Milton. Both events should have been reported to his parole officer but weren’t.
He says the woman was just a friend. He “doesn’t recollect ever being in Milton, ever in my lifetime.”
Also, he went to a woman’s house for Thanksgiving knowing her young grandchildren would be there. He is not allowed near children.
Cooper was arrested by Peterborough police on Oct. 14, 2011, on a parole suspension warrant. He allegedly touched the breast of a woman with mental and emotional problems. He says it was accidental while buckling her into his car.
Police launched an investigation, but no charges were laid.
• • •
Crown attorney Toni Skarica is awed by Cooper’s victims.
“They are a testament to the power of the human spirit. These poor children, they felt guilt when one of the others was being beaten. I know some of them are traumatized and having difficulty with their lives, but I never saw any hatred or rage. That really impressed me from that group of children. These children, the fact that they’re functioning at all, I do really admire them to this day. They are so strong.”
• • •
Elaine received an unsigned card that she has no doubt is from Cooper, sent while he was in prison.
On the front is a picture of a teddy bear holding a bouquet. It says “Thinking of You Elaine.”
Inside it reads:
I don’t suppose you’d forgive me and let me start my life anew.
To forgive would help the both of us, that’s what God would have us do.
I think about you every day
And if you might be well
All I really want to say
Is that I’m sorry as h---!
• • •
“He can’t hurt me anymore,” says Margaret. “I’ve come a long way.”
She dropped out of school after Grade 8. She drank and did drugs.
“I was a huge flirt and a huge tease. Promiscuous.” She has been married three times and admits being unfaithful.
When she had children, she rarely left them with anyone. Even when they were in diapers, she asked their permission to touch their private parts.
She is 48 now, lives in Western Canada and is a store manager. She is in a “healthy relationship” with a man and is “content.”
She has forgiven her mother, Patricia, for marrying Cooper and allowing the abuse to happen.
“If she had known better, she would have done better.”
And Cooper?
“I’ve forgiven him,” she says. “I chose to forgive him and get on with my life. But I don’t accept. Please don’t think I accept.”
• • •
“I don’t need to let him affect my life anymore,” says Lynn.
Yet, he does.
Lynn cannot see a plate of spinach without thinking of the Halloween she was eight. She wore her costume at the dinner table and Cooper said she couldn’t leave until she’d finished her spinach. He piled it on her plate. She tried to eat it, but it made her vomit. She missed trick-or-treating.
She says her abuse affects her sex life with her husband of 33 years.
“He is very forgiving of my quirks,” she says. “I can’t perform fellatio on my husband. And he accepts that.”
Lynn got pregnant at 16 and ran away from home.
“I had low self-esteem. Cooper told me I was ugly. I wanted attention. I wanted people to see me.”
She is 52 and lives in Western Canada. She is an office manager and says she has a happy life.
She has come to some conclusions about Cooper.
“I don’t think with him it was the sex. It was the power. He liked to have total control over the child. He will never change, because that kind of sex is of the mind, not of the body.”
• • •
Elaine has, in many ways, a wonderful life.
At 44, she is the vice-principal of an elementary school in Ontario. She has a husband and children.
“I don’t know why I’ve done well and the others haven’t,” she says of her siblings, Jason and Christine, who were also abused by Cooper. “Maybe because, as the eldest, I had more time before the abuse began.”
But it hasn’t been easy. She has been in therapy. She has drunk more than she should.
“And I’ve sat on window ledges.”
She is “overprotective” of her kids, does not let them sleep anywhere overnight. They rarely have had a babysitter.
Her marriage is happy, but her husband has chosen not to know details of Elaine’s abuse.
“He doesn’t really understand me,” she says. “But then, how can somebody really understand me?”
She admits she can be withdrawn and goes through “rough times.” During the school year, the structure and hectic pace keep her on track, but in summer, when she has time to think, she does “poorly.”
She sets goals for herself, trying not to think of her childhood.
“You can’t control your past. You can control your future.”
• • •
Jason struggles the most.
He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, been in hospital for a nervous breakdown and treated for other mental health issues. He has been suicidal and battled drugs and alcohol, doing two rounds of rehab. He has been jailed for domestic assault. Holding down a job has been difficult. One summer, he lived in a tent in his sister Christine’s back yard.
Though his mother did nothing to save him from Cooper, Jason set out a few years ago to find her.
“I always wanted to have a mother. I felt abandoned.”
Jason and his mother are, once again, estranged.
He is 42, lives in Hamilton, has two kids and is going through a divorce.
“I went through a lot of abuse. What I went through was pretty bad. This stuff never goes away. It screwed up my childhood. It screwed up my whole life.”
• • •
After the trial, Christine got drunk and put on steel-toe boots. She gathered the figurines Cooper had given her. They were dressed in “old-fashioned clothes” and he kept them in the basement of The Country Cupboard. After molesting Christine, he let her choose one. She kept them for many years. As evidence.
Finally, she took them outside and jumped on them. She put a photo of Cooper up and threw darts at it.
“I wanted to kill him.”
Christine, 40, lives in Hamilton, has been married five years and has grandchildren. She has held the same blue-collar job for 18 years.
Most days she gets by. But she lists off problems she has, most of which she relates to the childhood sexual abuse she survived.
She drinks too much. Smokes marijuana. Has been in abusive relationships. Has issues with self-esteem. Her marriage is “rocky.” The Children’s Aid Society has been involved with her children.
“Cooper has made me what I am. It forms your personality. It forms your relationships. It forms everything about you. Overall, I’m not unhappy. But I’m not ecstatic about my life. I haven’t gone as far in my life as I could have.”
She wanted to be a Crown attorney.
Memories of her abuse crop up when she least expects it. Her husband playfully snaps a dish towel at her and she explodes with anger. Cooper used to do that to her.
“It’s never done.”
• • •
A Peterborough parole officer named Bill Dunbar tells the Parole Board of Canada that Cooper has a “poor attitude” and “a problem with a lot of arrogance and he tends to want to hide things ... It has been a pattern all of his life.”
Risk factors for Cooper to reoffend include: relationships with women or children; alcohol; access to kids; distrust and jealousy; power and control; deviant sexual thinking; deviant sexual arousal.
• • •
Cooper tells the parole board he’d like to apologize to his victims but they don’t want to talk to him. None of his victims is present.
He has a grey crew cut, a small, white goatee and round glasses. A dark green shirt covers his paunch, his pants hike up to reveal swollen, red legs. He must lean into the conversation to hear.
He says he has diabetes and leukemia that is in remission.
Cooper thinks life was going fairly well for him in Peterborough.
For two years, Cooper has been in a relationship with a Michigan woman he met online. “She’s trying to get a visa. We have plans to get married. She is sweet, kind, understanding. She knows about my past. She’s the first person I could ever relate to.”
She has no children, Cooper tells the parole board.
It takes the board 10 minutes to come to a decision. Cooper’s statutory release is revoked. He will stay in prison for now, but will be released by Jan. 5, 2015, when his sentence expires.
The board tells Cooper: “Your lack of victim empathy is noteworthy.”
• • •
“I feel like I’ve taken full responsibility for my life,” Cooper says. “I feel like I’ve worked my ass off. I can be a good citizen. I just want to spend the rest of my life being quiet and being careful.
“I like to think there is some hope for me to get into heaven one day.”
Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. [email protected]
905-526-3539 | @susanclairmont |
Duskers v0.26 is now in the "Future" branch. Rename drones, radiation shield, and more :)
[docs.google.com]
Rename your drones! (Ctrl+R on drone config)
New Modification: Radiation Shield
New Modification: Surveyor (Ship Upgrade) shows rooms likely to flood with radiation
Easy starting galaxies (see new Difficulty sub-menu under Options to enable - disabled by default)
Added: Difficulty options (Easy, Normal, Hard) for Scrap and Upgrade Breaking
Added support for 16:10, and unofficial support for many other resolutions *(See below)
New turret model (ship defenses)
Revamped all the menus
Added: Master volume, plus moved other audio bars to a separate sub-menu
Added: Modification indicators to indicate mods to Drone, Drone Upgrade, or Ship Upgrade (added to the name. Ex: “probe *s (2/4)” means a probe with the stealth mod)
Added: Ability to remap two major problem keys for uses with no-English keyboards: semi-colon (;) and apostrophe (‘). Remapping is done in the game launcher, not the game, itself. Choose the “Input” tab, and scroll to the bottom. Two new map-able items are at the bottom.
Minor Add: After using ‘gather’ on a Fuel Access, showing a single-line summary of how much fuel received (still showing the fuel as it’s being pumped)
A ship’s powered defenses no longer see stealthed drones
Probes now attacked by the ship’s powered defenses (unless the probe has the stealth mod)
Changed: “Gatherer” and “Scanner” upgrades renamed to “Gather” and “Scan”
Changed: ‘commandeer’ no longer explicitly says whether or not there are enemies on board (cannot use it as an exploit to peek ahead to see whether or not any enemies remain on the ship)
Minor Change: Show message to the console when the stealth turns off because of the use of another upgrading being activated
Major Fix: Occasionally starting system was not in reach of any other systems (no where to jump), ending the game prematurely
Fix: Installed Ship Upgrades now show on the Modification and Trading Post inventories
Fix: FRAPS and OBS now works with DUSKERS (won’t crash between missions)! Note: Changing the vsync setting while FRAPS is recording WILL cause a crash. Don’t do that :)
Fix: If there was a Sensor in the boarding ship AND and an enemy also in the boarding ship, redocking would cause the sensor to return to “green” indicating no threat, when the threat still existed in the boarding ship
Minor Change: Hint to train new players that they can ‘dock’ changed to show when an airlock is actually seen, rather than just entering a room with an airlock
Minor Change: No longer showing infestation types on Stargates and Trading Posts on the UI
Minor Change: Menus cleaned up and some reorganization
Minor Change: BACKSPACE moves backward through open menus (same as ESC)
Minor Change: Reworded some of the mods in the modification window
Minor Change: Further removed mouse interaction - mouse over and clicking no longer supported in the galaxy view to further support game immersion
Fix: A well-timed ‘dock’ while the boarding ship was in the middle of redocking would break it do player could not dock again on that ship
Fix: When viewing another, previously visited, galaxy, then returning (using [R]eturn) player was not being returned to the system where they started. Instead, they were moved to a system with a previously used stargate.
Fix: Starting to travel to a new galaxy, then canceling, was putting the game into a bad state
Fix: Using ‘gather’ in a corridor was causing an “Internal Processing Error”
Fix: Universe, System, and Dungeon shortcut keys could be activated while various windows and menus were open
Fix: Some players mentioned opening the menu over the drone view in a game caused the game’s look to “break”, requiring alt-tab away and back to correct. This should fix that.
Fix: Disabling hints in the Options menu was also mistakenly disabling the information messages in the tutorial
Fix: In the right circumstances, if a player had a disabled drone in a corridor then the game would not allow the player to ‘exit’ (Internal Processing Error)
Fix: Inventory was previously “filling up” based on a combined total number of Ship and Drone upgrades so it was possible for both inventories to have several open slots that were inaccessible. That has been fixed, and now both Ship Upgrades and Drone Upgrade slots can be filled in total.
Fix: Using the Remote Power Ship Upgrade in combination with a Generator Drone Upgrade allowed an exploit where an entire ship could be powered
Minor Fix: The “slime” red enemy reticles weren’t always going away when ‘sonic’ used to kill them, making it unclear as to whether or not still alive
Minor Fix: Do not allow the ‘swap’ command with a drone found on a ship to work until the drone has been actually seen
Minor Fix: The HP of drone with an active shield that is broken by “slime” would show fractional HP (ex: 122.342516)
Minor Fix: Player ship was showing on top of the Log viewer
Minor Fix: The number-pad’s ENTER was not supported on the Swap UI
Minor Fix: Keep the Universe View centered so that the nodes wouldn’t fall off the screen
Minor Fix: Occasionally ‘scan’ reported 1 more scrap than was actually in the room
Fix: fixed issue where redocking eventually caused drones to fail to navigate properly via “navigate” command. Usually would say a door was blocking the way when it was not.
Fix: fixed issue where returning from a ship with an 8th drone in the docking bay would cause various issues back on the mother ship, such as only seeing the 8th drone in the scrap window. The 8th drone gets left behind entirely (for now…).
*Resolution support. Officially supported is 16:10. Unofficially supported is 21:9. Because of a limitation of Unity, all players wishing to use a 21:9 resolution need to use the command-line method of providing the width/height of their monitor (you will not be able to select from the Unity launcher). For more details on how to do that, see: http://steamcommunity.com/app/254320/discussions/0/528398719796386374/#c527274088389125761. Note - other resolutions (4:3, 5:4, and 3:2) are also unofficially supported, but have known issues with some of the UIs and are currently in a “use at your own risk” state, and must also be provided at the command-line.
Thanks!
-Tim (Duskers creator guy)
Again, please opt into the "Future" branch if you're brave enough to test out what we're working on (see HERE for how to opt-in). When it's had some time in there and you guys have deemed it "stable" I'll move it to the default branch (which everyone is on by default).[WARNING: things are most stable if you start a new run (Reset) after updating. If you are in the middle of a run and aren't willing to start a new one you may want to wait till your run is ended]So we have a lot of bug fixes in this one, but we wanted to get some fun stuff in as well, so we added Drone Renaming and a few ways to counter and prepare for radiation.If you do find bugs that you believe might be specific to this version please post them in the Support/Issues/Bugs Sub-forum with "[v0.26]" at the beginning of the title.Please let us know your thoughts/feedback on any of these things below! |
16 gigawatts is a lot of power. The average nuclear power plant in operation today provides less than just one gigawatt of power (I believe the average is around 850 MW). Which is why it's good news that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill, is on track to add 16 GW of renewable energy to the US grid. Susan Kraemer reports over at Clean Technica that "the bulk of ARRA funds will be disbursed in 2010 ... When all spent - we will have added 16,000 MW (that's 16 Gigawatts!) of clean energy to the grid." Which is a pretty solid chunk--as she notes, it's enough to take 4-5 million homes permanently off the grid. It will begin to carve out renewable power a serious role in our energy infrastructure, and help grant renewables greater political bargaining power as well.
Here are some of the specifics of how the funding was rolled out: "To grow the clean energy economy - $90 billion was set aside, with one third being disbursed by the end of 2009. Of that total, $60 billion will be in direct spending and $29.5 billion ii tax incentives to build renewable energy." This is evident in the graph supplied over at CT:
Yup, the bulk of funding is going to renewable generation, which is good news, in my opinion (and so is the handsome chunk going to grid modernization). We need to get renewable power plants up and running, begin to build public perception that they're going to be a permanent part of the power mix, and help get the industry some real legs.
It's a solid start.
More on Renewable Energy in the US
Government Study Claims Twenty Percent Of US Power From Wind By 2018
$60 Billion for Green in the Stimulus Bill: Where the Money Will Go |
Ricardo Duchesne by
Nottingham miners in 1948
C
UN Covenant on Social Rights
The New Ideology of the Equality of Races after WWII
"the struggle for decolonization" in the period from about 1948 to 1965, that is, the demand by colonies of the West to be granted national self-determination; the struggle against racial segregation in the United States, or the civil rights movement for equality under the law between Whites and Blacks from about 1955 to 1965; the struggle for the elimination of White-only immigration policies in the settler states of Canada, America, and Australia during the 60s and 70s.
The Flaw in Orgad's Theory — Again
David Abraham's Multicultural Social Rights
T.H. Marshall's Anglocentric Social Rights
T.H. Marshall
urrent liberals with socialist leanings have deceptively extended the concept of "social rights" to foreign immigrants in direct opposition to the original ethno-nationalistic meaning of this concept intended by the early European proponents of welfarism.The beginnings of this extension may be traced back to thetreaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. Articles 6-15 of this "international covenant" include rights to work, to form and join trade unions, social insurance, paid parental leave, adequate standard of living, health care, free primary education and generally available secondary and higher education.These social and economic rights, however, were first formulated within the context of the nation states of Europe intended for the native population. The key rationale in their formulation, by socialistic liberals in the late 19th century to early 20th century, was that civil rights on their own (equal rights to freedom of expression, equal treatment under the law, religious freedom) were inadequate since many members of the nation were too poor to make full use of these civil rights, and only government assistance would it be possible for all citizens to enjoy a level playing field in "the full development" of their "human personality".But in the aftermath of WWII, Western liberals began to argue for the extension of these rights to humans across the world, leading to the formulation of this treaty in 1966. Although this was an international covenant, the proponents of these rights were Westerners. Non-European nations, to this day, have generally ignored these rights. And those nations like Japan, which developed the wealth necessary to afford them, could not care less whether other nations live up to these rights. Only Western liberals have made it a matter of principle and conscience to work for the successful application of these rights around the world.Social rights are consistent with liberalism and Western ethnic nativism. The problem is that the enactment and application of these principles came in tandem with the spread ofThis new ideology, which is not intrinsic to the concept of social rights, found full expression after WWII in three major political movements:All these movements were driven by the new ideology of the equality of races. This is not to say that the right of all peoples to national or ethnic self-termination, the movement against the division of the world into colonized and colonizer nations, can't be supported without acceptance of the ideology of the equality of the races. Just as the concept of social rights is conceptually independent from the notion of racial equality, so is the principle of national self-determination conceptually independent from both social rights and the equality of races. One can agree that all peoples have a right to self-determination on the grounds that the racial and ethnic differences of peoples is a good thing. One can accept, on liberal principles, the notion of civil rights and economic rights within a nation, and argue for separate territories for different races. One can also argue that there is nothing in the principle of civic and social rights that calls for racial integration.Likewise, there is nothing in the concepts of civic and social rights that precludes nations from excluding foreigners from enjoying these rights. It was only with the spread of the idea of the equality of the races that Westerners came to think that to be a true liberal believer in civic and social rights requires one to extend these rights to all humans across the world. The notion of the equality of races would transform the meaning of civic and social rights into human rights to be enjoyed by all humans regardless of nationality. Misusing Kant's concept of "cosmopolitanism", Western liberals in the last decades have brought about this conceptual change without any nationalist opposition.One of a number of liberals involved in this conceptual transformation is the Turk Seyla Benhabib, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy at Yale University. In(2004), she redefines the notion of civic rights to mean human rights, from which point she then argues that insofar as everyone on the planet has human rights, it is "impermissible from a moral standpoint" to deny incorporating aliens and strangers, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers into the existing liberal polities of Europe. Europeans, if they are to live up to the principles of civic and social rights, must extend these rights as human rights to immigrants wishing to come to Europe. The Europeans who reject this extension are fascists.This is what socialists are arguing today. Socialists used to be for the protection of nationals against the importation of cheap labour; but now they have accepted the notion that all humans have human rights as equal members of the same human race, and that insofar as they have human rights, they have a right to migrate to Western nations and enjoy the same social rights as the natives.This evident in David Abraham's article,, which is an assessment of Liav Orgad's right wing "liberal theory of majority rights". Abraham, Professor of Law at Miami University , has an extensive publication record dedicated to the promotion of economic rights for immigrants, against "neo-liberal globalization", as the best way of integrating diverse ethnic groups within Western nations. Abraham wants his readers and students to believe that this extension of social rights to immigrants is what the liberal tradition calls for.In what follows, which is a continuation of my assessment of Liav Orgad's right wing "liberal theory of majority rights" , I will counter Abraham's claim by relying on the "Anglocentric" socialist ideas of T.H. Marshall (1893-1981), a first formulator of the concept of social rights. The principle of social rights was never intended, and does not in principle entail, social rights for humans across the world and for immigrants. The latter is a cultural Marxist idea that was infiltrated into Western socialism by hostile elites.Orgad's thesis is that the peoples of Europe have a legitimate right to restrict immigration in order to protect their majority culture. Orgad is correct that in the face of mass immigration, and the ever demographic growth of minorities, and the projected reduction of European majorities into "majority-minority" status, it would be absurd to keep pressing for the rights of minorities.But Orgad's theory amounts to no more than a call for the assimilation of immigrants to those cultural attributes of the majority culture that bespeak currently of tolerance, diversity, and constitutionalism.Not long ago, roughly before WWII, one would be hard put finding calls for diversification in the Western liberal tradition. But liberalism has now been thoroughly colonized by hostile concepts; and so what Orgad, associated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is defending is a cultural Marxist version of liberalism. His theory of majority cultural rights basically says that Western nations can continue to be immigrant nations as long as they protect the majority liberal culture, and that this is the best way to fight off "extreme nationalism".We believe at CEC, to the contrary, that civic rights were postulated in the context of highly homogeneous European states, and that these rights are being threatened by diversification and extension into peoples lacking a history and a disposition for these rights. Civic rights presuppose European ethnic self-determination, which is not inconsistent with the acknowledgement of the rights of historically rooted minorities to the degree that these minorities have shown a natural predilection to live up to the principle of civic rights. By the same token, liberal rights are consistent with the separation of peoples into different territories within which they may find their own national means of ethnic self-determination.David Abraham's objection to Orgad is simply that it is preferable to emphasize additional socialist spending as a way of integrating everyone within the nation's multicultural setting, rather than promoting the cultural rights of majorities. A more open, broader, and tolerant sense of "we", he argues, can be nurtured more effectively through "social equality" measures than through "normative principles, values, and institutions". The best medicine, which would encourage the majority culture to feel at home, in their increasingly diversifying nations, is to fight neoliberal economic policies, which weaken immigrant integration.In other words, what the majority tax-paying culture needs to do is fork out more money for the growing immigrant populations. The massive welfare states of Europe should forego whatever "neoliberal" economic policies they adopted in recent decades and expand welfare spending. Orgad's call for greater majority protections, Abraham warns, is "very slippery" and can quickly create a climate in which illiberal views, such as those of Viktor Orbán in Hungary, become acceptable. The way to overcome the illiberal immigrants is to support them economically, educate them, given them pride in their heritage, and make them feel a home in Europe.Many may think that Abraham is arguing in a consistently socialist manner; a social liberal who believes that welfare rights are essential to the integration of previously excluded groups into a common national culture, a patriot calling for national integration and loyalty. The truth is that all the welfare states of Europe were created for the sake of making the native White working classes feel that they were part of the national culture, by integrating them into the national economy and the educational system, in order to nurture a sense of ethnocentric identity with the heritage of their nation.One of the theoretical strategies early socialists used in justifying the creation of welfare programs was to argue that liberalism was consistent with the inclusion of "social rights" into the concept of civic citizenship. The best known proponent of social rights in England was T.H. Marshall; an idea he first espoused in his 1949 essay. Marshall observed that the British working classes lacked a sense of identity, national in scope, because they were existing on the margins. He further argued that the best way to nurture a British national identity was to afford workers with social rights, by which he meant a modicum of health care and educational facilities. Civic rights were not enough for workers since they lacked the means to participate fully as co-creators of the national culture beyond their localities.It should be noted, if we are to keep Marshall's ideas in historical perspective, that state spending on education started in Europe after the 1850s, on compulsory and free education for children, and on public health and sanitation, focusing mainly on the lower to middle classes, but then growing and benefiting the less skilled working classes through the first half of the twentieth century, though it was only in the 1950s and 1960s that Western countries saw full fledged programs, guaranteed income supplements, pensions, child welfare, disabled person's benefits, etc, to establish an "adequate" living standard beyond bare subsistence.Marshall was advocating ideas that would rationalize this expansion in the 1950s and 1960s. But he was not original in this respect; socialists had been arguing for these policies for decades. What was new about Marshall was his effort to argue that civil rights were not enough to integrate the working classes into the nation's culture. Liberal theory needed to be expanded to include social rights as a matter of principle to give workers a sense of identification with the nation's culture by giving them a fairer chance to develop themselves as individual members within the nation.Marshall did not frame this argument in economic terms, in trade-union or Keynesian terms, but insisted that social rights would work to integrate the working classes into the national liberal culture of Britain. Moreover, when he spoke of the working class in Britain he meant the native-born English, by ethnicity, religion, and culture generally. Not surprisingly, as liberalism was taken over by cultural Marxists in the 1960s, and a new breed of feminist/anti-White liberals was born, Marshall's conception of social rights was "criticized by many for only being from the perspective of the white working man". Members of the hostile elite, in full control of academia in the 1970s, announced that Marshall was too "Anglocentric" (PDF) and no longer a "true" liberal.This is a subject requiring further study; suffice it to say that major conceptual alterations and additions transpired within liberal theory after WWII, from the time of Marshall to the time of Abraham.One can certainly find reasonable objections to Marshall's concept of social rights on economic grounds and on libertarian grounds. The point at hand is that the concept of social rights is not inconsistent with a nation that believes in civic rights, freedom of expression, separation of church and state, representative institutions,. What is inconsistent is the notion that social rights presuppose the creation of nations dedicated to the integration of foreigners as immigrants with social rights. The historical and theoretical evidence does not support this extension. |
Head on over to the official site to read the full comm link.
Latest Comments
2012-03-21 06:39 PM
Skitrel Re: Infiltrator Week Malorn Originally Posted by I think the VS one looks better in the picture above than current.
2012-03-21 07:09 PM
Knocky Re: Infiltrator Week Malorn Originally Posted by
Here is all three infiltrators side-by-side
VS...protecting their virginity at all costs.
NC...hell yeah sweetheart, that's all me.
TR...it just gets in the way so we cut it off.
2012-03-21 07:14 PM
sylphaen Re: Infiltrator Week Knocky Originally Posted by VS...protecting their virginity at all costs.
NC...hell yeah sweetheart, that's all me.
TR...it just gets in the way so we cut it off.
Nice summary.
I'd still say that for the VS, the reason is more about to keep the sexiness inside and under control at all costs. Looking so awesome has its toll.
Some will remember the "Lasher" thread on SOE PS forums.
2012-03-21 10:48 PM
Raka Maru Knocky Originally Posted by
VS...protecting their virginity at all costs.
NC...hell yeah sweetheart, that's all me.
TR...it just gets in the way so we cut it off.
2012-03-22 03:54 AM
Kran De Loy Re: Infiltrator Week Knocky Originally Posted by
VS...protecting their virginity at all costs.
NC...hell yeah sweetheart, that's all me.
TR...it just gets in the way so we cut it off. Raka Maru Originally Posted by This is so wrong. :P
It was exactly the same thing I was thinking, just put better then I could have.
2012-03-23 04:39 AM
Kilmoran Re: Infiltrator Week WellWisherELF Originally Posted by Intel.
So far this is the feature set of Infitlrators... Cloaking and Sniping. Now... 50% of that has nothing to do with infiltrating, and the 50% that does have to do with infitlrating, so far, is not described as having any thing to do AFTER you infitlrate other than look around. BUt if you are also a sniper, you can do that from long range.. but if you are long range.. why do you need to cloak?
Unless there are more options or features... this "class" is going to be somewhat pointless other than to be a flavor. It has no /real/ squad potential. Yes, you can say they are "better" at gathering intel because of cloaking, but that's not at all to say cloaking is necessary to gathering intell.
I've been doing this sort of stuff for... 16 years now. I was a full support cloaker in PS 1 (If it could be hacked, virused, rezed, repaired, or built, I could do almost all of it while cloaking). I completley understand nto being able to do all of that... but some key things i still think are necessary to make cloaking more than lone wolf wet dreams.
Tools for espionage
Tools for sabotage
Laz pointing/Target Painting of some sort
Perhaps something to aid in team stealth (Like smoke nades for the Light Assault)
Silent/Quiet CQC weapons (depending on how the knife works which i realized in PS 1 worked perfectly fine for this if you used it right)
Doesn't have to be all of these, or any of these if there are better ideas... but it just cna't be stealthing snipers.. .that's next to pointless. I'd rather just have a sniper rifle with armor, and if Light Assault Jetpackers could have it, ti would literally make cloakers doing it beyond pointless.
2012-03-23 12:25 PM
Triple A Re: Infiltrator Week Higby let it be known that infiltrators are currently the only class that can hack. And with 5-7 capture areas in each base they will be a must no matter what.
2012-03-23 06:21 PM
Kilmoran Re: Infiltrator Week Triple A Originally Posted by Higby let it be known that infiltrators are currently the only class that can hack. And with 5-7 capture areas in each base they will be a must no matter what.
I would also disagree to making it so that a cloaker are the only ones that can hack bases. That means an entire base offensive can be literally stalled/defeated due to an increadibly small portion of a team (or a loner) being killed or preoccupied.
2012-03-23 07:00 PM
FINALCUT Re: Infiltrator Week Kilmoran Originally Posted by I would also disagree to making it so that a cloaker are the only ones that can hack bases. That means an entire base offensive can be literally stalled/defeated due to an increadibly small portion of a team (or a loner) being killed or preoccupied.
Think of it like this,for the final base push a platoon of four squads should have one squad of nothing but infiltrators and three squads of heavy or light assault or any combo of those two,but the squad of pro infiltrators should always be included in any platoon.
Ten to twelve infiltrators hacking five to seven terminals for a base cap sounds like a good ratio and when you get guys that play nothing but infiltrators all the time and get elite at playing that role,those guys will become legends.
2012-03-23 08:15 PM
BuzzCutPsycho Re: Infiltrator Week Can the infil use SMGs or Carbines? I've seen pictures of it but is that anything official?
2012-03-23 08:22 PM
Aurmanite Re: Infiltrator Week BuzzCutPsycho Originally Posted by Can the infil use SMGs or Carbines? I've seen pictures of it but is that anything official?
2012-03-23 08:32 PM
Malorn Re: Infiltrator Week BuzzCutPsycho Originally Posted by Can the infil use SMGs or Carbines? I've seen pictures of it but is that anything official?
Shotguns seems a bit much to me, same with SMGs/carbines. That's a lot of dps to give a stealth class.
2012-03-23 08:34 PM
Aurmanite Re: Infiltrator Week Malorn Originally Posted by Shotguns seems a bit much to me, same with SMGs/carbines. That's a lot of dps to give a stealth class.
2012-03-23 08:40 PM
Duddy Re: Infiltrator Week Malorn Originally Posted by Shotguns seems a bit much to me, same with SMGs/carbines. That's a lot of dps to give a stealth class.
If not still somewhat annoying for those who fail to spot them.
2012-03-23 08:58 PM |
Québec Premier Jean Charest just enacted a draconian emergency law restricting the most basic rights of free assembly. The law could turn Canada into an international embarrassment -- making us look more like the Middle Eastern police states the Arab Spring just overthrew -- unless we show the world that Canadians reject this type of outdated suppression.
The emergency law, known as Bill 78, imposes massive fines of up to $125,000 for organizing peaceful protests -- the most basic right of free democracies. And anyone hoping to gather just 50 people must give police 8 hours notice! Legal scholars are uniform in declaring the law unconstitutional, but while we wait for the courts to strike it down, free speech is in jeopardy. Let’s join together and show leaders everywhere Canadians reject this attack on basic rights and that all suppression will bring is a stronger opposition.
Our country's constitutional rights and international reputation are at risk. Join the call and forward to everyone -- if we reach 50,000 signers, Avaaz will erect giant protesters in front of Montreal representatives' offices to bring our national call home to politicians. |
“Is this what you want?”
In the third of our four podcasts on CD Projekt Red‘s celebrated RPG series, we arrive at 2015’s legitimately epic The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Leon, Jay, Josh, Leah – along with a wealth of community contributors – delve into Geralt’s of Rivia’s ultimate odyssey, discussing story, character, aesthetic and technical elements in the time-honoured Cane and Rinse tradition. One final podcast dedicated to the the substantial Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine add-ons to the main campaign will follow in December.
http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/podcast/cane_and_rinse_issue_292.mp3
Music used in this issue:
1. After the Storm by Mikolai Stroinski
2. Kaer Morhen by Marcin Przybylowicz
Cane and Rinse 292 was edited by Jay Taylor (@JaySevenZero).
Do you have an opinion about a game we’re covering that you’d like read out on the podcast? Then venture over to our forum and check out the list of upcoming games we’re covering. Whilst there you can join in the conversations with our friendly community in discussing all things relating to videogames, along with lots of other stuff too. Sound good? Then come and say hello at The Cane and Rinse forum |
A new report by the Climate Commission of Australia, has admitted that whilst China remains the world’s largest polluting nation, it also leads the fight against climate change.
In fact China has made such efforts to reduce its emissions, and reduce growth in electricity demand, that it is far ahead of any targets it set itself, and is likely to curb its carbon emissions far sooner than expected.
The report states that China has become the “world’s renewable energy powerhouse,” due to a series of policies and plans that have encouraged renewable energy growth. In 2012, for the third year in a row it claimed the title of the world largest clean energy producer, with a massive 23 gigawatts of clean energy capacity. (Related article: Clean Economy Doesn’t Mean Cleaner World)
Between 2055 and 2012 China increased its wind generation capacity by nearly 50 times, adding an extra 36 percent in 2012 alone. China’s solar sector is also growing, increasing by 75% in 2012, and it is predicted to grow by a further 300 percent to over 21GW by 2015.
China’s clean energy budget is unmatched by any other nation on earth and at $65.1 billion in 2012, was 20% more than in 2011.
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China and the US are the two largest economies, and the two largest investors in clean energy. The Climate Commission said that “increasing action from the global energy giants can re-energize the global effort to tackle climate change. While China and the U.S. cannot solve the problem alone, they are acting as significant drivers of change.”
Original article: http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/New-Report-Confirms-that-China-Leads-the-Global-Fight-Against-Climate-Change.html |
SOME stories are bigger than football. This is one of them.
After a generous gesture some 30 years ago, Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson was reunited with his 1984 premiership jumper on Wednesday night.
Up until recently, Thompson believed the jumper was buried with Michael Lawson, the young man he gifted the piece of memorabilia to in the ‘80s.
Lawson died on April 4, 1990. Leukaemia had eventually taken its toll after a two-year battle. He was just 18.
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Michael Hardy with the 1984 Essendon premiership cup. Photo: Ian Currie Source: News Corp Australia
“It was probably a strange thing to do, looking at it now,” Thompson told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“Memorabilia is quite special and kept and all of that. But at the time I felt like anyway I could help that young man and put a smile on his face ... I think it did.”
Thompson was made aware of the existence of the jumper, after Lawson’s stepbrother Mark Hardy reached out to AFL 360 co-host Mark Robinson.
Hardy said he always knew of the signed jumper, but only made the connection that it was Thompson’s grand final guernsey during a recent wardrobe clean out.
Branded on the jumper was the message: “To Michael, Best wishes. Wear this knowing I played in a Grand Final in it. All the best, Mark Thompson.”
When Hardy read of Thompson’s mental demons, he knew he had to act and repay the generosity shown to his dying brother.
Mark Thompson after the 1984 premiership. Source: News Corp Australia
“It brought my brother happiness at a time when there was no happiness in his life,” Hardy said.
“It made him happy and smile. It was a very moving thing to do. And for nothing in return.
“It almost gave me the trigger in my head to send the message back, to give it back. And I thought I’d give it back to Bomber.”
Hardy conceded it was difficult to hand the jumper back, but that he knew it was the right thing to do.
“Mark earned it, he played for it, he won for it. Michael died for it,” Hardy said.
“And I found it basically. It’s not mine to have. It would mean a lot more to Bomber than to me or my dad or my sister.
“It was Michael’s in his time of need and I wanted to repay the favour.”
A clearly moved Thompson replied: “To get it back after its been lent out for thirty odd years makes it a little more special.” |
A social media storm stirred when Joshua “Steel” Nissan, who was recently suspended by Valve after a betting scandal, was one of the casters during the Kings of Majors-tournament.
The following day, Steel was nowhere to be seen and he has confirmed to Aftonbladet Esport that it was because of community pressure.
– I had a feeling this would happen and I warned Availer about it, Steel says.
When Joshua “Steel” Nissan and his team iBUYPOWER got busted for matchfixing they were banned from all Valve-sponsored events. Organisations like ESEA and Faceit soon followed their example and banned the players from participating in their tournaments.
”The community went wild”
Even though Steel and his former teammates were shut out from most events, his voice echoed over the world on Monday when he co-casted the E-Frag organized Kings of Major-tournament. The community response was swift and many fans threatened to boycot the event if he was not removed.
– I had a feeling this would happen and I warned Availer about it. I went on the cast and the community went wild, posts on HLTV and Reddit called for my banishment, Joshua says to Aftonbladet.
Thinks Steel should be given second chance
Because of his participation putting the broadcast in such a negative light, Mohamed ”Availer” Zardab decided to remove Nissan from the casting team and replaced him with Jacob ”Pimp” Winneche. However, Mohamed personally thinks Joshua should be given a second chance.
– Essentially It’s like, if someone drives badly, you remove his license. Right now, we are telling him you cannot be in the car at all, Mohamed says.
Mohamed also says he will work with Joshua in the future but realizes the community is not yet ready to give him a second chance. |
Image copyright Battersea Dogs and Cats Home Image caption The two-year-old spent 689 days at the charity's Old Windsor centre
A dog which became Battersea Dogs and Cats Home's longest-serving resident has found a new home.
Biscuit, the two-year-old mongrel, spent a total of 689 days at the charity's Old Windsor centre in Berkshire, after arriving there in February 2013.
He is now living with Gemma and Darren Hunt in Aldershot, Hampshire.
Mrs Hunt described Biscuit, who the couple have now renamed Blake, as "a joy to be around".
'Unbreakable bond'
She said they decided to adopt him after losing their previous rescue dog.
"Now he's very much a part of our family and we love him to bits."
She added he was "clever, loving and willing to learn", and said they had an "unbreakable bond".
Biscuit held the title for longest-serving resident across all three Battersea centres in London, Old Windsor and Brands Hatch.
There is no time limit on how long a dog or cat can spend looking for a new home at Battersea, but Biscuit had been at the centre 22 times longer than the average stay for a dog, the charity said. |
Tokyo has a reputation as a city that's all about speed and newness. Everyone's in a hurry, buildings are constantly being torn down and rebuilt, and in most of the city, nothing's older than the last World War. But there's a part of the old shitamachi downtown area that escaped destruction by earthquake and war in the twentieth century, where you can experience what's left of an older version of the city. It's called Yanesen, from the initials of the three neighborhoods Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi. It's the place to go if you love winding alleys, small shops, and appreciate the appeal of a place that's a bit shabby and worn around the edges.
Yanesen is off the beaten tourist path, east of Ueno Park and its zoo and museums,which is as far east as most visitors end up going. What's even more interesting is that if you know people who live in Tokyo, chances are that they are completely unfamiliar with this part of town as well. Learn just a little and, like I did, you can impress Tokyo natives with a tour even if you've only spent a few weeks total in the city in your whole life.
You could probably spend a lifetime delving into the history of this neighborhood. There are over a hundred temples in the area, and it's been a center of the arts for centuries, with shops selling traditional brushes and ground-stone pigments. But to me there's nothing better than just wandering the streets, watching people go about their errands, and exploring the shops.
Yanaka has an awesome combination of old and new businesses – from stores that have been selling, say, rice crackers for generations, to young bakers and craftspeople that are fitting themselves into the old buildings and long tradition of handicrafts in the neighborhood.
The easiest place to start and see all of this is the Yanaka Ginza shopping street, which you can reach by taking the a train to Nippori Station. Take the west exit and right outside the station, the first thing is to decide whether to take a detour into Yanaka Cemetery. It's a favorite cherry blossom viewing site, and the old gnarled trees are cool in any season.
Wandering cats are symbols of the neighborhood. In Yanaka, you don't need to find a newfangled cat cafe and pay money to hang out with felines – they're right there on the street. In the cemetery you may find someone feeding them:
Passing the cemetery, continue down the street and you'll find yourself at the top of a staircase that leads down to Yanaka Ginza. The staircase is supposed to be a good place to view the sunset, but here's what I discovered about it: those Tokyoites who know nothing about this part of the city – this is the one thing they'll recognize. Apparently it's irresistible to TV crews, so it often appears in dramas.
Cats often hang out on the stairs here, and I even saw one that had a little box for a home off to the side of the stairs.
There are cat–themed souvenirs throughout the street, but before you go down the stairs, you can check out an entire store of kitty stuff:
At the bottom of the stairs, two interesting places are a store that sells traditional handcrafts made of bamboo, and a tea shop where I had a cream puff filled with green tea flavored cream that was a practically a religious experience, and also an excellent metaphor for how this neighborhood seamlessly combines old and new, if you're into that sort of thing.
One of the next shops you'll notice is this nicely decorated building where you can buy traditional candies. I was thrilled at the idea of kinako and yuzu hard candies but honestly, neither bowled me over – but you might have better luck, and if so, it's a good long-lasting souvenir to take home.
More traditional handmade stuff you can buy for souvenirs includes this sandal shop:
But there's also some of what I'd almost call the Japanese version of hipster crafts. If you can wait around, you can get a custom hanko name stamp with your choice of unusual animal:
The shop also does print-on-demand t-shirts with similar original illustrations. I got one with a large rodent called the mara or Patagonian cavy, which is an animal I've never seen on a T-shirt any before, so I was thoroughly impressed.
Yanaka Ginza is a place where normal people do their normal everyday shopping, so there's a little bit of everything practical. There are a small drugstore and supermarket, discount clothing and fashion, a butcher shop (I'm told on good authority that you should try the menchi katsu at Suzuki Meat), a whole stall that sells nothing but fish paste. You can also have your choice of inexpensive pre-made bento from a stall that feels more homey than the 7-11:
And maybe this reflects my personal obsessions, but it's a great place to sample sweets. When you've recovered from your green tea cream puff, head for this shop that sells soft ice cream and cat-shaped taiyaki, the bean-paste filled pancakes that are usually in the shape of a fish:
And if you've had enough Japanese-style sweets, never fear. The Atom bakery sells fantastic Western-style baked goods, in a shop decorated with Astro Boy knickknacks.
Some of the shops on the street sell a good inexpensive English tourist map of the rest of the neighborhood. Map in hand or not, when you're done with Yanaka Ginza, you should go wander the streets and alleys. You'll stumble on many of the one hundred temples without even trying:
Along with old shops and restaurants that have been in place for generations, there are old buildings that have been repurposed instead of torn down, like an old bathhouse and an old pawn shop that are now art galleries. You'll come across more shops of both old and new crafts and foods, from old rice cracker shops:
to a vegan bakery:
If you really dig deep, you may come across something that's off the beaten path even for Yanaka: a Swiss chalet containing a cafe, run by a Swiss gentleman who's lived in the area for decades:
Or you might find one of those traditional art supply stores – a local artist told me that there are only nine stores in all of Japan that still sell these traditional pigments, and four of them are in Yanaka – more than Kyoto, even:
My favorite sights, though, are the many gardens of potted plants that make the neighborhood green despite the fact that there are hardly any yards to plant anything in.
The slower pace of life in Yanaka is a nice break from the intensity of the rest of the city, but that means it's not a place for nightlife, so visit in the daytime or you may find everything closed. The fact that these are small shops often owned by one person means that hours may be irregular and my impression is that Monday is a day when a lot of shops take the day off.
Access
Kristen’s Review 8/10 I spent one lazy afternoon in Yanaka, Ginza, and it was incredibly relaxing. I don’t know if it’s the layout or the people who live there, but I think if I were to settle down in Tokyo, this would be my ideal location. While I didn’t see any cats, which was a huge bummer, I did really enjoy myself. This is definitely the perfect place to look for very Japanese souvenirs and get out of the hustle and bustle of the city.
Kanae’s Review 10/10 I love Yanaka and it’s even the ideal place to start my day in Tokyo. I lived in the neighborhood for three years, and I guarantee it’s a good place to live and visit. I didn’t get to write about よみせ通り(Yomise-Dōri), a little drinking area, but I recommend you go hang if you’re visiting there at night. |
December 12, 2013 by Kate Harrington
There’s a lot of development going on in East Austin right now – but not all of it is in the form of buildings.
Two historic walking trails that span about 10 miles in East Austin are getting an overhaul from local and national officials. The Tejano Healthy Walking Trail and Trail of Tejano Music Legends promote the history and culture of East Austin, and highlight Latino musicians.
While the trails were designated last year by the U.S. Department of the Interior as National Recreation Trails, much of the trails aren’t very visible. The Tejano Trails Steering Committee and the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, & Conservation Assistance Program are creating a strategic plan for the trails that will create shorter, more navigable routes and make the trail more visible. There’s also a plan to create a virtual version.
Developers are also pitching in. Cypress Real Estate Advisors, the developers behind the Corazon vertical mixed use project between East 5th and East 6th Streets, are also revitalizing Velasquez Plaza. That park, which is public land adjacent to the Corazon development, is a stop on the Music Legends trail named after Roy Velasquez, but has been neglected for years.
Cypress wanted to help rebuild the park because of its role in the community. It will feature two plazas with a tiered structure and a gathering area. Coupled with the sidewalk and street improvements taking shape in East Austin, that stop as well as others on the two trails could bring much more walkability to the area.
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Last week, I was having lunch with a friend and the subject of college came up. We both have daughters who are high school juniors, so it’s never far from our thoughts. We discussed the intensity of the International Baccalaureate program (our daughters are enrolled but at separate schools) and even planned for an upcoming college tour at the University of Florida (UF). The conversation was going smoothly until I asked how he planned to cover the tuition and other fees at UF. With a completely straight face, he replied that he expected his daughter to get a full-ride scholarship. Why wouldn't he believe that his child, who has played softball since she could walk and carries an unweighted grade point average (GPA) of 3.5, should be able to win such a coveted award? The media is full of reports about students who are being showered with full-ride scholarship offers, so it’s only natural that he would expect it to be a viable option. Although I hated to be the bearer of bad news, I felt obligated to clue him in on the reality of his financial plan.
Yes, the full-ride scholarship does exist; however, it’s highly unusual for a college to offer more than a handful. Competition at the most prestigious schools is fierce because nearly all the applicants have high GPAs and test scores, so standing out among the crowd takes some real effort. Those who want even a remote shot at earning a full-ride, merit-based scholarship may be able to increase their chances by applying to lesser known schools where they are over-qualified for admission, but it may also mean giving up the dream of attending an Ivy League school. Out of the millions of students enrolled in college, less than 20,000 across the country will receive the golden ticket of scholarships. Even those who are star athletes don’t have much of a chance at scoring a full-ride scholarship. In fact, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reports that only about two percent of high school athletes are awarded scholarships and many of those do not cover full tuition or other expenses. A total of six college sports (men’s basketball and football; women’s basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and tennis) offer full-ride scholarships; for students in other sports, such as softball, the average NCAA scholarship is less than $11,000. For out-of-state students, that really won’t make much of a den t. As I tossed out statistics, I could see the wheels turning in my friend’s mind. He was counting all the hours and money spent on equipment, uniforms, and travel. After doing everything right, he just couldn't understand how his investment would not result in the ultimate reward. He, unfortunately, is not alone. Many parents make the mistake of relying on their child’s academics or athletic ability to earn them that elusive full-ride scholarship. Now, I’m not saying that’s impossible for her (or any other student) to earn one, just extremely unlikely, so he needed to include other revenue options in his college financial aid plan. Here is what I suggested:
First, no matter what your family’s income is, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This is the key to institutional, state and federal money for college, which opens doors to grants, scholarships and low-interest student loans. Next, make sure your child is applying to private scholarships, local and national; the odds of winning one of these awards is much better than earning a full ride. Don’t discount the smaller awards, either. Small scholarships ($500 or less) are often paid directly to the student and can often be used for books, meals and other essentials. Finally, reach out to friends and relatives. Your child could launch a crowdfunding campaign or even offer his/her skills in exchange for donations to a college fund. It’s also not a bad idea to encourage them to pick up a part-time job over the holidays or summer break.
No matter how many scholarships your child eventually earns, never think of the time or money spent as a waste. She learned valuable time management skills and how to work with others, which will come in handy at college. Earning a scholarship is not validation that your child is a winner; it simply means she was lucky enough to grab the judges’ attention at the right moment. Walking across the stage to get her diploma is the real reward. |
Extending the functionality of your WordPress website is as simple as installing a good plugin. But what if you need a custom functionality not available by plugin? With a little understanding of PHP and WordPress actions and filters (wait don’t leave me yet!) you too can add helpful features to your own WordPress site. In fact, one of the first plugins I wrote was to solve a problem for my employer for which there was not extant plugin.
Let’s take a look at a simple WordPress function present in every installation of WordPress since version 3.0. A function is a bit of PHP programming that can be executed whenever we like and allow you to do something (hopefully) useful.
The function you ask? capital_P_dangit() . The sole purpose of this function is to capitalize the letter ‘p’ in Wordpress. Notice it didn’t work there eh? Take that capital_P_dangit()#!
Okay, all attempts at some programming humor aside, here is the function:
[code]function capital_P_dangit( $text ) {
// Simple replacement for titles
if ( ‘the_title’ === current_filter() )
return str_replace( ‘WordPress’, ‘WordPress’, $text );
// Still here? Use the more judicious replacement
static $dblq = false;
if ( false === $dblq )
$dblq = _x(‘“’, ‘opening curly quote’);
return str_replace(
array( ‘ WordPress’, ‘‘Wordpress’, $dblq . ‘WordPress’, ‘>Wordpress’, ‘(WordPress’ ),
array( ‘ WordPress’, ‘‘WordPress’, $dblq . ‘WordPress’, ‘>WordPress’, ‘(WordPress’ ),
$text );
}[/code]
As I mentioned, the whole point of this plugin is to capitalize the letter ‘p’ in the phrase “WordPress”. The above function can be broken down into simpler parts. Let’s look at just the first three lines:
The first line, function capital_P_dangit( $text ) { sets the stage for this useful bit of code. The term ‘function’ lets the PHP interpreter know this is the beginning of a … well, function. The next phrase ‘capital_P_dangit’ is the custom name of this function and can be used elsewhere in the code base to execute the code contained therein. And the parenthesis and text within are referred to as arguments and are processed from left to right. So this gives us a PHP function called capital_P_dangit(). Now on to what it does.
The second line, if ( 'the_title' === current_filter() ) , in English terms, means if the currently active filter is the WordPress filter ‘the_title’, then execute the following code. This will affect instances of the content title from the post editor.
The third line, return str_replace( 'Wordpress', 'WordPress', $text ); , is where the rubber meets the road. In normal parlance, it is looking for instances of ‘WordPress’ with a non-capitalized ‘p’. It would then replace that incorrect version with the correct version.
The remaining lines of the function perform the same basic tasks in other content areas of the WordPress posts, pages, etc.
Now we are going to write our own fun function. Functions typically are placed in your theme’s functions.php file or in the context of a plugin. So let’s write a plugin to change every instance of the word “monkey” in a WordPress title with this: MONKEY. Let’s do it!
First, try this on your own then go to the next page to see how your result compares to mine. |
We thank the community for their love and confidence in making us the 3rd most funded project in Kickstarter history.
For more information and PonoMusic pre-orders (coming soon!), go to www.ponomusic.com.
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Thank You from Neil Young.
Pono means righteous. It is a Hawaiian word, the one, the pureness. On behalf of Pono, we thank you for helping us give music a voice. You have helped to set the stage for a revolution in music listening. Finally, quality enters the listening space so that we can all hear and feel what the artists created, the way they heard and felt it.
This is done when the artist makes the best available, wanting to share it with you. It happens when the artist lets you hear and feel more than what is on your CD or MP3 of any song. CDs and MP3s are derived from the original masters, and now, with the PonoPlayer, you can finally feel the master in all its glory, in its native resolution, CD quality or higher, the way the artist made it, exactly. That’s the beauty of Pono.
It’s been a long time coming. It was not easy getting this far, but you made it happen by supporting Pono’s vision for better listening. We have been working with the labels, with the artists and producers, and we will continue to do that. We go to the source to find the best and bring it to you. Pono wants to preserve the history of music, in all of its beauty and expression, for all time. Forever.
There is a way to do this right, and we are going to do it. We will be sharing how we will do this with you over the next few months, while we build your first ever PonoPlayers. We are going to do some revolutionary things. We will make music available in a way that has never been done, a way that allows for constantly attaining the best listening experience.
Thank you to the artists, the recording companies, big and small, and most of all, thanks to you music lovers for making this happen with your amazing support.
Thanks for listening,
Neil Young
& the PonoMusic Team
A message to Artists:
First, we say “thanks” to all of you artists who have been here with Pono since the beginning. We are deeply grateful for your encouragement and support.
When you and your recording team go into a studio or recording environment to create your latest music, there are many choices for you to make. Besides the studios, songs, players, singers, producers, engineers, microphones, and other equipment, you have the ability to choose from the numerous digital resolutions at your disposal to capture your sound. This is where Pono can make a giant difference.
Now, whatever resolution you choose to employ for your recording process, your masters can be heard by your listeners exactly as you created them. You no longer have to be satisfied with MP3 or CD being what your fans hear. Pono plays back anything you can create, just as you made it, in the digital domain.
Even if you record in analog, when you mix your songs and record them to an analog 2 track, you can copy that to the digital resolution you choose (preferably the highest) and have your listeners hear that exact recording.
If you are an artist who has been recording for years and this has been your life and always will be, your original creations in analog can be transferred to the highest quality digital and heard anew with Pono. No longer do your original recordings have to be the compressed sound of CDs and MP3s. It’s all up to you. It is in your power to rescue your art and bring it into the 21st Century, preserved for generations to hear and enjoy. You can talk to your producer or record company and learn how to make that available to your listeners on Pono.
If you are a new artist, always released on MP3s and CDs, then your horizon has just been radically expanded. You can now record in whatever resolution you choose and your fans will hear the same quality you heard in the studio. You no longer have to lose part of your sound when it goes to the people. You probably know what I mean, having heard your creation when you mixed it, feeling that rush, only to be let down by the end product, the product your audience has had to accept. You probably know it was better when you first heard it than what they got. That is over. You are no longer limited by a format. Now your audience can hear what you hear.
Go back to your digital masters and see what they sounded like compared to what was released. Now, if you want to, they can all be released in their original glory. If you elect to, you can make the higher-resolution sources of your CDs and MP3s available to your listeners on Pono. It doesn’t matter what resolution you originally employed; if it is higher than what was released, and you can hear the difference, your fans can hear it. They deserve the best and Pono delivers it for you. Pono plays anything back just as you made it.
In the studio, with your brand new creations, high resolution is a great option. Resolutions are all different in their depths and textures. These can be used, and mixed together. A hook can be recorded in a higher resolution than the track it sits on, further setting it apart in your creation. So can a vocal. Resolution is a new tool for you to use. As long as you mix in the highest resolution found in your creation, or higher, everything will be captured. Especially, real echo and acoustic instruments, like drums, benefit from higher resolutions. Don’t take anyone’s word for this. Listen for yourself. Make your own decision. It’s an artistic right you have.
Doing this does not mean you cannot still make CDs and MP3s. They can be derived from your original masters.
Your choices matter now more than ever before because your fans will hear the difference. Thousands of documented Pono listens have proven that music lovers can tell the difference between what they had before with CDs and MP3s and what they can have now with Pono. Look at the videos on ponomusic.com and see the reactions. Those are your people. They feel more from the music with Pono.
High quality digital is wonderful to hear and sense. It is the sound of the 21st Century. Almost no one has heard it outside the studio. As artists, with Ponomusic, we have renewed opportunities for expression that have long been lost.
The Ponomusic player can bring new light to all of your creations through Ponomusic.
Record companies, this is an opportunity to rescue the art of recorded sound. Why should a Frank Sinatra recording or an Adele recording or a Nirvana, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Who, or classical recording be limited to the CD format for the future? This music is world cultural history. All of this cultural history should be preserved for enjoyment of the people in its highest possible form forever. In the 21st Century, people, and art, deserve this technology. Bring it on. Now, as never before, it is possible.
Our listeners should hear what we heard.
Thanks for listening,
Neil Young
What is PonoMusic?
"Pono" is Hawaiian for righteous. What righteous means to our founder Neil Young is honoring the artist’s intention, and the soul of music. That’s why he’s been on a quest, for a few years now, to revive the magic that has been squeezed out of digital music. In the process of making music more convenient – easier to download, and more portable – we have sacrificed the emotional impact that only higher quality music can deliver. However, the world has changed in the last 10 years – technology has solved some of the underlying problems that forced that tradeoff. You no longer have to choose between quality and convenience when listening to music – you can have both. This is the fundamental idea behind PonoMusic.
First Edition PonoPlayers: Black & Yellow
Pono's mission is to provide the best possible listening experience of your favorite music. We want to be very clear that PonoMusic is not a new audio file format or standard. PonoMusic is an end-to-end ecosystem for music lovers to get access to and enjoy their favorite music exactly as the artist created it, at the recording resolution they chose in the studio. We offer PonoMusic customers the highest resolution digital music available. PonoMusic is more than just a high-resolution music store and player; it is a grassroots movement to keep the heart of music beating. PonoMusic aims to preserve the feeling, spirit, and emotion that the artists put in their original studio recordings.
We are pursuing this vision by building a system for the entire music listening experience – from the original master recordings to the PonoMusic.com Store to the portable PonoPlayer. So now you’ll hear the nuances, the soft touches, and the ends on the echo – the texture and the emotion of the music the artist worked so hard to create.
Please see FAQ at the bottom of this page for answers to the most commonly asked questions. |
The best batman game EVER!!!! I picked it up at midnight and haven't stopped playing it since. The game is massive, so much content I feel
The best batman game EVER!!!! I picked it up at midnight and haven't stopped playing it since. The game is massive, so much content I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface.
Gameplay: Nothing too different from the previous Arkham games but this does it better. The old mechanics have been polished moving it into the new generation of gaming. The batmobile is fun to play and so far I'm enjoying the tank battles, but hopefully we see some variation later in the game.
Story: Although a little predictable for the more knowledgable batman fan, the majority of people will fall into the hook. Like a movie it's best enjoyed by just letting the narrative take you on the journey rather than trying to guess the ending. Im loving it so far though.
Visuals: cant fault a thing. It doesn't look as good as the order but it is like 10 times bigger than the order in terms of content. The characters look great, the special fx are probably the best i've seen in a videogame, i really enjoyed the big scale moments (infamous second son is a close second).
Overall I am loving the game so far and can't wait to 100% it.
… |
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Jeremy Corbyn has urged voters to do “something special” and pull off a shock Labour victory.
In an eve of election appeal, he says only by voting Labour will people be able to rescue the country from five more years of Tory austerity.
And at the close of a campaign punctuated by two terrorist atrocities, he tackles head on claims he is soft on security.
“We can do something very special on Thursday,” says Mr Corbyn looking remarkably fresh-faced following what must have been a gruelling campaign.
“We can have a future of hope for the many not the few.
(Image: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)
“Or we can go down the road of five more years of inequality and cuts.
"If that happens with we will have lost a huge opportunity.”
But is the alternative, a Labour government under Prime Minister Corbyn, a real possibility?
“Listen,” he says, fixing us with a very long, very certain, blue eyed stare, “We are going to win.”
Certainly the polls have shown the gap between the Conservatives and Labour getting narrower.
Throughout the campaign Mrs May has demonstrated aloofness, refusal to accept scrutiny and dithering over the social care plan.
Meanwhile Mr Corbyn has stayed confident about his left-wing offering.
(Image: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)
He says: “I want a Government that is serious about tackling injustice and inequality.
"And everywhere we have been we have had huge numbers of people coming forward in support: young, old, black, white, gay, straight, able bodied, disabled, everybody coming together in our campaign.
"It’s been a fantastic atmosphere.”
They are people, he warns, who have an enormous amount to lose if the Tories do win.
He paints a bleak portrait of what life will be like if Theresa May and the Tories get back.
(Image: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)
“Five years of Tory Government will be more children in poverty, more homeless people, school classes getting bigger and bigger, increased waiting times and waiting lists,” he says.
Mr Corbyn warns there will also be “more and more people, mainly women, forced to give up jobs to care for people who should be helped by the social care system.”
He says the “alternative is Labour’s vision for a fairer society.”
The Labour leader explains: “This would see the top 5% of earners, big business and corporations pay a bit more in tax to fund schools and hospitals.
“The financial crash of 2008-09 has been paid for by public services and public sector workers and communities. We are doing things the other way round.
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“We are going to invest in those services and those people.’
Except for the top 5% who are unlikely to be among Mr Corbyn’s natural fan base, it seems an attractive offering.
So what is it about the campaign , or about himself, which has kept him behind in the polls. Is he still essentially preaching to the converted?
He says: “We went to Leamington Spa on a Monday afternoon which is literally Middle England.
“And we had 100 or so Labour members turn up but then we had hundreds and hundreds of other people too.
"And they came along, not to heckle and shout, but to listen because they hadn’t heard this before.”
(Image: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror)
He’s clearly most proud of his ability to engage with ordinary people in their masses wherever he goes.
Quite the opposite to guarded and up-tight Mrs May.
Mr Corbyn says he was “brought up to be polite” so couldn’t possibly get personal about her campaign. Although he describes it as not “strong” and “stable” but simply “cut off.”
He says is best described as “hopeful and inclusive,” adding: “I’m much happier being with the people rather than presenting myself at a distance,” he says in clear reference to Mrs May.
“My team get very, very angry with me every single day because we always get behind schedule because I’m always talking to people.
(Image: Henry Nicholls / SWNS.com)
“If you are in public life you have got to give time to the people who put you there.
"If you get too far away from them you are not very effective. You shouldn’t cut yourself off,” he says.
The election campaign will remain etched on public memory because of what Mr Corbyn calls the “abominable” attacks in Manchester and London.
Fall out from these led to questions about Mrs May’s time at the Home Office and also Mr Corbyn’s opposition to Trident nuclear weapons and his voting record on anti-terror legislation.
The charge has been put time and again that he is soft on security. Is it true?
“I think it’s unfair and some of it is completely wrong,” he says.
(Image: Getty)
“Yes, I have had many criticisms of anti-terror legislation, not because I support terrorism but because I think police, security and everybody else must be legally accountable.”
He pledges Britain will be safe in his hands.
“The first priority of a Government is to keep its people safe and that means being serious about the threats and risks,” he says.
“The Tories cutting 20,000 police officers in the last six years has made the situation worse and more dangerous.
"We will invest in police and the security services.”
But he absolutely dismisses Tory suggestions that more police along with other public spending will be reliant on the services of a “magic money tree.”
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“It’s all very realistic,” he says. “You would be amazed at the number of things John McDonnell refused to allow in the manifesto as he said we cannot afford it.
"You’d be surprised how strong John can be with a red pen.
“I saw a side of John I have never seen” he says perhaps only half-jokingly.”
In less than 48 hours the future will be clear. Mr Corbyn says he expects to spend Friday morning planning the structure of a Queen’s Speech which could transform Britain into a fairer country than it has been in years.
“I want a Government that is serious about tackling injustice and inequality,” he says. “It can be done.” |
Summary:
This article is presented in reverse order, newest on top, oldest on the bottom. I’ve briefly summarized the goal and procedure, but you can read from the bottom up to get the background.
Briefly, the goal of the exercise was to compare the quality of Ogg Theora with H.264 using two test files — one SD, the other HD – that I’ve used over the years to compare codecs. I encoded to my standard parameters, which are:
SD – 640×[email protected] fps@ 500 kbps, 468 kbps video/32kbps audio, maximum quality parameters. For H.264, this meant High Profile, CABAC enabled, B-frame interval 3, all quality options enabled.
HD – 1280×[email protected] fps@ 928 kbps, 800 kbps video/128kbps audio, again maximum quality. The lowest data rate that I could achieve for Ogg was 928 kbps for video, so I used that file.
I used Sorenson Squeeze to produce the H.264 files. I used Xiph QuickTime Components to produce the first set of Ogg Files, presented on the bottom of this page. Then, after learning that there was an update to the codec, I used ffmpeg2theora on the Mac to reproduce the results. Specifically, I used verson 0.26, dated 2/5/2010, downloaded from here. My command string for the SD file was (ffmpeg2theora SD.mov –videobitrate 500 –optimize –keyint 300 –audiobitrate 32 –channels 1), for the HD file it was (ffmpeg2theora HD.mov –videobitrate 900 –optimize –keyint 300 –audiobitrate 128 –channels 2). For a general overview of how I encoded with Squeeze, check out this tutorial here.
I called this article Round 1 because I knew from the start that it would involve multiple tries to get things right. I appreciate all the feedback that I got during this process and enjoyed the dialog. Here’s where we are.
I’ve created a comparison file using the 1.1 Thusnelda release and using the command line argument supplied by Gregory Maxwell.
ffmpeg2theora -V 500 -k 300 -d 99999 (the only additions provided to the commandline above is -d 99999 to remove the buffering constraint).
I encoded the file and then compared it to a file that Greg had encoded using the encoded H.264 file as the starting point. When I noticed that his quality was better than mine, I loaded both files into MediaInfo and found that he was using a later code version. This also was clear when I read KeyJ’s review and the associated comments. So, rather than test beta code ad infinitum, I decided to stop here.
I’ve pulled some images from the three files; here’s the display order in each image. The Ogg file I created is always on the left, the H.264 file in the middle, the file Greg created from the H.264 file on the right. You’ll see that the upcoming release has lots of promise and I look forward to seeing it. The images are in PNG format (as suggested) and you can see them at 100% by clicking them.
Some other notes:
You can draw your own conclusions regarding quality. Clearly, Thusnelda 1.1 retains less quality than H.264, but the new version shows lots of promise, even encoding from H.264 source.
I’m aware that the audio on the test files is sub-standard. I am drawing no conclusions about audio quality, but it’s necessary to ensure that sound synch is maintained through to the end.
I’m aware that there are other techniques for producing the Ogg file. Greg is highly respected and works for Xiph, so I decided to go with his recommendation.
I didn’t include the HD file because of time constraints.
I know it’s unfair to compare a file encoded from H.264 encoded video to a file encoded from the original source. I’m sure I could have gotten the code base that Greg used, and encoded using the original source file, but I wanted to wait until Ptalarbvorm is released. I included Greg’s file only because it showed improvement over the Thusnelda 1.1 file encoded from the original source material.
You can also play the files themself via the links below.
Here are the video files (Chrome, Firefox and Opera only, for Ogg, Safari and Chrome for H.264)
SD – H.264
Greg’s File
Thusnelda 1.1 – Greg’s recommended encoding parameters
Older material:
The tests presented below are in two parts. The tests on top are with the latest Thusnelda 1.1 build; below with the previous codec. Thanks to Andraz for pointing out the codec update.
Overview:
The goal of the exercise was to compare the quality of Ogg Theora with H.264 using two test files — one SD, the other HD – that I’ve used over the years to compare codecs. I encoded to my standard parameters, which are:
SD – 640×[email protected] fps@ 500 kbps, 468 kbps video/32kbps audio, maximum quality parameters. For H.264, this meant High Profile, CABAC enabled, B-frame interval 3, all quality options enabled.
HD – 1280×[email protected] fps@ 928 kbps, 800 kbps video/128kbps audio, again maximum quality. The lowest data rate that I could achieve for Ogg was 928 kbps for video, so I used that file.
I used Sorenson Squeeze to produce the H.264 files. I used Xiph QuickTime Components to produce the first set of Ogg Files, presented on the bottom of this page. Then, after learning that there was an update to the codec, I used ffmpeg2theora on the Mac to reproduce the results. Specifically, I used verson 0.26, dated 2/5/2010, downloaded from here. My command string for the SD file was (ffmpeg2theora SD.mov –videobitrate 500 –optimize –keyint 300 –audiobitrate 32 –channels 1), for the HD file it was (ffmpeg2theora HD.mov –videobitrate 900 –optimize –keyint 300 –audiobitrate 128 –channels 2). For a general overview of how I encoded with Squeeze, check out this tutorial here.
I know that mpeg2theora comes with multiple post processing filters that I didn’t try because that can turn hours of testing into weeks. If anyone has any good input on which switches produce the best results I’ll be glad to give them a try. Just let me know in the comments below.
Here are the files as they sit on my server to verify the file sizes and bitrates. I try to get the file sizes within about 5-10%.
The files aren’t protected in any way, so after viewing them, you should be able to save them to your own systems.
The Files – Thusnelda 1.1:
Click the links below to view the encoded test files, which will open in a separate browser window, facilitating a side by side comparison. The OGG clips are playing in Firefox but not Chrome; if someone can look at the HTML and figure out why, please let me know. Both Safari and Chrome play the HTML files, but not Firefox which doesn’t support H.264 within HTML5. IE won’t play any of these.
This is the second set of Ogg test files; the initial files are below:
SD – H.264
SD – Ogg – Thusnelda 1.1
SD – Ogg 1mbps – Thusnelda 1.1
HD – H.264
HD – Ogg – Updated
I’ll let the videos and still images speak for themselves. Note that I did use two different encoding tools, the Xiph QuickTime encoder for the encodes below, and ffmpeg2theora for the most recent encodes. As before, click each image to view it in full screen.
Still Image Comparisons
Original Ogg Comparisons
These comparisons used the pre-Thusnelda 1.1 codec are are superceded by the findings above.
SD – H.264
SD – Ogg
SD – Ogg 1mbps
HD – H.264
HD – Ogg
I understand that there’s code that would play the videos in more browsers (and fall back to Flash for the H.264 files). I’ll do better next time.
Still Image Samples
Here are some sample images grabbed from the clips, beginning with SD comparisons. I’ll start with a low motion scene, then move to higher motion. In all instances, click the photo to view the original in a separate window. In the SD comparisons, I created three files, two at 468 kbps as described above, the other OGG file at 1 mbps, more than double the data rate of the H.264 file. In the first low motion sequence, all the images look pretty good, and Ogg is competitive even at 468 kbps.
In the second clip, there’s a lot more motion, but the background has little detail. We see that Ogg suffers at the comparable data rate, but that the 1 mbps clip is about the same in quality as the H.264 clip. The H.264 clip has much better color fidelity and clarity, but that could probably be corrected by boosting contrast and saturation before encoding to Ogg format.
The third clip contains both high motion and high detail, a skateboarder coming to rest after a great run, framed against a chain link fence. Here we see that the H.264 clip retains superior detail to even the 1 mbps Ogg clip.
Let’s move to the HD samples. Starting with a low motion sample, you can see that the difference between the two technologies is very minor.
Here’s a higher motion clip, a closeup of a very talented piano player. Fast moving fingers, a noticeable difference in quality.
Here’s a higher motion clip. In this clip, the ballerina (Coppelia, actually) is walking across the stage, so the image pan is pretty significant. Lots of motion, some detail, very noticable difference in quality.
Here’s Beth the ballerina, coming down from a jump. High motion, neither clip looks particularly great, but H.264 is clearly superior.
That’s it for the samples, see the next page for some closing thoughts and considerations. |
Washington (CNN) When reality boxes in President Donald Trump, he simply chooses his own alternative, convenient truth .
The President reached for this politically pliable tactic yet again Tuesday while effectively endorsing Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore despite allegations the outspoken judge pursued teenagers, including a girl as young as 14.
Trump noted that Moore, who has been disowned by the leadership of his own Republican Party, disputed all the allegations against him.
"He totally denies it," Trump told reporters before leaving for his Thanksgiving break in Florida, putting himself at odds with almost all of the senior leaders of his party by siding with Moore.
"He says it didn't happen. You have to listen to him also," Trump said.
A GOP source close to the White House told CNN's Jim Acosta that Trump had doubted the accusers alleging misconduct against Moore. The source said Trump sees what's happening to Moore as similar to the accusations of sexual abuse leveled against Trump himself during the 2016 campaign.
Once Trump raised Moore's denials of claims by several women that he sought relationships with them as teens decades ago, he created space for himself to maneuver out of a tough spot and create political advantage.
The President knows that Moore would be a potentially solid vote for Trump-style populism in the Senate, and a thorn in the side of his own establishment foes, as crucial moments loom for the White House agenda.
"We don't need a liberal person in there, a Democrat," Trump said of Moore's opponent in the December 12 election, Doug Jones.
"I've looked at his record. It's terrible on crime. It's terrible on the border. It's terrible on the military ... we do not need somebody that's going to be bad on crime, bad on borders, bad with the military, bad for the Second Amendment," he said.
By reshaping the controversy hammering Moore, Trump also gets to side with his supporters behind a candidate who claims he is the target of unfair vendettas by the media and political establishment and who is backed by his former political guru, Steve Bannon.
And he can showcase his own willingness to avoid the politically correct course, a tendency that has been an important driver of his success.
Jaw-dropping moments
JUST WATCHED Trump gives tacit approval to Roy Moore in Senate race Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump gives tacit approval to Roy Moore in Senate race 03:04
Trump's presidency has pulsated with jaw-dropping moments. But the spectacle of the President of the United States effectively endorsing an ally accused of child molestation ranks among the most stunning.
But his decision to take Moore's denials at face value for his own convenience is far from the only occasion when he has taken solace in a preferred version of the truth to satisfy his political requirements.
While he cast doubt on the allegations against Moore, Trump has been willing to believe women who made accusations of assault against men who offer him a juicy political target, for instance former President Bill Clinton and Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Just this month, during his Asia tour, Trump turned a similar trick when he cited Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials of election hacking. As with the Moore drama, Trump had decided to believe adamant denials of wrongdoing -- even though most other political leaders believe they are false.
"Every time he sees me, he says, 'I didn't do that.' And I really believe that when he tells me that," Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Hanoi on November 11.
His comments caused a furor back in the United States, but allowed Trump to occupy a political safe space and advance his position that the Russian intelligence operation to boost his candidacy -- identified by US spy agencies -- was nothing but a hoax.
Trump later modified his stance, saying that he believes spy agency assessments about election hacking now his appointees are in charge. But his apparent intent, blurring the question of Russia's influence on the election, in an operation meant to help him win, had already been accomplished.
Trump's tendency to chose the most politically advantageous version of reality started as soon as he entered the White House.
He inflated the size of his inaugural crowds, he erroneously called the United States the most taxed nation in the world and claimed he would have won the popular vote in last year's election were it not for "millions" of illegal voters.
His effective endorsement of Moore on Tuesday may well offer a tangible political gain for the President if he wins in Alabama. And it certainly bolstered the firebrand judge's campaign, a factor his aides quickly recognized.
"I think what the President said is that Roy Moore's character, consistent denials, and now the refutation of these stories makes it very clear that the world should consider that these allegations are false," said senior campaign adviser Brett Doster.
Potential political costs
JUST WATCHED Chalian: Trump all but endorsed Roy Moore Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chalian: Trump all but endorsed Roy Moore 01:01
But retreating into his own version of political reality does bring clear political costs.
Most obviously, should Moore actually lose the Alabama race, Trump will have stuck his neck out for no reason.
His decision to embrace Moore also throws another wrench into his rocky relationship with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he believes Moore's accusers. It further distances him from the wider Republican establishment. Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, had said the Senate should expel Moore if he wins.
The saga could also inflict more significant damage to the GOP, and its standing among women voters in future elections -- a problem that was evident in turnout among college educated white women in a gubernatorial election in Virginia this month.
In a wider sense, Trump's defense of Moore also isolates him on the reactionary side of an watershed in social history -- as women who make allegations against powerful men are being believed more widely than they have been in the past -- even when their claims have not been proven in a court of law.
Still, Trump rarely seems to think in terms of history and how he will be viewed in years hence, improvising short-term political decisions in preference to longer-term political plays.
Some Trump critics also believe there is another motive for Trump's decision -- an understanding that he could hardly condemn Moore for denying allegations of sexual impropriety while maintaining his own vigorous attacks on women who accused him of sexual harassment during the 2016 election campaign.
"Trump is a sympathizer for men like Roy Moore because he has his own issues," said CNN legal commentator Areva Martin. "He is never going to come out and attack Roy Moore because there were 16 women who have accused him."
Trump has vigorously denied accusations of sexual harassment and branded all his accusers as "liars." |
Copyright by WNCN - All rights reserved Micheal Kristian Weiner
Copyright by WNCN - All rights reserved Micheal Kristian Weiner
By WNCN Staff - RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - A Raleigh arrested Friday is facing multiple charges after his involvement in an assault, robbery and property damage case involving a pregnant woman.
Micheal Kristian Weiner, 25, faces charges for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, assault by strangulation, and common law robbery.
According to Raleigh Police, officers responded to the 2900 block of Poole Road on Thursday in response to a vehicle hit-and-run crash and discovered that the crash was part of a multifaceted assault, robbery and property damage case.
Weiner is accused of strangling a pregnant female victim with whom he has a relationship and then stealing her purse. When victim got into a car driven by a friend, Weiner smashed in that vehicle's windshield and then used his vehicle to ram theirs from behind when the victim and her friend tried to flee the scene.
Neither the pregnant woman nor her friend was seriously injured.
Weiner is being held in the Wake County Detention Center without bond. |
Serious spoilers below, obvs.
All eyes have been on Kit Harrington as Game of Thrones fans continue to ask whether Jon Snow is actually dead or not. Despite on-set photos of our favorite emo member of the Night’s Watch sporting a sword and a new costume, SnowWatch2015™ hasn’t come to an end as what we may or may not be seeing is a flashback, dream sequence, or some other narrative device. Frustrating, right?
Well, new photos published by the amazing people over at Watchers on The Wall have us in the same space with a completely different and equally dead character, Shae. As you no doubt remember from the season four’s killer finale, Tyrion choked his erstwhile lady love to death for betraying him twice over. Whether you felt she deserved it or not, we can all agree it was pretty rough and a crucial part of Tyrion’s character development.
Now, photos have surfaced of Shae actor Sibel Kekilli in costume at the show’s Peñíscola, Spain set where all Meereen scenes are being filmed. She had already been spotted around the filming location, but there was still speculation that she might have just been there for a visit. Check it out.
Varys y Shae con David Benioff y Dan Weiss. Se confirma que Shae ha estado rodando. #juegodetronos #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/EQJNJEawOG — Todo Peñiscola (@todopeniscola) October 6, 2015
As you can see, Kekilli stands alongside Conleth Hill (Varys) shooting what could be, again, a flashback, a dream sequence, or some kind of vision Tyrion is having. She could also be playing Shae’s twin sister, a member of the Faceless Ones, or a robot—we just don’t know! Damn, this is frustrating.
And, so, ShaeWatch2015™ will continue until Game of Thrones season six debuts next year.
(via Watchers on The Wall) |
The Newcastle Knights and Joey Leilua have mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of season 2015.
Leilua has exercised a clause in his contract allowing him to terminate the final year of his contract being 2016.
“Joey is a quality player and we are disappointed to lose him for next season however we certainly wanted to work with him to reach an amicable outcome for both parties,” Director of Football Michael Hagan said.
The Club has been working through the process with Leilua and his management before finalising the matter this week.
“This is a personal decision for me and I want to thank the Knights for working through it with me,” Leilua said.
“Now that it is finalised, I want to focus on playing good football for the Knights and finishing off the season well.”
Read more at NewcastleKnights.com.au |
After a hard fought playoff victory you’d think a NHL team would want to blast some rock music or some up-tempo rap or techno music. Well, that isn’t the case with the 2014-15 Chicago Blackhawks.
You can faintly hear the song at the :44 mark of this video.
After a quick search here is the full song that the Blackhawks blast after getting a “W”.
TixBlitz - Instantly "mockery." - Instantly buy BLACKHAWKS TICKETS and save using promo code
It’s definitely upbeat but it’s more like a “chill” song. I guess the Blackhawks use it to unwind after a tough victory. Some of the Blackhawks don’t even realize it’s playing.
Asked Marian Hossa who chose “Old Thing Back” as the victory song. He had no idea the same song has been playing after wins. #NevermindThen — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 19,
Old man Hossa that’s pretty hilarious.
The title of the song “Old Thing Back” is appropriate for the Blackhawks who are trying to reclaim their seat on the NHL throne. The song has been played in the locker room all season long after victories.
The person who picked the song is unclear, but it is widely known that Kris Versteeg is the resident DJ for the Blackhawks. Versteeg usually puts together the music you hear while the Blackhawks come out for their pregame skate, so it wouldn’t be surprising if #23 is the one behind this song.
It is nice to have a “new” song to associate with the Blackhawks. Don’t get me wrong, I still love hearing “Chelsea Dagger” multiple times DURING home games, but having something new to listen to during this playoff run isn’t going to hurt. It seems like people seem to like the new victory song.
BlackHawks victory song totally pumps me up. — Stephen (@dynrehab) April 26, 2015
ON REPEAT! CRANK IT UP! Unless you are at work, lol (NSFW Lyrics) #Blackhawks Victory Song #OneGoal https://t.co/tQQbsPAmDm — Dan Vukobratovich (@TheChiTownKid) April 22, 2015
Blasting the Blackhawks’ victory song on the drive to work today for sure. https://t.co/eakJFDJiwm — Art Vandelay (@StacheESQ) April 22, 2015
https://t.co/VM1KGqpESd if this is the blackhawks victory song does the rest of the NHL have a chance? — Michael Schneider (@mcschneids1) April 16, 2015 |
About the Cheetah
The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal. With acceleration that would leave most automobiles in the dust, a cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in only three seconds. These big cats are quite nimble at high speed and can make quick and sudden turns in pursuit of prey.
Speed and Hunting
Before unleashing their speed, cheetahs use exceptionally keen eyesight to scan their grassland environment for signs of prey—especially antelope and hares. This big cat is a daylight hunter that benefits from stealthy movement and a distinctive spotted coat that allows it to blend easily into high, dry grasses.
When the moment is right a cheetah will sprint after its quarry and attempt to knock it down. Such chases cost the hunter a tremendous amount of energy and are usually over in less than a minute. If successful, the cheetah will often drag its kill to a shady hiding place to protect it from opportunistic animals that sometimes steal a kill before the cheetah can eat. Cheetahs need only drink once every three to four days.
Breeding and Population
Female cheetahs typically have a litter of three cubs and live with them for one and a half to two years. Young cubs spend their first year learning from their mother and practicing hunting techniques with playful games. Male cheetahs live alone or in small groups, often with their littermates. |
GETTY IMAGES
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally at Dubuque Jet Center on Nov. 3, 2012 in Dubuque, Iowa.
This Sunday is Mormon “Fast Sunday” – the first Sunday of each month when faithful members of the Mormon church abstain from food and drink, pray for special blessings for themselves or others, and donate what they would have spent on food to be used for Mormons in need. I imagine that most will be praying for the victims of superstorm Sandy. And as they did prior to the debates, many Mormons will be fasting for Romney. I’ll be joining a smaller group who are praying that hearts will soften toward our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.
I’m participating in this fast, and in this weekend’s “Circling the Wagons” conference (an opportunity for those in the Mormon community to discuss LGBTQ issues in a spirit of “condemnation for none and compassion for all”), because I know that God loves each one of us – because of our differences, not in spite of them. And I know what it feels like to love the person I love. My love for my spouse fills my soul and makes me want to do anything for him, if only to help him feel loved. These feelings give me a sliver of insight into what God’s love for me must be like. I can’t imagine what it would be like if someone told me that those feelings were wrong, sinful, or not from God simply because they were directed toward the “wrong” person.
I also know that hearts and minds can change, even in the Mormon church. The church I attend now would have felt far less comfortable years ago when historians were excommunicated for publicizing church history, blacks were banned from fully participating in the church, and feminists were considered dangerous. I’m heartened to see the drastic difference in the Mormon church’s influence over the same-sex marriage measures on the ballot this month in Maryland and other states compared to their involvement four years ago in California. I hope for similar progress in the future.
Because of these hopes, one of my prayers on Sunday will be that Romney doesn’t win the election. Although I respect his beliefs and recognize that they likely reflect those of most Mormons, his statements on LGBTQ rights do not reflect my values, my faith, or the principles I hold dear as a Mormon woman. I hope that the rest of the country recognizes that there are Mormons who hope for everyone to be able to worship God, partner with whom they love, and be accepted in their faith community regardless of sexual orientation.
View Photo Gallery: The Republican presidential candidate made a final push in the two states.
Catherine Jeppsen, a college sociology instructor, lives in Provo, Utah, with her family. |
(CNN) -- Ross Perot is jumping back into the political fray, this time with a stern warning that the country better start paying attention to the national debt.
Former presidential candidate Ross Perot says the growing budget deficit must be addressed immediately.
The former presidential candidate has reemerged with a Web site spotlighting the soaring budget deficit: more than $9.3 trillion and growing.
"We live in the greatest country in the history of man. We've been so successful for so long that we now take our success for granted," Perot says in a video posted on PerotCharts.com.
"Not since the Great Depression have we seen an economic crisis of the magnitude that we are facing today," he says.
He says the purpose of the site, which is not affiliated with any political party, is "to provide accurate information to every citizen about the serious economic problems facing our country."
True to his style, he uses charts to detail the rise in government spending, the federal budget and the growing national debt, among other things. Watch Ross Perot's warning for the country »
Perot challenged then-President George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton with his deficit charts during his presidential run in 1992 and won almost 20 percent of the vote.
Perot's not running for president this time around, but political analysts say his push to make the deficit a priority might not go over well with John McCain and Barack Obama.
"It gives Obama an opportunity to talk about economic issues, and he is more comfortable than McCain on those themes, but it may force him to talk about those issues in an uncomfortable way -- taxes and spending that he'd rather not discuss," said Stu Rothenberg, a political analyst.
The national debt has continued growing, presenting a threat to baby boomers hitting retirement with needs for Medicare and Social Security.
"We are leaving our children and grandchildren with a burden they cannot possibly manage," Perot says on the site.
"Over time, our standard of living, our national security, our standing in the world and the value of our currency could all be threatened. The sooner we confront these issues, the better," the site says.
David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general and nation's top accountant, consulted with Perot on the need to cut spending in Washington.
"Washington has to learn the first rule of holes. When you're in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging. It hasn't learned that yet," he said.
The challenge for Perot is to get voters interested in a problem facing future generations with sky-high foreclosure rates and gas prices affecting this generation.
On the site, Perot urges visitors to contact their representatives and senators so that they will take action.
Perot, a Texas billionaire, was known for using catchy phrases and simplified fiscal charts during his campaigns in 1992 and 1996. Bill Clinton won both terms.
All About Ross Perot • Federal Budget |
A research and development effort by the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wyoming, and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. has succeeded in producing transgenic silkworms capable of spinning artificial spider silks.
“This research represents a significant breakthrough in the development of superior silk fibers for both medical and non-medical applications,” said Malcolm J. Fraser Jr., a Notre Dame professor of biological sciences. “The generation of silk fibers having the properties of spider silks has been one of the important goals in materials science.”
Natural spider silks have a number of unusual physical properties, including significantly higher tensile strength and elasticity than naturally spun silkworm fibers. The artificial spider silks produced in these transgenic silkworms have similar properties of strength and flexibility to native spider silk.
Silk fibers have many current and possible future biomedical applications, such as use as fine suture materials, improved wound healing bandages, or natural scaffolds for tendon and ligament repair or replacement. Spider silk-like fibers may also have applications beyond biomedical uses, such as in bulletproof vests, strong and lightweight structural fabrics, a new generation athletic clothing and improved automobile airbags.
Until this breakthrough, only very small quantities of artificial spider silk had ever been produced in laboratories, but there was no commercially viable way to produce and spin these artificial silk proteins. Kraig Biocraft believed these limitations could be overcome by using recombinant DNA to develop a bio-technological approach for the production of silk fibers with a much broader range of physical properties or with pre-determined properties, optimized for specific biomedical or other applications.
The firm entered into a research agreement with Fraser, who discovered and patented a powerful and unique genetic engineering tool called “piggyBac”. PiggyBac is a piece of DNA known as a transposon that can insert itself into the genetic machinery of a cell.
“Several years ago, we discovered that the piggyBac transposon could be useful for genetic engineering of the silkworm, and the possibilities for using this commercial protein production platform began to become apparent.”
Fraser, with the assistance of University of Wyoming researcher Randy Lewis, a biochemist who is one of the world’s foremost authorities on spider silk, and Don Jarvis, a noted molecular geneticist who specializes in insect protein production, genetically engineered silkworms in which they incorporated specific DNAs taken from spiders. When these transgenic silkworms spin their cocoons, the silk produced is not ordinary silkworm silk, but, rather, a combination of silkworm silk and spider silk. The genetically engineered silk protein produced by the transgenic silkworms has markedly improved elasticity and strength approaching that of native spider silk.
“We’ve also made strides in improving the process of genetic engineering of these animals so that the development of additional transgenics is facilitated,” Fraser said. “This will allow us to more rapidly assess the effectiveness of our gene manipulations in continued development of specialized silk fibers.”
Since silkworms are already a commercially viable silk production platform, these genetically engineered silkworms effectively solve the problem of large scale production of engineered protein fibers in an economically practical way.
“Using this entirely unique approach, we have confirmed that transgenic silkworms can be a potentially viable commercial platform for production of genetically engineered silk proteins having customizable properties of strength and elasticity,” Fraser said. “We may even be able to genetically engineer fibers that exceed the remarkable properties of native spider silk.”
The genetic engineering breakthrough was announced today (Sept. 29) by Fraser, Lewis and Kraig Biocraft CEO Kim Thompson at a press conference on the Notre Dame campus.
Contact: Malcolm J. Fraser Jr., 574-631-6209, [email protected] |
Scharlette Holdman, whose pioneering work with defense lawyers contributed to the decline of the death penalty nationwide, and whose clients included Ted Kaczynski, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, died Wednesday. She was 70.
In the tight-knit world of defense lawyers who focus on the death penalty, Holdman was a revered figure, a non-lawyer responsible for the development of mitigating evidence, aimed at convincing jurors to spare the lives of men and women whose crimes, at first blush, only elicited disgust. It is now common practice for capital defense lawyers to hire “mitigation specialists,” and in recent years such evidence has often convinced district attorneys not to seek the death penalty in the first place.
“Her enthusiasm and strength of personality inspired hundreds of young people to join the struggle against the death penalty,” said Judy Clarke, the criminal defense attorney, who worked with Holdman on several high-profile cases.
Holdman grew up in Memphis, Tenn., the daughter of a landlord who described collecting rent and evicting his poor black tenants as “going niggering,” according to the journalist David Von Drehle, who profiled Holdman in his book Among the Lowest of the Dead. She rebelled, studying anthropology and working among civil rights activists before running chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in the 1970s. During those years, the Supreme Court struck down the country’s death penalty laws and state legislatures raced to rewrite them. When the court restored capital punishment in 1976, it declared that those who sentence people to death must be able to consider “compassionate or mitigating factors stemming from the diverse frailties of humankind.”
As the number of death row prisoners grew, Holdman ran the Florida Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice, where she tried to find lawyers for the men as their execution dates approached.
“She was like a medic performing triage at a train wreck,” Von Drehle wrote. “The first job was to determine who was closest to dying.” She was famous for her skill in cajoling lawyers over the phone into taking on appeals. She worked round the clock for $600 per month while raising two kids, surviving on KFC fried chicken, coffee, cigarettes, and jug wine, all the while gaining a nickname in the press: “Mistress of Delay.”
In such grim circumstances, a macabre sense of humor flourished. On the anniversary of an execution, she sent Florida attorney general Jim Smith a “deathday cake” with black candles.
Life Inside Essays by people in prison and others who have experience with the criminal justice system
In another case, while trying to show a court that a mentally ill man was not “competent” to be executed, she encountered a state-hired psychiatrist who said the man had beaten her at tic-tac-toe, thus proving his mental acuity. Holdman remembered that as a child she’d seen a chicken at a fair that could play tic-tac-toe, and she tried to get such a chicken admitted as a witness. The judge “felt that bringing the chicken into the courtroom to play tic-tac-toe would degrade the dignity of the court,” Holdman later told This American Life. “I thought that the dignity of the court was degraded by executing a mentally retarded, mentally ill person.”
Holdman later worked in California and Louisiana, and shifted from appeals to investigations before trial. Her training in anthropology allowed her to develop a deep understanding of her clients and their backgrounds. “What she saw is that killers are not just born,” said lawyer George Kendall, who represents death row inmates. “They have had unbelievably abused and neglectful lives, and that history is relevant. You become your client’s biographer, you speak to the 60 most important people in that person’s life — friend and foe.”
Many clients had suffered sexual abuse and other traumas, and trust was key. “How do you get people to talk about the worst family secrets? None of that comes easily,” said James Lohman, a lawyer who worked with her in Florida. “She figured it out, and then trained people how to do it.” Many of the mitigation specialists who followed in her footsteps are journalists and social workers. “It’s the antithesis of being a lawyer; it’s all about human feeling and connection.”
In recent years, Holdman worked with the lawyer Judy Clarke on the cases of Jared Loughner, who pled guilty to the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson in which U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was injured, and Eric Rudolph, responsible for the 1996 bombing at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She was famous for her devotion to her clients, and they often grew attached to her; after Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, was sentenced to life in prison for a series of bombings, he asked that Holdman be given his Montana cabin. (According to The New Yorker, the government did not let her keep it.)
Her final client was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is accused of planning the 9/11 attacks. She studied Islam while preparing for his military trial. She received a Muslim burial Thursday, according to a colleague. |
A downloadable version of this press release may be downloaded here: M31.GDC.14.PR.4
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHEN: Friday, March 31st, 5:30 PM
WHERE: Coffman Union Plaza, UMN Campus (on Green Line)
WHAT: Anti-Fascist Rally and Educational Events, family friendly
CONTACT: Twin Cities General Defense Committee, Local 14 (Attn: Erik)
EMAIL: [email protected]
Excitement for Friday’s Anti-Fascist Rally on UMN Campus
Those who resist fascism and hatred cannot do so in isolation; Solidarity is our weapon.
Interest and excitement for the public anti-fascist rally and educational event this Friday afternoon (5:30-7:30) on the University of Minnesota’s campus has built. The Twin Cities General Defense Committee (G.D.C.) of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) has organized this rally and event to demonstrate solidarity with anti-fascists worldwide, and to help those who fight against various oppressions meet each other and learn to have each other’s backs with real solidarity.
Beginning at 5:30, a program of speakers, teach-ins, and activities will begin. All who wish to live in a world without fascism and hatred, of whatever age, are welcome to join us. We will talk about what fascism is and is not, its strategies for power, and the strategies and tactics anti-fascists have evolved to fight them back.
Minnesotans like to imagine that we are a progressive people. But the KKK had one of its largest nationwide memberships in this state from 1919-1925, and they lasted here longer than anywhere else in the Midwest. The KKK was registered with the state of Minnesota until formally dissolved by the Secretary of State in 1997 for not paying fees. In the early Twentieth Century, Minneapolis was known as the most antisemitic city in the country, and the openly fascist ‘Silver Shirts‘ recruited and paraded in the city, with the support of political and business leaders.
Twin Cities law enforcement sent officers to Standing Rock early on, helping physical attacks by mercenaries, dogs, and military weaponry on people standing on their own land, in an extension of 525 years of genocide and settler-colonialism. The outrages, assaults, and murders in Minnesota by police, the uptick in assaults on Jews, immigrants, Muslims, and transgender people, and massive economic, educational, and health race-based disparities, all demonstrate that this hateful vision of Minnesota remains plausible.
Against that history of Minnesota, on Friday we gather in the tradition of those who have always been here to fight back against hate and fascism. Whether we are indigenous peoples of the region or newly-arrived immigrants, we gather to create ourselves as a community that opposes hatred and defends our community’s members. We will celebrate our diversity, demonstrate our willingness to improve our ability to defend each other, and share the skills needed to do so.
We gather to resist fascism, support resistance to settler-colonialism and genocide, misogyny, racism, and the hatred of immigrants or people based on their religion. We will do more than let the hateful know that we oppose them; we will educate and teach each other in various ways we can actually, directly oppose them to prevent their rule-by-terror from rising further.
ALL OUT AGAINST FASCISM AND FOR SOLIDARITY. SEE YOU FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
Endorsed by: Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar, Marcus Golden Matters, Blue Lies Matter, Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Twin Cities Jewish Voice for Peace, UMN Students for a Democratic Society, UMN Students for Justice in Palestine
### |
Florida Gulf Coast Mystery: Why Did The Birds On Seahorse Key Vanish?
It used to be Seahorse Key was the largest bird colony on Florida's Gulf Coast, home to up to 20,000 nests. Now silence has replaced the din of noisy nesting birds and researchers are puzzled.
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Let's try to solve a mystery along the Gulf Coast of Florida. We're going to Seahorse Key, an island off the coast, a hundred or so miles north of Tampa. It was known for decades as a breeding area for birds. Tens of thousands lived there - until they all disappeared. Here's Amy Green from member station WMFE.
AMY GREEN, BYLINE: Seahorse Key is accessible only by boat. It's a snake-and-mosquito-infested thicket of mangrove, palmetto and oak trees. And it used to remind Larry Woodward of Christmas.
LARRY WOODWARD: When they were nesting here, these mangroves along the edge just looked like Christmas trees, just full of birds all hanging on the edge. And of course a lot of the nests would be on the edge as well, primarily the pelicans but the egrets as well.
GREEN: Woodward works at the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, which includes Seahorse Key. We're motoring near Gardner's Point, the part of Seahorse Key where most of the birds nested.
It doesn't look like Christmas now.
WOODWARD: (Laughter) It's very green. The vegetation's here but minus the birds. So hopefully next year, it'll be Christmas.
GREEN: Here, the island would have been teaming with chattering birds raising young that would've only begun learning to fly. We bring the boat ashore and hike a few steps into a clearing, watching for snakes.
I'm going to follow you 'cause the trail's not very apparent.
We're greeted by silence.
KENNY MCCAIN: It happened within a three-day period that I know. They were there on the 19. They were gone on the 21.
GREEN: Kenny McCain is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and now serves as a steward of the island. He discovered the bird's disappearance in April.
MCCAIN: It just gave you that eerie feeling of - what? - like something has come in and just sucked everything off the island because it was quiet.
GREEN: Birds had left behind thousands of nests filled with a generation of eggs. Researchers began looking for clues. They tested a few bird carcasses found on the island, ruling out disease. They discovered no evidence of predators or human influence. A storm had moved through at the time of the disappearance, but storms here are frequent. Some species are nomadic, like ibis, but researchers don't know why all the birds abandoned Seahorse Key. Maria Sgambati is part of the University of Florida's Seahorse Key Marine Laboratory, which is based on the island.
MARIA SGAMBATI: It would be an unusual thing for birds to abandon nests where they had laid eggs. So I think we clearly think there was some sort of disturbance. I mean, that's a pretty high-energy event for - to build a nest for a bird, to lay eggs. So that, I mean, it consumes a lot of their energy.
GREEN: Researchers also don't know where the birds went. They searched the region by air but only can account for a small fraction of the birds. Some of them renested on nearby Snake Key. Here the mangroves and palmettos are like Christmas trees, adorned with pelicans, cormorants and frigatebirds raising their young.
So how does this compare to what would have been going on on Seahorse Key this time last year?
WOODWARD: This would be real similar but in a larger scale.
GREEN: Researchers want to know what happened to the birds on Seahorse Key because they don't want it to happen elsewhere. What worries Woodward is that birds tend to nest in the same place each year, and so if they don't return to Seahorse Key, a significant rookery could be lost.
WOODWARD: For all those birds to just up and leave is pretty shocking. So it's - that's why we're here, to protect these birds. And, luckily, we have them on Snake Key. We just really hope they come back next year. And we're going to be crossing our fingers and looking at the horizon come February, and hopefully, they show up.
GREEN: The first to arrive would be ibis and egrets. For NPR News, I'm Amy Green.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. |
The Congress on Friday described as "anti-consumer" a high-level government panel's suggestion that people should not be allowed to make free domestic calls through messaging applications like WhatsApp and Skype using voice over Internet protocol ( VoIP ) services.
Talking to the media in New Delhi, Congress leader Salman Khurshid said net neutrality was a matter related to "real democracy" and should be supported.
(Also see: DoT's Net Neutrality Report: 9 Points That Warrant a Closer Look)
He said party vice-president Rahul Gandhi took a lead in the matter and raised the issue in parliament.
Khurshid said the condition that people be allowed to access instant messenger services such as WhatsApp without interference of service providers "has not been met".
He added that the recommendations do not reflect thinking of young people "who are trying to break monopolies".
(Also see: Industry Bodies React to DoT Panel's Recommendation to Regulate VoIP Calls)
Khurshid said a distinction was sought to be made between domestic calling and international calling options.
"It is bowing to a particular lobby. The manner in which they (the government) want it to be regulated (is) not healthy, not welcome for democracy," he said.
The panel headed by technocrat A.K. Bhargava, that was asked to look at the whole gamut of net neutrality, has suggested that free regime for domestic calls made through internet messenger services such as WhatsApp, Viber and Skype be benchmarked against regular telecom service providers for tariff and regulation.
(Also see: 5 Points You Need to Know about DoT's Net Neutrality Report)
It has said other communication services offered by them dealing with messaging should not be interfered with through regulation. |
Notice Guest Book View Sign
EMMA JASON ANTHONY EMMA Our son and brother, Jason, age 28, was born on March 2, 1984. He lost his life on December 24, 2012, after being fatally shot in a robbery on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. He was a child of kindness, truth, respect, and love; he carried these valuable traits throughout his life. As he grew into adolescence, he became full of spirit and adventure, never afraid to explore the unknown. Jason attended Jamestown Elementary School and Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington, Virginia. He also attended The McLean School in Potomac, Maryland, which was an important step in Jason's life. He made many long lasting relationships there, including you, Pat Miller, whom he loved like a brother. After graduation from McLean, Jason attended high school at Bishop Dennis J. O'Connell in Arlington. He easily combined his McLean and O'Connell friends whom he often referred to as family. Going on to Florida Atlantic University, he further expanded his circle of friends and adventures. He spent the better part of 10 years living in Florida and became Director of Finance of Simplified Nutrition Online. This coming semester, Jason was looking forward to wrapping up his accounting degree and passing the CPA exam, which he knew would lead to many new and exciting opportunities. Jason was preceded in death by grandparents Lee L. (Max) Tharp and Irene C. Tharp, Chanute, Kansas, and Jasper A. (Jepp) Emma, Verona, New Jersey. They loved Jason more than life itself. Jason is survived by his mother, Dee A. Emma, his father Dr. Robert J. Emma and his younger brother, Max Emma, all of Arlington, Virginia. He is also survived by his nana, Marie Emma, Verona, New Jersey and many aunts, uncles, cousins and a large extended family. A wake will be held this Friday 6 to 8 p.m. at Murphy's Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington. A celebration of Jason's life will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 29 at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 2609 North Glebe Road, Arlington. Jason- You have left us with many wonderful memories, and we hold you in our hearts forever. Love, Mom, Dad and Max. A special thanks to you, Billy and Teddy Greener. Your friendship made Jason's last days the happiest they could have been.
Published in The Washington Post on Dec. 27, 2012 Print | View Guest Book | Arrangements under the direction of:
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DETROIT -- Texas Rangers outfielder Daniel Robertson passed a concussion test after Alex Rios' knee hit Robertson's face as the two tried to catch a ball in shallow right-center field hit by Ian Kinsler in the third inning Thursday against the Tigers.
Robertson has some bruising and swelling and went to the hospital to undergo some tests. A CT scan showed a couple of nondisplaced facial bone fractures and he'll see an ENT in Detroit. General manager Jon Daniels said the club will make a roster move on Friday. The club confirmed that the object that flew out of Robertson's mouth when he was hit was gum, not teeth.
Robertson, who was back in the clubhouse after the game, said it was just a "hustle" play and that he and Rios couldn't hear with all the noise.
"It was just bad luck," Robertson said. "I heard my gum went pretty far."
Robertson had a single, was caught stealing and grounded out before leaving. He is 3-for-20 this season and was batting leadoff Thursday against left-handed starter Robbie Ray. Shin-Soo Choo moved to the 3-hole with Prince Fielder out with a herniated disk in his neck. |
In my search for the latest military maps in Ukraine I came across this LiveUAMap purportedly from February 10.
Compare the above map with the following map posted by Colonel Cassad today.
The map above, just shows the cauldron (surrounded forces not all surrounding separatist held territory). Mentally line up the intersection of M103 and M104 with the same intersection in the first map.
Cauldron Closed
Yesterday Jacob Dreizin pinged me with this comment ...
Hello Mish
Former rebel leader Strelkov's social media page is quoting the DNR Ministry of Defense and (separately) Strelkov himself as stating that the Debaltsevo-Artemovsk road has been cut off. In other words, the lid on the cauldron has finally shut.
This is generally a credible site, if you ignore the occasional crazy rumors being passed around and just focus on the overall direction of the fighting.
Other posts on this site suggest that Novorossia forces are now digging in along the road, to prevent reinforcements or supplies coming into the cauldron. They are also claiming deep LNR forays into Debaltsevo itself.
It's quite likely that Colonel Cassad will confirm in one of his longer posts later today. Cassad is renowned for detail and analysis, but not for breaking news.
Please note, the term "cauldron" now refers to the (now-shrunken) lower half of the Kiev-held salient as per the maps you've shown. There is still a gap at the "top" that the DNR/LNR were unable to close.
I must say, the degree of Ukrainian command and coordination incompetence is stunning. Kiev's forces were repeatedly taken by surprise by the direction and scope of DNR/LNR moves to shrink and cut off the salient. Reserves were also not brought to bear in time, if at all.
It's clear to me that the DNR/LNR's Russian advisors have again outwitted Kiev's U.S. advisors.
Jacob
The Debaltsevsky [Debaltsevo] group is split into two parts. 5,000 are trapped in the rear boiler [cauldron].
The main problem of the junta [Ukrainian forces] is the rapid exhaustion of resources including serious problems with fuel and ammunition for heavy weapons. Yesterday the Ukraine forces retreated 4 kilometers in the Chernukhin area. Further collapse of the boiler is inevitable.
A counteroffensive junta operation near Mariupol is more of a rather loud publicity stunt than a serious blow. The junta moved through neytralku [no man's land - contested zones] and a series of empty settlements, but in practice there were no serious attacks of the main line of defense. The reason for this attack is pending decisions of the Minsk summit. The junta is trying in the remaining time to seize control of any bit of territory they can get.
The second map above was posted by Colonel Cassad today (map dated yesterday), in his post Debaltsevsky Boiler In a Q&A portion following Cassad's article, Schneider Krieg (who also has his own "live" journal), pinged Cassad with his post on the " North Boiler ".Cassad responded with "In regards to Mariupol , Cassad says ...Translation of these articles is difficult. About a week or so ago I reported the cauldron had closed when Cassad was actually giving his opinion that it would close. The cauldron or "" as Cassad calls it, has indeed closed for certain as of yesterday.There are about 5,000 trapped in the rear cauldron of which 1,000 to 1,500 are support personnel.Meanwhile, Kiev denies any troops are trapped. Nothing coming from Kiev on the war is believable.Jacob Dreizin informs me there are 5,000 trapped in the lower cauldron of which 1,000 to 1,500 are support personnel. I originally stated 1,000 to 1,500 were trapped in the lower cauldron.Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com |
There are so many keyboards on the market these days that it takes something pretty special to grab our attention and BlindType has managed to do just that. A keyboard that is smart enough to know what you are attempting to type as long as you are in the vicinity of a key sounds too good to be true right? Not to the BT team.
When an early video of BlindType surfaced with the new keyboard at work on an i*hone, our jaws dropped and obviously had us wondering about the status of an Android version. Wonder no more as we already have it in action on a Nexus One. This will also give you a much better idea of the potential in a way that no words can describe…
How can you not be excited for this keyboard? Is this the Swype killer? To find out the latest info including release dates, BT is encouraging users to follow them on Twitter.
Feel free to read more at the BlindType Blog.
Cheers Stephan! |
Earlier this week, a leaked photograph of the HTC One mini 2 revealed that the Duo camera set-up on the HTC One (M8) , will not be coming to the mini version of the flagship phone . This was confirmed on Friday by a leaked press render passed along to us by one of our loyal readers. The second lens is used to allow the HTC One (M8) to change the focus on a picture that has already been processed. You can change the focus from the foreground to the background, or add artistic looking blur images to the background of a photograph.Unfortunately, it would seem that the features available with the Duo camera will not be available with the HTC One mini 2. In fact, not only has HTC decided not to allow this post-production editing for the bite-sized version of the phone, the handset will also not be equipped with a rear-facing UltraPixel camera. Instead, the Taiwan based company is going to offer a 13MP shooter on the back of the HTC One mini 2.The previous leaked picture alleged to be that of the HTC One mini 2, showed the phone inside a case . Today's leak looks to be a press render. The rumored specs include a 4.5 inch glass with resolution of 720 x 1280, a quad-core 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of native storage. Android 4.4 and Sense 6 should be pre-installed out of the box.While evleaks has revealed that the phone will be available from Verizon , we wouldn't be surprised to see other major U.S. carriers and international operators add the HTC One mini 2 to their line-ups.Thanks, Mohamed |
Tekin Salimi is the project manager at Polychain Capital, where he works closely with portfolio projects to add value across multiple verticals.
The following article is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2017 in Review.
One of the most fascinating outcomes of the 2017 gold rush into open-source protocol development is the growth of “community management” – a business function that combines elements of marketing, business development, investor relations and human resources.
Community managers are being hired en masse. Their job is to oversee all matters relating to a blockchain project’s community of supporters. This includes interacting with core developers, contributors, investors and even end users. The role of the community manager is vital to the success of a protocol; so vital that a ‘cottage industry’ has propped up overnight to offer community management as a service.
Pay anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars and a contractor will manage your project’s Slack and Telegram channels, Reddit posts and marketing strategies (which may include, for example, “air dropping” free tokens to potential contributors).
Even more interestingly, community management is somewhat disrupting traditional notions of how business organizations should operate.
Due largely to the proliferation of freely tradable cryptocurrencies and the use of new incentive games such as developer bounties, there is a growing adoption of, what could be described as, the “communal business model.”
What is the communal business model?
One distinct characteristic of this model is blurring the line between formal employment and informal contribution.
Through the use of bounties and payment via inflationary funding, anyone around the world may contribute labor to a blockchain project and be rewarded through a dilutive issuance in that project’s native currency. Rewards are most commonly offered for tasks such as coding, logo design, website design, white paper translation and more.
In theory, so long as the value realized in a token’s market price by virtue of the work exceeds the value diminished through dilution, any labor sourced and compensated through this model is a net benefit to all token holders.
The use of bounties also bootstraps the development process by mobilizing and incentivizing a much broader group of participants. From management’s perspective, bounties enable the company to meaningfully vet prospective hires through a “trial run” before committing to the offer of full employment.
Unsurprisingly, blockchain projects using these mechanisms today often consist of distributed teams of contributors from around the world, and – anecdotally – have low attrition rates.
Another characteristic of this model is that transparency often trumps confidentiality.
Try spending time in a project’s Slack channel and you may be surprised by the amount of seemingly proprietary information a core team will share. This is uniquely enabled for blockchain development projects due to the open-source nature of the code base in development.
Often, a protocol’s adoption relies more on network effects (i.e. strong community backing) than it does on proprietary information or functionality, so there is an inherent incentive to reduce the information asymmetry between a project’s core team and its support community.
Case Study: Interactive Coin Offerings The interactive coin offering protocol co-authored by Jason Teutsch (Truebit) and Vitalik Buterin (ethereum) is a great case study of the communal model in practice. Through a publicized announcement of the white paper, 73 developers joined Truebit’s Slack channel including representation from the Ethereum Foundation, Zeppelin, ConsenSys, Modular, Shapeshift, five acclaimed developers from the USCC coding challenge, and many more. The group quickly self-organized to build the first implementation of the smart contracts with various parties contributing to the protocol, code, testing, security audits and UI/UX design. The implementation can be found in Truebit’s Github repository.
DAOs as communal businesses
It is possible that open source development is merely the first use case of a communal business model.
In coming years, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) might utilize the transparency and censorship resistance properties of blockchain technology to pursue their business objectives in new ways. This would blend the traditional roles of managers, employees, shareholders, creditors and customers.
The use of on-chain voting could enable DAOs to implement a liquid democracy model to decentralize managerial decision-making. And similar to the case of protocol development, mechanisms like bounties, inflationary funding and tokenized/automated dividends can be used to incentivize and reward a DAO’s workers.
The notion of a DAO that is operated and governed entirely on-chain is the epitome of the communal business model. As entities of this nature gain adoption, the labour force of the future may look less like a “9-to-5 job economy” and more like a “gig economy” on steroids.
Opening the closed firm model?
Community management is sparking a paradigm shift. One that may, in time, influence even the most “closed” industries to re-evaluate their approaches.
I focus on the example of law firms, as it is the case I am most familiar with. Law firms are business entities that, historically, have had little to no economic incentive to coordinate or cooperate with one another. In fact the opposite is true. Law firms are motivated to safeguard and silo intellectual resources, as very minute and nuanced information is often what differentiates the value proposition of one firm from another.
Nevertheless, we live in a world in which most forms of intellectual labor (including legal work) are being increasingly commoditized.
So, it seems plausible that new “open” approaches may demonstrate the economic benefits to collaboration in certain contexts (such as a nascent regulatory industry like blockchain). The SAFT Project is a great example of a co-ordinated approach in such a context.
To be clear, I don’t expect the firm model to go away overnight – or likely ever. But blockchain technology presents an important opportunity to experiment with open models in traditionally closed arenas.
Many thanks to Robbie Bent (Truebit) for his feedback on earlier drafts of this piece.
Did this article spark your imagination? CoinDesk is looking for submissions to its 2017 in Review series. Email [email protected] to pitch your idea and make your views heard.
Paint in water via Shutterstock |
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Tuesday the administration endorsed legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. (The White House)
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Tuesday the administration endorsed legislation that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. (The White House)
The White House endorsed legislation Tuesday that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Obama administration had been reviewing the bill “for several weeks.”
“Upon that review it is now clear that the administration strongly supports the Equality Act,” he said. “That bill is historic legislation that would advance the cause of equality for millions of Americans.
“We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that the legislative process produces a result that balances both the bedrock principles of civil rights . . . with the religious liberty that we hold dear in this country,” Earnest added.
Although there is little chance that this Congress will approve the legislation — which was introduced in July by Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) and Cory Booker (N.J.), and Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) — President Obama’s support elevates the question of whether lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans need greater legal safeguards. Last week, Houston voters rejected an ordinance that would have barred discrimination against gay and transgender people after opponents said it would allow men disguised as women to enter women’s restrooms.
The White House’s endorsement of the Equality Act came on the same day that Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to be featured on the cover of an LGBT publication, after he was named Out magazine’s “Ally of the Year” for 2015.
[Obama’s mother and an Occidental professor shaped his views on gay rights]
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in June to legalize same-sex marriage, activists have been pressing for expanded protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity beyond employment discrimination, which had been the focus of past legislation. A bill that would have banned workplace discrimination passed the Senate with bipartisan support in 2013 but did not advance in the House.
With Republicans now in control of both chambers of Congress, there is little chance that the Equality Act, which has the support of 37 Democrats and two independents in the Senate and 170 Democrats in the House, will become law before Obama leaves office.
Still, the decision by the nation’s first African American president to back the measure is significant. Some leading civil rights groups — including the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — have been slow to endorse the legislation.
Although those groups support the idea of a broad LGBT anti-discrimination bill, they have been skeptical about reopening the landmark 1964 law for revisions.
Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in an interview that the civil rights community has “supported the concept of the Equality Act from its very inception.”
“It recognizes, however, there are questions that could benefit from further analysis,” he added. “Before it moves forward, there’s hope that those can be addressed.”
A majority of Americans, including Republicans, say in public surveys that they back civil rights safeguards based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Over the past six months, for example, the Public Religion Research Institute has found overall support at 68 percent or higher.
After Earnest’s announcement Tuesday, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement that “the White House sent a strong message that it’s time to put the politics of discrimination behind us once and for all.”
“The unfortunate reality is that, while LGBT Americans can legally get married, millions remain at risk of being fired or denied services for who they are or who they love because the majority of states still lack explicit, comprehensive non-discrimination protections,” Griffin added.
Conservatives argue that the Equality Act would infringe on those Americans who object to homosexuality and being transgender on religious grounds. In July, the conservative Witherspoon Institute published an essay by Andrew T. Walker saying that, if enacted, the bill would “further erode religious liberty, transform public opinion on sexuality, and harm the public perception of those who believe in traditional or biblical sexual morality.”
The White House announcement comes after media coverage of celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Cox, as well as a series of lawsuits, has increased the profile of transgender people. Jenner accepted a “Woman of the Year” award from Glamour magazine Monday night; Cox was one of the recipients last year.
On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Iowa and lawyers at the Des Moines firm Babich Goldman filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission against Drury Inn for discriminating against a black transgender woman in July.
Meagan Taylor and a friend, who also is black and transgender, checked into the hotel in West Des Moines on their way to a funeral and were interrogated by the staff there, according to the complaint. At some point between check-in and the next morning, the ACLU statement says, Drury Inn staff members called the police to report that they suspected Taylor and her friend were prostitutes because they were “men dressed like women,” and Taylor was arrested and held in solitary confinement.
Local police charged Taylor with possessing hormone pills without a copy of the prescription, but those charges were later dropped.
“This ordeal was humiliating, scary and traumatizing,” Taylor said in the complaint. “I realized I was not welcome in a public place simply because of who I am.” |
For this John Kipling's grandfather, see John Lockwood Kipling
John Kipling's grave.
John Kipling (17 August 1897 – 27 September 1915) was the only son of the British author Rudyard Kipling. He was killed in September 1915 at the Battle of Loos while serving with the British Army during the First World War, nearly six weeks after his eighteenth birthday.
He is a central character in the 1997 play My Boy Jack. He is portrayed by actor Daniel Radcliffe in the 2007 television film adaptation of the same name.
Biographical notes [ edit ]
Born in 1897, Kipling was the youngest of three children of the author Rudyard Kipling and his American wife Caroline Starr Balestier. He was born at "The Elms" at Rottingdean in Sussex, which was the Kiplings' home between 1897 and 1902. He was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire.
World War I [ edit ]
Kipling was 16 when the First World War broke out in August 1914. His father, a keen imperialist and patriot, was soon writing propaganda on behalf of the British government.[1] Rudyard sought to get his son a commission, but John was rejected by the Royal Navy due to severe short-sightedness. He was also initially rejected by the army for the same reason.[2]
However, Rudyard Kipling was friends with Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, a former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, and Colonel of the Irish Guards, and through this influence, John Kipling was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards on 15 August 1914, having just turned 17.[3] After reports of the Rape of Belgium and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Rudyard Kipling came to see the war as a crusade for civilisation against barbarism,[4] and was even more keen that his son should see active service.
After completing his training, John Kipling was sent to France in August along with the rest of the battalion, which was part of the 2nd Guards Brigade of the Guards Division.[5][6] His father was already there on a visit, serving as a war correspondent.[7]
Death [ edit ]
Kipling was reported injured and missing in action in September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. There remains no definite evidence relating to the cause of his death but credible reporting indicates he was last seen attacking a German position, possibly with a head injury. With fighting continuing, his body was not identified.
His parents searched vainly for him in field hospitals and interviewed comrades to try to identify what had happened. A notice was published in The Times on 7 October 1915 confirming the known facts that he was "wounded and missing".
The death of John inspired Rudyard Kipling to become involved with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and write a wartime history of the Irish Guards. The poem My Boy Jack also alludes to the wartime loss of a son, although its themes are rather nautical. He also wrote the short verse: "'My son died laughing at some jest, I would I knew / What it were, and it might serve me at a time when jests are few."
Grave [ edit ]
The grave of Kipling was reportedly identified in 1992, and he is officially listed as buried in St Mary's ADS Cemetery in Haisnes.[8] In 2002, research by military historians Tonie and Valmai Holt suggested that this grave was that of another officer, Arthur Jacob of the London Irish Rifles.[9][10] In January 2016, however, further research, by Graham Parker and Joanna Legg, demonstrated that the original identification of the grave was correct. A spokesman for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission stated that it "welcomed the latest research which supports the identification of the grave of John Kipling".[11]
My Boy Jack [ edit ]
The play My Boy Jack was written in 1997 by David Haig. In 2007, it was adapted into a film of the same name, with Daniel Radcliffe as John Kipling. |
Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge picked up a drunk opossum from local police. The critter snuck into a liquor store, got drunk and sobered up near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. (Photo credit: @EmeraldCoastWildlifeRefuge / Facebook)
FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An opossum that apparently drank bourbon after breaking into a Florida liquor store sobered up at a wildlife rescue center and was released unharmed.
Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge officials say the opossum was brought in by a Fort Walton Beach, Florida, police officer on Nov. 24. A liquor store employee found the animal next to a broken and empty bottle of bourbon.
"A worker there found the opossum up on a shelf next to a cracked open bottle of liquor with nothing in it," said Michelle Pettis, a technician at the refuge. "She definitely wasn't fully acting normal."
Pettis told the Panama City News Herald the female opossum appeared disoriented, was excessively salivating and was pale. The staff pumped the marsupial full of fluids and cared for her as she sobered up.
"We loaded her up with fluids to help flush out any alcohol toxins," Pettis said. "She was good a couple of days later."
Pettis says the opossum did not appear to have a hangover.
The store owner, Cash Moore, says he never had an opossum break in before.
"She came in from the outside and was up in the rafters, and when she came through she knocked a bottle of liquor off the shelf," Moore said. "When she got down on the floor she drank the whole damn bottle."
"But it just goes to show that even the animals are impressed with Cash's," he said.
The animal was released on Thursday. |
Profiles in Courage this ain’t. As Hillary Clinton points out when asked directly whether she would approve the Keystone Pipeline, the proposal for this project came to State in 2009, which meant that Hillary had almost four years to deal with the issues. Under her tenure as Secretary, the State Department concluded that there would only be a limited environmental impact from Keystone, later demanding (and getting) a route change to lessen even that risk.
So where does Hillary stand on this? After six years, she won’t tell you … unless you make her President:
Q: As President, would you sign a bill — yes or no, please — in favor of allowing the Keystone XL Pipeline? HC: Well, as you know, I was the Secretary of State who started that process. I was the one who put into place the investigation. I have now passed it off, as obvious because I’m no longer there, to Secretary Kerry. This is President Obama’s decision, and I am not going second-guess him, because I was in a position to set this in motion, and I do not think that would be the right thing to do. So I want to wait to see what he and Secretary Kerry decide. If it’s undecided when I become President, I will answer your question!
Really? That’s how this works? One runs for President and refuses to answer on key issues that are in one’s proclaimed area of expertise, and just expects voters to buy a “trust me”? Funny, I thought that people ran for office to put their own policies into place and to argue for their benefits, not to defer to the current officeholders on open issues.
The people in the crowd seem very unimpressed with this answer, which is understandable given its unimpressive character. It may explain a lot about why Hillary’s favorables are sinking faster than the Titanic.
Bruce will have more about Hillary’s energy policy in a later post. Stay tuned. |
BOSTON (AP) — Senators from eight states that have legalized the recreational or medicinal use of marijuana are asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to uphold the Department of Justice's existing enforcement policy toward states with voter-approved marijuana laws.
Read the letter by clicking here.
Massachusetts Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey were among those who signed the Thursday letter. Massachusetts voters backed the recreational use of pot last year.
Colorado's Michael Bennet also signed the letter.
The senators point to comments by White House spokesman Sean Spicer suggesting stepped-up enforcement of federal laws against recreational marijuana.
Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.
The Obama administration opted not intervene in state marijuana laws as long as states had systems to control the drug's cultivation and sale.
Senators from Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington, Colorado, New Jersey and Alaska also signed the letter.
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“Did you shoot a gun today mom?” my three-year-old daughter asked me on Saturday (May 10). The answer was “yes” but not just one gun. There were pistols, rifles, and shotguns on offer at the Ladies Day event I attended. It’s hosted annually by Abbotsford’s Ridgedale Rod & Gun Club.
Now in its fourth year, the event is growing in popularity, and within half-an-hour of the doors opening, and despite the pouring rain, the car park was full and the clubhouse buzzed with over 70 women. They warmed themselves up with cups of Maxwell House original roast, made sweet with sugar cubes and white with a can of evaporated milk, and mulled about in front of the “Does” and “Bucks” washrooms, waiting for the action to begin. By lunchtime, there were close to 130 ladies registered.
“I’m the big kahuna here,” said Henk Gauw, the president of the club, by way of introduction, and he looked it. An outdoor gentleman from tip to toe, Gauw was perfectly coordinated in forest browns and greens. He wore a wide-brimmed hat in mint condition and a camo-print fleece sweater, which I didn’t even know existed.
“All we ask is that you come with an open mind and no preconceived ideas about guns,” he said. Their flyer advertised live firearm, archery, and fishing practice.
“This one goes boom! And it kicks!” said Captain Dan Martin, in reference to the shotgun. We learned the awkward technique of jamming this huge and heavy gun into the fleshy part of your shoulder and holding it in place with your cheek, while trying not to think about losing teeth when it kicks back like an angry stag.
“Now we get to make some noise!” said one of the women in my group.
Using a pistol was a strange experience. Lightweight, designed to move easily with your hands, and with automatic reload, firing one felt unreal—like you weren’t really responsible for the targets shattering off their perch.
“I’ll save your place in line if you want to get something to eat,” said Jessie Armstrong, a 43-year-old Mission resident, who holds down three jobs, is a mother, and attends the event every year with friends. “It’s on my calendar,” she said. “I love it.”
She assured me that if I went and helped myself to the hot lunch the club was serving—pulled pork baps with caesar salad and coleslaw—she would give me no attitude about sliding back into the lineup for the shotgun trap.
“I’ve only seen that happen once,” she said. “This lady got all hyped-up about a woman wanting to jump back in the line in front of her after lunch and started trash talking her.” This woman really needed to relax, all the ladies around us agreed. “Where’s your Diazepam?” they joked. “Maybe they’ve got some Adivan inside.”
I met a first-grade teacher, a woman who works in social services, and a Starbucks employee, all of them valley locals, and their reasons for attending the event were as varied as their jobs. Some of them were interested in getting gun licences, others already qualified to hunt deer, but most were just there for fun. They drove cars ranging from trucks to convertibles to the latest Mini Cooper, and dressed in everything from fatigues to skinny jeans. One woman, who works as a special needs assistant in Abbotsford, was there with her daughter as part of a group celebrating Mother’s Day early.
Because this event has proved so popular the club is now offering a Youth Day for those under 19, and it is drawing similar numbers. |
A white rhino Wikimedia Commons Sudan, the last male white rhino left in the entire world, is under 24-hour protection by armed guards at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenya, CNN reports. The entire species depends on his ability to reproduce with the two other females there.
Sudan, however, is no spring chicken. At 42, he may no longer be able to "naturally mount and mate with a female," the conservancy's deputy veterinarian George Paul told CNN. He also has a low sperm count.
To make matters worse, the older of the two females has weak legs and may not be able to support Sudan. The conservancy has been trying to coax a conception, but so far, it's had no luck.
Unfortunately, most rhinos species can't interbreed. For example, a northern white rhino can't mate with a black rhino. There's a chance, however, that a northern white rhino could mate with a southern white rhino, the only rhino species not on the endangered list.
If the entire population disappears from the globe, the result could spell catastrophe for African savannas — and potentially the whole world.
Poaching and habitat loss seriously threaten the rhino population. In 2013, 1,004 rhinos were poached in South Africa. That's a terrible number considering only about 20,000 Southern white rhinos and 5,000 black rhinos still inhabit South Africa. Other species of rhino fare even worse:
SaveTheRhino Rhinos, considered a "megaherbivore," are a keystone species and play a pivotal role in ecosystems.
Removal of a keystone species has huge downstream effect in the ecosystem and can throw an entire community out of whack, as Jason G. Goldman explains in Conservation Magazine. For example, when agriculture and hunting decimated the Yellowstone wolves, the deer population exploded, leading to decline in plant species as well.
While we know less about how megaherbivores fit into ecosystems, a 2009 paper in the journal Science found that extinction of Pleistocene megaherbivores caused similar large-scale damage in North America — one of most fundamental questions in modern ecology.
Taking that a step further, rhinos' grazing specifically helps maintain the savanna grasslands, and those grasslands sustain numerous other species, whether directly or through predation, according to a May 2014 study in the Journal of Ecology.
The study focused on Kruger National Park in South Africa, where the rhinos' decline has already started to affect the structure and composition of grasslands. In areas with a high density of rhinos, the researchers found more short grasses — an important metric for biodiversity, Goldman explains. Although seemingly counterintuitive, grazers, like rhinos, increase biodiversity by selecting certain plants over others, giving other species more ability to grow.
"Not only is rhino poaching threatening the species conservation status, but also the potentially key role of this apex consumer for savanna ecosystem dynamics and functioning," the authors wrote.
One of the most famous grasslands, the Serengeti Wikimedia Commons Aside from providing food for numerous species, grasslands, like the savannas, serve an important global role, as well. They act as natural "carbon sinks" — essentially storage lockers for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a cause of global warming. Because of industrialization, Africa's carbon emissions will likely increase substantially throughout the 21st century.
The savannas, where rhino live, are an important ecosystem, and it seems that conservation of the species is essential to preserving them. |
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