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Latest Liberal Media Hit Piece: Donald Trump Paid No Income Taxes… Two Years… BACK IN THE 1970s
Here we go- like clockwork – last weekend the liberal media tried to hit Donald Trump with a fabricated hit piece on his womanizing.
It blew up in their faces.
Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
Now ABC news is reporting on Donald Trump not paying taxes two years… Back in the 1970s… Almost 40 years ago.
Is this supposed to sway any voters? Seriously?
ABC News reported:
Donald Trump paid no federal income taxes for at least two years in the late 1970s, according to a New Jersey government report. Trump, who has declined to release his tax returns during the campaign season, incurred no tax liability in 1978 and 1979, New Jersey gambling regulators found, when they looked into his tax returns and personal finances in connection with the Trump Plaza Corporation’s 1981 application for a casino license. Trump claimed negative income in both those years: losses of $406,379 in 1978 and $3,443,560 in 1979. In 1975, 1976, and 1977, he claimed $76,210, $24,594, and $118,530 in income, respectively, paying $18,714, $10,832, and $42,386 in federal taxes, according to the document, the Report to the Casino Control Commission. The regulators “did not ascertain any inconsistent or questionable matters” in Trump’s returns, they wrote. The findings were included in a report obtained by ABC News and verified by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Although the regulators viewed Trump’s tax returns from 1975 to 1979, they did not include the actual returns in their report to the commission. |
It’s been a while since I last posted something to Ye Olde Blog, so time to fix that.
A few days ago someone linked to the low-poly work of Kenneth Fejer on Google+ and apart from being awesome it gave me the idea to try and play around with the style. Not only was it low poly work, but the textures had an almost pixel-art appeal to them which I found intriguing.
You see, I’m a programmer most of the time but I do enjoy doing arty things, which some may say is unusual for a programmer, but when you’re making all of this stuff on your own it certainly helps. I don’t think my models are the best by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re certainly passable, but one thing that I’ve always never been satisfied with is my ability to texture them. This is why this pixel-art style appeals to me, because it’s a lot easier (at least for me) to create pixel-art.
Anyway, so I played around and created a few tanks in Blender and The Gimp and posted them as animated GIFs to Twitter and Google+:
People seemed to dig them, some even expressing a desire to see how they were created. So I figured “Hey, I’ve always wanted to do a screencast… I’ll make a tank and record it!”
So basically I recorded making the tank in 3 stages. Modelling, unwrapping the UV texturemap, and actually creating the texture. I wanted to do the whole thing in real-time but the whole process took a little under 3 hours so I won’t subject you to all of that. The Modelling videos are a little under 30 minutes total and the UV unwrapping is about 15 minutes so I’ve only edited those a little. The texture creation took almost 2 hours so I sped that up dramatically in a sort of time-lapse and then narrated over the sped-up video.
The videos are all recorded in 720p so feel free to view them directly in YouTube to get more detail.
Low-Poly Modelling – Making the Model Part 1 of 2
Low-Poly Modelling – Making the Model Part 2 of 2
Low-Poly Modelling – UV Unwrapping
Low-Poly Modelling – Texturing
And this is the final product:
Anyway I hope you enjoyed this and weren’t put off too much by my occasional mumbling and/or breathing directly into the goddamned mic! |
Kathleen Richardson is on the move again.
Her local cafe chain Urban Farmhouse Market & Cafe has leased space in Manchester for its sixth location in five years.
The new outpost will take 1,500 square feet on the ground floor of the apartment development at 1200 Semmes Ave. The storefront will open this summer and will add to Urban Farmhouse locations in Shockoe Slip, Midlothian, Scott’s Addition, Church Hill and one soon to open on West Broad Street near VCU.
“This was one of those opportunities that came our way,” Richardson said. “What’s important for us now is going into an area to look for other ways traffic will be generated. There is a great neighborhood that already exists in Manchester.”
Richardson, who opened the brand’s first store in 2010 on East Cary Street, said she has been in talks with the owners of the Manchester building for more than a year. The 129-unit apartment building is owned by Mark Purcell of Purcell Construction and local developers Robin Miller and Dan Gecker.
Urban Farmhouse sells coffee, soups, salads and sandwiches, in addition to various market goods and produce. The Manchester location will have beers on tap and a juice bar.
Richardson said Manchester’s rising number of apartments, remodeled homes and office tenants made the Southside neighborhood attractive. Urban Farmhouse’s new neighbors will include Legend Brewing Co., Blanchard’s Coffee Co., Triple Stamp Press and SunTrust Mortgage, among other businesses nearby.
“You can just see how quickly it is growing,” Richardson said.
Miller said 1200 Semmes will also be home to a Subway, which is expected to open around the same time as Urban Farmhouse.
He said 1200 Semmes is 96 percent leased. Purcell is majority owner and contractor of the property, Miller said. Monroe Properties is its leasing agent and property manager, and Middleburg Bank is the lender.
Richardson said it will cost about $250,000 to construct and open the Manchester Urban Farmhouse. The business will share some of those expenses with the landlord.
“Our landlord is being very generous,” Richardson said.
Richardson said all of Urban Farmhouse’s growth is self-funded. And more locations may be on the horizon. Richardson mentioned University of Richmond and the West End as attractive options, as well as other parts of Virginia.
“We’ve been talking to folks in Williamsburg, Fredericksburg and Charlottesville,” she said. “Because we’re small, it’s about proceeding slowly and making sure we’ve got everything well under-hand before we take that next step.” |
ejabberd Community 14.05: the culmination of a year of change
Before getting into technical details of version 14.05 changes, let’s summarize an amazing year of ejabberd development.
Last year we made major changes in our development, release and support process.
ejabberd now has two faces:
ejabberd community is now improving at a very fast pace with changes coming from the community. That version improved a lot over the year. It has a lower memory footprint, gained many new features and several XEP support. We switched to modular rebar build system. Documentation has been improved. Overall, it is a great basis to build innovative solutions.
ejabberd commercial is more stable and scalable than ever and we have pushed its scalability both in term of number of supported nodes than in term of users supported on a single machine. ProcessOne is managing more and more deployments for our customers with it, and that kind of partnership with our customer just works, making every one happier. Rock solid platform managed by a team of experts.
For this latest release, we are very happy to see two new major contributors, Holger Weiß and Tsukasa Hamano. Congratulations!
Now, we are going further, exploring the realm of Voice Over IP and SIP. ejabberd was the reference on messaging and now if can help you place calls over SIP. Please, read that again :)
We have integrated a SIP proxy / Registrar in ejabberd that makes possible, using the same credentials, to pass SIP calls with a SIP client as well (for example your Android phone). We had a STUN service and integrated TURN to make VoIP easier in most contexts. This is just the beginning and we are waiting for your feedback to make things even simpler.
Note: ejabberd is also still compliant with Jingle pure-XMPP VoIP. It is just a matter of choice. We let you use the protocol you prefer in to pass your call. However, we do not bridge SIP and Jingle. This is a pain and in most deployments only one protocol will be used.
And finally, in a world where security is critical, we tightened our security to increase the default level of robustness of crypto algorithm used.
Enjoy!
ejabberd Community 14.05 has great new features, several improvements and many bugfixes over the previous 13.12 release:
ejabberd now includes support for:
– XEP-0198: Stream Management (EJAB-532)
– XEP-0321: Remote Roster Management (EJAB-1381)
– RFC-3261: SIP proxy/registrar
– RFC-5766: TURN: Traversal Using Relays around NAT (EJAB-1017)
There are several improvements regarding encryption:
– Add option to specify openssl options
– Fix extraction of host names from certificates
– Fix certificate authentication for incoming s2s connections
– Fix handling of certificate verification errors for incoming s2s
– Handle “s2s_use_starttls: required_trusted” the same way for outgoing
– Support certificate verification for outgoing s2s connections
– Check TLS state before requesting SASL EXTERNAL
– Log TLS status for outgoing s2s with SASL EXTERNAL
– Verify host name before offering SASL EXTERNAL
Just to mention other improvements:
– New ejabberd command: disconnect_user/2
– New Bash completion script for ejabberdctl, experimental (EJAB-1042)
– Don’t provide current password in webinterface
– mod_register_web: check same acl as mod_register.
– Document and enable mod_carboncopy (XEP-0280) by default
– Make it possible to get/set vCards for MUC rooms
– Add Travis CI configuration file
And many many bugfixes all over the source code, most of them were introduced when ejabberd was updated to use binaries.
We would like to thank specially Holger Weiß for his XEP-0198 feature and varied bugfixing, and Tsukasa Hamano for his bugfixes.
This release requires at least Erlang/OTP R15, and works perfectly with R16B03. It should work correctly also with the new R17.
As usual, the release is tagged in the Git source code repository on:
https://github.com/processone/ejabberd
The source package and binary installers are available at ProcessOne:
http://www.process-one.net/en/ejabberd/downloads/
If you suspect you found a bug, search or fill a bug report in Jira:
https://support.process-one.net/browse/EJAB |
The sudden resignation of the most senior Roman Catholic cardinal in Britain, who stepped aside on Monday in the face of accusations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward priests years ago, showed that the taint of scandal could force a cardinal from participating in the selection of a new pope.
His exit came as at least a dozen other cardinals tarnished with accusations that they had failed to remove priests accused of sexually abusing minors were among those gathering in Rome to prepare for the conclave to select a successor to Pope Benedict XVI. There was no sign that the church’s promise to confront the sexual abuse scandal had led to direct pressure on those cardinals to exempt themselves from the conclave.
Advocates for abuse victims who were in Rome on Tuesday focused particular ire on Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, the former archbishop of Los Angeles, and called for him to be excluded from the conclave. But Cardinal Mahony, who has vigorously defended his record, was already in Rome, posting on Twitter about the weather.
Even stalwart defenders of the church point out that to disqualify Cardinal Mahony would leave many more cardinals similarly vulnerable. Many of the men who will go into the Sistine Chapel to elect a pope they hope will help the church recover from the bruising scandal of sexual abuse have themselves been blemished by it. |
Shibby de Guzman led students protesting the lionization of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Screenshot from The Benildean Facebook page
Ninth grade student Shibby de Guzman and teen online sensation Bretman Rock are on Time Magazine's list of the "30 Most Influential Teens of 2017".
The 14-year-old De Guzman shot to prominence after she was photographed protesting the lionization of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, according to Time Magazine.
"She carried a megaphone and wore a cardboard sign similar to those sometimes strewn over the bodies of drug-war victims. Then, in a widely shared social-media post, she shut down critics who alleged that her fellow protesters were “brainwashed,” the magazine said.
De Guzman, in an interview with ABS-CBN News in July, said young people also need to take part in efforts to stop the killings.
De Guzman joined a rally condemning extra-judicial killings despite being bullied online for her stand against the clandestine burial of Marcos.
"We are protesting against EJKs and violations against civil liberties. The only thing that matters right now is the country. The aggressive backlash, it's better to just ignore. Engage in conversation, not fights. Don't approach someone aggressively if you're looking to make the change," she said.
Aside from de Guzman, Hawaii-based Bretman Rock also made it to the list.
Rock is known for his makeup skills that could give the Kardashians a run for their money, according to Time Magazine.
Filipino online sensation Bretman Rock tells Maxine Medina to ignore bashers who did not like her #MissUniverse performance. | @ABSCBNNews pic.twitter.com/8og23vmT37 — Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) January 31, 2017
The beauty guru, born Bretman Rock Sacayanan, has amassed almost 9 million Instagram followers.
Rock earlier hosted the red carpet pre-show of the 65th Miss Universe pageant.
Time said it compiled its annual list by considering accolades across numerous fields, global impact through social media, and overall ability to drive news. |
Oakland officials said the massive Occupy Oakland demonstration on Saturday diverted police resources from calls elsewhere in the city, stymieing the Police Department's crime-fighting efforts.
An estimated 400 demonstrators were arrested during the protest, with some activists breaking into City Hall and vandalizing it.
Mayor Jean Quan condemned the local movement's tactics as "a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them" and said the demonstrations were draining scarce resources from an already financially-strapped city.
PHOTOS: Occupy Oakland protest
Oakland has logged five homicides since Friday, and Police Chief Howard Jordan told the Los Angeles Times that the law enforcement "personnel and resources dedicated to Occupy reduce our ability to focus on public safety priorities." [Updated at 9:03 a.m.: It is unclear exactly how many calls were delayed because of the protests.]
Oakland officials will seek monetary damages from protesters, Quan said. In addition, the mayor said she would pursue "restorative justice" by asking that those deemed guilty be put to work picking up garbage and removing graffiti in East Oakland.
In a morning tour of the damaged City Hall, Quan pointed out that a room with a smashed door and a toppled soda machine is used for classes for low-income, first-time homeowners. Several flags that had adorned the grand staircase were missing.
City Council agendas and trash littered the floor in the building's grand lobby. Although some graffiti had already been removed, evidence of the previous night's mayhem was visible in broken display cases.
Here is Quan discussing the vandalism in an Oakland Tribune video:
RELATED:
Outrage grows after Occupy Oakland flag burning
Occupy Oakland arrests reach 400
Protesters vandalize City Hall
-- Lee Romney and Shelby Grad |
Here we have a really huge piece showcasing a significant demographic in the Junior Gala coda: little shorty mares! The incredibly useful Best Editor Chuuko (or Chuunicorn if you prefer) has graciously agreed to stand in as our living yardstick--handicapping for unguligrade hooves, she's not quite 5 feet tall. Take a look at relative freight train BonBon (or a second look at deceptively mighty Beauty Brass) and understand that being small does not necessarily equate to weakness...a lot of these little chicks pack a bone-crushing punch! Well, like...not Sweetie Belle, but she has a Sticker Shock at her disposal now. Don't mess with Sweetie! Stay behind the line! And now from el to arr...Name: Chuunicorn (well, not really)Profession: Mechanic, mare of all tradesSpecial Somepony: Professional hooligan/layabout HorsebootsName: Coco PommelProfession: Costume designer, seamstressSpecial Somepony: Prima operatic soprano Fleur De LisName: BonBonProfession: Confectioner, business ownerSpecial Somepony: Musician/amateur cryptozoologist Lyra HeartstringsName: Foto Finish (nee Franzbrötchen)Profession: Fashion photographerSpecial Somepony: Food critic/restaurateur Zesty GourmandName: Sunset ShimmerProfession: Scientist, professorSpecial Somepony: Hippocampus Adagio DazzleName: Beauty BrassProfession: Music teacher, sousa-poneSpecial Somepony: Musician/courier Golden Fiddle (aka Fiddlesticks)Name: Saffron MasalaProfession: Cook, restaurant ownerSpecial Somepony: Handymare/artist Plaid StripesName: Minuette ("Doctor Colgate")Profession: DentistSpecial Somepony: Waitress/former botanist Berry PunchName: Sweetie BelleProfession: Theatre performer/wealthy pony's wifeSpecial Somepony: Philanthropist Silver SpoonName: Twist TwistimaneProfession: Sugar artistSpecial Somepony: Manehattan police officer Babs SeedWow...such a tiny bunch, and yet so much gay. I seriously need to draw all their beautiful wives now. Hehehe kero. X3And then I did! Lookit!Hm. It would appear that Pegasi, for the most part, must run about average.Also, I'm not saying Fleur Dis Lee. It sounds dumb.mlp:fim = Hasbro/Faust |
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We turn to a stunning new exposé for Mother Jones magazine looking at the world of privately run prisons.
JENNIFER CALAHAN: No structure. Unsafe. Just a bad place. Hell, in a can.
SHANE BAUER: This prison is crazy, beyond anything I ever imagined.
AMY GOODMAN: Mother Jones senior reporter Shane Bauer spent four months working undercover last year as a guard at Louisiana’s Winn Correctional Facility. It was not Bauer’s first time behind bars. Between 2009 and '11, he spent nearly two years locked up in an Iranian prison as one of the jailed American hikers. Louisiana's Winn Correctional Facility is the oldest privately operated medium-security prison in the country and sits in the state that holds the distinction as having the world’s highest incarceration rate—more than 800 prisoners per 100,000 Louisiana residents. During Shane Bauer’s investigation, Winn was run by the Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s second-largest private prison operator. In one of the videos in the Mother Jones series, Bauer explains how he landed the job using his own name and personal information, despite his years as an award-winning journalist.
SHANE BAUER: I put in an application with the Corrections Corporation of America for prison guard jobs. A week later, I start getting calls. I was surprised how quickly it happened. I don’t know how long I’m going to be doing this. I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I don’t know what my job will entail.
NARRATION: November 2014, Shane Bauer applied to be a guard at Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s second-largest private prison company. He used his real name and personal information.
SHANE BAUER: This company and these big private prison companies, in general, are kind of notoriously secretive.
MARGARET REGAN: Corrections Corporation of America began around 1983.
AL JAZEERA REPORTER 1: CCA, The GEO Group and MTC operate more than 130 facilities nationwide.
AL JAZEERA REPORTER 2: The combined revenues of these two companies reached $3.3 billion in 2014.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane Bauer’s story offers a never-before-seen look at the for-profit prison industry, exposing conditions that include violence among prisoners, poor medical and mental healthcare for even the sickest prisoners, mismanagement, lack of training for staff.
Well, for more, we go directly to Shane Bauer, joining us from San Francisco.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Shane.
SHANE BAUER: Thanks for having me, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about this process that you went through—truly astounding, given that you yourself were imprisoned for almost two years, that you decided you’d go back into prison as a prison guard.
SHANE BAUER: Well, I had been reporting on prisons for several years and was constantly coming up against a wall. It’s very difficult to get information from prisons in the United States. You know, if you go inside, you’re on kind of carefully scripted tours. Records requests sometimes take months; sometimes they don’t come back at all. And there have been occasional reports about private prisons from the Department of Justice, some media reports showing higher levels of violence than other prisons, you know, a high degree of understaffing. So, I had the idea to put in an application, specifically at a private prison company. These private prisons are even more secretive than their public counterparts. A lot of public access laws don’t apply to these prisons because they are not public institutions.
So, I went online, filled out an application for the Corrections Corporation of America using, you know, my real name and personal information. And I was getting calls within a week and doing interviews on the phone. These interviews were, you know, the kind of interview you might expect from a Wal-Mart. They didn’t ask me about why I wanted to work in a prison. They didn’t ask me about my job history. They would just ask me questions like, you know, “If your supervisor tells you to do something you don’t want to do, how would you respond?” The only prison—the only question that I actually was asked that had to do with prison was “What is your idea of customer service, and how does it apply to inmates?”
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to another clip from the video that accompanies your stories in Mother Jones. This offers a look at Winnfield, Louisiana, near the CCA-run Winn Correctional Facility.
SHANE BAUER: This part of America in particular is very poor. The main employers in the area are the lumber mill, Wal-Mart and CCA.
WINNFIELD RESIDENT 1: There’s really not too many jobs. You actually have to go out of town to find a job.
WINNFIELD RESIDENT 2: Logging woods or lumber mills.
WINNFIELD RESIDENT 3: Either you have a job or you’re selling dope. And that’s it.
SHANE BAUER: So people are willing to take a very dangerous job for $9 or $10 an hour.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Shane, talk about going into the jail, who the prison guards are, who the prisoners are.
SHANE BAUER: Well, Winn has about 1,500 inmates. It’s a medium-security prison. The average sentence there is 19 years. People are in for—you know, about 55 percent of the prisoners are there for violent crimes. I met prisoners that were there for having too many DUIs. So, it’s kind of a wide range of crimes.
The guards are mostly poor people from the town. It’s $9-an-hour job. And the town—you know, the average income, family income, in the town is $25,000 a year. And despite how poor the town was, the prison had a really hard time keeping up staff. People would start the job and leave pretty quickly. There was a really high rate of turnover. There were also a set of staff that were people who had kind of been in law enforcement or corrections and had been disciplined for prior infractions. I met one guard who had worked in a juvenile detention center and had been let go after he uppercutted a 16-year-old kid and shattered his jaw. So there’s this kind of set of people who can’t get work elsewhere, so they take this low-paying job. When I was in training, the head of training actually said to us—she said, you know, “People say that CCA is scraping of the bottom of the barrel, but that’s not really true. But if you are breathing and you have a driver’s license and you’re willing to work, then we’re willing to hire you.”
AMY GOODMAN: Tear gas—explain the exposure to tear gas in the prison.
SHANE BAUER: Well, while I was in training, I had to be exposed to tear gas to kind of prepare us in case—you know, in case we were exposed to it inside. And when I worked in the prison, I saw a lot of use of pepper spray. There was a kind of corporate tactical team that was sent in during the time that I was there. And when they came in, the assistant warden said to us in a morning meeting—he said, “I believe that pain increases the intelligence of the stupid. And if these inmates want to act stupid, then we’re going to give them some pain to increase their intelligence level.” And during the time that I was there, CCA used three times more chemical agents—pepper spray and tear gas—than the runner-up in Louisiana.
AMY GOODMAN: During your undercover investigation of Winn Correctional Facility, Shane, you came across a prisoner who had lost his fingers and legs due to lack of proper medical care.
ROBERT L. MARRERO: Mr. Scott complained about that for months to the medical staff at Winn. They gave him some—the equivalent of a couple of Motrin and told him to go away.
ROBERT SCOTT: Never saw a doctor. The whole time.
SHANE BAUER: He’s now suing the prison.
JENNIFER CALAHAN: The people that are working there as nurses and all that, they’re really not that qualified.
ROBERT L. MARRERO: They’re doctors they can hire. They’re doctors who are more or less affordable. I did some background checking on them, and one of them was a pediatrician who had lost his privileges to treat children.
AMY GOODMAN: CCA said it “is committed to ensuring that all individuals entrusted to our care have appropriate access to medical services as needed,” unquote. Shane Bauer?
SHANE BAUER: Well, Robert Scott, you know, he had lost his legs and fingers to gangrene. And I ended up getting access to his medical records through his legal case, and it showed that he had made multiple requests to see a doctor. He would go to the infirmary complaining of intense pain. You know, his foot was blackening. And he was just given Motrin. And he was trying to go to the hospital, but he kept getting sent back. He says that he was accused of faking it, which was something I heard a lot at Winn. And, you know, part of the issue is that CCA, when they send prisoners to the hospital, they have to foot the bill. The state does not cover this cost. So, you know, when you’re bringing in $34 per inmate per day, taking them to the hospital is a huge expense.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re going to talk about prison breaks, escapes, riots, when we come back. We’re talking to Shane Bauer, who has this exclusive full issue of Mother Jones, investigation of CCA-run prison in Louisiana. It’s headlined “My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard,” chronicling his time as an undercover correctional officer at the Louisiana Winn Correctional Center, run by CCA. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: “Umi Says” by Yasiin Bey, here on Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, as we talk to Shane Bauer, the undercover investigative journalist who served four years as a prison—four months as a prison guard in a for-profit prison in Louisiana run by CCA, the Corrections Corporation of America. During Bauer’s time as a guard at the Winn Correctional Facility, there was an escape of a prisoner. In this clip, Shane talks about the incident and speaks with former Winn prison guards David Bacle and Jennifer Calahan.
SHANE BAUER: Today was my 12th day of training, and I found out as soon as I got to the prison that yesterday there was an escape.
DAVE BACLE: He was out there on the small yard, on the basketball—what we call the basketball side, where you, you know, play basketball.
JENNIFER CALAHAN: He was able to climb over the fence.
DAVE BACLE: He went up the fence, got on the roof of the building, the double chain-link fence, 12-, 15-foot high, something like that, climbed up it, got over both razor wires.
SHANE BAUER: Ran through the forest, stole a hunter’s truck.
DAVE BACLE: Got on the road, got stopped at a roadblock. Because of his nervousness, he gave himself away, got busted.
SHANE BAUER: The prison staff didn’t actually know that he escaped for two, three hours.
DAVE BACLE: Not enough people for security.
SHANE BAUER: There are four or five guard towers around the prison. And around four years ago, the company decided to replace the guards in those towers with cameras. If there had been guards in those towers, they would have almost certainly seen somebody trying to jump the fence.
DAVE BACLE: No “if”s, “and”s, “but”s about it.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane Bauer, talk more about this and what happens with escapes.
SHANE BAUER: Well, when I was working at Winn, I would come in every morning at 6:00 and go to a morning meeting, where all security staff that were showing up for the shift would, you know, show up at this meeting. And there were days that there were 24 guards. You know, some days there might have been 28. This is for 1,500 inmates. This is far below the number of guards that CCA is required to have by its contract.
So, you know, this person, in the middle of the day, was able to climb over a fence without anybody seeing him. It was hours before they even knew that he was gone. When the perimeter alarm went off in the control room, the person who is watching the cameras just turned the alarm off and went back to what she was doing. And, you know, this goes back to some of the issues with training. I went through four weeks of training there. Some days we literally sat there all day long doing nothing. Many days we would get two hours where somebody would be standing in front of us reading company policy. You know, I felt very ill-prepared to really go into this job when I started.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, while you were at Winn, tensions grew high at the facility. In this Mother Jones video, it goes inside during the turmoil.
SHANE BAUER: The prison has been on lockdown for about a week. CCA has sent in SORT teams from its prisons around the country to try to bring Winn under control.
“CORNER STORE”: SORT team is like a wrecking crew. You know, they dress them all in black. They normally whoop ass first and take names later.
SHANE BAUER: They’re basically going throughout the entire prison very thoroughly and methodically.
JENNIFER CALAHAN: Tear the mattresses up, tear the vents up—whatever they need to do to find any contraband.
SHANE BAUER: Strip-searching inmates, searching toilets, searching their lockers. People are getting angry. They’re lashing out. I thought that there was going to be a riot in the unit that I work in.
CCA EMPLOYEE: If we want to act like refugees and animals, then we can do—
PRISONER 1: We’re not acting like it. That’s how we’re being treated.
CCA EMPLOYEE: Listen to what I’m saying.
PRISONER 1: That’s how we’re being treated. We ain’t got nothing.
SHANE BAUER: They were supposed to get canteen today, which they haven’t had for three weeks. They just kind of start freaking out. They said, “No COs are going to come on the tier. We’re not doing count. We’re not cooperating. We’re going to riot.”
PRISONER 2: This is the incompetence that’s causing these problems, the inability to be able to run this place in a professional manner. The people here are so lazy, from word say go. And their solution to the problem is, lock everybody down. Come on, man. You need a brainiac, somebody that could think, somebody that could come in here with finesse and run the prison and deal with these problems.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Shane Bauer, talk about what ultimately happened.
SHANE BAUER: Well, there had been a lot—while I was there, there was more and more stabbings. There, you know, were weeks that there were multiple stabbings happening. And I saw people stab each other in front of me. And when I was in training, we were told that when we see two inmates stabbing each other, our job is just to tell them to stop, and radio for backup. We’re not meant to intervene. Our trainer told us that it’s not worth it, we don’t make enough money to put ourself in that situation, and that what’s important is that we go home at the end of the day. He actually said to us, “If these fools want to cut each other up, happy cutting.”
The prison was really dangerous. After these tactical teams, the SORT teams, came in, they swept through the prison and, you know, were searching for contraband and weapons. They found, in the first two months of the year, 200 weapons at Winn. That’s more than 20 times more than Angola, the maximum-security prison in Louisiana. This violence, the escape, a lot of the incidents that were happening at Winn drew the attention of the state Department of Corrections, so they also eventually took over. So, at one point, the prison was being run by corporate tactical teams and guards from around the state, as well as the local staff.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, Democracy Now! reached out to the Corrections Corporation of America for response to your article. CCA Director of Public Affairs Jonathan Burns issued a statement. It reads, in part, quote, “This story, how it was developed and what ultimately was published says more about the reporter’s activist agenda and the publication’s low journalistic standards than it does about our company or the very real challenges facing our criminal justice system in America. From the start, Mother Jones clearly intended to publish a deliberate hit piece to advance a predetermined premise at the expense of numerous laws, widely accepted journalistic standards, a fully informed readership and even the safety and security of a correctional facility. This point is underscored by the numerous examples in the piece in which the reporter clearly admits failing to perform the security duties of his job, which were intended to keep inmates and his colleagues safe.” Again, those the words of the director of public affairs for the Corrections Corporation of America, Jonathan Burns. Your response, Shane Bauer?
SHANE BAUER: When I started at Winn, my job was to work as a prison guard. I was called—I was pointed out for promotion within just a few months. Right before I left, I was offered a promotion. And the culture at Winn was one where guards did not do security checks. There were guards that were recording that security checks were happening every half hour, which is what was required. So that meant that guards were required to walk through the units, to walk through the dorms, and just check up on everybody. That didn’t happen. There wasn’t enough staff for that to happen. When I went to Winn, I noted and documented in detail what I saw. And while I was at Winn, one guard that I worked with actually said to me, “I wish that an investigative reporter would come and investigate this prison.” There was widespread frustration, not just with inmates, but also with staff, on how the company was running the prison. And the things that I saw were long-standing. I mean, these were not issues that started when I arrived there.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, the video you have from inside, explain how you got it.
SHANE BAUER: Well, my lawyer would not be happy with me if I talk in detail about where that video comes from. I, you know, have to protect Mother Jones and our sources from retaliation. But I will say that it was very important to me, given the stakes of this investigation, to document very accurately what was happening there and what I was seeing and hearing people say.
AMY GOODMAN: And you even write about a pen that you used, that you put in your shirt, that was an audio recorder.
SHANE BAUER: I did have recording devices while I was working there.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, your undercover investigation in Winn Correctional Facility ended suddenly, when your colleague, James West, was arrested filming outside the prison. This is footage of the arrest.
POLICE OFFICER 1: His name must be James West.
POLICE OFFICER 2: What kind of pictures you got there?
JAMES WEST: They’re my pictures, sir.
POLICE OFFICER 2: What you took here don’t belong to you. You got it on a SD card?
JAMES WEST: Uh-huh.
POLICE OFFICER 2: Let’s have it.
JAMES WEST: No, sir. I’m not going to show you that.
POLICE OFFICER 2: I will take everything you got. Whoa, come here. Hey, come here. Hey.
JAMES WEST: You can’t take my camera.
POLICE OFFICER 2: I’m allowed—I’m going to tell you one time to hand me the camera. You hand me that.
POLICE OFFICER 1: I think the best thing to do is just seize his camera.
POLICE OFFICER 2: I think so.
POLICE OFFICER 1: And we’ll get a search warrant, and we’ll look at them pictures.
POLICE OFFICER 2: If you don’t want to give it to me, I will take it.
JAMES WEST: What am I being arrested for?
POLICE OFFICER 2: Trespassing.
POLICE OFFICER 1: Trespassing. You want to go ahead and—turn and put your hands behind your back.
JAMES WEST: I’m cooperating and—
POLICE OFFICER 2: No, you’re not cooperating.
POLICE OFFICER 1: No, you ain’t. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Welcome to the free state of Winn.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, this brought your investigation to an end. Explain what happened.
SHANE BAUER: I, you know, went home that night to get some sleep, because I had to work the next morning at the prison, and found out in the middle of the night that James had been arrested. He spent 24 hours in jail. And when he was released, we basically packed up my apartment and headed straight to Texas. I called in and resigned. And the head of HR said—you know, she said that she was surprised to hear that I was quitting, because she thought that I was going to promote. And it shortly—
AMY GOODMAN: To be—you were going to be promoted?
SHANE BAUER: Right, right.
AMY GOODMAN: Shane, we only have a minute, and I just wanted to ask if you could talk about how you, yourself, were affected by being a guard, from being a prisoner in Iran to being a guard here, and your changing mentality?
SHANE BAUER: That, the psychological aspect of working there, ended up taking most of my energy. You know, I went in there as a reporter, and over time, more and more of my attention was focused on the job of being a guard, which was extremely difficult. I was working in a unit with 350 prisoners with just one other floor officer. And I saw myself, over time, harden and become more and more strict and really just numb to the needs of the prisoners. I was focused on how to get through and how to survive in this really dangerous environment.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Shane, I want to thank you for being with us. We’ll link to the whole issue of Mother Jones magazine and the amazing reports, video reports, from James West. Shane Bauer, award-winning senior reporter at Mother Jones. His most recent article is titled “My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard,” chronicling his time as an undercover correctional officer at Louisiana’s Winn Correctional Center, run by the Corrections Corporation of America. Shane is also co-author of the memoir A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran.
And that does it for our show. Happy birthday Jon Randolph. Democracy Now! has a news producer and a senior video news producer position open. Check it out at democracynow.org. I’ll be speaking in Chicago on Friday night. Go to our website at democracynow.org. |
One candidate does not have a party. Another is $50,000 in the red, more than 18 months after first declaring a quixotic run for mayor. Two more have names that are familiar in Democratic political circles but little in the way of broad support.
And the most recent does not have a New York City address, and may end up in federal court trying to get one.
The race to become the next mayor of New York City is, for the moment, increasingly a contest between Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat newly invigorated by the conclusion of state and federal investigations into his campaign fund-raising that found no criminal wrongdoing, and Paul J. Massey Jr., a well-funded Republican hopeful.
But beyond the klieg lights and chyrons of their million-dollar campaigns are more than a dozen other New Yorkers — and one real estate developer from San Diego — who have set their sights on City Hall. Although the outlook for most of them is not good, and several have done little more than file the necessary paperwork with the city’s campaign finance board, others may have a shot at shaking up — if not actually defeating — the campaigns of the de facto front-runners. |
Soon after independence, Israel began following a "periphery doctrine" in its foreign affairs: seeking ties with Arab countries on the margins of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. No example has illustrated the wisdom of that strategy more than links with the kingdom of Morocco. Many factors explain this special relationship. In the years following their independence, both Israel and Morocco needed Western assistance to deal with domestic challenges and foreign threats, especially communism and pan-Arabism. "When Morocco became independent, its borders were wide open to hostile elements, especially Egyptian spies, who sought to build a secret infrastructure, in an effort to facilitate the Soviet penetration of North Africa," explains Shmuel Segev, former Military Intelligence officer and author of The Moroccan Connection: The Secret Relations between Israel and Morocco. "In those days, Gamal Abdel Nasser was a trusted ally of Moscow. In return for Czech weaponry and Soviet instructors, Nasser opened the gates of Africa to the Soviet Union and China. Eventually, this reality was used by Israel to convince Morocco to cooperate in the field of intelligence." Over the next few decades, Jerusalem and Rabat developed a strong secret relationship in three areas: emigration, intelligence and diplomacy. This clandestine channel would prove itself to be fruitful and ultimately lead to one of the most resounding successes of Israel's diplomacy: the visit to Jerusalem by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1977. MOROCCAN JEWRY had a long and special history for more than 2,500 years. With a population of nearly 300,000 in 1948, it was the largest Jewish community in the Arab world. It was spread throughout the country, but mainly in Casablanca and Rabat. The monarchy had established a unique relationship with its indispensable, "protected" dhimmi minority. During World War II, King Muhammad V had refused to apply the anti-Semitic laws of the protectorate imposed by the Vichy regime in France, prompting fidelity from Moroccan Jewry. However, Israel's independence and the propaganda of the Arab League under Egypt's president Nasser soon created an atmosphere of oppression and constant threats. In 1954, Mossad head Isser Harel decided to establish a clandestine base in Morocco. An undercover agent named Shlomo Havilio was sent to monitor the conditions of Jews in the country. His report was alarming: The Jews feared the departure of the French colonial forces and the growing hostility of pan-Arabism; Jewish communities could not be defended and their situation was likely to worsen once Morocco became independent. Havilio had only one solution: a massive emigration to Israel. Harel agreed. Less than a year after his report, the Mossad sent its first agents and emissaries to Morocco to appraise the situation and to organize a nonstop aliya. About 90,000 Jews had emigrated between 1948 and 1955, and 60,000 more would leave in the months preceding the country's independence. Then, on September 27, 1956, the Moroccan authorities stopped all emigration, declaring it illegal. From then until 1960 only a few thousand left clandestinely each year. When Isser Harel visited Morocco in 1959 and 1960, he was convinced the Jews were ready to leave en masse to return to Zion. Soon after, Harel replaced Havilio with Alex Gatmon as Mossad head in Morocco. A clandestine militia was created, the "Misgeret" ("framework"), with central command in Casablanca and operatives recruited across the kingdom. Its goal was to defend the Jewish communities and organize departures clandestinely. On January 11, 1961, a tragedy occurred when a small boat, the Piscès (Egoz), capsized in a storm with 44 Moroccan Jewish emigrants, half of them children. All died. A new strategy had to be found for children to be taken out legally without their parents, who would then leave clandestinely. An audacious idea was proposed by Naftali Bargiora of the Jewish Agency. "Operation Mural" was born. The Mossad, with the Jewish Agency and a humanitarian children's organization, sent David Littman, a British volunteer, to Morocco. After four months of negotiations, he succeeded beyond all expectations. With Mossad contacts, Littman (code name "Mural") organized the departure of 530 Jewish children, who left legally in five convoys under the cover of "holidays in Switzerland" and from there to Israel. Operation Mural came at a decisive moment, as the innovative "collective passports" system which Littman obtained was to be used six months later for a larger emigration that succeeded with royal approval. In the summer of 1961, the Mossad chief in Morocco, Alex Gatmon - a former Nazi-hunter - met Abdelkhader Benjelloun, the Moroccan minister of labor, secretly in Paris. The king's conditions for legal emigration were to be no involvement of any "Zionist organizations," the immediate closure of secret emigration channels and the payment of indemnities for each departure. On November 27, 1961, after Israel had paid $500,000 via the Mossad, the head of national security, Muhammad Oufkir, signed the first "collective passport" allowing Jews to leave the country legally. It was the beginning of "Operation Yakhin." The figures vary, but were between $50 and $200 per head. The total cost of the indemnities paid to the Moroccan authorities was somewhere between $5 million and $20 million ($100m. to $400m. in today's money). In the end, as a result of these secret contacts, between 1962-64, the Mossad was able to bring some 100,000 Moroccan Jews to Israel. BESIDES THE Misgeret, Harel had built a second network to reach Moroccan officials and establish secret channels on the highest levels. According to Segev: "A Moroccan Jew, who was a close friend of minister of national security Muhammad Oufkir, organized a meeting between Oufkir and the Mossad in a hideout in Paris. Nothing came out of it - Oufkir was not yet ready for any intelligence cooperation with Israel." But quietly, relations began to improve in late 1959-60, and especially after the death of King Muhammad V in February 1961 and the crowning of Hassan II. The Mossad offered to train the bodyguards for the throne. It also trained the kingdom's intelligence services, whose organization was very poor at that time - teaching them how to prevent Algerian and Egyptian agents from breaking into Moroccan embassies in Cairo and Algiers. In 1965, the Mossad under director Meir Amit found itself obliged to answer the king's call to trace the dissident Mehdi Ben Barka, a case which would haunt Morocco for decades. But contrary to enduring rumors, the Israeli role was only limited to supplying Morocco with the address of a kiosk where Ben Barka picked up his mail whenever he stayed in Geneva. Moroccan intelligence watched that kiosk and finally discovered Ben Barka's residence. However, Israel was not involved in the operation after Ben Barka left Geneva for Paris and met his tragic fate. Says Jean Baklouti, former head of the French counterintelligence agency (DST): "Ben Barka was later trapped and killed by Moroccan operatives assisted by the 7th section of the French domestic secret service (RG)." Israeli intelligence remained close to the king over the years. In the early 1970s, Israel's old contact, Oufkir, tried to conspire against the throne. He openly shared his intentions and Israel immediately warned Hassan II. The coup failed, and the king would never forget this crucial help from Jerusalem. Over the years, this secret channel kept improving, and Israel remained active in supplying Morocco with weapons and intelligence, especially related to the Sahara conflict. ON MIDDLE EASTERN issues, King Hassan II's interest in peace was not new. In the late Fifties, before his coronation, he had shocked people during a visit in Lebanon by arguing that the only solution for the enduring conflict was to make peace and incorporate Israel in the Arab League. The king was fascinated by the idea of the "reconciliation of the Semitic brotherhood," although he never expressed it in the early years of his reign, aligning his country with the anti-Israeli alliance. However, from the mid-1970s onward, Hassan II began to increasingly advocate "dialogue" and warn his Arab counterparts of the dangers of "prolonged conflicts" to their own societies. The kingdom therefore held many high-level conferences related to the Middle East, and kept the secret channel with Israel wide open. When Jerusalem began to seriously consider peace with Egypt, Morocco offered its help as facilitator. In October 1976, Yitzhak Rabin visited Morocco for that purpose, but Egyptian president Anwar Sadat found him "too weak" and didn't answer his overtures. It all changed with the election of Menachem Begin in 1977. Sadat showed his interest. Furthermore, to build a real channel with Egypt, the Mossad passed intelligence to its Egyptian counterparts through Moroccan services, warning Sadat of a Libyan plot targeting him. This deeply impressed the Egyptian leader. Soon after, Mossad chief Yitzhak Hofi travelled to Rabat, met the king and began negotiations with Sadat's deputy, Hassan Tuhami. In September 1977, a new meeting was held between foreign minister Moshe Dayan and Sadat's deputy in Rabat, proving once again that intelligence and diplomacy were be able to work with each other: "It's important to stress the Mossad's role in this episode," explains Segev, "because without Hofi, the Dayan-Tuhami meeting would not have taken place." On November 17, 1977, Sadat went to Jerusalem in a historic visit which would change the Middle East forever. More than 20 years after Israel's first dealings with Morocco, the connection between the Jewish state and the kingdom revealed its enormous potential. AND TODAY? In the fields of intelligence, but also in culture and economics (trade between the two countries is worth $100 million a year), Morocco and Israel have common interests. The fight against terrorism is also a challenge they both face daily: "The Mahgreb has much to gain by not siding in a blind partisan fashion with the rogue regimes of the greater Middle East," says Canadian-born Michael Ross, a former Mossad agent and author of The Volunteer. "Morocco should resist attempts by al-Qaida to establish a stronger foothold in North Africa." This shared past also keeps Morocco and Israel close. In March 2009, a Casablanca-based newspaper, Le Soir Echos asked for an interview and published the story of Operation Mural and the secret aliya of Jewish children. It was the first time since 1961 that Moroccans learned about David Littman and this particular episode of the Israel-Morocco secret relationship. Littman, who will be honored by the Israel Intelligence and Commemoration Center in a ceremony this summer, took the opportunity of the interview to address Moroccans with a call for action: "A solution to the Arab-Israel conflict is only possible with the help of a state trusted by both sides," he said. "Morocco lies in this very unique position. King Muhammad VI should come to Jerusalem, address the Knesset and fulfill the dream of peace of his father, the late Hassan II." In the columns of the Casablanca daily, Littman also expressed his hope that this enduring relationship between Morocco and Israel serve as an example to other countries and an encouragement to negotiators, as well as a reminder to all that despite difficulties, reconciliation can be achieved. The writer's work on Israeli-Moroccan relations was recently featured in Le Soir Echos, a daily from Casablanca, and in the Jerusalem-based Israël Magazine.
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Two French exchange students found dead after a fire in south-east London were the victims of a ''frenzied, horrible and horrific attack'' having been bound and stabbed repeatedly in the head, neck and torso before the house was set alight.
Laurent Bonomo, of Velaux, and Gabriel Ferez, of Prouzel, both 23, were found lying in the living area of the ground-floor bedsit. Bonomo had been stabbed 196 times with up to 100 injuries inflicted after he was already dead, police said. Ferez had 47 wounds.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick Duthie, of the Metropolitan police, today described their injuries as the worst he had seen in his policing career. "These were two young French students who were visitors to our country and had been in London for only a matter of weeks. They were talented students working on a dream project.
"The level of violence used on these two victims was excessive - it was horrendous. The extent of the injuries are horrific. Everyone working on this case, including myself, has been deeply shocked by what we have seen. I have never seen injuries like this throughout my career.''
The pair arrived in London in May to study bioengineering and DNA at Imperial College under an exchange programme with the Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in central France. Their three-month placement had been due to finish at the end of this month.
Detectives said they believed a burglary at the rented flat six days earlier, in which a laptop was stolen, could be linked to the case.
Police were called to the fire in Sterling Gardens, a residential cul de sac in New Cross, at about 10pm on Sunday.
The fire started with an explosion, police said; the property was severely damaged and there was a smell of flammable liquid. It was extinguished quickly but the men were dead before it took hold.
A white male was seen running from the block shortly after the explosion. No weapon has been recovered, and forensic examinations at the scene are said to be ''extremely complex''. Duthie said: "I do not know why these boys were killed or who killed them. I do believe, however, that whoever is responsible must have been bloodstained when they left.
"I would not say this was a professional attack. I would say it was a frenzied, horrible, horrific attack. "I imagine it would take some considerable amount of time to inflict the nature of the injuries."
Bonomo had spoken to his girlfriend in the early hours of Sunday morning. He and Ferez were thought to have been playing computer games together when attacked. Police said there was no evidence of forced entry and keys may have been used, allowing an attacker to surprise them.
A neighbour, Christina Ramires, 32, from Brazil, said she arrived home five minutes after the bang. She said a Spanish friend, also a neighbour, told her she saw two men banging on the window of the flat prior to a "very strong sound" that she took for an explosion.
Ramires said that when she arrived she could see through the open door of the flat, which was blackened and greasy. It had also been broken into three or four months ago, before the students moved in, she said. Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, was told by police after the burglary six days ago that one of the students had been in the shower and disturbed the intruder, who ran off.
Duthie said it may have been a case of mistaken identity. "We cannot find anything in these two young men's background to suggest they were involved in any criminality, that they had done anything wrong. They were here as students."
A college spokesman said Bonomo had been studying a parasite that can spread from cats to human foetuses. Ferez's research was on using bacteria to create ethanol for use as fuel.
Nicky Crowhurst, 25, a student who shared a laboratory with Ferez in the biochemistry building, said he was a "really nice guy ... it's a huge shock. I can't believe it. Him and his mate were always in the lab. They had only been here a little while. He was a quiet guy but really friendly."
Professor Steve Matthews, who worked closely with Bonomo, said he was an intelligent young man with a bright future. "They were both very likeable chaps. Laurent was particularly mature and well-rounded. He was a keen tennis fan and looking forward to following the French players at Wimbledon. "We are all stunned and shocked, to say the least. Our thoughts are with their families and Laurent's girlfriend."
Sir Roy Anderson, the Imperial College rector, said the thoughts of the community were with the men's families. "Laurent and Gabriel had bright futures ahead of them and it is dreadful that their lives should end so soon," he said.
Members of the victims' families travelled from France to identify their sons' bodies this morning. Duthie appealed for anyone who knew the men at Imperial College or saw anything strange in New Cross on Sunday night to come forward. "I need to build up a picture of these two young men. What were they doing in the hours leading up to the murder?''
"I also appeal to those people who worked with and knew Laurent and Gabriel at Imperial College. What were they like? Where did they go? Who did they meet? Where did they socialise? This attacker was horrific. I ask everybody - please rack your brains.'' |
A Western Colorado boy who was taken by police against his parents wishes to a hospital after he was horsing around and bumped his head says the doctor told him to put ice on the bruise, and offered him painkillers, but he said he didn’t need any.
WND has reported John Shiflett, 11, was taken to a hospital by the Garfield, Colo., County SWAT team after he fell, hitting his head on the ground, and his parents refused paramedic demands to be allowed to take him in.
A concerned neighbor apparently had called for an ambulance, but his father, Tom Shiflett, who worked with the medics corps in Vietnam, had evaluated his son and was watching him, so he told the paramedics to leave without his son.
Someone on the paramedic team then, apparently, called police and the sheriff’s office, eventually resulting in a magistrate’s order for the boy to be seized, triggering the sheriff’s decision to invade the family’s home with a SWAT team whose members had guns drawn.
“He’s got one of the best shiners I’ve every seen,” Tom Shiflett said of his son.
John Shiflett yesterday told WND that the doctor at the hospital took his blood pressure four times, and asked him if he was on any medications.
“They asked if I was healthy and I said yes,” he said. Doctors also did several X-ray procedures to evaluate his injury, and told him to drink a lot of cold liquids and “keep an ice pack on my head.” he said.
“That’s exactly what we were doing at home before we were interrupted,” he said.
Authorities have declined to explain the reasoning for the court order for the medical evaluation, and SWAT team entrance into the home.
Jim Bradford, a court clerk in Garfield County, said it was a juvenile matter and he could not comment on any aspect of the case, and he declined to allow WND to leave a message for Garfield County Magistrate Lain Leoniak, who signed the order.
A spokeswoman for WestCare Ambulance, which reportedly responded to the call, also refused to answer any questions about the case, saying all issues were considered patient confidentiality issues.
Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario did talk with WND about the situation, and said he simply ordered his officers to do exactly what the magistrate demanded.
“I was given a court order by the magistrate to seize the child, and arrange for medical evaluation, and that’s what we did,” he said.
Vallario said the SWAT team was dispatched, and officers knocked on the family’s door. Shiflett told WND when he answered the knock the SWAT team members already had surrounded and were approaching his house from several directions.
The SWAT team then forcibly entered the home, punching a hole in the front door and pointing guns at family members, Tom Shiflett said. The boy’s parents and siblings were thrown to the floor at gunpoint and the parents were handcuffed.
Someone, apparently the unidentified paramedic, had called police, the sheriff’s office and social services, eventually providing Leoniak with a report that generated the magistrate’s court order to the sheriff’s office for the SWAT team assault on the family’s home in a mobile home development outside of Glenwood Springs, the father told WND.
WND calls and e-mails to Garfield County Social Services also were not returned.
According to friends of the family, Tom Shiflett, who has 10 children including six still at home, and served with paramedics in Vietnam, was monitoring his son’s condition himself.
The paramedic and magistrate, however, ruled that that wasn’t adequate, and dispatched the officers to take the boy, John, to a hospital, where a doctor evaluated him and released him immediately.
The accident happened during horseplay, the family said. John was grabbing the door handle of a car as his sister was starting to drive away slowly. He slipped, fell to the ground and hit his head.
Shiflett immediately carried his son into their home several doors away, and John was able to recite Bible verses and correctly spell words as his father and mother, Tina, requested. There were no broken bones, no dilated eyes, or any other noticeable problems.
The family, whose members live by faith and homeschool, decided not to call an ambulance. But a neighbor did call Westcare Ambulance, and paramedics responded to the home, asking to see and evaluate the boy.
A family acquaintance said the decision not to let paramedics take the boy to the hospital, “did not go over well.”
“The paramedics were not at all respectful of Tom’s decision, nor did they act in a manner we would expect from professional paramedics,” the acquaintance said.
Police first told the paramedics the decision to hospitalize the boy would be up to the family, and sheriff’s deputies left the family’s home after being assured John was being watched and cared for.
However, the next day, Friday, social services workers appeared at the door and demanded to talk with John “in private,” before seeing him and eventually leaving.
Then, following an afternoon shopping trip to town, the family settled in for the evening, only to be shocked with the knock at the door and the SWAT team attack.
The sheriff said the decision to use SWAT team force was justified because the father was a “self-proclaimed constitutionalist” and had made threats and “comments” over the years.
However, the sheriff declined to provide a single instance of the father’s illegal behavior. “I can’t tell you specifically,” he said.
“He was refusing to provide medical care,” the sheriff said.
However, the sheriff said if his own children were involved in an at-home accident, he would want to be the one to make decisions on their health care, as did Shiflett.
“I guess if that was one of my children, I would make that decision,” the sheriff said.
But he said Shiflett was “rude and confrontational” when the paramedics arrived and entered his home without his permission.
The sheriff also admitted that the injury to the child had been at least 24 hours earlier, because the fall apparently happened Thursday afternoon, and the SWAT attack happened late Friday evening.
Officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association reported they were looking into the case, because of requests from family friends who are members of the organization.
“While people can debate whether or not the father should have brought his son to the ER – it seems like this was not the kind of emergency that warrants this kind of outrageous conduct by government officials,” a spokesman said.
“I don’t know where social services ever got started, or where they got their authority,” Shiflett said. “But I want to know why we have something in this country that violates our rights, that takes a parental right away.”
“Now I’m hunting for lawyers that will take the case … I’m going to sue everybody whose name was on that page right down to the judge,” he said.
Mike Donnelly, a lawyer with the HSLDA, told WND the case had a set of circumstances that could be problematic for authorities.
“In Doe V. Heck, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held that parents have a fundamental right to familial relations including a liberty interest in the care, custody and control of their children,” he said.
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SWAT officers invade home, take 11-year-old at gunpoint
Parents race to escape before court takes kids
Truancy hearing targets homeschooling mom
Homeschoolers facing $6,300 fine
American missionaries targeted for deportation
Courts offer homeschoolers zilch, expert says
Court gives Melissa back to family
Western homeschoolers need political asylum from democracy
3 families face fines, frozen accounts
‘Youth worker’ lies about homeschool student
5 ‘well-educated’ kids put in state custody
Girl, 15, begs to return to homeschooling parents
Psych tests ordered for homeschooling parents
3rd Reich homeschool prohibition defended
Homeschool family told to give up 5 other kids
Homeschooler’s parents allowed 1 visit a week
Court-ordered foster care replaces psych ward
Baby ordered held by social services returned to family
Parents fight state for 8-month-old son
Homeschoolers fight bogus poisoning claim
Homeschool student disappears from psych ward
‘Psych ward’ homeschooler case goes international
Campaign launched on behalf of German teen
Police take home-taught student to psych ward
German homeschool advocate says Nazis have returned
Government declares war on homeschooling parents
‘Pesky religion freedoms obstruct German society’
Achtung! Germany drags homeschool kids to class
Court upholds Nazi-era ban on homeschooling
Campaign to overturn law that jailed homeschool mom
Constitution threatened by homeschool case
Homeschool entrepreneurism catches fire
U.N. making homeschooling illegal?
Oprah acknowledges homeschoolers
Oprah’s essay contest excludes homeschoolers
Charges against homeschoolers dropped, plainclothes cop fired
Funds raised for arrested homeschoolers
Abuse case prompts rethink of homeschool laws
Germany continues targeting homeschoolers
Homeschooled chess champ illegally truant?
7 homeschooling dads thrown in jail
Judges try to snatch homeschoolers
District sorry for homeschooler-terrorist link
Homeschoolers portrayed as terrorists
Homeschoolers hit campaign trail
Survey: Homeschoolers new political force
Related commentary:
Constitutional amendment for homeschoolers? |
Authored by Bonner & Partners' Bill Bonner, annotated by Acting-Man's Pater Tenebrarum,
Lighting a Candle
On Tuesday, Donald Trump, president of all the Americans, said his country would spend more blood and money trying to force the Afghans to do what it wants them to do, whatever that is.
If you are destined to stay on the Afghan plantation forever, might as well plant something. [PT]
And so… a darkness covered the land. From Sioux City to Savannah, a shadow passed between Earth and sun. Strange and fearful events were reported. A calf was born with two heads outside of Des Moines. Pomegranate trees flowered in Manhattan. An LGBTQQ+ person wondered WTF?
The people were so afraid.
Nowhere was the darkness deeper than in the nation’s capital. There, no light shone. No flicker of awareness… observation… learning… or reflection appeared.
Hello, darkness.
Donald J. Trump had promised to light a candle. But it was nowhere to be seen. Five years ago, he said, “Ron Paul is right.” The Afghanistan adventure was “wasting our money.” It was a “total disaster,” he added.
He asked, “What are we doing there? These people hate us.” Then, a year later, he said, “We should leave Afghanistan immediately.”
And in his bid for the White House, he had offered something better. “America First,” he called it. Instead of trying, fruitlessly, to build a better country in the Hindu Kush, he would try to build a better country at home!
No more losing wars. No more strangling regulations. No more losing deals with the rest of the world. Even from the mouth of Donald Trump, these promises sounded good, good enough to win the nation’s highest office.
Ron Paul on the newest Afghanistan surge plans. He’s still right.
Democratic Sham
You will recall, the election of Donald J. Trump brought controversy to the Diary; many Dear Readers got very cross with us. Today, we back up to look at what the fuss was all about.
In the first place, we believe that democracy, as practiced in a big, degenerate empire, is largely a sham. Voting is a waste of time; we said so then.
In the second place, we thought the Deep State – the few insiders who really run the government – had either already made peace with Mr. Trump or would soon do so, after the election.
In the third place, we identified a chief cause of America’s economic malaise (as well as many of its other problems): the fake-money system, which encourages the buildup of debt and enriches Wall Street while reducing the real output and wealth of the Main Street economy.
In the fourth place, this fake-money system is the source of funding for the Deep State. It cannot give it up, no matter who is president. As long as this system remains in place, the Deep State will continue to grow – by legislation, regulation, hook or crook.
How it works, roughly
In the fifth place, you can’t really build a decent economy on phony money, debt, and forcing win-lose deals on the public. Each day that passes adds more debt, more complexity, and more misallocation of resources. Sooner or later, the whole shebang is going to blow up.
Just hours after the results came in last November, our view looked basically right. The new president gathered in the two most important branches of the Deep State – the Gunmen (representing the military-security industries) and the Goldmen (representing Goldman Sachs and Wall Street).
Obviously, a deal had been struck – or tacitly acknowledged. Wall Street and the Pentagon – “my generals” – were already part of the team. With them in place, Trump could be Trump with no fear of disrupting the Deep State’s privileges and position.
“No… he’s going to shake things up,” readers protested. “He’s our only hope…” “Give him time.”
But time and money are running out.
Ticking Clock
On Tuesday, under pressure from the generals, Donald Trump abandoned the promise of an “America First” foreign policy. The U.S. has lost 2,350 soldiers in Afghanistan… and spent $1 trillion.
And not to forget – the US was already almost out of there! – click to enlarge.
And now, even more resources will be brought to bear so that the longest, most pointless war in U.S. history can continue. Trump himself may be in favor of change. But U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration is the same as it was under Barack Obama. It favors the Deep State’s military-security industries – as it has for at least the last 17 years.
There is no change to Obamacare or any other significant domestic program, either. The Deep State’s zombie support/medical-educational-retirement transfer programs remain in place, too. But while Trump and the media focus on Confederate monuments, Russia, North Korea, transsexuals… and whirlwind crises, the clock ticks.
The feds have only enough cash for about six weeks of operations. Then, they will bump up against the current debt ceiling. The Deep State must raise the debt ceiling in order to keep the fake money flowing. But raising the debt ceiling may not be easy.
Conservative Republicans will want to know: “With the national debt already headed to $30 trillion, just where do we think we’re going?” “We’ll agree to raise the debt ceiling,” say the liberal Democrats, “but only if you leave O’Care alone.” “Hey, what about that bridge in my district?” asks the independent.
And so, the darkness spreads…
Raise the debt ceiling! It’s for a good cause! |
For other uses, see Kik
KiK, legally KiK Textilien und Non-Food GmbH, is a German textile discount store chain headquartered in Bönen.
Overview [ edit ]
KiK Headquarters in Bönen
KiK was founded in 1994 by Stefan Heinig and the holding company Tengelmann Group.[1] KiK is an acronym for "Kunde ist König" (English: The customer is king).[2]
KiK is the largest textile discounter chain in Germany and operates about 3,500 stores in Germany, Austria (since 1998), Slovenia and Czech Republic (since 2007), Hungary and Slovakia (since 2008), Croatia (since 2011), Poland (since March 2012)and The Netherlands (2013).[3] In 2017, KiK opened the first stores in Italy. KiK-CEO Patrick Zahn has announced to enter the US market beginning in 2019. The first stores will be opened in the Mid West.
The company employs 25.000 employees, of which the bulk share works in Germany. In 2016, the company had net revenues of 1,95 billion Euro, making it the sixth largest textile manufacturer in Germany.
Starting in 2013, the company has undertaken a large modernization offensive in all its stores. By the end of 2017, all stores in Germany as well as in the foreign markets will be based on a new interior concept, making them look brighter and more pleasant. The dominant color red will be largely substituted by silver.[4]
The company sells a range of women's, men's and children's clothing, baby wear and underwear, as well as toys, accessories and home textiles. Customers can buy a complete outfit for less than 30 Euros. The focus is on basic styles with only occasional changes in its assortment. This makes the company independent of trends and seasons. The orders can be produced with long lead times form nine to 12 month without time pressure. KiK buys its products from around 500 suppliers in Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Turkey, with Bangladesh the biggest contributor, accounting for over 40% of the orders. The products are imported to Germany on the basis of sea freight and hence distributed to the nine foreign markets KiK is operating in.
KiK has been a member of the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles since June 2015. This initiative by the German Ministry for Development and Cooperation, which is funded by commercial enterprises, non-governmental organizations, federal organizations and trade unions, is based on the belief that an improvement to manufacturing conditions in countries like Bangladesh or Pakistan cannot be brought about by individual companies alone.[5]
Online Shop [ edit ]
Since 2013 KiK operates an Online Shop.
Marketing [ edit ]
KiK has, in the past, sponsored a number of football teams, namely Arminia Bielefeld, Werder Bremen, Hansa Rostock and VfL Bochum.[6] They currently sponsor referees of the Austrian Football Bundesliga and in January 2009 also sponsored the German national team at the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship.[7]
Verona Pooth has been the face of KiK's television advertising campaign.[8] The cooperation ended in 2015.
Sustainability [ edit ]
The company has published four sustainability reports.
In October 2015, KiK banned plastic sacs from all its shops in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. Through this measure, the company saves about 33 million plastic sacs per year.[9]
KiK is a member of the German government's Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, a multi-stakeholder initiative to bring about social, ecological and economic improvements along the textile supply chain. KiK is among more than 150 members including Otto Group, Adidas, Hugo Boss and Puma and is engaged in all the initiative's working groups. It was among the first members of the Partnership to publish its catalogue of measures designed to provide greater transparency to consumers for products sold in Germany.[10]
The retailer is the first company in Germany with a contract in place which holds auditing companies legally liable for findings in the reports.
Criticism [ edit ]
Building collapse at Savar [ edit ]
On 24 April 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. At least 1,127 people died and over 2,438 were injured.[11] The factory housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people,[12] and manufactured apparel for brands including the Benetton Group, Joe Fresh,[13] The Children's Place, Primark, Monsoon, and DressBarn.[14][15] Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only 9 attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims. KiK was the second German company to contribute to the compensation fund. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour, Bonmarché, Mango, Auchan. The agreement was also signed by Primark, Loblaws, Bonmarché and El Corte Inglés.[16]
The retailer was one of the first German signatories of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh set up in May 2013 to inspect and remediate factories for fire, electrical and building safety, and was also among a group of global union federations and brands that have prepared the continuation of the work of the Accord in Bangladesh once its five-year remit comes to an end in 2018.[17]
Swastika-styled clothing racks [ edit ]
KiK's swastika-styled clothing racks
In 2009, a man from the German state Schleswig-Holstein pressed charges against KiK under Strafgesetzbuch § 86a, which outlaws the "use of symbols of unconstitutional organisations", for the chain using swastika-styled clothing racks in their shops.[18] KiK describes the allegations as incomprehensible.[19]
Wages for factory workers [ edit ]
KiK have been criticised by the Clean Clothes Campaign for their bad practices in countries such as Bangladesh, where factory workers are paid low wages.[20] In 2006, KiK has published a Code of Conduct, which imposes an obligation to suppliers to pay a compensation to workers that covers at least the legal or the industrial minimum wage level, whichever is higher.[21] KiK CEO Zahn has appealed on the government of Bangladesh to raise the minimum wage by ten percent.
Secret credit ratings of staff [ edit ]
While running almost 50,000 secret credit ratings of staff,[22] overtime is often not paid.[23] With the introduction of the legal minimum wage in Germany, KiK pays its staff minimum wage or higher. |
Description
Discontinued 2015, replaced with SKU 91351.
Finally available for public consumption is the much anticipated Scorpion sub-gun. Imported as a pistol, it is a blowback-operated semi-auto in 9mm with a short 7¾” barrel. Equipped with our newly designed low-profile sights, its rear sight has four different aperture sizes for everything from close quarters to way out there. The sights ride on an 11” Picatinny rail perfect for mounting optics.
Simple and reliable, the Scorpion not only has ambidextrous controls, its non-reciprocating charging handle is swappable and reach to the trigger is adjustable.
Our favorite accessory for the Scorpion pistol is our new arm brace adapter, which quickly and easily adds an AR-style pistol buffer tube to the rear of the action, enabling the use of an arm brace for added stability.
The most impressive stat on the Scorpion Pistol is the price tag. At just $849, it’s a whole lot of bang for the buck.
The CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 Pistol is legally classified by the ATF as a pistol, and is intended by CZ-USA to be used as a pistol. Under current federal law and ATF policy attaching a stock to this pistol – or attaching a device which is then used as a stock or intended to be used as a stock – constitutes the making of a short-barreled rifle which requires registration with ATF and the payment of the applicable tax. Users of the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 Pistol bear the sole responsibility for ensuring their use of the firearm complies with all local, state, and federal firearms laws. |
A look at the changes and new Cartel Market items in 4.4 PTS 1. Please note that this is nota compete list of all changes in the patch.
The HK-55 helmet and weapons will not be from a Cartel Pack. Not sure what's with the red helmet.
Subscriber Rewards
HK-55's Helmet Subscriber Reward HK-55's Helmet Subscriber Reward HK-55's Helmet Subscriber Reward HK-55's Blaster Pistol Subscriber Reward HK-55's Blaster Pistol Subscriber Reward HK-55's Sniper Rifle Subscriber Reward HK-55's Sniper Rifle Subscriber Reward HK-55's Vibrosword Subscriber Reward HK-55's Vibrosword Subscriber Reward 2V-R8 Customization - HK-55 Inspired Subscriber Reward C2-N2 Customization - HK-55 Inspired Subscriber Reward
New Cartel Market Items and Decorations
Advanced Turquoise Crystal Dasta Emissary Droid Companion- QO-77 Jedi Strategist's Armor Set Marsh Hunter Acklay Oberle Siren Tempted Apprentice's Dualsaber Tempted Apprentice's Lightsaber Tempted Apprentice's Shoto Relentless Hunter's Armor Set Wartime Ambassador's Armor Set Zakuulan Inquisitor's Armor Set Terrorclaw Raptor Arrangement Satele's Camp Medical Centrifuge Odessen Weapon Forge Statue of an Ancient Jedi Zakuulan Temple Torch Shadow Corsair Triumphant Predator's Armor Set
New Loading Screens
New Chapter 12 Weapons
These weapons are all 204 rating and unmoddable outside of the colour crystal. All class variations use the same model and just have a different name. These weapons will grant you special abilities in a special encounter in the future based on the choices you make throughout Chapter 12.
Attuned Assault Cannon Attuned Blaster Pistol Attuned Blaster Rifle Attuned Lightsaber Attuned Saberstaff Attuned Sniper Rifle
Things of Note
You can now set mounts as favorites by right clicking them in the ability panel.
The random mount ability will now only pull from the list of mounts you have set as favorites.
Looks like one of the upcoming sub-rewards will be C2-N2 and 2V-R8 HK-55 inspired customizations.
Rest of Chapter 12 dialog is now in the client.
A few cutscenes from Chapter 16 now have their dialog present in the client.
Other spoilers available in the detailed changes for those that want them.
Lots of work done on the Eternal Championship.
The HK-55 helmet is now Bind on Pickup rather than Bind on Legacy.
Theron Shan has been wearing the same outfit since he was a child.
No class changes.
No sign of Ranked Season 7.
Guild ship max hooks when fully upgraded increased to 800 from 700.
Guild ship max hooks without unlocks increased from 200 to 300.
Several old armour sets from class quests look like they are getting added to a vendor on the fleet. All adaptive and BoL.
As pointed out in the comments there's a "tuning mod" item. It's description indicates it allows you to add visual effects to your weapons. Currently it shares the same slot as colour crystals. It's labelled as a rare cartel market item. This is probably a distant feature rather than something we will see in 4.4. Doesn't appear to be too much data on this feature currently. When it is released I would expect it to occupy a different slot.
In-depth Changes (Contains heavy spoilers)
Changed Abilities
Changed Achievements
Changed Areas
Changed Codex Entries
Changed Collections
Changed Companions
Changed Conquests
Changed Conversations
Changed Decorations
GOM Changes
Changed Items
MTX Changes
Changed New Companions
Changed NPCs
Changed Quests
Changed Schematic Variations
Changed Schematics
Changed Ships
Changed String Tables
Changed Strongholds |
David Welker created a psychedelic version of Reading, Pennsylvania, for a stop on Phish's 30th anniversary tour.
"Reading's landmark Pagoda is on the right, and there's a reference to the Reading Railroad of past and how it's a river town situated among the hills," explained the artist. "I included different characters, possibly from Phishlore: Rutherford as a young lad crossing the bridge with his skateboard under one arm (instead of jumping in and drowning as he's destined to); townspeople with a lasso around an octopus who wants to return to the river; an alligator dancing with a banjo player in the street; and some strange, bulbous creatures fishing with their extendable tongues." On the horizon, a shark atop a pyramid alludes to the current fiscal crisis ... or the Phish song "Wilson," Welker hinted.
He conceived the design over the course of a month and executed the poster in two weeks. "After the pen, ink, and separations were drawn, I spent a few days on color concepts," he said. "At the last minute, I handed it over to my wife and our intern for their input. It has a feminine touch with the magenta, lavender, and neon greens – it's more fun than the colors I'd been using, which were somber and had an old-storybook feeling." The 22-by-14-inch, six-color screen print with a full bleed of metallic silver is inked on Madero Beach paper.
Welker also made a 4.25-by-6-inch, three-color screen print for Phish's newly released box set recorded live on December 7, 1995 in Niagara Falls. "It's a sweet little image," Welker remarked. "I spent a lot of time in Niagara Falls and it has sentimental value for me because my parents lived up there for a while. I studied the falls and one of my previous mentors used to do huge paintings of the crest and currents, so I tried to capture that with pen and paper." |
Safety Announcement
Additional Information for Patients
Additional Information for Health Care Professionals
Data Summary
References
Safety Announcement
[9-19-2012] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public about a possible increased risk of heart failure with Mirapex (pramipexole), a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome. Results of recent studies suggest a potential risk of heart failure that needs further review of available data.
Facts about Mirapex (pramipexole) A prescription medicine used to treat the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease and moderate to severe symptoms of primary restless legs syndrome
In a class of medicines called dopamine agonists
Works by acting in place of dopamine, produced by specific areas of the brain that control movement.3 Parkinson's disease causes progressive loss of dopamine production in the brain.
FDA evaluated a pooled analysis of randomized clinical trials and found that heart failure was more frequent with Mirapex than with placebo; however, these results were not statistically significant. FDA also evaluated two epidemiologic studies that suggested an increased risk of new onset of heart failure with Mirapex use.1,2 However, study limitations make it difficult to determine whether excess heart failure was related to Mirapex use or other influencing factors (see Data Summary below for a detailed discussion of the studies).
Because of the study limitations, FDA is not able to determine whether Mirapex increases the risk of heart failure. FDA is continuing to work with the manufacturer to clarify further the risk of heart failure with Mirapex and will update the public when more information is available.
Health care professionals should continue to follow the recommendations in the drug label when prescribing Mirapex. Patients should continue to take their Mirapex as directed and should contact their health care professional if they have any questions or concerns.
Additional Information for Patients
Do not stop taking your Mirapex unless told to do so by your health care professional.
FDA has not concluded that Mirapex increases the risk of heart failure. The Agency is continuing to review this safety concern and will update the public when more information is available.
Talk to your health care professional if you have any questions or concerns about Mirapex.
Contact your health care professional if you experience any symptoms of heart failure while taking Mirapex, such as shortness of breath – with exercise or at rest; swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, or abdomen; fatigue and weakness, rapid or irregular heart beat; chest pain; or persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tinged phlegm. Patients have reported swelling of the ankles and/or feet without other signs of heart failure while taking Mirapex.
Report side effects from Mirapex to FDA’s MedWatch program, using the information in the "Contact FDA" box at the bottom of this page.
Additional Information for Health Care Professionals
FDA has not concluded that Mirapex increases the risk of heart failure. The Agency is continuing to review this safety concern and will update the public when more information is available.
Continue to follow the recommendations in the drug label when prescribing Mirapex.
Discuss the benefits and potential risks of Mirapex with your patients.
Counsel patients to seek medical attention if they experience symptoms of heart failure while taking Mirapex.
Report adverse events involving Mirapex to FDA’s MedWatch program using the information in the "Contact FDA" box at the bottom of this page.
Data Summary
A pooled analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of Mirapex, first submitted by the manufacturer to FDA in 2008 and later updated in 2010, found that the incidence of newly diagnosed heart failure was more frequent in patients taking Mirapex (n=12/4157) than in patients receiving placebo (n=4/2820); however, the difference in incidence was not statistically significant.
To evaluate a possible association of Mirapex with heart failure, the manufacturer sponsored an epidemiologic study using the United Kingdom General Practice Research Database (GPRD).1 This was a case-control study in a cohort of users of anti-Parkinsonian drugs, aged 40 to 89 years. Seven hundred and eighty-three heart failure cases were matched to 7,454 controls. The results showed that current use of any dopamine agonist, versus no use of a dopamine agonist, was associated with a statistically significant increase in risk for heart failure (risk ratio [RR] = 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.26-1.96). Among the individual dopamine agonists, a statistically significant association was found for Mirapex (RR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.21-2.85) and cabergoline (RR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.39-3.07), compared to no use of these specific drugs.
The results of a second epidemiologic study to investigate the risk of heart failure associated with dopamine agonist use was recently published.2 This second study was a case-control study nested in a cohort of Parkinson’s disease patients who were new users of a dopamine agonist or levodopa. Researchers used data from four population-based European databases. A total of 518 incident heart failure cases were matched to 38,641 controls. Findings of this study did not suggest that current use of ergot dopamine agonists as a class, or current use of non-ergot dopamine agonists as a class, were associated with an increased risk of heart failure when compared to use of levodopa. However, among individual non-ergot dopamine agonists, only current use of Mirapex was associated with an increased risk of heart failure when compared to levodopa (odds ratio [OR] = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.09-2.38). The increased risk for heart failure was present within the first three months of therapy (OR = 3.06; 95% CI: 1.74-5.39) and in patients aged 80 years and older (OR = 3.30; 95% CI: 1.62-7.13); the increased risk for heart failure was not significant in those who used Mirapex longer than three months.
The epidemiologic studies had a number of limitations. In the GPRD study, the primary analysis did not restrict the study population by Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, and all users of anti-Parkinsonian drugs were included (i.e., users of these drugs for Parkinson’s disease, restless legs syndrome, treatment of hyperprolactinemia, and for unidentified reasons), which likely resulted in a more heterogeneous study population. Another important limitation is that there was limited1 or no2 validation of the heart failure cases by medical chart review. Both studies had an imbalance in the percentage of patients with cardiovascular risk factors (such as a history of ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and arrhythmia) that were more frequent in cases than controls. Although both reports included a sensitivity analysis excluding patients with peripheral edema, the presence of peripheral edema may still cause bias in detecting heart failure in both studies. Mirapex is associated with peripheral edema, which may lead to increased testing and detection of heart failure cases. There is also the potential influence of an increasing risk for heart failure with older age (80 years and older) in the general population.
The results from the published Mokhles et al. study,2 showing an increased risk for heart failure only in the first three months of therapy, are difficult to explain, since heart failure is generally considered to develop chronically.
FDA is continuing to work with the manufacturer to clarify further the risk of heart failure with Mirapex. FDA will update the public when more information is available.
This communication is in keeping with FDA's commitment to inform the public about its ongoing safety review of drugs.
References |
Image copyright Sanal Image caption Sanal Edamaruku lives in Finland in self-imposed exile
More than 40 Indian writers have returned their literary awards to protest against the "growing intolerance in the country" after a series of incidents, including the killings of writers and rationalists. BBC Monitoring's Vikas Pandey speaks to some Indian activists who are using Facebook to continue educating people about "rational and tolerant" thinking.
Sanal Edamaruku fondly remembers his friend Malleshappa Kalburgi and his work as a rational thinker.
Dr Kalburgi, 77, was shot dead in August at his home in the southern state of Karnataka. He was known for his free views which often angered right-wing Hindu activists.
Mr Edamaruku says other free thinkers like Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar have also been killed for their thoughts and beliefs in the past three years.
"Dr Kalburgi was a free-spirited thinker and writer. He disagreed with right-wing politicians but that doesn't mean he deserved to be shot at his home. The incident is so unfortunate and shows the growing intolerance in our country," he says.
Most of the writers agree with Mr Edamaruku and have cited similar reasons for returning their Sahitya Akademi award - one of the highest honours bestowed on Indian authors.
But the rationalist thinker, who now lives in Finland in self-imposed exile, says social media can be a great equaliser in his fight to promote free thinking and protect freedom of speech in the country.
He was charged with blasphemy in 2012 after questioning the "miracles" of a church in Mumbai.
Image caption Dr Kalburgi was a leading scholar and well-known rationalist thinker
"I received several threats after the incident and decided to leave the country for a while, but I haven't been able to come back. The situation for free thinkers in the country has further deteriorated since 2012," he says.
Mr Edamaruku says there seems to be a pattern in the killing of the rationalists "because all three were shot by strangers".
"These are tough times, but we can't afford to be silent. Social media has helped me tremendously in keeping my campaign going from abroad," he says.
Mr Edamaruku runs the India Rationalist Association page which has close to 5,000 members. His own public page has more than 17,000 followers.
"Social media helps me stay connected with my fellow thinkers. I don't know when I can come back, but Facebook helps me not feel too isolated from India."
He urges Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to take notice of these issues to protect India's social harmony.
Like his fellow rationalists, Mr Edamaruku thinks that India's society is increasingly becoming intolerant towards non-majoritarian views.
"I used to go to villages in the 90s to bust superstitions and miracles of godmen. I never felt threatened. I continued the same in the next decade. People used to disagree with our views, but nobody threatened to kill us."
He says that people understood that "our mission was not to challenge religions, but to encourage them in questioning superstitions".
But that seems to have changed. Many writers decided to return their awards after the killing of a man "over what kind of meat he ate" in northern India.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Mohammad Akhlaq was killed by a mob in late September allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home
Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was killed in a mob lynching in late September allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.
The slaughter of cows is a sensitive issue in India as the animal is considered sacred by Hindus, who comprise 80% of the country's 1.2bn people.
'Provocative content'
Soorya Sriram is one of the administrators of the Indian Atheists page, which has more than 38,000 followers. It promotes rational thinking and "stands for secular humanism".
He also acknowledges the growing intolerance in the country.
"Religious extremists have and will continue using violence as their weapon of choice. This is because they do not have reason on their side," he says.
Image copyright Indian Atheists
Mr Sriram says he is confident that forums like Facebook will continue to help them air their views to a wider audiences.
"Facebook now holds a significant position in our actions and discussions. Our message is delivered and shared widely via Facebook," he says.
The page is known for its provocative content. He defends the strategy, saying that "our posts seem provocative mainly because they speak the truth".
"We do not insult beliefs or gods randomly as it serves no inherent purpose. But we openly criticise gods and beliefs that promote various forms of discrimination and oppression, such as the caste system, misogyny, support of murder, etc," he says.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook. |
A new natural gas and petroleum leak occurred Saturday near Porter Ranch, not far from the shuttered well that spewed gas for four months, state officials reported.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services reported it received a complaint about a gas and petroleum leak at 8:25 a.m. from Southern California Gas Co. at its controversial Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.
The leak from a well, known as Standard Sesnon 1-21, was stopped at 10:25 a.m., according to an OES hazardous materials spill update, after it had spewed 30 gallons of oil spray and an unknown amount of natural gas.
“Earlier today we become aware that a third party company that operates at the Aliso Canyon site experienced a localized oil spill with gas venting at their petroleum well,” said SoCalGas in a community bulletin. “This well is not owned or operated by SoCalGas.”
The company said it immediately notified the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, as well as air, oil and gas regulatory agencies and local fire departments.
It was unclear Saturday what third-party company or subcontractor had been operating the leaking well.
One of 115 natural gas wells operated by SoCalGas sprung a leak in late October, releasing 100,000 tons of methane into the air in the largest gas leak in the nation. Thousands of residents complained of headaches, nosebleeds and other symptoms.
More than 7,000 homes and two schools were relocated at SoCal gas expense. An emergency declaration was issued. Numerous lawsuits have been filed.
After the new leak on Saturday, local conservationists repeated their call to permanently shut down the Aliso Canyon facility. The much depleted underground storage field, when full, supplies energy to power plants, institutions and millions of residents across Southern California.
“We are outraged!,” said Jennifer Milbauer, a spokeswoman for Save Porter Ranch, in a statement. “It’s more obvious than ever that Aliso Canyon is dangerous and needs to be completely shut down immediately, regardless of the operators in that field.
“These wells are old, decaying,” she added, “and this will continue to happen again and again, poisoning thousands in the nearby communities.” |
Every now and again a game comes along that (whether it realizes it or not) has a lot to say about this river that we all flow down. On the surface, The Molasses Flood’s The Flame in the Flood is a rogue-lite/like wilderness survival game. That’s what most people are going to tell you. Asking me, however, I’d tell you that The Flame in the Flood pretty much lays down a perfect metaphor for the human cycle of life.
With little information about what is happening around her, Scout and her faithful best friend Aesop get on a rickety raft and cast themselves out into the wilds of the world, floating down river to an unknown destination. Scout doesn’t really know where she’s going, all she knows is that she needs to get there.
There’s a lot of untold poetry contained within this game and its mechanics. For the most part, when you start down the river there’s no real going back. Just like life, the river flows in one direction and never in the other direction. All we can do is keep moving forward.
Sometimes the completely unexpected happens, and Scout finds herself taking an injury that could very well be life threatening. Just like in life, our character is not determined by the person that we are when everything is going right, but by the person that we are when everything is going wrong. Scout drudges through fire and flames, rain and cold, and much bigger animals that have no qualms with attempting to kill her in the name of their own survival.
Still, Scout carries on.
Along the way, Scout will meet interesting people out at the various camp sites, gas stations, and more that are dotted along the river’s banks. They’re people with their own stories and lives. We’re not there for their stories, we’re here for Scout’s. Those people briefly enter Scout’s life for a purpose, and then they are gone. Scout remains, and so does the river.
Sometimes the river is a smooth ride and you find yourself going “Everything is okay. I can do this.” Other days the river isn’t okay, with jagged and twisted rocks threatening to destroy your raft, detached branches cutting you off in front of a turn, and other times finding yourself struggling to make the basic ends meet such as food, water, and sleep.
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
By the time you finish the main campaign, Scout will have been met with success and failure in equal measure. Just like us, she’s definitely no longer in ‘factory condition.’ She’ll be beaten, bruised, and battered. If we could zoom in, she’d have her own share of scars and stories to tell about them. She’s weathered, and lived.
The ending of The Flame in the Flood is short, and vague. It doesn’t need to be much more than that. When you finish, you look back on a zoomed out map version of your journey down the river. This should serve as a reminder that just like life, the destination wasn’t nearly as important as the journey itself. All of the story of your life is contained in what you did along the way, not what the ultimate conclusion was at the end.
Molasses Flood’s The Flame in the Flood isn’t the longest game, the greatest game, or even the most innovative game in the world. But I think sometimes we forget that we don’t need every game to be any of those things. Sometimes we just need a game to do the one thing that a lot of games neglect to do anymore: Have a heart and believe in what it stands for.
The Flame in the Flood has a beating heart that comes from the very essence of people. In this, it’s difficult to go wrong.
~Oliver
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As-salâm ‘aleïkoum Ordos // China
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Drenched in sunlight, the mosque of Ordos gives the same impression as the city that surrounds it – it is waiting.
The mosque is brand new and has been built with cubism and minimalism as the dominant aesthetics in the heart of the most famous Chinese “ghost town”: the district of Kangbashi, a surprisingly large architectural project born from the arid soil of Inner Mongolia in the west of China, surrounded by mining operations seeking coal and rare earth elements.
After pushing through a few doors, it is the Imam himself who will welcome you with a shared cup of tea. From the Hui minority, he is the spiritual leader of a place of worship where no crowd can ever be found, where prayer rugs are a seldom seen sight.
Betting on the future, the new town of Kangbashi doesn’t hide its ambitions and expects that soon it will find the spark that would make it to the “new Shanghai”.
Located in the heart of the ancient empire of Genghis Khan, buildings, stadiums, museums, hospitals and new highways have stood waiting since the project started in 2003, expecting to receive the 1 million souls intended for them . Yet only 20,000 people inhabit these buildings and prices of the real estate here continue their slow decline.
In the end, the striking mirage of Ordos could disappear as suddenly as it appeared, swept away by the winds of the Mongolian steppes. |
In six seconds, you’ll hate me.
But in six months, you’ll be a better writer.
From this point forward – at least for the next half year – you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use.
The list should also include: Loves and Hates.
And it should include: Is and Has, but we’ll get to those, later.
Until some time around Christmas, you can’t write: Kenny wondered if Monica didn’t like him going out at night…”
Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating.
Instead, you’ll have to Un-pack that to something like: “The mornings after Kenny had stayed out, beyond the last bus, until he’d had to bum a ride or pay for a cab and got home to find Monica faking sleep, faking because she never slept that quiet, those mornings, she’d only put her own cup of coffee in the microwave. Never his.”
Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it.
Instead of saying: “Adam knew Gwen liked him.”
You’ll have to say: “Between classes, Gwen was always leaned on his locker when he’d go to open it. She’d roll her eyes and shove off with one foot, leaving a black-heel mark on the painted metal, but she also left the smell of her perfume. The combination lock would still be warm from her ass. And the next break, Gwen would be leaned there, again.”
In short, no more short-cuts. Only specific sensory detail: action, smell, taste, sound, and feeling.
Typically, writers use these “thought” verbs at the beginning of a paragraph (In this form, you can call them “Thesis Statements” and I’ll rail against those, later) In a way, they state the intention of the paragraph. And what follows, illustrates them.
For example:
“Brenda knew she’d never make the deadline. Traffic was backed up from the bridge, past the first eight or nine exits. Her cell phone battery was dead. At home, the dogs would need to go out, or there would be a mess to clean up. Plus, she’d promised to water the plants for her neighbor…”
Do you see how the opening “thesis statement” steals the thunder of what follows? Don’t do it.
If nothing else, cut the opening sentence and place it after all the others. Better yet, transplant it and change it to: Brenda would never make the deadline.
Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating.
Don’t tell your reader: “Lisa hated Tom.”
Instead, make your case like a lawyer in court, detail by detail. Present each piece of evidence. For example:
“During role call, in the breath after the teacher said Tom’s name, in that moment before he could answer, right then, Lisa would whisper-shout: ‘Butt Wipe,” just as Tom was saying, ‘Here’.”
One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone. Writing, you may be alone. Reading, your audience may be alone. But your character should spend very, very little time alone. Because a solitary character starts thinking or worrying or wondering.
For example: Waiting for the bus, Mark started to worry about how long the trip would take..”
A better break-down might be: “The schedule said the bus would come by at noon, but Mark’s watch said it was already 11:57. You could see all the way down the road, as far as the Mall, and not see a bus. No doubt, the driver was parked at the turn-around, the far end of the line, taking a nap. The driver was kicked back, asleep, and Mark was going to be late. Or worse, the driver was drinking, and he’d pull up drunk and charge Mark seventy-five cents for death in a fiery traffic accident…”
A character alone must lapse into fantasy or memory, but even then you can’t use “thought” verbs or any of their abstract relatives.
Oh, and you can just forget about using the verbs forget and remember.
No more transitions such as: “Wanda remember how Nelson used to brush her hair.”
Instead: “Back in their sophomore year, Nelson used to brush her hair with smooth, long strokes of his hand.”
Again, Un-pack. Don’t take short-cuts.
Better yet, get your character with another character, fast. Get them together and get the action started. Let their actions and words show their thoughts. You -- stay out of their heads.
And while you’re avoiding “thought” verbs, be very wary about using the bland verbs “is” and “have.”
One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone.
For example:
“Ann’s eyes are blue.”
“Ann has blue eyes.”
Versus:
“Ann coughed and waved one hand past her face, clearing the cigarette smoke from her eyes, blue eyes, before she smiled…”
Instead of bland “is” and “has” statements, try burying your details of what a character has or is, in actions or gestures. At its most basic, this is showing your story instead of telling it.
And forever after, once you’ve learned to Un-pack your characters, you’ll hate the lazy writer who settles for: “Jim sat beside the telephone, wondering why Amanda didn’t call.”
Please. For now, hate me all you want, but don’t use “thought” verbs. After Christmas, go crazy, but I’d bet money you won’t.
For this month’s homework
...pick through your writing and circle every “thought” verb. Then, find some way to eliminate it. Kill it by Un-packing it.
Then, pick through some published fiction and do the same thing. Be ruthless.
“Marty imagined fish, jumping in the moonlight…”
“Nancy recalled the way the wine tasted…”
“Larry knew he was a dead man…”
Find them. After that, find a way to re-write them. Make them stronger.
Thanks for last month’s questions. If you have more, submit them, and I’ll get to them in mid-June.
If You're Thirsting For More Writing Lessons From Chuck
We Have 35 More Of Them Right Here!
*Photo credit: Yasmina Moya |
The separation between church and state is occasionally blurred, especially with funding for parochial schools, as New Jersey often provides aid in the form of textbooks and busing for religious institutions.
But this bedrock provision is clear: The state's constitution forbids subsidizing the building of facilities where religious instruction takes place.
So the ACLU sued to block the Christie Administration from awarding $11 million to a rabbinical school and a ministry in 2013. And while its case was based largely on sex discrimination, an appeals court last week voided both grants because these are sectarian institutions, not liberal arts schools with some religious instruction.
Most of the money was to fund capital projects at Beth Medrash Gohova, the large yeshiva in Lakewood. The fact that the area community can deliver a large bloc of Orthodox votes seemed more than coincidental: The community endorsed Gov. Christie when he ran for reelection in 2013.
Church and state separated for a reason | Editorial
Indeed, the administration asked for this defeat. When a bond referendum raised $1.3 billion for state colleges that year, the Secretary of Higher Education went before the Senate Budget Committee and would not explain allocation criteria. It was information we were not entitled to have, Christie figured.
Three years later, the court has spelled out for everyone. The governor was using $10.6 million taxpayer dollars as a voter valentine, for projects that "indisputably will be used subsequently, if not exclusively, for religious instruction," the appellate panel wrote.
In other words, Christie's pandering was unconstitutional. Democracy is a tough room.
More: Recent Star-Ledger editorials.
Follow NJ.com Opinion on Twitter@NJ_Opinion. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. |
Some things only improve with age: oak trees, hard cheeses, George Clooney… Some novels, also, get better and better; remove them from the initial hype and throw in some historical context and the time to reread (and reread and reread), and you’re left with the most stimulating and rewarding of texts. Here’s a handful of books from the 1960s that we think are ageing particularly well…
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1. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee (1960)
Harper Lee’s only novel is about childhood, prejudice, the judiciary system, small town fear, racism, domestic abuse and familial love – none of that gets dated or irrelevant. Scout Finch’s razor-sharp narrative is as funny and poignant today as it was in 1960 and Lee’s characters are still amongst the most vivid in the American canon. And Boo Radley? The most intriguing neighbour EVER. Fact.
2. A Wrinkle In Time, Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
A fantasy-adventure story, ostensibly for kids, this is the first in a series by L’Engle about the Murry family children, known as the Time Quintet; it tells the story of fourteen year-old Meg Murry, who sets out to find her father, the missing scientist who’s been working on a government project about something called a ‘tesseract’, a sort of fold in space-time that allows meg and her siblings to be whizzed through the universe on their rescue mission… We’re not the only ones to still love this brilliant and complicated book, either: it got written into the famous head-scratcher of a TV series, Lost. If it’s good enough for JJ Abrams…
3. Catch-22, Joseph Heller (1961)
One of the best war satires ever written, Catch-22’s special brand of hyperbolic lunacy has aged spectacularly well; we think Milo Minderbinder, if he were in operation today, would be having a field-day taking on government catering contracts all over the world. For a very long and involved book with an enormous cast, it’s captivating and hilarious and, funny as it is, still captures the particular horror of endless conflict and beaurocratic assignment.
4. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote (1966)
An early example of the now-ubiquitous true crime genre, Capote’s study of a murder case in Kansas in 1959 still has the power to shock. His near-fictionalized approach to characterization and plot-development in the story of the slaughter of Herbert Clutter and his family and the trial and conviction of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith was criticized by some of its subjects, who questioned the book’s veracity, but Capote’s innovative approach to form remains fascinating even today. Sure, it’s not technically a novel, but it very closely mimics the way one might operate, and so we’ve snuck it in here anyway…
5. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov (1967)
Bulgakov’s best-known novel, a satirical fantasy starring the devil and his retinue of gangsters and their only opposition, a madman known as the Master and his lover, Margarita. Although, not strictly a book of the 60s as it was written in several drafts between 1928 and 1940 (with the subtext, pretty clearly, being Stalinist Russia) it didn’t get published until 1967. This was, alas, nearly thirty years after the author’s death. The satire is as biting as ever today, and Bulgakov’s ambition in mixing fantasy and politics remains a high point for those who like their prose both brilliant and ballsy…
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle (1969)
Okay, ‘novel’ might be pushing it, but this kids’ classic is a deserved favourite: the simple poetry of the accompanying text are hardly matched in most adults’ prose fiction today. ‘In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf’ – come on! What better way to learn to read can you imagine? The drawings are gorgeous, there’s true narrative tension (Will the caterpillar eat too much? What’s happening inside that weird cocoon?) and it’s as popular with toddlers today as it was in the 1960s. Naysayers, be damned! We adore this book.
7. The Violent Bear It Away, Flannery O’Connor (1960)
From the gorgeous to the grotesque – O’Connor’s probably best know today as a short story writer, and her collections are outstanding, but this, her second novel, is a prime example of the Southern Gothic school of writing that’s maybe best represented today by Cormac McCarthy. The Violent Bear It Away tells of Francis Tarwater, a boy who’s struggling against the destiny his fanatical old great-uncle has set out for him as a Christian prophet. O’Connor’s writing is more Old Testament than New, as far as energy and event goes, desire her own Christian beliefs, and this book is as harsh and bleak and funny and true as anything we’ve read from this century. Check it out.
8. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark (1961)
A group of Scottish schoolgirls are taken under the wing of their school teacher, Jean Brodie, an anti-conventional woman ‘in her prime’ who’s disliked by the establishment (the other teachers) and suspecte to be a subversive influence. Spark’s proleptic (flash-forward) structure and her complex characterization and treatment or morality (Is Jean Brodie revolutionary or manipulative?) Short and deep and enormously acute, we want to reread this on a monthly basis.
9. The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon (1966)
Bewildering and complex, like all Pynchon’s work, this is another short and intense number and an excellent example of postmodernist US fiction. Our heroine, Oedipa Maas, is a Californian housewife who’s left in charge of her ex-lover’s estate and ends up on a peculari fact-finding mission when an odd symbol keeps recurring…. Underground organizations, conspiracies, paranoia and rare stamps: it’s not a quick read, despite its length, but it’s an intriguing puzzler that has inspired the likes of Radiohead and William Gibson. If you haven’t yet tried Pynchon, here’s a good place to start.
10. Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates (1961)
To wind down, here’s a miserable little tale of suburban and marital unhappiness, miscommunication and alienation. It’s been adapted into a film version starring Leonardo diCaprio and Kate Winslet, but as usual, the book is better. Yates’ unadorned, Carver-like prose here in his debut sets the tone for the rest of his oeuvre – it’s all sadness and thwarted ambition and bad relationships. Not one to give your new spouse as a wedding gift, perhaps, but still one to be savoured. Suburban angst is still alive and kicking, after all!
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A New Zealander who was allegedly preparing to fight in the Syrian war was told to shave his beard to look like a tourist before leaving Melbourne, an Australian court has heard.
Amin Mohamed, 23, appeared during a contested committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.
He is charged with four counts of preparing to enter a foreign state to engage in armed hostilities.
In an opening statement, Commonwealth prosecutor Mark Gibson said Mohamed prepared to go to Syria in September last year.
The four charges relate to obtaining a mobile phone number under a false name, applying for a New Zealand passport, buying a plane ticket to Istanbul, Turkey, and receiving contact details for a man who could organise travel from Turkey to Syria.
Michael O'Connell QC, for Mohamed, said the defence would focus on whether there was proof that his client had intended to engage in a hostile act.
Mohamed came to Australia from New Zealand in November, 2012. He worked as a customer services officer at Couriers Please in Port Melbourne and had told police he was a "Kiwi through and through" and had a degree in marketing and management from the Auckland University of Technology.
O'Connell said a co-worker had spoken to Mohamed about his religion but he had never expressed extreme or violent views.
There was no forensic evidence, no evidence on any personal links to Syria, no intercepted emails and no evidence of Mohamed having any extremist or Jihadi material, O'Connell said.
Mohamed is alleged to have been in contact with Hamdi Alqudsi, who has been charged in New South Wales over helping several men to travel to Syria with the intention of fighting.
Mohamed was to make contact with a man known as Omar, to travel to Syria from Turkey, Alqudsi said in intercepted phone calls and text messages.
In September last year, Alqudsi was heard on an intercepted phone call telling Mohamed that some other fighters may not be able to meet him after he arrived, Gibson said.
"None of our boys are there now, all at the battlefield and they will never come back until victory or martyrdom," Alqudsi said.
In another conversation, he told Mohamed to shave before travelling to Turkey, where he was to board another plane that would take him to Hatay, near the Syrian border.
Australian Federal Police agent Steven Gategood said an investigation started into Alqudsi when ASIO passed on telephone intercept material last August.
Alqudsi was given a number for Mohamed during a conversation with another man on September 5. Authorities monitored Mohamed after that point.
The group had used a code, including "soccer players" for other alleged fighters and "Isabell" for Istanbul. Mohamed had allegedly arranged for three other fighters to travel to Syria, after assuring Alqudsi they were "mentally" ready.
Alqudsi said that if they were not and tried to leave they will "finish them off".
During another intercept, he was recorded telling a friend that his family feared he would become a suicide bomber.
"She thinks I'm going to end up blowing myself up down the line".
The court heard Mohamed had been observed by undercover officers buying a new mobile phone SIM card at Coles and looking at flights at an Internet cafe in Sunshine in the days before he left Melbourne. He had bought a new phone using the name Stuart Wright.
He flew to Sydney on September 21, then on to Brisbane, where he was intercepted by federal agents before boarding a flight to Singapore. He was charged last December, after earlier telling authorities he had only planned to stay in Turkey one night before heading to Denmark to marry his fiance, who he could not name.
After the lunch adjournment, O'Connell applied for leave to cross examine two witnesses, the federal agent who interviewed Mohamed at Brisbane airport, and an academic who had provided a report on the Syrian conflict as part of the brief.
Gibson opposed the application, but it was granted by Magistrate Jan Maclean.
Charge four was also amended to remove any reference to Mohammed Ali Baryalei (Abu Omar) as the man contacted about travel from Turkey to Syria.
Gibson said the man was known only as Omar, but was not believed to be Baryalei, as he was referred to on an intercepted telephone call as not speaking English. Baryalei is an Australian.
The committal hearing will continue on December 18. |
Kelvin, Helen and Jason Griffin will install solar panels in a bid to cut their power bills.
A cane grower frustrated at the rising cost of electricity for irrigation has taken the unusual step of going off the grid.
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Kelvin Griffin has borrowed $100,000 to install solar panels on his 80-hectare cane farm at Bargara, east of Bundaberg, in a bid to cut his power bill.
So far three concrete slabs have been laid in preparation for the installation, which Mr Griffin said was inspired by spiralling costs.
"The concrete slabs are the foundation to put up the new panels to power two DC pumps to run a high-pressure irrigator off the grid," he said.
"Just the expense of power, because you're always frightened to go and push the button because you never know quite what you're going to get at the end of the three months as an account."
Mr Griffin estimated he spent between $40,000 and $50,000 irrigating his cane each year, but said he hoped the solar system would allow him to expand production.
Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and do things. Kelvin Griffin, cane grower
"At different times we've actually grown less crop, which hopefully with this off the grid power that will be able to increase our production again," he said.
"We're looking to be able to gain around about a minimum of 10 per cent if not 15 per cent (productivity) across our farms."
He said when irrigated fully, his property used to produce 7,000 tonnes of cane a year, but that had been scaled back to mitigate the cost of irrigating.
"We've backed right off in the past five years because we've gone on to pretty well all flood irrigation, which is probably not the most effective way of doing it because with our head pressure here we are able to flood without pumps, but because of the depth of the soil we use a lot of water," Mr Griffin said.
For about the same cost as a 120 horse power tractor, Mr Griffin said he will be free of the burden of a power bill, and he urged other farmers to consider solar as they would any other farm equipment.
"You've just got to look at it in the sense that it is a piece of machinery and it's able to be used now, just by going and pushing the button," he said.
"Most farmers in the area, this will hopefully be able to show them that it is possible to irrigate off the grid with a high pressure irrigator.
"Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and do things."
Costs for those left behind
But as Mr Griffin takes control of his own costs, his plan could end up costing others more.
Dale Hollis from the Bundaberg Regional Irrigators Group said power generators adjusted their prices to compensate for the loss of people like Mr Griffin from the network, and over time, that would impact on the community.
Look at it from your own perspective, do the numbers, and if it suits to go off grid as an individual that's something that you need to decide. Dale Hollis, Bundaberg Regional Irrigators Group
He said it was not an easy decision for the Griffin family to make, but it showed how desperate primary producers were to reduce their costs.
"It's been a hard decision for for the Griffins to make but ultimately with the price of power where it's gone, and where it's been, and where it potentially will head under the current pricing system it's understandable," he said.
"It is just a symptom of where agriculture's heading.
"We've asked Ergon Energy and the State Government to reduce the power costs, they haven't, and as a result irrigators and people like the Griffins will make choices and will go off grid.
"The unfortunate thing about that is that the way the power price is struck, Ergon's got a guaranteed revenue so it's one less customer on the grid to help pay the bill to Ergon so we'll all suffer an incremental increase in price because of it."
Mr Hollis said the frustration for many irrigators was they preferred using the grid as a reliable source of power, but it had become so costly many were choosing to downsize their crops, rather than pay bigger bills.
He said ultimately, those that can't afford to go off the grid will end up paying the price.
"That's exactly what happened with the solar on roofs and the domestic purposes," he said.
"The current Director General of the Department of Energy and Water Supply has actually written a paper on a thing called the death spiral, which is what is happening to the network here in Queensland.
"Look at it from your own perspective, do the numbers, and if it suits to go off grid as an individual that's something that you need to decide." |
We know we are late with this story, due to a misunderstanding we are posting it a few days late. But here goes.
BioWare had one of there infamous SWTOR Community Cantina’s this last weekend. At the event new info was released as well as alot of hints of what might be comming.
Housing
stevebelt asked about player housing, and while the verbal answer was of the “that’s a good idea” variety, judging by his not-so-wry smile and general body language, I’d say it’s almost a certainty they are working on player housing. In his question he made a note of how ripe for CM player housing content was, and the smiling/nodding only got bigger. Based on this, I would be completely stunned if we don’t see player housing in 2014.
New Story
At the Cantina they said that a new story arc would begin with the 2.7 update, and would reach an “EPIC” conclusion by the end of the year. An official blog post about the new arc may be out within the next week. With regard to new classes or new companion storylines, they said the resources required to do that are huge, and they would rather use those resources to provide new content — planetary storylines — that all toons could play.
Legacy level cap
They also said that raising the Legacy level cap and adding corresponding perks was “on the roadmap” but did not say more than that. One BW person said a Legacy vault — i.e. a place to keep all your alts’ mats and trade-able items — would require too much coding.
Below is all the new screenshots from the Community Cantina Flash-drive:
Stardrive Flash Space PvP Inspired Mount
Walmart Bomber Mini Pet
Bomber Screenshots
Gunship Screenshots
Concept Arts
Kuat Drive Yards Screenshots
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Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona east of Chandler, and about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants.
It was active as a training base for both the United States Army Air Forces, as well as the USAF from 1941 until its closure in 1993. Williams was the leading pilot training facility of the USAF, supplying 25% of all pilots.
Since its closure, the base has largely been annexed by the city of Mesa, Arizona. It was converted into the civilian Williams Gateway Airport, later renamed Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. In recent years, the land has emerged as an educational and industrial campus anchored by Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus and Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
History [ edit ]
During March 1941, some citizens of Mesa, Arizona were actively working on obtaining an Air Corps facility located near their city. One of the sites seriously considered for the new airfield was on the Gila River Indian Reservation located near Chandler, Arizona. At the time, the land on which Williams would eventually be built was vacant and not used for agriculture due to a lack of irrigation. It had no homes or farms and was essentially desert with a few Indian ruins scattered on it. On their own initiative, the city of Mesa began to acquire rights to the property that was divided among 33 different owners. Agreements were made for a railroad spur line, along with the appropriate electric, water, telephone and gas services.
The hard work paid off with the announcement in June 1941 that the War Department had approved the site for an Army Air Corps base. Construction of the new base started on 16 July 1941 with the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Mesa, Arizona mayor, George Nicholas Goodman and Arizona governor, Sidney P. Osbone who both attended the groundbreaking of Falcon Field that morning.[1] Initial construction was completed in December, making the base operational.
As of 10 December, the airfield had no name and a debate ensued on what to call the new base. It was initially named Mesa Military Airport. the name was changed October 1941 to Higley Field, the base being in the proximity of the town of Higley, Arizona. In February 1942, the growing military airfield's name was changed to Williams Field in honor of Arizona native 1st Lt Charles Linton Williams (1898–1927). Lieutenant Williams died on 6 July 1927 when his Boeing PW-9A pursuit aircraft crashed near Fort DeRussy, Hawaii.
As a flying school, numerous runways and auxiliary airfields were constructed. The main airfield consisted of three concrete 6,000 ft (1,800 m) runways aligned NE/SW, ENE/WSW and NE/SW. A blacktop landing area 5,500 ft × 1,430 ft (1,680 m × 440 m) was aligned E/W to the south of the main field and a 4,100 ft × 1,350 ft (1,250 m × 410 m) blacktop landing area was aligned E/W to the south of the main field.
Postcard from Williams Field showing aircraft and cadets standing in formation
Williams Army Airfield Arizona 1941
Known auxiliary airfields were:
Redeveloped in the 1970s. Today housing development S of US 60 in Gilbert, Arizona.
Casa Grande Field (Aux #3)
Goodyear Field (Aux #4)
Built in the 1930s, Abandoned in the 1950s, today agricultural field, no remains
Was auxiliary until 1944, turned over to Air Transport Command in May 1944. Today: Coolidge Municipal Airport (FAA LID: P08).
Emergency landing field
Transferred from Luke AAF, June 1943. Part of the Gila Bend Gunnery Range. Today: Eric Marcus Municipal Airport (FAA LID: P01)
Transferred from Luke AAF, June 1943. Part of the Gila Bend Gunnery Range
Gila Bend #6/Williams AAF #4: Gila Bend #6/Williams AAF #5: Gila Bend #6/Williams AAF #6:
World War II [ edit ]
World War II Postcard
Williams Army Airfield - Main Gate 1942
During World War II, Williams Field was under the command of the 89th Army Air Force Base Unit, AAF West Coast Training Center. The flying organization was the 38th (Bombardier and Specialized Twin- and 4-Engine) Flying Training Wing. Thousands of future P-38 Lightning pilots learnt their twin-engine flying skills flying the Beech AT-10 Wichita at Williams. By July 1942, there were 79 AT-10s assigned to the field, however the hot, dry climate of Arizona tended to dry out the wood and glue of the wooden AT-10s, causing at least 10 flying cadets to lose their lives in crashes. Training with the AT-10 was stopped and the aircraft were flown to more humid locations. They were replaced by the Cessna AT-17 Bobcat twin engine trainers, however the AT-17 was seen as "too easy to fly" and were replaced by the more demanding Curtiss-Wright AT-9. By January 1943, almost 200 AT-9s were at the airfield.
The RP-322 training version of the P-38 began to arrive also in early 1944, and by May, the flying school was involved in four courses of instruction. By far, the largest course was a single-engine advanced course where cadets received instruction on the AT-6 Texan. Graduates advanced to the twin-engine AT-9, then on to the RP-322. This training was intended to prepare pilots for photo-reconnaissance missions. Another course was given to experienced pilots who were transitioning to twin-engine aircraft, also in the RP-322. Later, a night fighter training program was established for pilots on the RP-322 for later transition to the P-61 Black Widow at Hammer Field, California.
By late 1944, there was an ample supply of twin-engine pilots in training and by late 1944, the single-engine T-6 training was discontinued. Williams then began to offer four-engine training with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers in December. Its students would be experienced pilots who were transitioning to the large four-engine bomber. The B-17 pilot training ended in April 1945, graduating 608 officers for the Flying Fortress program.
The training mission of the base also conducted flexible gunnery training, and radar observer training.
After the United States entered the war, the Army Air Forces also developed a pilot training program for the Chinese Air Force. The Air Corps conducted most of the training for the Chinese at Luke, Williams, and Thunderbird Fields in Arizona. Training the Chinese presented some special challenges because, due to their small stature, some students could not reach all the controls. That problem was usually solved through the use of extra cushions and occasionally by switching them to another type of airplane. A bigger problem was the language barrier. It took all the interpreters the Air Force could muster to support the training programs for the Chinese. In the end, 3,553 Chinese received flying and technical training, including 866 pilots.
Postwar era [ edit ]
T-33 Jet Trainers at Williams AFB, June 1949
After the end of the war in September 1945, most of the temporary training bases were put on inactive status and eventually closed. This was particularly true for bases like Williams that had sprung up overnight and were built with temporary wooden structures. However, Williams was an exception and remained open after World War II.
In early 1945, the first P-80 Shooting Star jet pilot school was opened at Williams. Army Air Forces Training Command was re-designated as Air Training Command, and in 1946 all flight instruction was integrated into a new consolidated program. The P-80 jet fighter pilot transition and fighter gunnery schools at Williams Field remained; however, the gunnery school existed only to fulfill research obligations.
Fighter gunnery training was reestablished in early 1947. The new program studied the use of fighter gunnery, bombing, and rocketry equipment. Students flew P-51 Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolts, and beginning at midyear, P-80 Shooting Stars. The gunnery school, however was again discontinued on 1 June 1948 and moved to Las Vegas AFB, Nevada.
By early 1947 the AAF had sped up its conversion to jet aircraft. However, the training program was handicapped by the fact that no twin-seat jet aircraft trainers yet existed. Putting untrained jet pilots into a single-seat fighter endangered personnel and expensive equipment. To overcome this problem, Air Training Command decided to use a newly developed "captivair" training device. It was received and installed at Williams in early 1947. In 1949, T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer derivatives of the F-80 began to arrive.
3525th Pilot Training Wing [ edit ]
With the establishment of the United States Air Force in September 1947, Williams Army Airfield was re-designated Williams Air Force Base on 13 January 1948. In addition, the 89th AAFBU was discontinued and the 3525th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) was established as the host unit at the new Air Force Base. Training squadrons under the 3525th Pilot Training Group were:
3525th Training Squadron, 26 August 1948
Re-designated 4532d Combat Crew Training Squadron, 1 July 1958 Re-designated 3525th Pilot Training Squadron, 1 October 1960-1 February 1973
3526th Training Squadron, 26 May 1949
Re-designated 4533d Combat Crew Training Squadron, 1 July 1958 Re-designated 3526th Pilot Training Squadron, 1 October 1960-1 February 1973
Emblem of the 3525th Pilot Training Wing
T-38A Talon, 1963
T-37 Tweets, 1971
Through the Mutual Defense Assistance Program began in 1952, international students received flying or technical training at various ATC bases. Students from Taiwan began to arrive at Williams, and training of Taiwanese pilots continued until the closure of the base in 1993.
Air Training Command redesignated the 3525th Pilot Training Wing (Basic Single-Engine) at Williams on 1 January 1956. It became the 3525th Combat Crew Training Wing (Fighter). A month later, on 1 February 1956, ATC reassigned the 3525th from its Flying Training Air Force to Crew Training Air Force. It also discontinued the single engine basic pilot school (T-28 Trojan) at Williams and replaced it with an advanced fighter school with T-33s exclusively. (Williams had transferred its single-engine training responsibilities to Laughlin AFB, Texas in September 1955.)
In 1958, Air Training Command transferred its combat pilot training to Strategic Air Command (SAC) and Tactical Air Command (TAC). ATC would concentrate on Primary and Basic flying training. As a result, jurisdiction of Williams was passed to TAC on 1 July. This was a brief transfer, as on 1 October 1960, TAC transferred Williams AFB back to ATC. Williams would become part of ATC's new consolidated pilot training program. On the same date, Tactical Air Command reassigned its 4530th Combat Crew Training Wing (Tactical Fighter) and subordinate units at Williams to ATC and ATC discontinued the wing. Concurrently, Air Training Command used assets from the 4530th to organize and establish the 3525th Pilot Training Wing.
Pilot training continued throughout the 1960s. The T-33s began to be phased out in 1962, being replaced by the T-38 Talon as the primary jet training aircraft. T-38s were used until the closure of Williams in 1993 along with the Cessna T-37 "Tweet" Both trainers were two-seat, dual-engine jet aircraft, the T-38 being capable of supersonic flight.
Students began with academic classroom and simulator instruction. After initial training in a Cessna T-41 at an offsite location (e.g., Eloy, AZ was used in the late 1960s), the first jet flight was largely a 'demo' flight in the T-37 aircraft with the instructor orienting the student to the aircraft, the local training area, and some basic flight maneuvers.
The undergraduate flight training program lasted just less than one full year and involved classroom, simulator, and aircraft training activities. Graduates were selected to remain as instructors, after an intensive training course, or went on to train in their primary weapon system aircraft.
F-5 Freedom Fighter [ edit ]
In 1963, Williams was selected to support the Military Assistance Program F-5A/B Freedom Fighter sales by providing pilots and maintenance training personnel to nations purchased the fighter under the MAP program. The F-5 was a lightweight fighter designed for allied nations, and was not programmed for USAF use. Initial deliveries, beginning in April 1964, were to the 4441st Combat Crew Training Squadron, which was activated to run the F-5 school.
The first overseas order for F-5As was from Norway, which ordered 64 aircraft plus four attrition replacements on 28 February 1964. Other nations whose pilots trained at Williams were South Vietnam, Iran, South Korea, Greece, Philippines, Taiwan, Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Libya, Joran and Yemen.
Skoshi Tiger Program [ edit ]
Skoshi Tiger F-5B of the 602th Fighter Squadron, Bien Hoa AB, South Vietnam, 1966
Although all F-5A/B production was intended for MAP, the USAF actually requested at least 200 F-5s for use in the Vietnam War. This sudden request on the part of the USAF which had previously perceived no need for a lightweight fighter, was a result of heavier than expected attrition in Southeast Asia and because the F-5 promised to be available with a relatively short lead time. The USAF request for combat evaluation in Southeast Asia was approved by the DoD in July 1965, and the evaluation was initiated on 26 July 1965.
The program was given the code name *Skoshi Tiger*, which was a corruption of "Sukoshi Tiger" (Japanese for "Little Tiger"). In October 1965, the USAF "borrowed" 12 combat-ready F-5As from MAP supplies (5 F-5A-15s and seven F-5A-20s) and activated the 4503rd Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) at Williams for operational service trials. The 4503rd TFS (Provisional) was formed on 29 July 1965 to conduct the evaluation, and their pilots underwent training at Williams AFB while Northrop modified the aircraft for duty in Southeast Asia.
The aircraft left Williams AFB on 20 October 1965 for Southeast Asia, arriving at Bien Hoa Air Base on 23 October. They flew their first combat mission the same afternoon.
Although the Freedom Fighter was judged to be a technical success in Vietnam, the Skoshi Tiger program was essentially a political project, designed to appease those few Air Force officers who believed in the aircraft. The Freedom Fighter was destined to have a relatively brief operational career with the USAF, and the DoD turned down a second request for F-5s, deciding instead to look at other types such as the Navy A-7 Corsair II. The surviving F-5s were turned over to the South Vietnamese in March 1966.
After the Skoshi Tiger program, substantial numbers of Freedom Fighters were supplied to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The Air Force directed ATC to initiate immediately a training program for South Vietnamese F-5 pilot replacements. The 4441st CCTS at Williams began this training on 15 April, although the base's training facilities were already saturated by the school's undergraduate program. The first Vietnamese crews left for Williams AFB for training in August 1966.
The 4441st CCTS was transferred to Tactical Air Command and re-designated as the 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 15 October 1969. It was placed under the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona, although the squadron physically remained at Williams AFB as a Geographically Separated Unit (GSU).
Training of South Vietnamese pilots on the F-5 continued until the collapse of the South Vietnamese government in April 1975, with some pilots being at Williams at the time of the fall of Saigon.
F-5E/F Tiger II [ edit ]
425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron Northrop F-5B-50-NO Freedom Fighter, AF Ser. No. 72-0439, Williams AFB, Arizona, 1973.
425th TFTS Northrop F-5E Tiger II, AF Ser. No. 72-1400. When the F-5 training program ended in 1989, this aircraft was sold to the Brazilian Air Force.
On 4 April 1973, the first upgraded F-5 Tiger II reached the 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron. This squadron was assigned the task of training for crews that had acquired the F-5E under MAP. Pilots from over 20 nations trained at Williams throughout the 1970s and 1980s on the F-5E. The F-5E/Fs assigned to the 425th for training carried USAF serial numbers and were procured through normal aircraft procurement procedures and channels. Initially carried tail code "LZ". Aircraft were re-coded to the common wing "LA" in 1974.
Although the USAF never did adopt the F-5E as a front-line combat aircraft, it did adopt the F-5E as a specialized aircraft for dissimilar air combat training (DACT). Beginning in 1975, some 70 F-5Es were turned over to the 64th and 65th Fighter Weapons Squadrons of the 57th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada. F-5Es were allocated to two more units that were created overseas: the 527th Aggressor Squadron of the 10th TRW in the UK at RAF Alconbury and the 26th Aggressor Squadron, 3rd TFW in the Philippines at Clark AB.
The 425th TFTS was reassigned to the 405th Tactical Training Wing as of 29 August 1979 when the 58th TTW was re-designated at Luke AFB.
The last two F-5Es off the production line were delivered to Bahrain on January 16, 1987. However, a few more were assembled from spares, the last ones being delivered on June 29, 1989. That month the squadron's F-5 training program terminated after having produced 1,499 graduates, and the 425th was inactivated 1 September 1989
82d Flying Training Wing [ edit ]
Northrop T-38A-50-NO Talon, AF Ser. No. 63-8221, 1986
In 1972 and 1973, ATC inactivated its four digit flying wings and replaced them with two-digit and three-digit wings. All of the newly activated units then had a combat lineage. At Williams the 3525th PTW was re-designated the 82d Flying Training Wing on 1 February. Squadrons were re-designated as follows:
3525th Pilot Training Squadron --> 96th Flying Training Squadron (T-37 Tweet)
3526th Pilot Training Squadron --> 97th Flying Training Squadron (T-38 Talon)
One of the most dominant features on the ATC landscape in 1974 was the serious jet fuel shortage the command had to contend with for much of the year. The shortage arose when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sent oil prices skyrocketing by cutting back on production in response to the United States' support for Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Almost overnight, the price of aviation fuel tripled. To conserve fuel, ATC made numerous adjustments to the UPT syllabus, including a reduction in the number of sorties and flying hours and an increased reliance on the use of synthetic trainers.
In other efforts to cope with the crisis, the Air Force initiated base closure and flying training wing inactivation actions at Craig AFB, Alabama and Webb AFB, Texas. ATC also cut overall pilot production goals by 18 percent, with USAF Officer Training School (OTS) not accepting any pilot or navigator applicants for FY 75, 76 or 77, and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) initiating a Reduction in Force (RIF) program, rescinding previously promised pilot training and navigator training slots for approximately 75% of those AFROTC cadets in commissioning Year Groups 75, 76 and 77 originally slated for flight training, re-directing them into non-aeronautically rated career fields or offering them opportunities to resign and transfer to officer flight training programs of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Army. Unaffected by the reductions, USAF Academy (USAFA) cadets/graduates of the same period continued to maintain their guaranteed allotment of approximately 75% of USAFA graduates assigned to undergraduate pilot training, 15% assigned to undergraduate navigator training, and the remaining 10% assigned to non-flying duties.
All female UPT Class 77-08 of Williams Air Force Base, May 1977.
In September 1976,[1] UPT class 77-08 at Williams became the first UPT class with female student pilots. All were serving USAF officers at the rank of 2nd Lt, 1st Lt and Capt who had been previously performing non-flying duties in the Air Force. All were OTS and AFROTC graduates; none were USAFA graduates, since USAFA had only begun accepting females in June of that same year. On 30 November 1976, Capt Connie J. Engle became the first female UPT student to solo in a jet aircraft when she took off in her T-37.[2][3]
In 1988, each UPT wing had two flying training squadrons one for T-37s and the other for T-38s, plus a student squadron. Air Training Command wanted to find out whether training could be conducted more effectively if student squadrons were eliminated. Instead, all training and administrative duties would be placed in the wings’ two T-37 and two T-38 flying training squadrons. Officials at ATC chose the 82d Flying Training Wing at Williams as the test unit.
Air Training Command activated two additional squadrons at Williams the 98th Flying Training Squadron (T-37) and 99th Flying Training Squadron (T-38) on 1 June 1988. That gave the 82d a total of four flying training squadrons. However, by year's end, the test had shown that a fifth squadron was needed to provide operational support. The 82d became the first ATC wing to have five flying training squadrons when, on 1 September 1989, the command activated the 100th Flying Training Squadron (T-37).
However, it didn't last long. In December 1990 ATC implemented the objective wing organization. The command's UPT wings kept four flying training squadrons each, two for T-37s and two for T-38s. The fifth squadron was redesignated as an operations support squadron, but fulfilled essentially the same functions as the old student squadron.
Closure in the 1990s [ edit ]
Emblem of the 82d Training Wing
Air Training Command was directed to close four of its training bases as a result of the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The non-flying officer and enlisted technical training center at Chanute AFB, Illinois and the sole undergraduate navigator training base at Mather AFB, California were chosen to close in round one, with Chanute's technical training activities relocating to other USAF technical training centers or similar activities operated by the other services, and the latter UNT activity slated to relocate to Randolph AFB, Texas. The non-flying officer and enlisted technical training center at Lowry AFB, Colorado and Williams AFB as an undergraduate pilot training base were selected in round two.
Air Education and Training Command (AETC), the 1992 successor major command to ATC, inactivated the host unit at Williams AFB, the 82d Flying Training Wing, on 31 March 1993, redesignating it as the 82d Training Wing and transferring it to Sheppard AFB, Texas, where it would control non-flying officer and enlisted technical training, a role it continues to this day. This left the now independent 82d Operations Group to close Williams AFB. The command inactivated the operations group on 30 September 1993, and the approximately 4,127-acre (16.70 km2) base was closed 30 September 1993.
At the official closing ceremony, two men, who as Boy Scouts in 1941 had raised the first flag at Williams Field when it was first officially opened, were there to officially lower the flag at its closing, after a combined fifty years of military service.
Today, Williams continues to serve the Phoenix area as a growing industrial park and commercial airport.
Major units assigned [ edit ]
89th Base HQ and Air Base Sq (advance detachment), 16 October 1941 – 4 December 1941
89th Base HQ and Air Base Sq, 4 December 1941 – 1 May 1944
Re-designated 3010th Army Air Force Base Unit, 1 May 1944 Re-designated 3010th Air Force Base Unit, 27 September 1947-28 August 1948
Air Corps (Later Army Air Forces Advanced Flying School), 26 June 1941 – 1 June 1948
38th Flying Training Wing, 26 February 1945 – 16 June 1946
Army Air Forces Pilot School (Specialized Fighter), 1 December 1945
Re-designated USAF Jet Pilot School, 1 June 1948-1 October 1949
Army Air Forces Pilot School (Advanced Single-Engine), 6 July 1946
Re-designated USAF Basic Pilot School (Single Engine), 1 June 1948-8 January 1956
3525th Pilot Training Wing, 26 August 1948
Re-designated 4530th Combat Crew Training Wing, 1 July 1958 Re-designated 3525th Pilot Training Group, 1 October 1960-1 February 1973
4441st Combat Crew Training Squadron, 1 December 1963 (MAP F-5 Support)
Re-designated 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, 15 October 1969-1 September 1989
4503rd Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), 22 July 1965 – 10 March 1966 (F-5 Skoshi Tiger)
82d Flying Training Wing, 1 February 1973 – 30 June 1993
Major commands assigned [ edit ]
Air Corps Flying Training Comd, 23 January 1942
AAF Flying Training Comd, 15 March 1942
AAF Training Comd, 31 July 1943
Tactical Air Command 1 July 1958 – 1 October 1960
Air Training Command 1 July 1946 – 1 July 1958; 1 October 1960 – June 1993
Historic sites [ edit ]
Historic resources of the Williams Air Force Base were identified in a 1995 study.[4]
Seven separate objects or buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 19, 1995. These are:
Accidents and incidents [ edit ]
Williams Field suffered its first fatal accident in the six months it had been open as an advanced training base on 3 June 1942 when Curtiss-Wright AT-9-CS Fledgling, 41-5867, of the 333d School Squadron, crashed five miles NE of the base, apparently flown into the ground,[6] killing John Clifford Eustice, 23, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Irving C. Frank, 24, of Brooklyn, New York.[7]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/. |
Arsenal face BATE Borisov in their final Europa League group game tomorrow night knowing that top spot has already been secured.
It could give Arsene Wenger some licence to experiment with his line-up, and the manager has provided the latest team news update ahead of the game.
Speaking at a press conference at London Colney this morning, the Frenchman said, “Everybody is available. We have a small problem with Mustafi from Saturday.
“A little thigh problem, but it’s a small one. It’s a possibility, if not Southampton it’ll be West Ham.”
“Not too much because I have many players who need competition, because we go into next week, another week with three games.
“We’ll play tomorrow with quite an experienced team.”
Wenger confirmed that both Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott would start, the latter returning after a period of illness. |
From Audrey Snyder of Penn Live:
Stan Hixon, the Nittany Lions ’ assistant head coach and wide receivers coach, informed the parents of wide receiver commit De’Andre Thompkins on Wednesday morning that he will be headed with O’Brien to the Texans . Thompkins is slated to enroll at Penn State on Jan. 10 but without Hixon in the fold he and fellow wide receiver commit Chris Godwin could both be looking elsewhere.
Hixon came to Penn State after spending 31 years in coaching at both the collegiate and professional level. He coached the Buffalo Bills wide receivers from 2010-2011 and worked in the same role with the Washington Redskins from 2004-2009. He’s worked with the likes of Stevie Johnson, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El and has a proven track record.
Hixon was as associate head coach and wide receivers coach at LSU from 2000-2003 and also worked with O’Brien at Georgia Tech, coaching the receivers from 1995-1999.
The Iowa State alum’s most recent project included helping Penn State’s standout wide receiver, Allen Robinson, transform into a two-time All-Big Ten player. The Nittany Lions’ junior hauled in 174 catches for 2,445 yards and 17 touchdowns during the last two seasons and could declare early for the NFL Draft. |
Supporters of a higher minimum wage came out in force when the St. Louis Board of Aldermen held a hearing on the issue. - Jason Rosenbaum
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Bettie Douglas could barely contain her excitement when St. Louis raised its minimum wage. Dressed in her black McDonald’s uniform, Douglas crammed into St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s office earlier this year after the St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved legislation raising the city’s minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2018.
After Slay signed the bill into law, Douglas predicted it would mean a little more money in her pocket — and a lot more piece of mind.
“I need to be able to eat, be able to take care of myself,” Douglas said. “And I can see in the future I won’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul."
With a stroke of Slay’s pen, St. Louis joined more than 25 cities and counties that raised its minimum wage independently from the rest of the state. It’s part of a nationwide movement that’s struck a chord with labor unions, left-leaning activists and Democratic politicians like St. Louis Alderwoman Megan Green.
“I don’t think that any person who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty,” Green said. “And that’s what we have right now. Somebody who’s making minimum wage is earning $16,000 a year roughly. You can’t raise a family on that. You can’t get an apartment on that — at least not a decent apartment. And it makes it very difficult to break that cycle of poverty.”
But St. Louis’ minimum wage push came with a big catch. Not only is the new law facing a fierce legal attack from businesses and business groups, but it’s being met with some serious push-back from the Republican-controlled Missouri General Assembly.
Missouri lawmakers overrode a gubernatorial veto of legislation banning cities from raising their own minimum wage. The bill effectively invalidated Kansas City’s minimum wage hike and prevents any other city from following St. Louis’ lead.
If St. Louis’ minimum wage law survives a legal challenge, the city could have a higher wage scale than the rest of the state. That’s alarming enough for Cooperative Health Care owner Mitch Waks to threaten to leave St. Louis if the minimum wage hike goes into effect.
“If the economics force us out of business, what is the alternative?” Waks said. “Well, you can start caring for your mom, and I applaud that.”
Cooperative Home Healthcare owner Mitch Waks speaks against the minimum wage increase at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee hearing. - Jason Rosenbaum
Some St. Louis aldermen who opposed the minimum wage bill, such as St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, felt that the city was putting itself at a major competitive disadvantage. He thought it was a mistake to go through with the wage increase without surrounding counties following suit.
“I want people to remember this vote today, how we’ve changed the economy in the city of St. Louis and how we’ve done something alone when didn’t have to do it,” French said. “We did it without the proper information. And it’s going to hurt the folks that I think many people are intending to help.”
So did St. Louis just shoot itself in the foot from an economic standpoint? It depends on whom you ask.
David Wiczer, an economist at the St. Louis branch of the Federal Reserve, said the “potential cost of a minimum wage is in effect a detrimental effect on employment, which is difficult to observe in the data.” He went on to say that “if [a detrimental effect] is there, it’s very small.”
But Wiczer said there’s “anecdotal evidence” that a minimum wage hike’s employment effect “happens with a lag.”
"At some point in the future, the job growth in this locality is slower than somewhere else. And that’s the result of all of these small-level decisions affirmed to not locate in one area and locate then in another area. And there is research that shows that if there is an employment effect, it often happens with a lag,” Wiczer said.
Jake Rosenfeld is a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He just moved back here from Seattle, where novice baristas and fishmongers will eventually make $15 an hour thanks to a local minimum wage increase.
Rosenfeld said minimum wage boosts aren’t completely inconsequential to businesses. But he said companies shouldn’t panic either.
“If you’re an employer in the city, and you’re only competitive advantage is paying rock-bottom wages, then yes. A minimum wage increase is going to be alarming. But there are other ways businesses compete,” Rosenfeld said. “This is a tried-and-true tactic that you can compete on things like productivity, on having the best most productive workers. And having this differential between surrounding areas actually does provide an advantage to those employers who see themselves as kind of 'high road' employers who take care of their employees and in return get higher productivity out of them.”
But St. Louis’ minimum wage law isn’t set in stone quite yet. A court case over its legality is set to begin in October. |
Image copyright Rossiya TV Image caption Anatoly Travkin's funeral was covered by the Rossiya 1 TV channel
Russian state television channels have for the first time reported on the funerals of Russian troops who fought alongside pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The broadcasts repeated the official line that the troops are "volunteers" or travelled to Ukraine on leave rather than in any official capacity. Western leaders accuse the Kremlin of sending regular army units into Ukraine.
The three main channels - Rossiya, Channel One and NTV - ran reports on the funeral of one such "volunteer", Anatoly Travkin, in the city of Kostroma northeast of Moscow.
'Preventing atrocities'
The reports were full of patriotic rhetoric about Slavonic unity and Russian brotherhood.
Mr Travkin was a "volunteer who could not idly observe events in Ukraine", said NTV, which reported that he had just got married six weeks earlier.
His only relative to speak on air, an aunt, was also on-message: "He wanted to serve his motherland. He gave his life for all of us".
NTV interviewed army veterans at the funeral, one of whom expressed pride that his "regimental comrades are carrying out the duty of any Russian person honourably, to prevent the atrocities now taking place in Donetsk and Luhansk regions".
Russians rely overwhelmingly on the state TV channels for news.
'International duty'
Rossiya TV interviewed Russian army veterans who said that fighting for the separatists was a matter of "internationalist duty", echoing the rhetoric of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and even the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s.
"As long as there is a Russian world, we will stand up for it," said a veteran of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, jabbing his finger at his television audience. "These lads did their duty, their international duty, their fraternal duty, and they should have eternal glory."
Image copyright Rossiya TV Image caption TV channels showed Anatoly Travkin being honoured with a salute
Another volunteer, apparently still fighting in Ukraine, spoke of "not letting fascism pass" - a popular slogan of Spanish Republican forces in the 1930s.
Rossiya said up to 4,000 Russians were fighting for the Donetsk and Luhansk militias, and its correspondent interviewed a wounded volunteer in Moscow who had gone to Ukraine "because he realised that otherwise he could not consider himself a man".
'Amazing spiritual impulse'
The volunteers are "united by a heightened sense of justice and historical truth", the correspondent continued, and animated by an "amazing spiritual impulse".
"They speak of their own wounds reluctantly, of their comrades' feats with admiration, and of the Ukrainian punishment units' atrocities with contempt."
Rossiya contrasted the Russian volunteers with foreign fighters on the Ukrainian side, whom it dismissed as "mercenaries". One Russian volunteer from the city of Rostov said he had disarmed a bayonet-wielding American in hand-to-hand combat.
'Heroes'
On Friday the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, spoke at the funeral of Andrei Stenin, a Russian news agency photographer killed while covering the fighting in Ukraine.
She said "more and more Russian volunteers are joining the ranks of those fighting for their rights, for justice, and for peace in the land of our fraternal nation", and dubbed them "heroes" in a live report on LifeNews TV.
Ms Matviyenko made what appears to be one of the first acknowledgements by such a senior figure that "volunteers" are dying alongside the separatists in Ukraine.
In Kostroma some relatives of paratroopers have been trying to get news of their whereabouts, fearing that they have been sent to Ukraine.
BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. For more reports from BBC Monitoring, click here. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook |
With 2017 free agency less than a year away, Bengal fans are already nervous about the prospects of losing star offensive guard, Kevin Zeitler. In 2015, Cincinnati had one of the best offensive lines in football. With Andrew Whitworth far and away the top player on the Bengals' offensive line, Zeitler has a case to make as the next-best player. So is there even a scenario in which the Bengals let one of their top offensive linemen walk in free agency?
The financial implication of having to pay Zeitler millions after paying Clint Boling when he hit free agency last year, scares fans, as most don't believe the Bengals are willing to allocate more money to the guard position. But contrary to popular belief, Cincinnati may be willing to do so. It's important to remember that when the Bengals paid Boling, they already knew a Zeitler extension would be something that needed to be worked out in 2016.
The good news for the Bengals is, they have the cap space to pull off a Zeitler extension. I'll explain.
Bengals have cap space for future Zeitler extension. Could also give Whitworth an extra year or 2 if they want. pic.twitter.com/w5HnHfICYz — Connor Howe (@HoweNFL) June 1, 2016
Assuming Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher take over at the tackle spots after the 2016 season, the Bengals' offensive line payroll significantly drops off after the upcoming season. Though Boling has a contract that will pay him an increasing sum each season, the millions they'll be saving by either letting Whitworth walk (around six or seven million dollars per season) or holding onto him as a reserve tackle (around three or four million dollars per season) leaves space for a Zeitler extension.
And as the Bengals have done with past contracts, like the Vontaze Burfict extension, they'll likely frontload Zeitler's extension, taking a big cap hit in 2017 in order to lower his yearly cap hit moving forward. And because Zeitler has consistently proven to be durable, the team likely wouldn't have an issue in doing so. As long as Cincinnati front loads Zeitler's contract, giving him a deal that's worth somewhere between $6-7 million (or potentially up to $8 million) in average yearly salary would be more than fair.
The Bengals won't be alone in paying interior linemen big money. The Vikings pay Alex Boone and Brandon Fusco a combined $11.55 million in average yearly salary. The Raiders pay Kelechi Osemele and Rodney Hudson a combined $20.6 million in average yearly salary. Paying offensive linemen has been more and more popular among NFL clubs. In 2015, the Bengals offensive line had a collective cap hit of $25.6 million, which ranked third in the NFL. But despite the Bengals offensive line having a cap hit of nearly $25.8 million 2016, Cincinnati will rank 11th among NFL clubs.
Ultimately, the average yearly salary numbers don't matter nearly as much as the years in which Cincinnati's players are taking the biggest cap hits. Katie Blackburn, Duke Tobin and the rest of Cincinnati's front office staff have done a great job of ensuring the team can pay its top players. Because Zeitler has been a quality player and has proven durable, there's no reason to anticipate the Bengals won't be able to get a deal done with their star offensive guard if the asking price is reasonable. |
Rich and creamy homemade Irish cream with a fall kick! Pureed pumpkin + pumpkin pie spice make this taste like pumpkin pie in cocktail form! Shhh it’s secretly lightened up and vegan.
Youuuuu guuuyyyyys! I have been waiting almost an entire year to share this recipe with you! For the last two weeks, I’ve been asking my husband if it’s “fall enough” yet to post it, and his response, as someone who could care less about pumpkin, and could care even less about when I post things on my blog, is to shrug his shoulders and hardly reply. So, I’ve decided. It’s fall enough. Here we go.
Last year, I started experimenting more with homemade liqueurs and cocktails thanks to my drink-spiration, and I made a huge batch of this baby for Thanksgiving. I couldn’t believe what a huge hit it became! My family couldn’t get enough, and even my family members who don’t generally drink kept coming back for more.
I even had a signature Thanksgiving drink where I mixed the Pumpkin Irish Cream with Pumpkin Pie Vodka (<– OMG a MUST try!) and a spiced simple syrup (<–not that exact one, but similar). There are seriously no words. Everyone thought I was super fancy, but the truth is, the recipe is so so easy. In fact, it takes less time than going to the store to buy a bottle of Irish cream!
One thing I love about making Irish cream at home is that I can control what goes into it. This stuff has just a handful of ingredients including pure pumpkin puree and a homemade vegan sweetened condensed milk.
The result is strong, rich, creamy and filled with pumpkin flavor without overwhelming the non pumpkin lovers (why do these people exist??) in your life. You will want to drink it all fall year long, and I’m pretty certain it will become a staple at your Thanksgiving also! |
Imagine being Rian Johnson. While we all sit out here and gossip about what’s happening in Star Wars Episode VII, he’s sitting at Lucasfilm with the full knowledge of that film, working on how the story will unfold after this first new chapter. For real, that’s got to be in the top five coolest jobs in the world right now. So it’s pretty special when the writer/director of Star Wars Episode VIII and potential writer of Star Wars Episode IX steps out of his Lucasfilm shell for a little interview.
Johnson Skyped into the live 500th episode of the Filmspotting podcast to talk a bit about his new movies. Among his statements was this: “I’m really excited about all the things I can’t tell you.” He also joked about how he got the job, what it means to him and his respect of the prequels. Read all about Rian Johnson and Star Wars 8 below.
The Rian Johnson Star Wars 8 quotes came from the 500th Filmspotting podcast, as reported on by the Sun Times (via SW7News).
When first asked about the upcoming movies, Johnson said, “I’m really excited about all the things I can’t tell you.” He then talked about why he took the job. “The thought of it made me so completely joyfully happy,” he said. “I wanted to to play in this world, of literally the first movie my dad put me in the car to see.” Next he was asked how he got the job, to which he jokingly said “I can only assume it was a clerical error, like in the movie ‘Brazil.’ There’s a ‘Brian Johnson’ out there who is really mad.”
He described working at Lucasfilm (which is where he was sitting when doing the podcast, hence being on Skype and not in person) as “kind of like summer camp.” He said that, this early in the process, he’s been spending time showing his crew movies every single night. The night before the podcast they watched Twelve O’Clock High and Letter Never Sent, a Russian film.
Johnson was later asked what order he’d recommend a newbie watch all six Star Wars films and he responded “I would do (Episodes) 4-6 then 1-3. Storytelling-wise, 4-6 were constructed without the knowledge of the past.” As for those prequels, Johnson actually said he liked them. “There was something really beautiful about the prequels.”
“With these films, I am trying to harken back to the original ‘Star Wars’ …. Christmas special. We do have Jefferson Starship,” Johnson then joked.
Notice he said “films.” Despite the director’s public acknowledgement of being part of these movies, StarWars.com has yet to officially reveal his involvement. But the general consensus is he’s writing and directing Star Wars Episode VIII, and doing a treatment for Star Wars Episode IX. But there’s probably a chance he’ll direct that too. |
°Florian/Flickr The nation's largest for-profit education firm came out with earnings numbers this week, and investors didn't like them one bit. As a former teacher, I've railed against the industry for some time now. I've tried to be fair, recognizing that there might be a role for such schools to play.
However, I can't help but wonder whether this week's earnings signaled the beginning of the end for the industry as it does business now. ABelow I'll explain my reasoning, and at the end I'll offer up a few investment ideas that are much more solid than for-profit educators.
A quick look at earnings By far the largest player in the industry is Apollo (Nasdaq: APOL) and its University of Phoenix. Back in June of 2010, the company had a total enrollment of almost a half-million students. To put that in perspective, the combined undergraduate enrollment of all 12 schools in the Big Ten is roughly 370,000. So, for a time, Apollo's schools were larger than the entire Big Ten Conference.
Since then, enrollment in the school has shrunk by 31% to 328,000 students. Again, to put it in perspective, the loss of roughly 150,000 students is like three Ohio States evaporating over the course of two years.
This week, the school announced that it would close 115 locations across the United States -- roughly half of its locations stateside. It comes on the announcement of earnings shrinking 60% since last year on revenue that was 11% lower, enrollment that was down 14%, and new-student enrollment -- an important figure to spot trends -- that was also down 14%.
What's the deal with the decline?In short, the recent boom in for-profit education stocks was fueled by easy government money, promises of opportunity that couldn't be guaranteed, management that was woefully out of touch with its clients, and misaligned values that made college recruiters seem more like predatory lenders than people who were genuinely interested in helping people get access to a quality college education.
In August of 2010, the threads of the industry started coming apart when officers from the Government Accountability Office visited the campuses of schools owned by Apollo,Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO) , The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO) , and Education Management Corporation (Nasdaq: EDMC) . The officers posed as prospective students, and during their visits, recruiters encouraged the "students" to lie on financial aid forms.
Since then, it has been revealed that several recruiters were motivated to lie because their commissions were based partly on how many students they could bring in. That practice has now been outlawed, and schools aren't able to keep as much of every dollar they bring in, nor are they able to attract nearly as many students.
There has to be a better way When it comes to business and education, there's a precarious tightrope that needs to be walked. It's not as if a luxury good is being peddled that one could easily live without. The education these schools are pushing comes with the promise of an improved station in society. While that outlook may be fundamentally flawed, it leads many students into crushing debt that can't be lifted by filing for bankruptcy.
Recently, a wave of alternatives has been surfacing that might knock for-profit education -- as we know it, at least -- into obscurity. For starters, many large state universities have begun offering online-only classes that carry far more clout among employers for a lower cost than for-profit degrees.
Some for-profit schools are offering classes that don't require financial aid from the government and charge 0% APR with no hidden fees to students. This eliminates both the funding problem (money from the government) and the student-debt problem.
Probably most importantly, President Obama has focused on increasing the role affordable community colleges play in helping students get a college education.
Naysayers will point out that currently, for-profit schools might be a screaming deal.Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI) , for instance, now trades with an ultra-low PEG ratio of just 0.33. Those pundits may be right.
But for some, including me, there's something to be said for being proud of what you own. That is, after all, what being a shareholder makes you: a part-owner in a business. I can only make decisions for myself, but I have absolutely no interest in profiting from this industry.
While you can certainly make huge gains if one of these schools ends up surprising me, the best investing approach is to choose great companies and stick with them for the long term. In our free report "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich," we name stocks that could help you build long-term wealth and retire well, along with some winning wealth-building strategies that every investor should be aware of. Click here now to keep reading.
See Also: The 10 most depressing student loan stories ever > |
DUNKIRK may be winning at the box office, but it can’t catch a break with some critics.
The Christopher Nolan-directed film was accused last week of whitewashing and now a new review of the movie in Marie Claire called out the film for being too male-centric.
“Dunkirk felt like an excuse for men to celebrate maleness — which apparently they don’t get to do enough,” Marie Claire’s Mehera Bonner wrote in her review.
Bonner added that while she does not need all movies to feature “strong female leads,” Dunkirk “screams ‘men-only’” and Nolan should have made a movie about either women or “any other marginalised group.”
Bonner’s criticism was mocked online by various news outlets and Twitter users, who felt her critique missed the mark and ignored historical facts, with many pointing out that a film about World War II soldiers would inevitably feature a male cast.
Possibly the grossest bit of feminist virtue signalling I've seen this year. https://t.co/aVGnV6Aj40 — Sweetness and Life. (@katy_red) July 29, 2017
Your review spits on the heroism and self-sacrifice of every man on that beach. — Karen davis hill (@HillKarend) July 29, 2017
My wife's grandfather was captured by Nazis. He lost his toes to frostbite as a POW. Was he 'celebrating his maleness' too much for you? — Kerry Miller (@KerMil1980) July 29, 2017
Considering what those MEN accomplished and what those MEN sacrificed- I, a woman, would gladly celebrate their "maleness"🙄 every damn day. — Ginger Snappin'🇺🇸 (@KYGinger) July 30, 2017
Sorry history offends your feminity. I bet those boys who died that day would rather have been celebrating their maleness in other ways. — JR (@Justmyvoice21) July 29, 2017
Or it's a historical movie about people who died for your freedom you selfish moron 😂💪🏼 — Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) July 29, 2017
You do realise it was based on reality don't you.... unless you think they should have thrown a few T-Rex's in to pep it up a bit.... 🙄🙄 — Helen (@Hells4Heroes) July 29, 2017
Sounds like an excuse for you to whine about the existence of another gender and ignore history. — Keith Barrett (@KeithBarrett) July 30, 2017
Nolan’s World War II drama tells the story of thousands of Allied troops being forced onto the beaches of Dunkirk after the invasion of France by Nazi Germany.
The movie also was previously slammed for having too many white cast members.
Several critics accused Dunkirk of whitewashing for leaving out soldiers from the Royal Indian Army Services Corp companies from the film for their contribution to the war efforts.
This story originally appeared on Fox News and is republished here with permission. |
Astronomers obsessed with solving the mysteries of dark matter or dark energy should remember: To make a great discovery, sometimes you need to know what you’re looking for.
Take Michel Lalande. He was recording star positions at an observatory in Paris for a celestial catalog compiled by his grandfather’s nephew, Jérôme Lalande. On May 8, 1795, Michel noted a star’s position; two days later he recorded the star again, but this time the position wasn’t quite the same. He concluded that he messed up the first measurement and so only the second position was included in his uncle’s catalog.
Apparently neither Michel nor Jérôme had considered the possibility that the “star” had simply moved a tiny bit across the sky during the intervening 48 hours — which it had, because it wasn’t a star at all, but rather the planet Neptune.
At the time, of course, nobody knew that Neptune existed. Uranus, discovered by William Herschel in 1781, was the most distant known planet in the solar system. Actually, Uranus had also been spotted long before — in 1690, by the British Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed, who thought it was a star. He had a better excuse than the Lalandes, though, as nobody had ever before discovered a planet beyond the six known to the ancients. In fact, Flamsteed (and others) observed Uranus several times without realizing it before Herschel’s definitive discovery. (Herschel himself wasn’t so sure at first — he thought he had discovered a new comet.)
Uranus was soon well-established as planet. But it posed a problem: Its orbit didn’t match predictions based on Newtonian gravity. In 1821, when the French astronomer Alexis Bouvard published an analysis of Uranus’ orbit, he disregarded all sightings before Herschel’s discovery — they didn’t match the math. So maybe they were wrong. But in subsequent years new observations of the orbit didn’t fit Bouvard’s math, either. And other investigators identified numerous errors in his published data. Even when those errors were corrected, though, the discrepancy between the orbit of Uranus and Newtonian gravity persisted. By the 1840s, the “Uranus problem” was widely considered one of the outstanding astronomical questions of the era, in much the way that dark matter and dark energy perplex astronomers today.
Then as now, experts proposed multiple possible solutions to the mystery. Bouvard had pointed out, for instance, that the problem might not be with inaccurate measurements, but rather “some foreign and unperceived source of disturbance acting upon the planet.” Bouvard and some others believed that the “unperceived disturbance” might be a planet beyond Uranus. On the other hand, perhaps Newton’s law of gravity no longer applied at great distances from Earth, as the British astronomer George Biddell Airy believed.
Today, some physicists also believe deviations from standard gravity might explain the unusual rotation rates of galaxies that otherwise would imply the existence of dark matter. And perhaps a new theory of gravity would be a better explanation for the accelerated expansion of the universe that has inspired a belief in dark energy. But most experts contend that gravity as usual will triumph, as it did with Uranus in the 1840s.
In England, the gifted young mathematician John Couch Adams meticulously calculated where a more distant planet must be orbiting to exert gravitational effects responsible for the oddities in Uranus’ orbit. In France, a chemist-turned astronomer named Urbain Le Verrier, also skilled in math, did the same thing. Adams finished the task first, in the fall of 1845, but sent his results to Airy, who pretty much ignored them. Le Verrier communicated to the German astronomer Johann Galle, who immediately searched for, and found, the new planet, on September 23, 1846.
Other scientists recognized the discovery of Neptune as a spectacular vindication of Newton. As the German astronomer Johann Encke wrote to Le Verrier, “Your name will be forever linked with the most outstanding conceivable proof of the validity of universal gravitation.”
So the lesson seems to have been to preserve the theory of gravity and solve discrepant observations by proposing the existence of unseen matter. In the case of Uranus’ orbit, the unseen matter was a new planet. For the gravity-defying rotation rates of galaxies, the unseen (dark) matter is supposedly a bunch of invisible subatomic particles. Similarly, from the anomalous brightness of distant supernovas, astronomers prefer to deduce a novel entity in space, dark energy, rather than modify Einstein’s general theory of relativity to adjust the formulas for the universe’s expansion.
In the case of recalcitrant evidence, it is never clear whether scientists should go for the option of modifying the auxiliary assumptions (e.g., number of planets, as in the case of Neptune), or for the alternative option of revising the main theoretical hypotheses themselves (e.g., from Newtonian mechanics to general relativity, as in the case of the anomalous perihelion of Mercury). — Ofer Lahav and Michela Massimi
In other words, trust gravity.
But before tweeting that, it would be wise to revisit another historical episode involving Le Verrier.
Even before the discovery of Neptune, Le Verrier had analyzed the orbit of Mercury, encountering great difficulty in making the math fit the facts. Mercury’s perihelion, its closest point to the sun, changed a bit from orbit to orbit by more than Newton’s law of gravity could accommodate, even when gravitational influence of all other planets was taken into account. After more precise calculations in the late 1850s, the discrepancy remained.
Some suggested that a new planet, between Mercury and the sun, was responsible. Le Verrier doubted that such a planet could have gone unnoticed. But when an amateur astronomer claimed to have seen a disk crossing the sun’s surface, Le Verrier decided that such a planet might exist after all, and that it could explain the anomaly in Mercury’s orbit. That seemed logical, so Le Verrier called the hypothetical planet Vulcan. He calculated where and when it ought to be visible. But of course it never showed up again. In this case, Newtonian gravity did turn out to be wrong. A new theory of gravity, Einstein’s general relativity, was needed to compute Mercury’s orbit accurately.
So the real lesson seems to be that it’s hard to tell whether a new entity or a new theory is needed to resolve a scientific paradox, as Ofer Lahav and Michela Massimi point out in a new paper. It’s an issue that faces physicists who study the universe today, say Lahav, of University College London, and Massimi, of the University of Edinburgh.
“One may wonder whether the current state of the art in cosmology … resembles the discovery of Neptune, or whether the recalcitrant evidence coming from supernova 1a may not be better explained by a modification of the accepted paradigm (like in the case of the perihelion of Mercury, which ushered in general relativity),” they write.
Physics history tells many tales in which a previously unknown entity was properly invoked to preserve a prevailing theory. In the 1920s, for instance, radioactive beta decay perplexed many physicists because it seemed not to obey the law of conservation of energy. Some experts suggested that maybe energy wasn’t conserved after all, or was conserved only statistically and could be violated for some individual events. But the correct resolution turned out to be the existence of neutrinos, crazy near-massless particles that had been secretly siphoning off the missing energy.
But, as with Mercury’s orbit, there have also been rare occasions when a beautiful (and well-supported) theory was slain by an ugly fact. So the real lesson is that history is should not be consulted selectively. There are different ways to solve scientific puzzles.
“Scientific theories consist of both main theoretical hypotheses and auxiliary assumptions,” Lahav and Massimi point out. “In the case of recalcitrant evidence, it is never clear whether scientists should go for the option of modifying the auxiliary assumptions (e.g., number of planets, as in the case of Neptune), or for the alternative option of revising the main theoretical hypotheses themselves (e.g., from Newtonian mechanics to general relativity, as in the case of the anomalous perihelion of Mercury).”
It was the eminent French philosopher Pierre Duhem who first articulated this aspect of science, Lahav and Massimi note. When scientists face a dilemma of this kind, they write, Duhem suggested that they follow their “good sense.” The right answer will be found eventually.
“As always, nature will ultimately answer the question as to whether the current dark energy program is on the right track, as Adams and Le Verrier were in postulating Neptune to account for the anomaly in Uranus,” Lahav and Massimi write. “In our hands are the experimental and technological tools to search for such an answer.”
Follow me on Twitter: @tom_siegfried |
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SEATTLE -- A hero in America's war in Afghanistan is now delivering for his 1-year-old nephew.
Little Hudson Hill is alive, thanks to his uncle, Lt. Col. Trevor Hill, who donated a part of his liver as a living donor.
Trevor underwent surgery at UW Medical Center. Hudson's surgery was 2 miles away at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Trevor is an Army Green Beret and says he was motivated to help his nephew, in part, because others saved his life in the battlefied.
But he also cites something else -- survivor's guilt.
Surgeons removed a section of Trevor's liver and transplanted it into Hudson's little body. The doctors say this is possible because the liver regenerates. Trevor's liver will be fully recovered in about one year.
Hudson Hill just celebrated his first birthday -- a big milestone for a toddler who was born very sick and with a failing liver. |
Last year, Schell's Octoberfest and blueberry beers, topped with frozen beer foam, made their debut at the Minnesota State Fair. Local beer enthusiasts can find selections like these at State Fair vendors and at the fair's "Land of 10,000 Beers" exhibit, which offers beer flights.
Brewpubs will be getting into the beer game at the Minnesota State Fair for the first time this year.
A law passed during the last legislative session gives brewpubs the right to sell their beers at the fair's "Land of 10,000 Beers" exhibit, which features dozens of craft brewers from across the state. The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild expects to add 10 brewpubs to the exhibit.
Brewpubs have been legal in Minnesota since well before the so-called Surly Bill passed, which allowed breweries to open taprooms on their sites. The brewpubs, which had previously been limited to selling beer out of their restaurants, have missed out on some of the hype as the state's craft brewery industry has taken off in recent years.
Peter Rifakes, founder and owner of Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis, said brewpubs are always looking for new markets for their products.
"We get calls monthly from people looking for our beer, and the law still doesn't allow us to distribute them," Rifakes said. "This is one small step in the evolution of our laws that allows everyone to fulfill the demand that's out there."
The craft beer industry has boomed in the state since the passage of the Surly Bill in 2011. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety estimated that the number of breweries will reach 111 by the end of the year. The number of brewers participating in the craft beer hall exhibit at the fair has nearly tripled since it debuted in 2012, according to the guild. It drew an estimated 100,000 visitors last year.
Guild members like Rifakes said they hope that lawmakers will continue to adjust the state's liquor laws to give brewers the opportunity to offer other breweries' beers — or even wine — in taprooms like California and other states do.
"The people of Minnesota and the legislators of Minnesota have seen what small changes in the law can do to our industry," Rifakes said. "It's really helped Minnesota's economy."
The "Land of 10,000 Beers" exhibit lets visitors choose among flights of local beers based on styles like "darker" or "hoppier." Among the beers on tap will be wild rice brown ale from Barley John's Brew Pub, a jalapeno cream ale from Voyageur Brewing Company and a chocolate milk stout infused with coconut from Town Hall Brewery.
If you go: Beers at the State Fair
The "Land of 10,000 Beers" exhibit includes offerings from 54 breweries and brewpubs and will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the fair, which runs from Aug. 27 through Sept. 7. |
Western civilization has just taken a giant leap forward.
Two crazy young men I know, Remmelt van Tol and Shin Liang, have come up with an iOS app for sending selfies back and forth with friends. Tim Draper, a founder of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, has invested $100,000 in the app, which is named Timit.
Here’s how Timit works.
Make a selfie to show your friends. Maybe annotate it in a one-line message, like on Snapchat.
Set a time limit to determine how long your friends will have before they lose access to your selfie.
Choose which friends will be able to see your selfie.
When your friends open it, their phone cameras will record their reaction to your selfie. Then they can send their reaction back to you, along with an optional little line of text.
Repeat, for as long as you can take it.
“It’s, like, super-fast, bam, bam, bam, sending messages, bringing each other in each others’ moment,” van Tol explained to me in an interview.
He and Liang inexplicably have a mascot, a big Honey Badger, that does crazy things, like drop Liang’s iPhone in a bowl of cereal and throw the phone in a pool.
The guys have made funny videos. Watch them.
They like to say that the Honey Badger doesn’t give a shit. In other words, the Honey Badger doesn’t give a shit about what you’re doing when you receive a selfie from someone — you have to open it and send your reaction back, because there’s a time limit. It’s as simple as that.
And they don’t give a shit, either. Today they are crashing the 500 Startups demo day and giving out condoms that advertise their app. (Updated at 1:36 p.m. Pacific: They got kicked out.)
These guys aren’t superstars. Liang used to build routers at a company called Maipu in China. And van Tol had his own multimedia marketing agency in the Netherlands. Now the two are working on the new startup, Honey Badgers Inc., with a few friends contributing part-time. They’ve learned a lot in the Draper University program in San Mateo, Calif. And Draper loves the app.
On the day he finished negotiating with Liang and van Tol for their funding, Draper had a big pimple in the middle of his forehead. “It’s gone now, luckily,” van Tol told me. “He goes like this — ‘Wait a second, I think you might be a unicorn. Let me take a picture for later, because I’m going to invest in you guys. Not my whole face, only with my forehead.'”
Will Timit be the next Snapchat? I don’t know. But what I do know is that using a selfie as a reaction to someone’s message is actually kinda fun. |
The social and historical dimensions of the Virginia on-air murders
By David Walsh
28 August 2015
The fatal shooting of news reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward in Moneta, Virginia Wednesday morning on live television was a shocking and dreadful event.
Tens of thousands of viewers in the region watched the murders as they happened. Moreover, the assailant, Vester Flanagan (or Bryce Williams, his professional name), filmed the killing on his own cell phone, waiting until Ward’s camera was trained on Parker (so the audience would see her) to open fire. He then uploaded the video to his social media accounts.
Flanagan was mentally deranged. As he explained in a 23-page fax he sent to ABC News the day of the killings, “I’ve been a human powder keg for a while … just waiting to go BOOM!!!!,” and “I’m all f----- up in the head.”
An exhaustive explanation of his homicidal outburst would obviously require examining Flanagan’s personal history and psychological deterioration.
Nonetheless, there are elements of the tragedy that are so striking and socially telling one would be remiss in not referring to them. Especially under conditions where the corrupt, self-interested media and political establishment is relentlessly determined to prevent anyone from drawing a single serious or critical conclusion.
Flanagan was deranged at the time of the shooting, but derangement too has its logic. It only has at its disposal “that which is given to it by the world of three dimensions and by the narrower world of class society” (Trotsky). In such a case as the present one, the shooting in public of news reporters, the madness reflects—through however distorted a prism—something about social realities.
The particular lethal form in which Flanagan’s insanity found expression cannot be separated out from some of the most damaging features of American social life: the culture of narcissistic self-promotion and the desire, at all costs, to be in the “spotlight;” the promotion of racial and identity politics; and, most importantly, the impact on social psychology of the endless interventions (invasions, drone strikes, assassinations, etc.) of the American government and military all over the world, as well as the campaign of unrestrained police terror at home, which encourage a belief in violence as a means of resolving the individual’s life problems.
In his fax sent to ABC (which has only released certain excerpts), Flanagan reveals a paranoid, anti-social and self-absorbed view of things. (According to Fox News, “At least nine photos taken throughout his career adorned Flanagan’s fridge with another publicity shot taped to a wall beside it.”)
He complains about his career in broadcasting being thwarted by a host of employers and colleagues. Flanagan sets out a long list of grievances. According to ABC News, “He says he has been attacked by black men and white females. He talks about how he was attacked for being a gay, black man. He says has suffered racial discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying at work.”
Flanagan aspired to a career as a news reporter in television. Photographs of him as a jovial, smiling newsman can be found online. The sunny dispositions and frozen grins of American television news teams are entirely put on, fake. Flanagan attempted to play the part at various television stations, but for psychological reasons was unable to restrain his anger and bitterness. He could not hold himself together, and each firing or disappointment merely fueled and deepened his rage.
In his faxed suicide note, Flanagan praises the perpetrators of the 2007 Virginia Tech and 1999 Columbine High School massacres, while asserting that the murder of nine African Americans in a Charleston, South Carolina church this June by a white supremacist “sent me over the top.”
“Yes, it will sound like I am angry,” Flanagan writes. “I am. And I have every right to be. But when I leave this Earth, the only emotion I want to feel is peace …”
“[I] tried to pull myself up by the bootstraps,” however, “The damage was already done and when someone gets to this point, there is nothing that can be said or done to change their sadness to happiness. It does not work that way. Meds? Nah. It’s too much.”
The response of the American media to the latest tragedy joins ignorance, self-delusion and deliberate efforts to divert public attention from the source of the problem.
The official liberal media continues to harp on the theme of gun control. Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, one of the nation’s chief “moral leaders,” after pointing to some of the horrific statistics (guns are involved in some 33,000 deaths annually in the US), draws this “lesson”: “We should address gun deaths as a public health crisis. To protect the public, we regulate toys and mutual funds, ladders and swimming pools. Shouldn’t we regulate guns as seriously as we regulate toys?”
Kristof has played his own role in helping to create a murderous climate, with his unending support for one imperialist “human rights” intervention after another, each bloodier and more disastrous than the one before.
The editorial board of the Washington Post asks in a headline, “Will America finally do something to stop our gun-fueled carnage?” Needless to say, the Post has never asked in a headline, “Will America finally do something to stop the US military-led carnage in the Middle East?”
The newspaper’s editorial intones: “The dramatic shootings that make the news remind us that guns are not noble instruments of freedom; they are highly dangerous machines that have some legitimate uses and many illegitimate ones. Any rational government would carefully regulate them.”
The easy access to weaponry and its stockpiling by portions of the population are not signs of a healthy society, but neither the Times nor the Post has a word to say about the diseases truly eating away at America—the vast social polarization, the dominance of a financial-corporate aristocracy, the official worship of a giant military machine, a degraded and degrading popular culture, the alienation of wide layers of the population from every leading institution, the pessimism about the future felt by millions, etc. … the diseases that lie at the heart of the poisonous atmosphere that makes possible the epidemic of mass killings.
The “tough guy” approach to the latest killing, on the other hand, offers nothing but a different set of stupidities. A right-wing opinion piece begins, “On Wednesday, America met a deeply evil human being: Vester Lee Flanagan II, also known as reporter Bryce Williams.” Another commentator helpfully observes, “We will always have murderers, and we will always have weapons. Cain killed Abel with a rock. It’s not a gun control problem.”
As a lifeline to save themselves from their own inability to explain anything, sections of the American media have seized on a recent study by Dr. Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama, “Mass Shooters, Firearms, and Social Strains: A Global Analysis of an Exceptionally American Problem.” Lankford, whose findings were presented at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting in Chicago on Sunday, has carried out the first study of public mass shootings, from 1966 to 2012. He reports that while the US comprises just 5 percent of the global population, it has experienced 31 percent of such events.
Lankford told Newsweek magazine that “crime and deviance occur when there’s an unhealthy gap between people’s dreams and aspirations and their ability to reach those dreams.” The professor argues that “Our culture has people reaching for the stars and slipping and falling probably more often.”
Newsweek comments: “That school and work represent these grievances as well as the gap between one’s aspirations and ability to fulfill those dreams could explain why American mass shooters are more likely than those in other countries to target schools and workplaces.”
Lankford argues in his paper that “some mass shooters succumb to terrible delusions of grandeur, and seek fame and glory through killing. They accurately recognize that the only way they can guarantee that their names and faces adorn magazines, newspapers, and television is by slaughtering unarmed men, women, or children.”
There may well be a grain of truth to these arguments, but they fail to explain the levels of mayhem that have developed over the past several decades. For that one has to take into account concrete historical and social phenomena, above all, the essential brutality of class relations within the US and the example set by the American ruling elite’s campaign of global violence.
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Image copyright AFP Image caption There are fears some women did not vote in Zanzibar because of divorce threats
Husbands who abandoned their children after disagreeing with their wives' choices in Zanzibar's election must provide for their families, a women's rights lawyer has told the BBC.
The call comes after divorces following October's election.
The vote on the semi-autonomous archipelago was cancelled.
Even so, Tanzania's Daily News reports eight women at a lawyers' meeting said their husbands had divorced them over their voting preference.
Saada Salum Issa, programme co-ordinator of the Zanzibar Female Lawyers Association, told the BBC Swahili service she had concerns about the divorces.
"This is really affecting democracy in the island as women's free choice is being compromised by their spouses' dictation," she said.
Some women had not voted in the poll because of divorce threats, she added.
The Daily News added that women whose husbands had left them were complaining that they had also abandoned their children.
The BBC's Aboubakar Famou in Tanzania says that while the vote at the polling booths is confidential, disagreements most probably occurred after discussions between the couples.
There is little the women can do to challenge the men's actions in Zanzibar where 99% of the population is Muslim, he adds.
Zanzibar maintains a political union with Tanzania, but has its own parliament and president.
Its presidential vote were cancelled by the head of Zanzibar's electoral commission on grounds of alleged fraud.
International observers say the nationwide elections were largely "free and fair", but all groups raised concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar's local elections. |
You've probably got a lot of questions before you give them your hard-earned cash, right? Well, here are your answers.
FPG
A scroll through the super PACs listed on the Federal Election Commission’s website will remind anyone what a weird and wonderful place America is. There is a political action committee called Bears for a Bearable Tomorrow, another for Hall and Oates Fans and even one for Zombies of America. And as of today, Bearded Entrepreneurs for the Advancement of a Responsible Democracy, or BEARD PAC, is officially accepting your donations online. BEARD PAC, as its name would imply, is dedicated exclusively to supporting candidates with facial hair.
NewsFeed, understandably, had a few questions about BEARD PAC (what kinds of beards are we talking about here? Is BEARD PAC anti-women? Do goatees count?), so we called up co-founder Jonathan Sessions, 30, who runs an IT consulting firm and sits on the school board in Columbia, Mo. (You can view his beard here.) In the fashion of Stephen Colbert, Sessions appears to be on a mission to satirize super PACs–but, much like the founder of Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, he’s determined to stay in character.
So why did you start BEARD PAC?
We feel that individuals with the dedication to maintain and grow a quality beard are the kind of individuals who would show dedication to the job of public service. So it’s our mission to help these bearded candidates from across the political spectrum, in all levels of government, get elected.
Does not having a beard show a lack of dedication?
There are probably some very dedicated, highly qualified individuals that lack facial hair for whatever reason. But we do see that bearded individuals are underrepresented in office.
Does this PAC discriminate against women?
By no means. We actually feel that it’s unfortunate and horribly unrepresentative of our great nation that [there aren’t more members of] Congress that are women. We want to see that exponentially rise, and we’re dedicated to supporting women who run for office. But at this time, we are firmly focused on the mission of electing bearded individuals into office. We won’t be using those financial resources to support non-bearded candidates at this time.
Does that mean that, in theory, a bearded lady would be an ideal candidate?
You know, that might be someone that we, uh, that we, we would have to look at that …
Is there a minimum threshold of growth that you’re looking for in a beard?
We’re actually in the process of forming a beard review committee within our committee that would make decisions when issues of beard quality or longevity are called into question. We’re not necessarily looking for someone who grew a beard just so we would support them. What I will say is that mustaches, soul patches, weekend beards—these are all things that do not meet the requirements of BEARD PAC. Although goatees are considered if on the right candidate.
And what do you say to the unfortunate gentlemen out there who really aren’t able to grow a high quality beard?
There’s always a question of whether you can grow a better beard than another person. Really, the beard quality is truly just the way you wear it.
Are there other qualities besides dedication that you think a beard-wearer inherently has, which you support?
We are looking for individuals that are looking to cooperate and work toward creating a functional democracy. We have this very large divide down the aisle. We’re not necessarily making any specific decisions on issues right now.
When you look back through history, there are some controversial bearded individuals. Would you have supported, say, Genghis Khan for public office?
Obviously Genghis Khan is not the kind of candidate that BEARD PAC would be looking to support.
So there is a threshold, that even if a candidate has a fine beard, other negative qualities could outweigh it?
Absolutely.
Do you have fundraising goals?
We don’t have any specific fundraising goals at this time. As we start to approach midterms, we’ll be establishing those plans.
How would you characterize the particular style of your own beard?
It’s a reasonably full beard. It’s rather red. I keep it well-groomed, not overly groomed. I keep it in check.
Are there any politicians currently holding public office that others should look to as a model of beardom?
That’s a good question. We are actually putting together a list. We’re still discussing who we want to come out and endorse publicly. There are obviously well-respected individuals and excellent politicians throughout history who have had beards. Obviously Abraham Lincoln. Benjamin Harrison was the last President that was elected wearing a beard. There have been some folks that had mutton chops and mustaches. I believe Truman wore a beard on vacation. |
The mother of a police officer who was killed in a car accident in 2014 is calling on Americans who have been affected by acts of violence from illegal immigrants to speak out against incidents like the one that took her son’s life.
“We want Americans to come out of the shadows and let their fellow Americans know what’s happening to them,” Mary Ann Mendoza said in an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Mendoza’s son, Sgt. Brandon Mendoza, 32, was killed in 2014 by an illegal immigrant in a head-on collision on his way home from work at the Mesa Police Department in Arizona. The driver, Raul Silva-Corona, died on impact after having driven more than 30 miles on the wrong side of the highway. It was later found that Silva-Corona’s blood alcohol level was 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.
According to USA Today, Silva-Corona was an illegal immigrant who was convicted of criminal activity in Colorado in 1994. However, at the time, multiple charges against him were dropped when prosecutors were “lenient.” As a result, he was never deported and remained in the United States illegally.
Now, Mendoza is speaking out, saying, “I don’t know when the turn happened in this country of when politicians are now protecting illegal criminals in our country more than they’re protecting you and I.”
Mendoza announced her support for two bills that recently passed the House that would strengthen protection against illegal immigration and the sanctuary cities that shelter immigrants.
The first bill, Kate’s Law, would place a five-year minimum prison sentence on illegal immigrants who are deported and then return to the United States, and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act would deny certain federal grants to sanctuary cities.
Kate’s Law was named after Kate Steinle, 32, who was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five separate times.
Five other families joined Mendoza in announcing the creation of an advocacy group, Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, which intends to be “truth-tellers” who “want to bring to light not only the murders of Americans, but the people who are affected by rape, assault, and identity theft” as a result of illegal immigration.
Mendoza criticized the mainstream media for not providing the right crime statistics regarding what is happening to Americans within the country and for painting people such as herself as “anti-immigrant.”
“They lie about the fact that people like myself are anti-immigrant,” Mendoza said during her interview with Carlson, “which is the furthest thing from the truth. I am anti-illegal criminals in our country.” |
Rafa Benitez is anticipating a memorable atmosphere at St. James’ Park as Newcastle United and Aston Villa lock horns on Monday night.
The clash will be the 163rd between the two sides in all competitions – but their first in the second-tier since 1938.
After enduring a campaign to forget last term, Villa have yet to assert themselves in the Sky Bet Championship – despite a change in the dugout and a string of acquisitions.
Now under the guidance of ex-Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, the Villains sit 16th in the standings and have failed to record a victory since Boxing Day.
Benitez feels that Villa’s current position is testament to the ruthlessness of Championship football, and insists his side will be taking nothing for granted as two of the division’s heavyweights come together.
“Some people think if you spend money you have to be (up) there, but football is not one plus one equals two,” he said. “For me, it is proof of how difficult the Championship is. It is easier for a team who have been in the top six for a while to go up than a team coming down. If you are going down, normally it is because something is wrong, so you have to change things. You can change half of the squad, but you have to bring new players in and they have to settle down.
“I can understand why it is so difficult for them to do what everybody was expecting them to do. We have also spent some money and we are doing well, but I can see how difficult it is to stay there and be consistent.
“Our fans come to the stadium in numbers and support the team – it doesn’t matter the name of the other team. But, we are talking about a very, very big club who have done really well in history. They have very good players and an experienced manager. It will be a great atmosphere, and the fans will enjoy it if we win, because when you have a strong team in front of you, it is always even better.”
United will head into the clash at the top of the Championship should Brighton & Hove Albion fail to overcome Barnsley at Oakwell tomorrow.
The Magpies are unbeaten in the division since the beginning of January, having rescued a late point at Norwich City on Tuesday evening.
Benitez is hopeful his charges can take heart from their showing at Carrow Road, paying tribute to the “character” they displayed in fighting back from a half-time deficit.
And, with leading goalscorer Dwight Gayle in contention for a starting berth and Vurnon Anita back in training, the Spaniard will have more-or-less a full squad to choose from come Monday night.
“To react in that way (at Norwich) was important – not just in that game, but for the rest of the competition. It means we have character, passion, and the players care about what is going on,” he said.
“I was happy with the performance of the team – everything was quite positive in the end. And the good news is that we have a lot of players coming back. Dwight Gayle has been training, Vurnon Anita has been training today, and Isaac Hayden is having an operation on his ankle today – which had been causing him problems.
“I can only praise my players, the staff, and everyone here. Everyone is pushing in the same direction. The players realise if they stick together, that is the way to perform, to win games and stay where we are at the moment. But, there is still a long way to go and we have to carry on with the same mentality and ideas.” |
Mislabeled fish a widespread problem SEAFOOD
This appears to be a halibut fillet; a sample will be tested at lab by Oceana, which has found that 33 percent of fish is mislabeled. This appears to be a halibut fillet; a sample will be tested at lab by Oceana, which has found that 33 percent of fish is mislabeled. Photo: Sonja Och, The Chronicle Photo: Sonja Och, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Mislabeled fish a widespread problem 1 / 8 Back to Gallery
A third of the seafood sold nationwide and almost 40 percent of the fish purchased by consumers in Northern California was not what it was touted to be, a study released Thursday by the nonprofit group Oceana revealed.
Genetic testing of 1,215 fish taken from 674 retail outlets, grocery stores and sushi bars throughout the United States between 2010 and 2012 found that 33 percent of the samples had been mislabeled, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
Researchers with Oceana, a group dedicated to preserving the ocean ecosystem, reported finding seafood mislabeling in all 21 states where they tested, including retail outlets in San Francisco, Monterey, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland.
In Northern California, 38 percent of the fish tested was something other than advertised. Fish labeled snapper turned out to be rockfish 34 times at sites in the Bay Area, Monterey and other sites in Northern California, according to the watchdog group, which did not reveal the locations of the specific venues where seafood fraud was found.
Restaurants in Northern California misidentified fish 58 percent of the time, while grocery stores mislabeled their products 27 percent of the time.
"Seafood fraud harms not only the consumer's pocket book, but also every honest vendor or fisherman along the supply chain," wrote the report's authors, Kimberly Warner, Walker Timme, Beth Lowell and Michael Hirshfield. "These fraudulent practices also carry potentially serious concerns for the health of consumers, and for the health of our oceans and vulnerable fish populations."
Legal mismatches
Misbranding food for financial gain is illegal under state and federal law, but in most cases there is no way for the consumer to know whether the fish is what the restaurant, fish market or grocery store claims it is. The Food and Drug Administration recognizes 1,700 marketable fish and publishes a guide of acceptable market names for certain species, but state and federal laws sometimes don't match up. California law allows 13 species of rockfish to be sold as Pacific red snapper, but FDA guidelines allow only one. The federal agency lists 14 species that can be labeled "tuna."
FDA regulators announced in 2011 that they would begin DNA testing at selected sites, but there is no nationwide system that monitors seafood fraud.
Obtaining samples
Volunteer fish sleuths armed with testing kits took the fish samples, and Oceana paid between $20 and $200 to conduct genetic sequencing on the tissues. The cost depended on the purity of the sample, which could be degraded by such things as lemon sauce, according to researchers.
The results show that Southern California has one of the highest mislabeling rates in the nation, with 52 percent of the fish testing out to be some other species. Pennsylvania was the worst, with 56 percent of the tested fish turning out to be something other than the label or menu stated, the report said.
Eight out of nine sushi samples labeled as "white tuna," or shiro maguro, at venues in the Los Angeles area were actually escolar. Fisheries biologists often call escolar the "ex-lax fish" for its often purgative effect on the digestive system. It is not among the 14 species that can legally be labeled as tuna.
Shark meat has also been found in fish tacos sold in the Golden State, a major concern, according to researchers, because, among other reasons, sharks often contain high concentrations of mercury. Serious illnesses have occurred in the past, most notably in 2007 when toxic puffer fish were mislabeled as monkfish in an attempt to circumvent U.S. import restrictions, according to the FDA.
Sushi biggest problem
There was mislabeling in 44 percent of the retail outlets nationwide. Sushi venues had the worst problem, with 74 percent of fish proving to be something other than what was advertised. Sushi places in Northern California served mislabeled fish 76 percent of the time. In New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and Texas, every sushi venue was selling mislabeled fish. In Houston and Austin, every single sample was mislabeled.
Restaurants sold mislabeled fish 38 percent of the time and grocery stores did it 18 percent of the time, according to the study.
Snapper was the most commonly misrepresented in the study, with 87 percent of it turning out to be something else, most often tilapia. Only seven of the 120 samples of fish touted as "red snapper" turned out to be that species. Tuna was switched out 59 percent of the time, making it the second most mislabeled fish.
Halibut, grouper, cod and Chilean sea bass were also commonly mislabeled. Salmon was switched out 7 percent of the time, according to the testing. That's at least partly because 2012 was the best wild salmon fishing season in years off the California coast, the authors said.
Escolar and tilapia weren't the only species that were being passed off as a more expensive fish. Overfished Atlantic cod, imperiled Gulf grouper and King mackerel, which is on the FDA's "do not eat" list because of high levels of mercury, were sold under false labels, the report stated.
The report said more government oversight and enforcement of the global seafood supply chain is needed if seafood fraud is ever going to be brought under control.
"It is difficult to determine if fraud is occurring at the boat, during processing, at the wholesale level, at the retail counter or somewhere else along the way," the authors concluded. "Our findings demonstrate that a comprehensive and transparent traceability system - one that tracks fish from boat to plate - must be established at the national level." |
WATCH: Conor McGregor proves his class when answering question about Eddie Alvarez
Despite his impressive history, it was clear just minutes into his bout with Conor McGregor that Eddie Alvarez was drastically outmatched by the Irishman...
It proved to be a comfortable win for Conor, who claimed a second UFC division belt after knocking out his opponent in the second round. Nevertheless, McGregor showed that for all his fighting talk, he actually has great respect for his opponents.
It shone through in an interview he did after the fight while wearing a belt on either shoulder.
"I knew he was tough. I was thinking "how many smacks could he take?" But he's tough. He's a tough, tough dude and he's fought all over the world, so I've nothing but respect for him. I know it's probably a rough one on him and his team but he came, nothing but respect for him, we touched gloves pre-fight so... He's a good man, good solid fighter, nothing but respect."
"But it's my night tonight." |
A man was burned and taken to the hospital Friday morning after reportedly setting himself on fire in front of businesses at Broadway and E Olive Way.
Seattle Police units were the first to arrive at the corner around 8:30 AM to a report that the man was on fire. Seattle Fire arrived as SPD was assisting the man. According to a department spokesperson, Seattle Fire paramedics rushed the man to Harborview for treatment of burns. He was reported in stable condition.
Police are investigating the incident. We do not have details on how the man set himself on fire. The area where the incident occurred is a popular hangout for homeless people and panhandlers. The sidewalk in front of Rite Aid was strewn with blankets, cardboard, and possessions that some others hanging out at the spot said belonged to the injured man.
UPDATE: Police tells CHS that the Broadway incident appears to have been a mental health crisis situation.
The Broadway fire follows a terrible attack earlier this week in Fremont in which police say an assailant set a man on fire on the street in the 4500 block of Leary Way NW. Police are searching for 31-year-old Christopher Burrus, the man they believe assaulted the victim. |
I wanted to mark this as received IMMEDIATELY. I just got the most amazing box in the mail, I want to take photographs and record it in detail and do such a perfect gift justice!
Thank you so much!
So I went through my box, and I am floored by how cool this is. My Santas took my snarky bio/likes and dislikes and ran with it. Where do I start?
The first thing I see is a card, so I rip into it. You have very nice handwriting, by the way. It's a beautiful card, first of all. I'm kind of a card keeping weirdo, I have kept most of the cards I have received through my life, but even if I weren't, this card is so beautiful I would keep it. There is word of another package inside, too.
The next thing I see is a big pink (almost a Nylon pink, I dig it), Clinique bag. It has treats in the pocket, a soap and a body wash! As a result, the bag smells fantastic. It's a good size for my camera to fit into, too!
Wrapped in tissue paper I find an ornament. It's a camera! It's the most thoughtful ornament I have ever seen, and so detail oriented. And on the back on the display is a picture of London! As a twenty something, I'm building up an ornament collection and this is the best one I have now by far.
Next to that, also in tissue is a heart shaped cookie cutter, designed to cut cookies that will sit on mugs. It's so cute that I almost peed a little. I'm going to try them out on some peanut butter cookies this weekend, because peanut butter cookies are what I want right now. They might be too soft, but it will be a fun experiment!
The next thing I see is a green, white and red striped tin. I'm thinking, this is a very heavy tin. WHAT IS IN THIS TIN? So I open it and Clinique makeup explodes into my lap! There is eyeshadow and mascara and gloss and liner and creams of every kind! I sat there dumbfounded for a second, thinking "No freaking way!" but here we are! Even better, all of it is flattering to my coloring! I'm so excited to use it, especially the High Impact trio.
And just when I thought it was done, underneath everything is a big red stocking STUFFED with candy. Snickers, Butterfinger, Laffy Taffy, Sour Patch Straws, M&Ms. My brother found his way into the Butterfingers, he confirms their deliciosity.
You guys are amazing. Thank you so much. I don't even have words right now, this was so perfect. |
Ian Wright will make the FA Cup Semi-Final draw at Wembley on Sunday 9 March
Ian Wright will make the FA Cup Semi-Final draw at Wembley on Sunday 9 March
Arsenal legend Ian Wright will be joined by his son Shaun Wright-Phillips as The FA Cup with Budweiser reaches the Semi-Final draw stage on Sunday.
The Gunners goal machine scored 128 goals in 221 appearances for Arsenal and bagged two FA Cup winners’ medals for the north London outfit.
Wright played in both games against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 and opened the scoring in the replay before Andy Linighan’s last minute header won it for Arsenal.
The FA Cup with Budweiser Semi-Final draw
4pm (approx) Sunday 9 March
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Watch live on TheFA.com and ITV
Follow via Twitter @FA
He was an unused sub when Arsene Wenger’s side beat Newcastle United 2-0 in 1998.
Only Ian Rush has scored more goals than Wright, who began his professional career at Crystal Palace in 1985.
He got an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1990 when the Eagles were beaten 1-0 in a replay by Manchester United.
Shaun, meanwhile, is currently in the Championship with Queens Park Rangers.
Wright-Phillips also has a FA Cup winners' medal to his name after picking up the trophy with Chelsea in the first Final back at new Wembley in 2007. Didier Drogba scored the goal which downed Manchester United in extra-time.
The 32-year-old may not have reached the goal scoring heights of his dad, but he has more England caps than Wright senior, winning 36 compared to Ian’s 33.
The FA Cup with Budweiser Semi-Final draw is scheduled to take place after Hull City v Sunderland on ITV just before 4pm.
The Draw Numbers
1 Arsenal or Everton
2 Hull City or Sunderland
3 Sheffield United or Charlton Athletic
4 Manchester City or Wigan Athletic |
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Fresh off playing spoiler against the Vancouver Whitecaps in their home opener last weekend, Toronto FC will now endeavour to do the same against their biggest U.S. rivals the Columbus Crew at Mapfre Stadium on Saturday evening. With one road win already to their credit, Toronto will likely arrive in Ohio with plenty of confidence. In addition to last week’s decisive comeback 3-1 victory over the Whitecaps, Bradley and company will also be buoyed by the fact that they won twice last year in Columbus against a Crew side that qualified for the MLS postseason. Both teams have plenty to prove this season and both are not only Eastern Conference contenders for a spot in the postseason, they are sides clearly aiming to do more than just qualify for the big dance. While Toronto is coming off arguably the most disappointing season in the club’s history, the Crew are coming off a 2014 campaign in which they qualified for the postseason for the first time in several years and impressed significantly under Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. Keep thinking
A quick look at the standings shows that Toronto will enter this match coming off an easy 3-1 victory, while the Crew are coming off an opening day defeat in which they were held scoreless. However, a closer look at those two results provides a different story. In reality, the Whitecaps essentially ran Toronto off the field in a dominant first half in which Vancouver could have finished off the game early had it not been for some very poor finishing. Toronto deserve plenty of credit for the manner in which they adjusted and pulled out a win in the second half, but realistically Toronto is still looking fully come together as a team and deliver something akin to a full ninety minute performance. On the other side of that equation, Columbus dominated every aspect of their game against the Houston Dynamo with the exception of the final scoreline. The Crew had 60 percent of the possession and outshot the Dynamo 18 to 8, with Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric ultimately coming up big on multiple occasions. With both Berhalter and TFC Head Coach Greg Vanney favouring approaches in which their sides control the possession and take the match to the opposition, this fixture will be an interesting chess match in which whichever side is able to win the midfield battle will likely come away with all three points. With that in mind, something to watch is if Michael Bradley continues to play more of a stay at home role for the second match in a row. It will also be interesting to see if Warren Creavalle earns a second straight start at right back for Toronto. The former Houston Dynamo midfielder was caught out of position often against the Whitecaps and that type of weakness is something that a crafty Crew side will likely exploit should the opportunity rear its head again. While the book on the Columbus Crew in recent years has centered on shutting down attacking midfielder Federico Higuain, the Argentine maestro isn’t the only player that the Reds will need to keep their eyes on. Talented Icelandic midfielder Kristinn Steindórsson joined the team over the offseason and forward/winger Justin Meram is coming off something of a breakout campaign. Higuain is still the string puller for Columbus but the club did endeavour over the offseason to bring in talent to complement him. Most importantly, Berhalter will be hoping that striker Kei Kamara will turn out to be dominant striker that he needs up top. The 30 year old Kamara returns to MLS from the English Championship and brings significant Major League Soccer experience to the number 9 role.
With his pace and athleticism, the Sierra Leone International provides the type of presence that could cause trouble for a TFC back line that looked shaky last weekend. Kamara also offers an option for Higuain to go long should the Crew’s possession approach not achieve the requisite results early on in the game. Most would have noted that one of TFC's big weaknesses from Vancouver was the likes of Steven Caldwell getting caught out more than once, and Kamara will bring the same desire that Rivero did last weekend. On the defensive side of things for Columbus, a back line lead by U.S.A International Michael Parkhurst will likely have its hands full trying to hold Altidore and Giovinco in check. Add in the fact that Crew midfielder Tony Tchani will be suspended for the game and it’s clear that Columbus will need to be focused and at the top of their game to slow a Reds side with plenty of offensive talent. In the end
Expectations are sky high for Toronto after an opening week performance in which all three of Toronto’s Designated Players played very well and played key roles in the victory. That said, the Reds are still very much a new squad that is still coming together under Vanney. Columbus have already had a year to adapt to their head coach's system. While there is expected to be a sizable contingent of TFC support in Columbus, this game ultimately represents a very tough road fixture. While Vancouver only showed up for forty-five minutes last week, the progress that the Crew made under Berhalter last season suggests that Columbus will certainly be a side that will play Toronto hard for the full ninety minutes. Prediction
Toronto FC 1 – 2 Columbus Crew |
Andrea Zellner is a PhD student in the Ed Psych/Ed Tech program at Michigan State University. She can be found on Twitter @AndreaZellner.
I am excited to introduce this week’s theme week on being a parent in graduate school. I myself have blogged a few times about the challenges and successes I’ve found in my own single mom PhD journey. To paraphrase a friend of mine, “Grad school is hard. Parenting in grad school is harder. Single parenting in grad school is a whole new level of difficult.” And yet somehow the work gets done and the noses get wiped.
This theme week came out of interactions I’ve had on social media with other parents in graduate school and other corners of higher education about the unique set of challenges that come with wrangling children while trying to birth a dissertation. Without fail, I’ve benefited from the sharing of stories and tips that come when parents discuss this unique situation with one another. Sadly, some of our writers this week are writing anonymously—as we sit on the cusp of entering our job markets, many parents acutely feel the hiring discrimination (especially for mothers) that comes with acknowledgement of our parental status. I, too, have struggled with whether or not to disclose my status here, and I felt that the benefits to our community outweighed the potential risks to my future employment. I will keep you posted on how that works out for me.
We at GradHacker hope you enjoy reading the thoughtful, funny, and sometimes heart-wrenching pieces this week. We hope you benefit from the wisdom of others as you walk your own path as a current or future parent in grad school. Most of us realize that it truly takes a village to raise both an academic and a child, and we are grateful for the GradHacker village as we take it one day, and one tantrum, at a time. |
Gillard, Rudd and Labor's personality tragedy
Updated
The fall of Kevin Rudd's leadership was like one of those controlled implosions you see on the TV: an edifice one minute, a dust-cloud the next. It was initiated, as we know, by a small group of factional leaders. But the truly stunning part was the alacrity with which all but a few hardy figures in the Caucus piled on board.
Mr Rudd gave a fighting press conference at about 9:00pm, but within 12 hours he faced the truth; he had so little support that discretion (a gracious abandonment of the field) proved indeed the better part of valour.
What were the external circumstances at the time? Some average-to-discouraging polls, a couple of policy debacles, a grim stand-off with the mining industry. And the great leadership hiccup of the Rudd period, which was to effect an apparent reversal on climate change policy (a reversal to which he was urged by others, including Julia Gillard).
Fourteen months later, one would have to say the external circumstances have worsened. The Prime Minister still outpolls European carp and tinea, but only just. A further reversal on climate policy (this time 100 per cent the work and judgment of the Prime Minister herself) poisons the water. Her grand solution on asylum seekers has not only failed, but failed so spectacularly that the policy area itself has cannibalised the rest of her Government's work.
And yet, whatever the remarks unnamed Laborites might have made to the contrary in the tizzy that ensued after the High Court decision last week, there is no concerted move against the PM within the Caucus.
There's a fascinating, almost mathematical equation going on here.
With Julia Gillard, the probability that any given person will support the Prime Minister decreases with distance from the subject; she is supported by a majority of Cabinet and Caucus colleagues and viewed benignly in the public service, but despised by voters who have never met her.
Mr Rudd's equation is precisely the inverse; the warm support he continues to enjoy in the populace at large tails away sharply, the closer you get to the 2600 postcode. Outside Parliament House, voters might wonder why they can't bring that nice Kevin fellow back again. Inside it, people talk vigorously about chewing their own arms off before doing anything to hasten such a return.
Critics of contemporary political journalism often argue that too much is made of personality at the expense of policy. And that may well be right. But sometimes personality is the only explanation for an otherwise aberrant outcome. In this case, personality provides the principal reason that Julia Gillard bats on as Labor leader, while Kevin Rudd was handed his pink slip with unmannerly abruptness.
Certainly, Julia Gillard stays put in part because there is no immediately serviceable substitute. But her durability as leader is largely attributable to the mundane, day-to-day truth of the matter: She's nicer to her colleagues than Kevin was.
I don't think I'll ever forget the conversation I had with one backbencher a few months after Rudd's overthrow. "I agree with Kevin on just about every policy inclination he has," the backbencher said. "In fact, there probably isn't another person in the party with whom I am more in line." There was a pause, and then the backbencher added, calmly and without even the mildest hint of melodrama: "It's just that I hate him so very much."
Politicians are people. Their insecurities and petty stubbornnesses dictate their behaviour just like anyone else's do. There is no other way to explain this Caucus's tolerance of judgment errors committed by this leader, in counterpoint to its ruthless punishment of the last chap, other than the differences in personality.
How else can you explain the actions of the Rudd cabinet, so submissive to Mr Rudd's autocratic style that they were unable to challenge him on it in any constructive way, instead feebly adding their numbers, in the end, to a putsch engineered wholly outside their ranks?
Julia Gillard's personality is a matter for national conjecture. The People's Revolt has her pegged as a liar and a Leftist dictator. The ABC show At Home With Julia, which premiered this week, has her as an eager-to-please SuperMum type, soothing her neglected Tim with baby talk. Actress Amanda Bishop's impersonation of the PM is ferociously good, and her bum should win a Logie. But one could as much imagine the real Gillard showering her partner with treacly endearments as one could imagine her readily agreeing to process asylum seekers onshore. It's just not her.
The best parts of the real Gillard personality – her unflappability and wry, self-deprecating sense of humour – do not survive the camera more generally, for some reason. On television, she loses a dimension; her natural fluency seems to get snarled up in clunky catchphrases and rehearsed hand movements. Rather than looking like a leader forming a political argument, she tends to look like an AFL umpire reluctantly allowing a goal.
Mr Rudd, on the other hand, projects a public air of sunny, brainy nonchalance and a sense of sleeves-rolled-up efficiency which, colleagues say, belies a private pattern of coldness and inconsistency. The best parts of Mr Rudd's personality – his passionate desire to do good, and his genuine sense of fun – seem to wear down with familiarity. The Rudd of whom Caucus members speak so bitterly is every bit as alien to voters as the Gillard with whom Labor MPs are happy to work.
Kevin Rudd's colleagues cannot see in him what voters do: That's his tragedy.
And Julia Gillard cannot make the nation see why her party hangs on to her: That's hers.
Annabel Crabb is the ABC's chief online political writer.
Topics: government-and-politics, political-parties, alp, federal-government, person, gillard-julia, rudd-kevin, australia
First posted |
Killer 1965 Chevy El Camino Custom Truck.
One look at this bad to the bone resto-mod is more than enough for you to know that this Chevrolet is all business. The super straight body is coated with awesome candy Blue Metallic, set on Airride suspension and spins a smokin’ hot set of 20-inch American Racing Torque Thrust rims.
Inside this striking Pro street Chevy El Camino has everything a show stopping custom truck needs. Black leather factory buckets, cool Hurts shifter, billet steering wheel and wicked dash with Autometer gauges.
The nicely built massive 496 cubic inch GM Big Block rocks a BDS 8-71 Blower and generates 770 horse power & 830 pounds of torque sent trough a Muncie 4-speed trans.
Certainly one of the nastiest Chevy trucks around. Check it out. Watch, Enjoy & Share!
See also on Hot Cars: Slick Resto-modded 1973 Chevrolet El Camino
32 Shares |
Fungible currency is, or must be, a cornerstone of a democratic and free society. In this blog I will explore what a fungible currency is and why Bitcoin and Ether currently are lacking in this respect.
What does “fungible” mean?
Goods or items in a collection are “fungible”, if all of the items have the same value and are mutually interchangeable. For example, one kilo of gold has the same value as another kilo of gold. Another example is stocks within a company that are interchangeable with each other without any kind of loss in value or meaning.
Why does fungibility matter?
Fiat currency, e.g. government controlled currency like the Swedish Krona or the US dollar, are generally not fungible.
For example, if I were to wire-transfer some dollars from an US bank account directly to Wikileaks, then my remaining dollars on the same account are likely to be censored or locked by the US government because of the association to Wikileaks, who they might think is a terrorist organisation. Because a censored bank account is useless, the remaining dollars on this bank account are not interchangeable with other dollars and thus worth less.
This is due to the fact that bank transfers are easy to trace and tie to companies and individuals.
However, cash money are generally fungible. This is because it’s hard, or sometimes impossible, to track from where cash money comes and who it belongs to.
The ability to freely transact with anyone without censorship or discrimination should be very important to a free and democratic society.
Are Bitcoin or Ether fungible?
Digital currency like Bitcoin or Ether are often marketed as “anonymous money” or money that can’t be censored by governments. But this is simply not true. In fact, by some measures both Bitcoin and Ether are even less fungible and easier to track than fiat currency due to properties of the underlying blockchain technology that these digital currencies are built on.
For example, if you know the Ether address of Wikileaks, then you will be able to trace every single transaction ever made to and from this address. From and to what address, and how much was transacted, this cascades through all transactions on the entire blockchain. Censorship through association is a real problem in this case.
And due to the way digital currency exchanges like Coinbase.com operate, you can tie personal identities to many addresses and transactions on these blockchains. So you are much less private than you might think when using digital currency.
In summary, we essentially have the same problem here – Bitcoin or Ether addresses can be blocked or censored if they are associated to activity or organisations that some other party does not agree with which in practice might render some addresses useless. Thus, Bitcoin and Ether are not fungible.
Money for a free society
Thankfully, the Ethereum community is working on encryption and privacy features for the Ether currency to make it fungible. The very first part of these features were released earlier in October, but it will likely be multiple years until the Ether currency is truly fungible.
However, there are digital currencies designed specifically for the purpose of being fungible – please meet Monero!
Monero is using advanced cryptographic techniques, such as ring signatures, to achieve true fungibility. This allows the Monero blockchain to store enough cryptographic proof of a transaction’s authenticity for settlement without revealing who sent the transaction or how much was transferred.
This means that I can freely and privately transact with Wikileaks without having to worry about being censored or banned by some authoritarian party for my association with the aforementioned organisation.
Privacy by default, everywhere
For (some of) the same reasons we want to encrypt the web with TLS and HTTPS to allow free and private surfing, we need digital currency that does the same for financial needs.
Monero is private, secure, fungible and practically useful with real applications. Today.
Monero does this without any fuss or big promises around smart contracts or wanting to be “the world computer”. Monero does a few things really well while also pushing the boundaries of new technology and cryptographic techniques.
Now, Monero isn’t perfect either. There are quirks (but supposedly well-intentioned) around the emission and total supply of the Monero currency. And the lack of user-friendly interfaces and tools makes it harder to adopt than e.g. Ether. But it’s still very interesting to see how long-standing problems around economics and democracy are being tackled. |
This week has some new names, and I’m not rehashing Eric “God” Thames, since he’s taken in 95% of leagues, and 100% of leagues in which every owner is stuck in a catatonic state. I’m focusing more on buys than sells this week and moving forward, as it’s the players you add on the wire that will help you win, and depending on the depth of your league, these guys might still be ripe for the roster harvest.
BUY
Steven Souza (OF, Rays) – Time to pick up your Souza phone! We wrote up Souza 2 weeks ago, but he’s remained Souza-ling hot, as he’s now hitting .349 with 4 Homers and a .241 ISO. While it’s true that his strikeout rate has been rapidly rising and now up to 25.6%, his swing rates still indicate improvement with plate discipline. Target him for his 20-25 Home Run and 10 SB ability, but with additional value in OBP leagues as he can maintain a 10-12% Walk rate.
Travis Shaw (3B, Brewers) – Shaw’s got lots of fans. In Boston, they loved him so much, they named a supermarket chain after him. While he may not be in the Star Market (Bostonians will get this joke), he’s been outproducing many brand name Third Basemen with 5 HR and a .266 AVG. I think it’s legit, for many reasons. He’s swinging less at everything and it’s helped improve his contact rate and his K rate improvement. Also, he’s maintained his 2016 Hard Hit % of 33.3%, but has cut down his Soft% from 21.9% to 8.3%. I’d like to see him up that FB rate to keep this rate of power up, but he should still hit .260 with 25 HR, 5 SB and a good amount of runs produced. Don’t doubt my claim, I’m Shaw it will happen.
Mitch Moreland (1B, Red Sox) – Moreland should be landing on more fantasy squads. He’s always hit for good Hard%, but it’s up to a bonkers 50% this year, and his FB% is up from a career 37.8% to 44%. But somehow, he only has 2 HR for an 8.3% HR/FB? Yeah, that’ll go up, and fast. Not only that, but he’s lowered his O-Swing% and upped his Z-Swing% and doesn’t seem to be selling out for his power as his contact rates have remained steady. He’s still weaker against lefties (daily leagues take note), but this could be the makings of career year, so even if he’s owned, point out the high BABIP and make your pitch for Mitch.
Austin Hedges (C, Padres) – After starting the year with a big fat goose egg, many owners cut their Hedgs. But even then, his peripherals showed it was just bad luck, and that goose egg is turning golden, with 6 dingers in 8 games, leading all catchers. While the average is still unsexy at .175, his Hard% at 34.9% is excellent for any player, but especially a catcher, and his 45.2 FB% helps him make the most of that contact. He won’t hit for AVG with an ugly 36.5% O-Swing%, but it’ll be better than it is now, and it looks like the power he showed in the minors is real, so expect 20+ longballs by season’s end. I’d buy and pursue aggressively in all leagues, don’t beat around the bush, don’t hedge your bets, bet on Hedges.
Joey Gallo (3B, Rangers) – Another returner to this list, he handsomely repaid people who read the tea leaves (or Statcast), with 7 Home Runs, tied for the league lead, and leads the league in ISO (he’s only hit 4 singles.) This is the Three-True-Outcome Gallo prospect fans prayed would come true, and why you don’t give up on a massively talented (and also just massive) prospect when he’s 23. But on top of the great run production despite hitting low in the lineup, 3 stolen bases (0 Caught Stealing) is also quite a surprising bonus perk. Expect more of the same (well, maybe other than this SB rate), with some very hot and cold streaks mixed in. If Gallo’s on your wire, don’t leave him hanging.
Aaron Judge (OF, Yankees) – Speaking of massive… I bet most people wouldn’t have bet that Judge would be outproducing his favorite physical comp, Stanton. My verdict 2 weeks ago was to pursue Judge and swung a mighty gavel since, with 6 Home Runs and comparable ISO to Gallo and Khris Davis. What he lacks in Gallo’s high walk rate and speed, he makes up for with lower attrition risk due to better contact skills. Buy in all leagues. Case closed.
Jett Bandy (C, Brewers) – I can’t tell if this a cosmic joke to shame the guy who trashed my bullish Bandy bold prediction preseason. But Jumbo Jett has taken off with a studly .308 with 4 Homers while Jonathan Lucroy is counting paper clips or something. His 36.7% Hard% is quite a surprise, and while his swing rates are pretty terrible, he’s made up for it with an excellent contact rate. His power rate will cool down, but he should still be rostered for the balance of skills and a high run lineup. I bet the Angels feel GREAT about trading him for Martin Maldonado. But I’m not gonna Bandy on about it.
Michael Conforto (OF, Mets) – Michael didn’t give owners taking a wait-and-see approach a lot of time to get Conforto-ble. In just 44 PA, he’s amazingly has a .361 AVG that is tied with his .361 ISO and just above his .360 BABIP. That’s a fast journey to 1.0 WAR. It seems thus far he’s been less disciplined and swinging and missing more, but it’s hard to say he’s selling out for power as his Hard% is down from last year. The crazy thing is he’s not pulling and hitting more to center and oppo, so maybe’s he’s experimenting with a change in approach. Well, what matters is he’ll get playing time now, and with his talent he should be added ASAP.
Corey Dickerson (OF, Rays) – It looks like Dickerson spent the offseason dreaming he was back in Coors and hasn’t woken up. He’s made a full rebound from his poor 2016 with a .324 AVG, 5 HR, and .311 ISO. His 36.8 Hard% (akin of what he did in Colorado) shows the power is legit, and combines well with his 43.9% FB%; his current HR/FB of 20% may be sustainable. This could be an example of a rebound from the post-Coors funk (that’s a real thing). While I’d add him in all but the shallowest mixed leagues, be warned that the average is likely a mirage, as his swing rates and contact rates are the worst of his career. But his power makes him worth taking on your team, even with his pathetic supporting cast.
Yuli Gurriel (3B, Astros) – It’s not every day you see one of the best strikeout rates combined with one of the worst swing rates. See his strategy is swing at everything, and thanks to his excellent contact skills, it often ends in a hit. He’s been red hot and now is up to a .333 Avg now, and while he only has 1 HR, that looks like it may go up as his 32.7% Hard% is better than the 28.6% he put up last year. Though the average will come down, I’d take a flier and ride the hot streak in deeper AVG. leagues, since he has 1B/3B dual eligibility in most leagues.
SELL
Keon Broxton (OF, Brewers) – Even though he was last year’s Statcast darling, I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to know a 38.5% K rate is, in baseball jargon “not good”. He’s also walking way less, swinging more at the bad pitches and less at good ones, and swinging through 16%, which is just ugly. But the cherry on top off the poop sundae is he’s not even hitting hard anymore, with a measly 22% Hard%. Lock him out and flush the key on Broxton.
Steve Pearce (OF, Blue Jays) – It seemed that Toronto would be a great location for the super utility man, but boy has he been awful. His Hard% is also way down and his Contact Rate and Swing Rate are a mess, so there’s not much hope of a rebound. Either he’s still not fully recovered from his offseason forearm surgery in September, or he’s just in rapid decline at 34. Either way, the answer to that doesn’t belong on my squad, even in deep AL only.
Mike Napoli (DH, Rangers) – Move over, Napoli, there’s a new three-true-outcomes guy in Texas. Napoli was playing with fire last year with a dangerously high strikeout rate, but made up for it with excellent hard contact. Well the Hard Contact has diminished this year (31.9% is still good, but a far cry from 36.7%), and his discipline has continued to deteriorate, with a career-worst 13.9 Swstr%. With no defensive value, it’s likely that when Beltre comes back, Gallo will remain, and Napoli will be the guy asked to ride the pine.
Tim Anderson (SS, White Sox) – Part of one of my bold predictions was expecting Tim Anderson to flop. It’s playing my favorite role, cantankerous old grump throwing shade at preseason hype. It looks right here, as his Hard contact is down, and his strikeout rate of 20% is bad with no power or speed or walks. It’ll probably get worse, too, as his swing rates and 15% Swstr% is hella bad. He still may get 15+ SB if they keep running him out there, but at least for this year, if he asks me to roster him, I’ll have to say “I don’t think so, Tim.”
Brandon Drury (3B, Diamondbacks) – You may not notice, but his performance has been Brandon Dreary. Sure, he has a .300 AVG., and you may argue that it’s sustainable, as he’s further improved his plate discipline, and his K rate at 20% is no worse than last year when he hit .282. Problem is, last year he hit the ball harder than expected, at 32.9%, and this year it’s just a measly 21.2%. Ew. And that .382 BABIP seems more outlandish when you see his Infield Fly Ball rate is at an unsightly, Todd Frazier-esque 28.2%. The jury is out, take Drury out… with the trash, not out to dinner. Well, unless it’s a pity date, I guess. |
Luc Coene, a Governing Council member at the ECB, said that even if Greece was to leave the euro, Europe would unite to protect the system.
"If the Greeks decide to leave, something that seems to me to be completely inconceivable ... Europe will certainly stand shoulder to shoulder to protect the system," he told the newspaper La Libre Belgique .
Mr Coene said that Europe was starting to take control of its budget deficits, but that it would take time to see how effective the austerity measures put in place would be.
"I think that, for the moment, we are starting to have control over the situation," he said.
"Now we need a bit of time to see what is the degree of success that all of these plans will have."
He added that investors would be cheered when they saw action to control budgets taking effect, and start to finance countries again.
"Once we see that the results are there, markets will be reassured and will finance countries," said Mr Coene, who is also the Governor of Belgium's central bank.
He dismissed the idea that the ECB should intervene by directly buying government bonds, arguing that it would not be a solution to the crisis and would require the central bank to take on a lot of political risk.
His comments came after the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said that banks exposed to Greek debt could be forced to take bigger writedowns because of the country's worse-than-expected finances.
Olivier Blanchard told CNBC television: "The [Greek] debt numbers are not good. There will have to be substantial haircuts. They have to be sufficient to allow Greece a breather."
Mr Blanchard did not give a specific figure but warned the road to Greek recovery would be a long one.
"The numbers will have to be worked out. As the macro numbers come in and they're worse, maybe the haircuts have to be larger.
"It's clear that there's going to be a long, long slog. So the Europeans will have to be ready to help with financing," he said. |
October 16, 1967
The Two Worlds of Linda Fitzpatrick
By J. ANTHONY LUKAS
"Certainly we knew the Village; our family is at 2 Fifth Avenue," said Irving Fitzpatrick, the wealthy Greenwich, Conn., spice importer whose daughter, Linda, was found murdered with a hippie friend in an East Village boiler room a week ago yesterday.
Mr. Fitzpatrick spoke during a three-hour interview with his family around the fireplace in the library of their 30-room home a mile from the Greenwich Country Club.
For the Fitzpatricks, "the Village" was the Henry James scene they saw out Dr. Sklar's windows and "those dear little shops" that Mrs. Fitzpatrick and her daughters occasionally visited. ("I didn't even know there was an East Village," Mr. Fitzpatrick said. "I've heard of the Lower East Side, but the East Village?")
But for 18-year-old Linda--at least in the last 10 weeks of her life--the Village was a different scene whose ingredients included crash pads, acid trips, freaking out, psychedelic art, witches and warlocks.
If the Fitzpatricks' knowledge of the Village stopped at Washington Square, their knowledge of their daughter stopped at the unsettling but familiar image of a young, talented girl overly impatient to taste the joys of life.
Reality in both cases went far beyond the Fitzpatricks' wildest fears--so far, in fact, that they are still unable to believe what their daughter was going through in her last weeks.
It is perhaps futile to ask which was "the real Linda"--the Linda of Greenwich, Conn., or the Linda of Greenwich Village. For, as The New York Times investigated the two Lindas last week through interviews with her family and with her friends and acquaintances in the Village, it found her a strange mixture of these two worlds, a mixture so tangled that Linda probably did not know in which she belonged.
The last weeks of Linda's life are a source of profound anguish for her parents. The forces at work on young people like Linda are the source of puzzlement for many other parents and of studies by social workers and psychologists, as they seek to understand the thousands of youths who are leaving middle-class homes throughout the country for the "mind expanding drug" scene in places like Greenwich Village.
Until a few months ago, Linda--or "Fitzpoo," as she was known to her family and friends--seemed to be a happy, well-adjusted product of wealthy American suburbia.
"Linda is a well-rounded, fine, healthy girl," her mother, a well-groomed blonde in a high-collared chocolate brown dress, said during the interview in Greenwich. Throughout the interview Mrs. Fitzpatrick used the present tense in talking of her daughter.
Attended Good Schools
Born in Greenwich, Linda attended the Greenwich Country Day School, where she excelled in athletics. She won a place as center forward on the "Stuyvesant Team," the all-Fairfield County field hockey team, and also gained swimming and riding awards. She went on to the Oldfields School, a four-year college preparatory school in Glencoe, Md.
A blonde tending to pudginess, she never quite matched the striking good looks of her mother, who as Dorothy Ann Rush was a leading model and cover girl in the thirties, or of her elder sister, Cindy.
At country club dances, Linda often sat in the corner and talked with one of her half-brothers; but, apparently more interested in sports and painting than dancing, she never seemed to mind very much.
According to her family, Linda's last summer began normally. In mid-June she returned from Oldfields after an active year during which she was elected art editor of the yearbook. She spent several weeks in Greenwich, then left with the family for a month in Bermuda.
Vacations With Family
"The family always takes its summer vacations together; we always do things as a family," said Mr. Fitzpatrick, a tall, athletic-looking man in a well-tailored gray suit, blue tie and gold tie-clip. "Sometimes we went to Florida, sometimes to the Antibes, but for the past few summers we've rented a house in Bermuda. This time it was at Paget."
The family included seven children--Linda and 9-year-old Melissa ("Missy") from this marriage; Perry, 32; Robert, 30; Carol, 27, and David; 25, from Mr. Fitzpatrick's first marriage which ended in divorce, and Cindy from Mrs. Fitzpatrick's first marriage, which also ended in divorce. But this time only Linda and Missy accompanied their parents to Bermuda, while Cindy and her husband joined them later for 10 days.
As the Fitzpatricks remember it, Linda spent "a typical Bermuda vacation"--swimming int he crystal ocean; beach parties on the white sands; hours of painting; occasional shopping expeditions in town.
'The Girl We Knew'
On July 31 the family returned to Greenwich, where Linda spent most of August. Again the family insists she was "the girl we knew and loved."
They say she spent most of her time painting in the studio in the back of the house. But she found plenty of time for swimming with friends in the large robin's-egg-blue pool, playing the piano, and sitting with Missy.
"Linda and Missy were terribly close," their mother said, biting her lip. "Just as close as Cindy and Linda were when they were younger."
If Linda went to New York during August, the family said, it was "just a quick trip in and out--just for the day."
The 'Village' Version
Friends in the Village have a different version of Linda's summer.
"Linda told me she took LSD and smoked grass [marijuana] many times during her stay in Bermuda," recalls Susan Robinson, a small, shy hippie who ran away last May from her home on Cape Cod. "She talked a lot about a fellow who gave her a capsule of acid [LSD] down there and how she was going to send him one."
Susan and her husband, David, who live with two cats and posters of Bob Dylan, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg and D.H. Lawrence in a two-room apartment at 537 East 13th Street, first met Linda when she showed up there some time early in August.
The Robinson apartment served this summer as a "crash pad"--a place where homeless hippies could spend the night or part of the night. Scrawled in pencil on the tin door to the apartment is a sign that reads: "No visitors after midnight unless by appointment please." It is signed with a flower.
"Linda just showed up one evening with a guy named Pigeon," Susan recalls. "She'd just bought Pigeon some acid. We were fooling around and everything. She stayed maybe a couple of hours and then took off."
Flying on Acid
"But we liked each other, and she came back a few nights later with a kid from Boston. She turned him on, too [gave him some LSD]. She was always doing that. She'd come into the city on weekends with $30 or $40 and would buy acid for people who needed some."
David Robinson, a gentle young man with a black D. H. Lawrence beard who works in a brassiere factory, recalls how Linda turned him on on Aug. 22. "We went to this guy who sold us three capsules for $10 apiece," he said. "She put one away to send to the guy in Bermuda, gave me one and took one herself. She was always getting burned [purchasing fake LSD] and that night she kept saying, 'God, I just hope this is good.' We were out in the Square [Tompkins Park] and we dropped it [swallowed it] right there. Forty-five minutes later--around midnight--we were off.
"We walked over to a pad on 11th Street just feeling the surge, then over to Tompkins Park, then to Cooper Union Square, where we had a very good discussion with a drunk. By then we were really flying. She was very, very groovy. AT 8 A.M. I came back to the pad to sleep, and Linda took the subway to Grand Central and got on the train to Greenwich. She must still have been flying when she got home."
That weekend in Greenwich, Mrs. Fitzpatrick was getting Linda ready for school. "We bought her almost an entire new wardrobe," she recalled, "and Linda even agreed to get her hair cut."
For months Mr. Fitzpatrick had complained about Linda's hair, which flowed down over her shoulders, but Linda didn't want to change it. Then at the end of August she agreed. "We went to Saks Fifth Avenue and the hairdresser gave us a kind of Sassoon blunt cut, short and full. She looked so cute and smart. Hardly a hippie thing to do," Mrs. Fitzpatrick said.
The first day of school was only 11 days off when Linda went to New York on Sept. 1. When she returned to Greenwich the next day, she told her mother she didn't want to go back to Oldfields. She wanted to live and paint in the Village.
A Surprise for Family
"We couldn't have been more surprised," Mrs. Fitzpatrick said, fingering her eyeglasses, which hung from a gold pin at her left shoulder.
"Linda said her favorite teacher, who taught English, and his wife, who taught art, weren't coming back. She just adored them--when they went to Europe she just had to send champagne and fruit to the boat--and she couldn't face going back to school if they weren't there.
"What's more, she said there wasn't anything else she could learn about art at Oldfields. They'd already offered to set up a special course for her there, but she didn't want more courses. She just wanted to paint. She thought she'd be wasting her time at school."
Mother and daughter talked for nearly two hours that Saturday morning of the Labor Day Weekend. Then Mrs. Fitzpatrick told her husband, who at first was determined that Linda should finish school.
Reluctant Consent Given
"But we talked about it with all the family and with friends all through the weekend," Mr. Fitzpatrick recalls. "Finally, on Sunday night, we gave Linda our reluctant permission, though not our approval." Linda left for New York the next morning and the family never saw her alive again.
"After all," her mother put in, "Linda's whole life was art. She had a burning desire to be something in the art world. I knew how she felt. I wanted to be a dancer or an artist when I was young, too."
The Fitzpatrick's minds were eased when Linda assured them she had already made respectable living arrangements. "She told us that she was going to live at the Village Plaza Hotel, a very nice hotel on Washington Place, near the university, you know," her mother said.
"'I'll be perfectly safe, mother,' she kept saying. 'It's a perfectly nice place with a doorman and television. She said she'd be rooming with a girl named Paula Bush, a 22-year-old receptionist from a good family. That made us feel a lot better."
A Room at 'The Plaza'
The Village Plaza, 79 Washington Place, has no doorman. A flaking sign by the tiny reception desk announces "Television for Rental" amidst a forest of other signs; "No Refunds," "All, Rents Must be Paid in Advance," "No Checks Cashed," "No Outgoing Calls for Transients."
"Sure I remember Linda," said the stooped desk clerk. "But Paula Bush? There wasn't no Paula Bush. It was Paul Bush."
Ruffling through a pile of stained and thumb-marked cards, he came up with one that had Linda Fitzpatrick's name inked at the top in neat Greenwich Country Day School penmanship. Below it in pencil was written: "Paul Bush. Bob Brumberger."
"Yeh," the clerk said. "She moved in here on Sept. 4, Labor Day, with these two hippie guys, Bush and Brumberger. They had Room 504. She paid the full month's rent--$120--in advance. Of course, she had lots of other men up there all the time. Anybody off the street--the dirtiest, bearded hippies she could find."
"She Was Different"
"I kept telling her she hadn't ought to act like that. She didn't pay me any attention. But you know she never answered back real snappy like some of the other girls. She was different. She had something--I don't know, class. The day she checked out--oh, it was about Sept. 20--I was out on the steps, and as she left she said, 'I guess I caused you a lot of trouble.' and I said, 'Oh, it wasn't any trouble, really.'"
"You want to see the room? Well, there are some people up there now, but I think it'll be O.K."
The elevator was out of order. The stairs were dark and narrow, heavy with the sweet reek of marijuana. A knock, and the door to 504 swung open. A bearded young man took his place again on the sway-backed double bed that filled half the room. The young man and three girls were plucking chocolates out of a box.
Against one of the light green walls was a peeling gray dresser, with the upper left drawer missing. Scrawled on the mirror above the dresser in what looked like eyebrow pencil was "Tea Heads Forever" (a tea head is a marijuana smoker) and in lighter pencil, "War is Hell." Red plastic flowers hung from an overhead light fixture. The bathroom, directly across the hall, was shared with other rooms.
"Would you like to see Linda's room?" her mother asked, leading the way up the thickly carpeted stairway. "That used to be her room," she said, pointing into an airy bedroom with a white canopied bed, "until she began playing all those records teen-agers play these days and she asked to move upstairs so she could make all the noise she wanted."
On the third floor Mrs. Fitzpatrick opened the red curtains in the large room. "Red and white are Linda's favorite colors; she thinks they're gay," Mrs. Fitzpatrick said, taking in the red and white striped wallpaper, the twin beds with red bedspreads, the red pillow with white lettering: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions."
Orange flashed here and there--in the orange and black tiger on the bed ("that's for her father's college, Princeton; we're a Princeton family") and in the orange "Gs" framed on the wall, athletic awards from Greenwich Country Day School.
On the shelves, between a ceramic collie and a glass Bambi, were Edith Hamilton's "The Greek Way" and Agatha Christie's "Murder at Hazelmoor." Nearby were a stack of records, among them Eddie Fisher's "Tonight" and Joey Dee's "Peppermint Twist." In the bright bathroom hung blue and red ribbons from the Oldfields Horse Show and the Greenwich Riding Association Show.
"As you can see, she was such a nice, outgoing, happy girl," her mother said. "If anything's changed, it's changed awfully fast."
Downstairs again, over ginger ale and brownies that Cindy brought in from the kitchen, the Fitzpatricks said they had been reassured about Linda's life in the Village because she said she had a job making posters for "Poster Bazaar" at $80 a week.
"Later she called and said she'd switched to a place called Imports, Ltd., for $85 a week and was making posters on weekends. She sounded so excited and happy," Mrs. Fitzpatrick recalled.
Nobody The Times interviewed had heard of a store called Poster Bazaar. AT 177 Macdougal Street is a shop called Fred Leighton's Mexican Imports, Ltd, where, the records show, Linda worked for $2 an hour selling dresses for three days--Sept. 11, 12 and 13. On the third day she was discharged.
"She was always coming in late, and they just got fed up with her," a salesgirl said. Although Linda was given a week's notice, she left on Sept. 14 for a "doctor's appointment" and never came back.
A Try at Panhandling
Before she left, she asked the manager not to tell her parents she had been discharged, if they called. The manager said the parents did not call after Linda had left, although there had been one call while she was working there.
David Robinson said Linda supported herself from then on by "panhandling" on Washington Square. "She was pretty good at it," he said. "She always got enough to eat."
Linda may have had some money left over from what her mother gave her before she left ("I gave her something, Mrs. Fitzpatrick said, "I thought she was going to be a career girl"), although she never had very much those last weeks.
Yet, David recalls, Linda frequently talked about making big money. "She had a thing about money. Once she told me she wanted to get a job with Hallmark cards drawing those little cartoons. She said she'd make $40,000 a year, rent a big apartment on the Upper East Side and then invite all her hippie friends up there."
Experimenting With Art
"We're a great card-exchanging family," Cindy said. "Whenever the occasion arose--birthdays, holidays, illnesses--Linda would make up her own cards and illustrate them with cute little pictures of people and animals."
From a pile on the hall table, Cindy picked out a card with a picture of a girl and an inked inscription, "Please get well 'cause I miss ya, love Linda XOX." In the same pile was a Paris street scene in pastels, two forest scenes made with oils rolled with a Coke bottle, several other gentle landscapes. "Linda was experimenting with all sorts of paints and techniques," Cindy said.
"You want to see some of the paintings she did down here?" asked Susan Robinson, as she went to a pile of papers in the corner and came back with five ink drawings on big white sheets from a sketching pad.
The drawings were in the surrealistic style of modern psychedelic art: distorted women's faces, particularly heavily lidded eyes, dragons, devils, all hidden in a thick jungle of flowers, leaves and vines, interspersed with phrases in psychedelic script like "Forever the Mind," "Flying High," "Tomorrow Will Come."
"Linda was never terribly boy crazy," her mother said. "She was very shy. When a boy got interested in her, she'd almost always lose interest in him. She got a proposal in August from a very nice boy from Arizona. She told me, 'He's very nice and I like him, but he's just too anxious.' The boy sent flowers for the funeral. That was thoughtful."
The Robinsons and her other friends in the Village said there were always men in Linda's life there: first Pigeon, then the boy from Boston, then Paul Bush.
Bush, the 19-year-old son of a Holly, Mich. television repairman, described by those who knew him here as "a real drifter, a way-out hippie," He carried a [word missing] lizard named Lyndon on a string around his neck. Bush, who says he left New York on Oct. (?) was interviewed by telephone in San Francisco yesterday.
The Nonexistent 'Paula'
"I met Linda at the Robinsons about Aug. 18--a few days after I got to town," he recalls. "We wandered around together. She said her parents bugged her, always hollered at her. . . . So I said I'd get a pad with her and Brumberger, this kid from New Jersey.
"She said she'd tell her parents she was living with a girl named Paula Bush, because she didn't want them to know she was living with a man. That was O.K. with me. I only stayed about a week anyway, and Brumberger even less. Then she brought in some other guy. I don't know who he was, except he was tall with long hair and a beard."
This many may have been Ed, a tall hippie who the Robinsons saw with Linda several times in mid-September. Later came James L. (Groovy) Hutchinson, the man with whom she was killed last week.
Toward the end of September, Susan Robinson says, Linda told her she feared she was pregnant. "She was very worried about the effect of LSD on the baby, and since I was pregnant, too, we talked about it for quite a while."
Father Inclined to Doubt
"I don't believe Linda really had anything to do with the hippies," her father said. "I remember during August we were in this room watching a C.B.S. special about the San Francisco hippies. I expressed my abhorrence for the whole thing, and her comments were much like mine. I don't believe she was attracted to them."
However, Linda's half-brother, Perry, recalls that during August Mr. Fitzpatrick also read a story about Galahad, a New York hippie leader, and expressed his "disdain" for him. Linda mentioned casually that she had met Galahad and that she understood he was "helping people," but her father let the remark pass, apparently considering it of no significance.
Her friends say Linda was fascinated by the scene in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. In late September she apparently visited there.
Susan Robinson recalls that she did not see Linda for some time in late September and that suddenly, on Oct. 1, Linda turned up at her pad and said she had been to Haight-Ashbury. "She said she stayed out there only two days and was very disappointed; that it was a really bad scene; that everybody was on speed [a powerful drug called methadrine]. She said she got out and drove back."
In the first week of October the Fitzpatricks got a postcard postmarked Knightstown, Ind., a small town 30 miles east of Indianapolis. Mrs. Fitzpatrick did not want to show the card to a visitor because "it was the last thing I got which Linda touched." But she said it read roughly: "I'm on my way to see Bob [her brother, who is a Los Angeles lawyer]. Offered a good job painting posters in Berkeley. I love you. I will send you a poster. Love, Linda."
Also in the first week of October a girl who identified herself as Linda telephoned her brother's office in Los Angeles but was told he was in San Francisco. She never called back.
When Linda saw Susan on Oct. 1 she told her she had two warlocks, or male witches, in California and had driven back with them.
"This didn't surprise me," Susan said. "Linda told me several times she was a witch. She said she had discovered this one day when she was sitting on a beach and wished she had some money. Three dollar bills floated down from heaven.
"Then she looked down on the beach and thought how empty it was and wished there was someone there. She said a man suddenly appeared. She was always talking about her supernatural powers. Once she was walking on a street in the Village with this girl Judy, and she stumbled over a broom. 'Oh,' she told Judy, 'this is my lucky day. Now I can fly away.'"
"Linda told me she met these two warlocks out there and that they could snap their fingers and make light bulbs pop. She said one of the warlocks took her mind apart and scattered it all over the room and then put it together again. Ever since, she said, she felt the warlock owned her."
'That's Not True'
"One of the newspapers said Linda was interested in Buddhism and Hinduism and all that supernatural stuff," Cindy said. "That's not true at all. I don't think she ever even knew what it was."
Last Friday a self-styled warlock who said he was one of the two who drove Linda back to New York was interviewed in the Village. The warlock, who called himself "Pepsi," is in his late 20's, with long, sandy hair, a scruffy beard, heavily tattooed forearms, wire rim glasses and long suede Indian boots.
"My buddy and I ran into Linda in a club in Indianapolis called the Glory Hole," Pepsi said. "We took Linda along. You could see right away she was a real meth monster--that's my name for a speed freak, somebody hooked on speed.
"We were two days driving back. We got in on Oct. 1, and she put up with me and my buddy in this pad on Avenue B. She was supposed to keep it clean, but all she ever did all day was sit around. She had this real weird imagination, but she was like talking in smaller and smaller circles. She was supposed to be this great artist, but it wasn't much good. It was just teeny bopper stuff-- drawing one curving line, then embellishing it.
A Lot of Potential
It sounds like I'm knocking her. I'm not. She was a good kid, if she hadn't been so freaked out on meth. She had a lot of, what do you call it--potential. Sometimes she was a lot of fun to be with. we took her on a couple of spiritual seances, and we went out on the Staten Island Ferry one day at dawn and surfing once on Long Island."
Pepsi saw Linda at 10 P.M. Saturday Oct. 8 standing in front of the Cave on Avenue A with Groovy. She said she'd taken a grain and a half of speed and was "high." Three hours later she and Groovy were dead--their nude bodies stretched out on the boiler room floor, their heads shattered by bricks. The police have charged two men with the murders and are continuing their investigation.
"It's too late for the whole thing to do us much good," her brother Perry said on Saturday after he had been told of her life in the Village. "But maybe somebody else can learn something from it." |
Read about any period of history and one thing you’re guaranteed to come across is bloody, gut wrenching wars. It’s one thing that we humans excel at, whatever the era and whatever the culture. Yet amidst all this terrible, and often pointless, slaughter we sometimes get glimpses of great bravery in the face of terrible odds. It’s during these moment, when all looks doomed, that certain types of men and women go full bad ass. In honour of their devil-may-care attitude to danger, here are some of their finest moments immortalized in their finest words. Prepare to be amazed.
1. Robert Surcouf, a French corsair (privateer) and all-around badass, talking with a British officer after capturing his ship, the Kent:
British officer: “You French fight for money, while we British fight for honor.”
Robert Surcouf: “Sir, a man fights for what he lacks the most.”
GARD Pro Not Registered
“You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army into your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city.”
Sparta: “If.”
3. George S. Patton:
“No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”
4. Lucius Cornelius Sulla’s epitaph:
“No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full.”
5. Vice President Thomas Marshall at the time of Theodore Roosevelt’s death:
“Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight.”
6. Attributed to Hannibal, on being told he couldn’t cross the Alps:
“Either I will find a way or I will make one”
GARD Pro Not Registered
“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”
8. Otto von Bismarck, who started (and won) 3 wars:
“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war”
9. General Chesty Puller:
“We’re surrounded. They’re in front of us, behind us, to the left and right of us. They can’t get away this time”
10. George S. Patton:
“As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no one because I am the most evil man in the valley.”
11. Winston Churchill:
“We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender”
12. Winston Churchill:
“I like a man who grins when he fights”
13. Teddy Roosevelt, giving a campaign speech just after an attempted assassination:
“Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot — but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”
14. Napoleon Bonaparte:
“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”
15. Emiliano Zapata:
“I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”
16.James Mattis:
“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.”
17.Robert Erskine Childers, Irish rebel after his firing squad had missed the first time:
“Take a step closer lads it will be easier that way.”
18. Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, the one-armed, one-eyed admiral who established the British naval supremacy in the 19th century:
“England expects that every man will do his duty.”
19. Major General Creighton Abrams:
“They’ve got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.”
20. Sergeant Major Dan Daly while leading a charge in WWI:
“Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?!”
21. Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras, after reading his death sentence:
“You have made three spelling mistakes.”
Mad and bad, crazy and courageous, these fighting words show that when the going gets tough the tough get badass. But we know there’s tons more times throughout history when men and women have shown true grit. So, if any spring to mind, be sure to share in the comments below.
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Story highlights Police in Sydney were called to a report of domestic violence after neighbors heard screams and threats
Officers quizzed the "suspect" only to find that he had been shouting at -- and had eventually killed -- a large spider
(CNN) "Come on mate, what have you done to her?"
Police were questioning a "flushed" and "out of breath" man who had answered the door to a flat in Wollstonecraft, a small harborside suburb of Sydney, Australia.
The booming sounds of a man shouting "I'm going to kill you" and a "woman screaming hysterically" had earlier echoed through the apartment block, sometime before 2.00am, Saturday November 21. The commotion disturbed neighbors, who were quick to alert the local police force.
"Where's your wife?" asked one of the policemen.
"I don't have one," the homeowner responded, after inhaling some air.
Read More |
Rob’s recent comment pointing out the Ben Vonderheide case in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania made me curious. After all, it’s not often that you see the government actually prosecute somebody for making malicious false reports to the police to terrorize a father and block access to a child. On the surface, it looks like the government got it right in this case. Dig deeper, however, and you find that Ben Vonderheide is a poster case for government-backed terrorism against a parent who has been repeatedly abused by the government. The government is now using his son, Quinta Xavier Vonderheide, as a pawn in its vindictive battle to hide its crimes against the state’s children and families and attack those who attempt to expose them.
Alienating Ex Convicted of Lying to Police Gets Sole Custody
Quinta’s mother is Vonderheide’s ex-girlfriend Wendy Flanders. She has systematically alienated her son from his father and engaged in access blocking, denigration, defamation, and false police reports to destroy the child’s relationship with his father. She is unable to accept that their son should have time with both his parents and is willing to break the law, scheme, manipulate, and conspire to ensure that he will never see his father again. As is typical, family law courts reward such behaviors unless a parent can afford to bring contempt of court charges against the abuser.
She even attempted to change his name to Quinta Xavier Flanders, a common stunt for alienating parents who alter their children’s names to remove all mention of the hated ex.
This is nothing new for Flanders as she is a serial parental alienator. She has engaged in this child abuse not only involving Quinta, but also regarding her daughter Bryna Elizabeth Flanders-Harris and that girl’s father John Harris. In that case, she used false allegations of child sexual abuse among other methods. There are also reports that she attempted similar family terrorism against another previous ex, a Mr. Caruso who is no longer alive to defend himself and his child Emily from the sociopathic Flanders.
(from A Brave Dad Battles Parental Alienation) In February 2003 the judge awarded custody of Xavier to his mother, ordering that he spend two days a week with his father. But Flanders soon decided to ignore the judge’s order, at first restricting visits to only two hours a day, and then thwarting all contact for months at a time. But that wasn’t enough, so Flanders schemed to alienate Xavier from his father. According to the contempt motion, Flanders first withheld information from Ben, refusing to advise him about school programs, teacher conferences, or even the name of the kindergarten where Xavier would be attending. She then fabricated multiple allegations of abuse, a claim of fear being the only proof she needed. Then she used these unproven accusations to show Xavier that his father was a perp. On the advice of counselors, the father once made several telephone calls to the child. The mother then claimed those calls amounted to harassment. The district attorney later dismissed the ridiculous charge. Next she resorted to outright manipulation. One day Flanders informed the father he wouldn’t be allowed to see his son for Christmas Eve. Then she had the child dress up in anticipation of the father’s visit. When the father didn’t arrive, she used that as proof the father was a deadbeat. And finally, Flanders violated a key requirement of the custody order that neither make “derogatory comments about the other parent.” Instead, she waged a campaign of calumnies, repeatedly calling Ben a liar and abuser. Once Xavier introduced his father to his classmates as, “This is my Daddy – he is filled with hatred and anger” – a phrase that a five-year-old boy is unlikely to come up with on his own.
Flanders escalated continuously, making a never-ending stream of criminal complaints against Vonderheide that were not only interfering with his time with his son but also causing a huge amount of trouble and expense including being arrested based upon false allegations.
(from Lots of lucre in false claims of abuse) Wendy Flanders of Pennsylvania is a repeat false accuser. Beginning in 2002 she began to make a variety of allegations against boyfriend Ben Vonderheide. The claims included — get ready for this — one charge of kidnapping, 2 trespassing charges, 3 charges of domestic abuse, 3 counts of harassment, and 25 accusations of indirect criminal contempt. The allegations culminated in November 2004, when she claimed that Vonderheide assaulted her. That night the police came to Vonderheide’s house and put him in the pokey. Problem was, the whole incident was caught on videotape, which proved that she was the aggressor in a conniving attempt to provoke him: http://5thestate.com/051006.htm . Recently Vonderheide was expunged on many of the charges. And two weeks ago a jury in Lancaster County found Wendy Flanders guilty of making false statements to police officials. The punishment? A slap-on-the-wrist $250 fine and one year of probation. Mr. Vonderheide spent about $350,000 defending himself. “The only reason I’m out of jail is because I filmed, published on my own, and I engaged the ‘underground’ press to expose my case,” he later told me.
Vonderheide’s abusive ex and her latest boyfriend Theodore Yoder were convicted of repeatedly lying to police to try to get Vonderheide arrested on false allegations. The convictions occurred in part because Vonderheide had very convincing evidence. He video and audio records constantly because of his extended experience with pathological liar Flanders, especially if she might be in the area. If he didn’t have those recordings, he might have wound up in prison for a very long time. That’s because in the US, domestic violence and restraining order violation allegations are treated as guilty until proven innocent crimes in violation of the US Constitution. You have to prove your innocence, yet even when you do, you can still be hounded with persecution via a record of criminal accusations that will cost you jobs, income, and your reputation potentially for the rest of your life. See Restraining Order Abuse (WCVB TV Boston) for a video that briefly explains the problem via interviews with two men abused by liars and the consequent government harassment.
In a twisted display of the way government enables liars to cause immense damage to their victims, some of Vonderheide’s recordings are deemed by police to be illegal even though it is clearly evident that these recordings have helped prove that his ex is maliciously lying about him to destroy his life and send him to prison.
Despite her long-standing malicious pattern of conduct, Flanders got one year probation rather than the two years prison sentence plus a $250 fine. This enabled her to continue her alienation campaign and she eventually got full custody of their son Quinta.
Flanders is a documented parental alienator, liar, and abuser and was convicted of crimes that make it clear she is dishonest and malicious. But her ex is not liked by the government because he is intent on exposing the government’s crimes against parents and children, including what they have wrongly done to him. Seemingly as a result of this, they are now denying him access to school, medical, psychological, and religious records, all contact with his son, and continue to conspire with Wendy Flanders and her many associates to persecute the man.
They are also conspiring to cover up evidence of crimes committed by Flanders and make it inaccessible to the public. For instance, Judge Wayne G. Hummer ordered that the video of the incident mentioned above be removed from a website exposing the actions of Wendy Flanders. By protecting and rewarding the abuser, judges can increase conflict and increase their job security and the incomes of their many friends in the divorce industry including lawyers, therapists, mediators, and custody evaluators. Causing, exacerbating, and refusing to stop child custody conflicts are the means by which courts and government extort many billions of dollars per year out of American families yet can blame the victims for the problems.
Vonderheide’s Battle Against Corrupt and Abusive Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Despite all of the persecution, Vonderheide won’t stop fighting to see his son and to expose what the Lancaster County government is doing to him and other parents. Along the way, he has come to realize what many of us know well – the United States and its political subdivisions are human and civil rights violators of massive proportions and that children are central to the means of terrorizing and controlling the population for the power and profit of the corrupt officials who populate positions of authority across this sociopathic nation.
Vonderheide has put up a very interesting video website called Daddy Justice covering some of his experiences with the abusive courts and government of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. But he’s not limiting himself to just his case.
Daddy Justice Out to Protect Abused Moms, Too
While Vonderheide’s critics, including many Pennsylvania state judges and government officials, wrongly accuse him of being a father’s rights bigot against mothers, that is not the case if you take the time to watch several of the videos he’s produced. He knows what it is like to be a father abused by the government and so his opinions are undeniably flavored by that experience. Yet he and his associates are going all-out to expose child-abusing government criminals across Pennsylvania, including those involved in cases in which the abuse victims in the videos are mothers and children. Mothers are victims of false child sexual abuse allegations and parental alienation, too, as the case of Tonya Craft has recently amply shown.
Pennsylvania is a particularly corrupt and abusive state as is evidenced by nearby Luzerne County’s extensive kids-for-cash court corruption scandal in which judges received payments for many years in return for violating the rights of children to fair and impartial trials and sentencing them to time in privately-owned for-profit prisons. Many of these children had committed such atrocities as minor shoplifing (less than $5, first time offense) and treasonous crimes such as being disrespectful of a school official on the Internet because that school official cancelled an activity the “child criminal” had worked hard to organize. In Pennsylvania, as in most of America, children have no rights and are being taught at an early age that freedom of speech is no longer a right in this country. In America today, children are tools for government control and profit for government officials and their friends.
As a result of the threat that Vonderheide represents to their corrupt activities, the local government is out to ruin this man’s life by any means they can. Chief among them is using his son Quinta as a pawn in a dirty war on Ben Vonderheide. Maligning him as a woman-hater is a propaganda stunt learned from the government’s heros, government Joes like Joseph Stalin, Joseph Goebbels, and Joseph Biden.
Joseph Biden, Pennsylvania-born Tyrant Against Human Rights
US Vice President Biden, a major backer of human rights violations and government abuse, was born in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, just a stone’s throw from Luzerne County and not far from Lancaster County. His family has been involved in state government going back generations. Corruption, violating human and civil rights, and trampling the US Constitution are major industries for Pennsylvania. So it should be no surprise that Biden was primarily responsible for crafting and passing VAWA, the abusive legislation which has terminated “innocent until proven guilty” and “equal protection under the law” rights for all men in the United States.
Such rights are supposedly protected by the US Constitution, but that document is routinely ignored by the courts and American governments at all levels at their whim, particularly in cases in which the accused has embarrassed or angered the government by exposing its true nature. If any woman accuses a man of a crime such as defending himself from her physical attack, trying to arrange time to see his children, or running away in fear for his life rather than being subjected to her demands of false imprisonment, slavery, or death, the state will assume he is guilty even if there is not a shred of evidence. They will take his children, home, property, income, and freedom from him and do all of this long before he gets a trial, often even before he knows the accusations. Joseph Biden made this happen, but he was not alone. Most of the US House and Senate and the US President are his co-conspirators in this matter.
Women may feel safe from VAWA. They should not. It is starting to be applied to deprive them of their rights, too.
Breyonna Shope Case in Lancaster
Recently, Vonderheide has focused some effort on exposing Pennsylvania government sponsored child abuse cases. One of them features a toddler named Breyonna who was taken away from her mother Patricia Shope for two months with no reasonable cause. Her mother took her to see a doctor for medical care for yet another ear infection. The medical staff falsely accused her of being on drugs and then arranged for CYS (Children and Youth Services, one of the many names of CPS agencies) and police to show up to take her child. She passed the drug test showing she was not using any drugs, but that didn’t matter. Social worker Gary Sanderson wanted to keep the child in foster care anyway. So then CYS made claims that Shope suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy because she had taken her baby to the doctor 16 times so far in the year, mostly for ear infections from which prematurely born Breyonna suffered chronically. After they had kept Breyonna from her frantic family for a week with no reasonable cause, then CYS demanded Patricia submit to a psychological evaluation. Yet after spending more than $10,000 on legal fees and psychological evaluations from two psychologists who both agreed she had no mental illnesses that would affect her ability to care for her child, the government still would not return the baby.
Shope was lucky they didn’t lie about her or “diagnose” what should be obvious and rational reasons for fear, distrust, anger, and depression as something else. Psychologists and other medical “professionals” are routinely employed by the government to justify abusive government actions and many of them will lie, exaggerate, and distort to serve the government masters who pay them and send business their way. They have a direct financial incentive to do so.
County Pays $125,000 to Shope Family as Settlement
Patricia Shope and her family were so outraged by the government’s abuse that she filed a federal civil rights law suit. That suit never made it to trial, likely because the government did not want the media coverage and publicity it would have generated. Instead, they settled the matter on the eve of trial.
(from On Wednesday, February 6, 2008, Lancaster County Children & Youth entered into a landmark settlement agreement with Patricia Shope, mother of Breyonna) Shope v. Lancaster County Children & Youth Services (U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2008) – On June 8, 2006, the year old daughter of Patricia Shope was taken to the Lancaster General Hospital where she was diagnosed with ear infections (otitis media). For reasons that never became clear, a social worker for Lancaster County Children & Youth Services (“CYS”) came to the hospital, without reasonable suspicion, and took custody of the child. The mother was required to see two different psychologists, at the request of CYS, both of whom found no issues with the mother. Despite the fact that CYS never had any evidence of abuse or neglect, they retained custody of the child until August, 2006. Following the child’s return and an investigation by Archangel Investigations, a federal civil rights lawsuit was initiated by the Camp Hill law firm, Boyle, Neblett & Wenger, alleging 14th Amendment violations. The case settled on the eve of trial when CYS agreed to pay Ms. Shope $125,000 for the Constitutional violation.
Government Child Abuse Is Profitable If It Can Be Covered Up
Breyonna’s mother Patricia Shope, grandmother Kathy Roth, and many others have spoken to local government officials in attempts to get them to stop the abuse happening to children in the county. But Lancaster County commissioners benefit from their social workers engaging in abusive and illegal actions. It helps the county cover its expenses, arguably also paying for their salaries, too. Lancaster County is not unique in this, it is common to counties across the United States. That’s because the US federal government pays counties for such illegal actions and has no protection mechanisms designed to detect, investigate, and prosecute counties and government workers engaging in these crimes. Occasionally the counties may have to pay out civil settlements, such as the $125,000 paid to settle the claims of Breyonna’s family against the government, but such settlements are few and far between. They are a tiny percentage of the “earnings” from millions of children affected each year times the several thousand dollars per month CPS agencies “earn” by taking a child from his or her family in the United States. They are like bad debt losses to loan sharks. Terrorize the victims and many of them will cave. The few who don’t are but small nuisances compared to the profits made via this government-sponsored organized crime.
Governments prefer these settlements to the adverse publicity of such cases that could threaten their ability to continue to abuse children and families for profit. They want to keep the names of their agencies, employees, and experts out of the news in order to continue their profitable extortion of families.
Looking for more information on the Shope case, it appears that most of the coverage from the local Lancaster area news media has “disappeared” from the Internet. Even though news of the $125,000 settlement is little more than two years old, local media websites are nearly devoid of any information. Where you can find information on it is on websites run by people determined to protect children and families from the ongoing abuse and violence perpetrated by governments.
Given the disgustingly common complicity of local media in covering up the misconduct of local government criminals, I can’t help but wonder if that is what is happening here. Fortunately, some web sites copied the articles in their entirety. We don’t usually do this ourselves, but given the importance of this case and how it appears it is being hidden with the possible reason being that the government doesn’t want the public to know what they did, we’ll provide a full copy of one of the articles here and credit to the original publication, Lancaster New Era, and its Lancaster Online web site. If their interest in informing the public outweighs their interest in covering up government abuse, then Lancaster Online should restore that article on its own web site rather than leaving only the title accessible.
Mom gets back girl – & $125K: County settles suit over Children & Youth Lancaster New Era, Published: Feb 25, 2008, 11:11 EST, Lancaster
By JANET KELLEY, Staff When the Lititz woman took her toddler to the hospital more than two years ago, she had no idea of the legal fight she was about to face. Patricia M. Shope was sitting at her daughter’s hospital bedside in June 2006 when, she says, a caseworker for Lancaster County Children & Youth Agency announced he was taking custody of her child, according to court documents. For two months, Shope fought to have her child returned, in spite, she claims in documents, of a caseworker’s false accusations that she was suffering from a mental illness and his threats to put the child up for adoption if she didn’t cooperate. The county’s Children & Youth Agency admits doing nothing wrong and denies almost all of Shope’s allegations, according to court documents, but it recently agreed to pay the woman $125,000 to settle the lawsuit. Most important to Shope, her lawyer said, is that she has her child back. According to legal documents and Shope’s attorney, Dennis E. Boyle, the county violated her constitutional rights to due process by taking her daughter without probable cause. The federal lawsuit — filed against Lancaster County Children & Youth Agency and Gary Sanderson, a caseworker — was filed in November 2006, but the parties settled earlier this month before going to trial. Crystal Gingrich, executive director of the county agency since March 2007, deferred all questions to the Lancaster County Commissioner’s office. Attorneys representing the county agency in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment. Lancaster County Commissioner Scott Martin said there was never any admission of fault by the county or Children & Youth Agency employees. The decision to settle the lawsuit, Martin explained, is made by attorneys for insurance companies who need to weigh the financial impact of on-going litigation. Shope’s daughter, Breyonna, was born prematurely in June 2005 and had a history of ear infections, according to court documents. In May 2006, she was treated for chronic ear infections at Lancaster Regional Medical Center and the following month, on June 6, 2006, Breyonna was taken to Lancaster General Hospital for an unexplained fever. She was diagnosed with chronic ear infection and admitted to the hospital. Two days later, Shope claims, as she sat with her child in a hospital room, Sanderson, accompanied by two city police officers, entered the room and told Shope they’d be taking custody of her daughter. When asked why, Shope said Sanderson told her he suspected she was under the influence of some type of narcotic. She volunteered for a urine drug test, which came back negative. According to court records, Sanderson specifically denied telling Shope he was taking her child, but admitted questioning the woman as to whether she was under the influence of drugs. Shope said Sanderson told her he was still taking the child because she had “too many doctor’s visits” and accused her of having a serious psychological problem, specifically Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a disorder in which a parent intentionally injures a child and then seeks medical treatment for the child. In a letter dated June 9, 2006, Shope said she was advised that the agency suspected her of “serious physical neglect” and filed a petition to seek custody. Four days later, on June 13, 2006, in another letter, Children & Youth requested that Shope undergo a psychological evaluation to determine her fitness as a mother. Two University of Pennsylvania psychologists evaluated Shope and sent letters to county authorities concluding that she “did not suffer from Munchaussen Syndrome by Proxy or any other psychological illness that affected her ability to care for her child.” An emergency hearing was scheduled for June 12, according to the lawsuit, with a subsequent hearing scheduled for June 23. But when she and her attorney arrived for the hearing on June 23, they were told that it had already been held in her absence, with the court ruling in favor of Children & Youth. Neither she or her attorney had been notified of the time change and the next hearing had been scheduled in August 2006, she claimed. However, the county claims that Shope’s attorney at the time was aware of and had agreed to the change. When Shope complained about the decision made in absentia, Sanderson “indicated that she needed to agree with everything Lancaster County Children & Youth Agency wanted to do or Lancaster County Children & Youth Agency would have her parental rights terminated and adopt-out Breyonna to another family.” “Sanderson continued to threaten to adopt Breyonna to another family,” according to the lawsuit, “telling Ms. Shope that the ‘clock is ticking’ if she continued to persist in her attempts to obtain custody of her daughter.” On July 31, Breyonna was finally returned to her mother when Children & Youth determined the report of serious physical neglect was unfounded. A county judge made it official on Aug. 28. The cost of her two month battle: legal fees of $8,971 and psychologist fees of $1,050. Boyle said the county violated Shope’s right to due process, based on threats to her and the length of time they kept the toddler in foster care. “We’re pleased,” Boyle said, “but this was never about the money….It was about sending a message to the agency not to do anything like this again.” CONTACT US: [email protected] or 481-6026
Child Are A Commodity Trafficked for Government Power and Profit
Children are the commodity in which American CPS agencies traffic in order to earn payments from the US federal government for abusing children and victimizing families. Every child they take helps pay their salaries. With no effective oversight and absolute immunity for social workers for nearly anything short of the death of a child, there is nothing to dissuade the many bad social workers from lying, perjuring, and abusing the children they are supposed to protect while terrorizing their parents and families. CPS social workers know that they are expected to “earn revenue” to pay their salaries when they can’t find any children actually being abused. So they scheme to take children away from loving parents, place them in foster care, and race to adopt them to other people permanently. They didn’t use to race to adopt them out because it would stop the revenue generated by abusing a child. That become more common after the US federal government voted to pay them to do it after they complained that adoptions deprived them of revenue.
While CPS agencies across the country are routinely abusive, dishonest, and eager to take children and refuse to return them even after allegations are proven false, Pennsylvania is particularly extreme. A WHP TV report on hearings on the abusive Pennsylvania child “protection” system states that the state takes children from their families around 3 times more often than in Los Angeles or New York and 6 times more often than in Chicago.
Are Pennsylvania parents 6 times more abusive than Chicago parents? That’s hard to swallow. Far easier to believe, given the frequent headlines Pennsylvania is making with its corrupt government and courts, is that the state is 6 times more abusive against its children and families than the state of Illinois.
Lancaster County Out to Ruin Ben Vonderheide
The corrupt government of Lancaster County doesn’t limit itself to propaganda and defamation against Vonderheide. They use every tool at their disposal to hide their true nature and growing list of crimes against humanity including, so far, apparently anything short of murdering Ben Vonderheide. Perhaps they set that as the boundary because they suspect the public might not believe their “self-defense” story if he showed up dead with gunshots to the back and the bullets matched the guns of local cops acting on orders from the judges and government officials being embarrassed by Vonderheide exposing their illegal and abusive actions.
Perhaps you naively think that government-backed murder could never happen. Consider the untimely death of CPS reform advocate and former George Senator Nancy Schaefer before you jump to that conclusion. She was working tirelessly for years to force reform on the government to stop the CPS and family law court abuses before she was murdered in 2010. As a very credible and well-reputed speaker, she was a major threat to the people who benefit from using children as pawns in their criminal profiteering.
Watch the video and listen to the statistics. This courageous woman spoke out against the CPS and family law abuse against children and families, particularly fathers, and pointed out that American family law courts control the income and assets of 40+ million Americans and $40 billion in income transfer payments per year from which they derive their job security and income. An entire industry controlled by judges and their well-connected friends has been built around using children as pawns to terrorize, control, extort, and use families for the financial gain of government and its allies. Much of it funded by US federal payments of $4000 to $6000 per child to take a child from his or her family, place them in foster care, and eventually adopt them to strangers. Schaefer’s fight for justice may have cost her and her husband’s lives. She was believed to be on the verge of publishing information that would have exposed Georgia government officials for involvement in child abuse and child sex trafficking. While the government’s “explanation” is that her allegedly terminally cancer-ridden husband killed her then himself, their children are clear that he didn’t have cancer and wasn’t sick.
People like Ben Vonderheide are running similar risks to what Nancy Schaefer as he is also challenging the powerful corrupt and abusive money interests of the government and its leaders, employees, and friends. While he is not yet as well-known as Nancy Schaefer, he is a threat to the corrupt government of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and therefore he will continue to be attacked mercilessly as they have been doing for years. We should all be very thankful that this man and his friends are working tirelessly to fight for the rights of children and parents. Hopefully Quinta will understand, despite his mother’s hateful alienation, that his father is a hero who is working to ensure that what happens to so many parents and children today will not happen to Quinta and his future children tomorrow.
If you live in Lancaster County, vote against any incumbents in the county government and courts who have not actively sided against these abuses. These people benefit from the abuses and they therefore will not stop them. Voters must act if there is any hope to stop the abuse against the children and parents like Vonderheide.
Further Reading
Serenity Gandara’s Grandmother Speaks Out Against CPS and Foster Parent Abuses, Advocates Grandparents’ Rights
American Judicial Terrorism May Lead to Widespread Violence
Stopping Parental Alienation Requires Family Court Reforms
Laws Against Audio and Video Recording Protect Liars, Abusers, and Government Criminals
Tonya Craft’s Ex, Parental Alienator Joal Henke, Shows Kids Will Lie About Sexual Abuse To Hurt Target Parent
A Judge’s View of “Best Interests of the Children”
Moms Discredit Themselves by Denying Parental Alienation
CPS Reform Advocate Nancy Schaefer Murdered
Parental Alienation Can Happen to Adults and In Marriages
Luzerne County Bribes 7 Year Old Boy for Arson “Confession”
Crimes Against Children: “Zero Tolerance” and “Kids for Cash”
Gun Collection + Malicious Mom + Government = Life in Ruins
Teach Your Children: Government is Dangerous to Their Lives
Americans Don’t Believe in Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Corrupt Pennsylvania Courts Jail Kids for Cash
Lancaster County Children & Youth/Caseworker will pay $125,000 for Stolen Babies Case
Mom gets back girl – & $125K
$125,000 to mother for child services misuse of authority
A Brave Dad Battles Parental Alienation
Lots of lucre in false claims of abuse
ONE MILLION People Falsely Accused of Domestic Violence EACH YEAR
Calvary Church
Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting
Restraining Order Abuse (WCVB TV Boston) |
The tragedy and farce that is Toronto's political capitulation to the cult of the car continues unabated.
Mayor John Tory -- despite the recommendations of the city's own planners and health officials, former mayors and many others -- has managed to narrowly get his "hybrid" Gardiner Expressway plan passed by Toronto city council and to see the boulevard plan of basically all experts (less narrowly) defeated.
This is yet another installment in the long and terrible history of the love affair that Toronto's politicians have with cars at the expense of public transit and good sense.
In this case an extra half-billion dollars will be used to ensure that a very small number of drivers will have a very, very slightly shorter commute (approximately three minutes) instead of using these funds to, for example, help desperately needed TTC expansion or even just upkeep.
Even worse, there are plans to look at the idea, proposed by Councillor Josh Colle, of possibly leasing or selling the entire Gardiner to the private sector, which would be a doubling-down-on-dumb given the fiasco that was the privatization of Ontario's Highway 407 and that has been privatization in general.
Far from an enviornment where there is a "war on the car" in the city, as former Mayor Rob Ford infamously claimed, the city is at war with its transit users to facilitate even the most minor of conveniences for suburban and other drivers.
Year after year, one disastrous detour after another is placed in the way of expanding a transit network that in many respects is one meant for a city half its size as Toronto falls further and further behind cities across North America.
From embracing the Scarborough subway; to a total unwillingness to understand what an LRT even is; to continued and grotesque under-funding and over-reliance on ever more onerous fares as service continues to decline; to, as one nearly perfect example, the most recent Toronto budget that contained an average tax increase on Toronto home-owners that was actually lower than the increase in annual fares on regular transit users; to the hideous eyesore disgrace that is the very Gardiner itself, separating a city from its waterfront -- Toronto is a city beholden to some vision of cars and commuting that hearkens back to an era before we knew just how terribly socially, economically and environmentally destructive this fixation on it was.
It is a situation whose horribly circular reality means that it is only destined to get worse, for it is the very pandering to cars and drivers that creates the stifling congestion that these same politicians rhetorically claim they are trying and are determined to curtail.
photo via wikimedia commons |
German Defense minister Ursula von der Leyen listens to media in Amari air base, Estonia, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States “vast sums” of money for defense.
“There is no debt account at NATO,” von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that it was wrong to link the alliance’s target for members to spend 2 percent of their economic output on defense by 2024 solely to NATO.
“Defense spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution to the fight against IS terrorism,” von der Leyen said.
She said everyone wanted the burden to be shared fairly and for that to happen it was necessary to have a “modern security concept” that included a modern NATO but also a European defense union and investment in the United Nations.
Trump said on Twitter on Saturday - a day after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington - that Germany “owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”
Trump has urged Germany and other NATO members to accelerate efforts to meet NATO’s defense spending target.
German defense spending is set to rise by 1.4 billion euros to 38.5 billion euros in 2018 - a figure that is projected to represent 1.26 percent of economic output, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said.
In 2016, Germany’s defense spending ratio stood at 1.18 percent.
During her trip to Washington, Merkel reiterated Germany’s commitment to the 2 percent military spending goal. |
Afghanistan is a country built on legends – we trade on the tales we’ve told and retold each other over many generations.
There’s a favorite subgenre of stories here, about foreigners going local, that particularly seem to linger in memory. Accounts of Soviet soldiers who renounced their orders, converted to Islam and disappeared into the population. Or an old favorite about the imam of the Pul-e Kheshti mosque – a British spy who hid in plain sight delivering sermons in downtown Kabul’s main mosque. No one suspected he was a foreigner until one day his mission was done and he was gone.
And now we may be seeing a new legend take shape, built on whispered accounts of brief sightings: tales of the White Taliban of Arghandab.
The mystery has many layers, perhaps starting with the fact that American Special Operations teams are a particular focus of apprehension and fascination for many Afghans. Few locals ever interact closely with the commandos, who move in secret as they conduct training missions and raid homes in remote areas, prosecuting an unpopular war out of public sight.
Ask most rural Afghans what they know about the American Special Ops guys, and they will talk about beards. Unlike the usually clean-shaven and uniformed conventional forces, the American commandos grow their beards out.
Usually, that doesn’t hide much. Coarse American accents and brusque movements would give them away even if they were trying to blend in.
But out in the Arghandab Valley of Kandahar Province, one of the most volatile regions in the country, locals talk about a different breed of American Special Operations forces who settled in around 2005. They are said to drive civilian vehicles, wear local clothes, speak good Pashto – and yes, sport thick beards.
They are so good at blending in that the locals have taken to calling them “Spin Taliban” – Pashto for White Taliban – because of their resemblance to the actual Afghan Taliban, including the trademark black, puffy turbans.
I first heard about the White Taliban from an Arghandabi relative who was visiting my family in Kabul. He told me about a day he was out working in his pomegranate orchard and mistook one of the bearded Americans for an actual Talib.
“I saw one of them getting out of white Corolla, wearing white shalwar kameez and a black paj turban,” he told me.
Sometimes the disguises are so good that locals mistake them for religious leaders unless they have time to look closely.
“With those turbans, red beards and loose shalwar kameez, they look like Mawlawis,” said Sardar Mohammed, a farmer in the Nagahan area of Arghandab, using a title for holy men. “But then, seeing their white faces and blue eyes and hearing their Pashto, you can figure out that they are foreigners.”
I heard similar accounts from at least three more residents of Arghandab, from two different parts of the valley. They talked about seeing small groups of men who at first glimpse did not seem American at all, and all referred to them as Spin Taliban.
It’s not only local residents who mistake them for Taliban – in at least one case, Afghan Local Police militiamen were said to have been taken in as well.
“Two years ago during Ramadan, the Arbakais mistook them for Taliban and started firing at them in Nagahan,” another local told me. Arbakai is a word for tribal militias.
The more Kandaharis you ask, the more prevalent the sightings become. But no one seems to be sure exactly what they do. For their part, neither the international military command nor the United States Special Operations command would comment on the rumors or about how forces had been deployed.
The police and members of the provincial council don’t seem to know much about them, either. Still, the district police chief in Arghandab made a point of saying that whatever happens, American Special Operations troops always coordinate with his men first. Of course.
So for now, it’s the stuff of rumor and conjecture. But Afghans know how the good tales develop. One day, just like the Imam of Pul-e Kheshti, the White Taliban’s mission will be done and they’ll steal away with no trace. And a new legend will be left to take on a life of its own. |
If Republicans could get 20 percent of black votes, the Democrats would be ruined. This is highly unlikely, but the point is that Democrats must not only continue to get nine-tenths of black votes, they also need to get a high turnout of black voters on election day.
People who expected the election of President Barack Obama to lead to racial healing and a post-racial society failed to take account of the political reality that racial healing and a post-racial society would, at a minimum, reduce black voter turnout.
Black votes matter to many politicians—more so than black lives. That is why such politicians must try to keep black voters fearful, angry and resentful. Racial harmony would be a political disaster for such politicians.
Racial polarization makes both the black population and the white population worse off, but it makes politicians who depend on black votes better off.
Hillary Clinton desperately needs black votes in this year’s close election. Promoting fear, anger and resentments among blacks serves her political interest. Barack Obama has mastered the art of keeping black voters aroused while keeping white voters soothed—thanks in part to the gullibility of much of the public, who mistake geniality and glib rhetoric for honesty and good will.
Obama has repeatedly put the weight and prestige of the presidency on the side of those who denounce the police before any facts are verified—and even after facts have come out, exposing the fraudulence of such claims as the claim that the “gentle giant” Michael Brown said, “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
Nothing reveals the political cynicism of the Obama administration its their campaign to force schools to reduce the number of black male students who are disciplined for misconduct. Because black male students are cited for disruption and violence more often than other categories of students, that is automatically taken to mean that racial discrimination is the reason.
The most obvious alternative explanation is that black male students engage in more disruption and violence than Asian females or some other students. But that possibility is implicitly ruled out.
What makes this such a farce is that many, if not most, of the teachers and administrators in ghetto schools are black themselves, and have no reason to discriminate against black males. What makes it a disaster is that only a few thugs in a classroom are enough to deprive all the other students of a decent education—which, for many, is their only chance for decent lives as adults.
If black lives matter at all to the Obama administration, they obviously don’t matter as much as black votes that can be won by posing as defenders of blacks, even in situations where defenders of thugs are destroying black futures.
Hillary Clinton plays the same political game of posing as a defender of blacks from enemies threatening them on all sides, as she tries to win an election that would amount to a third term of the Obama administration’s policies—most of which have left blacks worse off than before Obama took office.
One of the key questions this election year is whether black lives matter more than black votes that can be won by racial charades that undermine and endanger those lives. The answer to that question will affect all Americans, because racial turmoil is to no one’s interest, except some politicians.
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/2afoG1W |
Over the next few months, DC Collectibles has decided to wage a full out assault on my wallet. I’m not sure what I’ve ever done to DC Collectibles for them to be so aggressive in driving me to the poor house. It may be to make up for those few years I was out of the hobby. Or maybe they just don’t like the cut of my jib. Whatever their reasonings, I present for your viewing pleasure, the top 5 figures DC Collectibles has decided to unleash in it’s war for total and complete decimation on my wallet.
5) Batman: Arkham City Action Figure two pack: Batman and Bane. This set is a double edged sword for your friendly neighborhood jman. The Bane in this set is a re-tooled/re-release of a prior Arkham figure, that I missed out the first time around. That Bane now sells for stupid ridiculous amounts on ebay. I’m talking the other side of $250. With the release of this two pack, though, I finally get this unbelievably cool figure. Without the insane after-market mark up.
Bonus: Apparently the original Bane figure had some issues with balance (don’t we all) and standing. From what I understand, this new Bane figure has been re-tooled to fix that issue.
4) New 52: Super Villian – Black Adam: I’ve said on any number of occasions that I’m no fan of the new 52 Shazam, specifically how Billy Batson is being portrayed. Shazam’s look has been updated, as well, which I don’t have a problem with. But, Black Adam? He’s been downright killer in the back pages of Justice League. DC must’ve known they had the magic touch (as it were) with Black Adam. Because, here he is…in all his third dimension glory.
3)Batman: Arkham Origins Series 1 – Batman. I’m not a gamer. I haven’t really played any of the games from the Arkham line to any great extent. But, man…the designs of the characters are a nice mix of realistic and creepy (except for Harley. They totally missed the boat on her, but that’s a story for another day). And just when you thought you had enough Batman figures, DC Collectibles lets you know you better have another twenty odd dollars ready for yet another one.
2) New 52: Super Villian – Joker. Straight from the pages of Batman: Death of the Family, it’s the creepiest Joker, EVAH!!! I’m almost afraid to have this one in my house. Everyone knows that Toy Story is based on a actual events. And if my toys ever came to life, I wouldn’t want Joker anywhere near where I sleep. So, what I’ll end up keeping this guy in the office.
1) Batman: Arkhman City Deluxe Action figure: Solomon Grundy. I own the best figure DC Collectibles has made to date. The New 52 Darkseid. If you don’t own him, you should. Yes. He costs a lot of money. But, that almost 6 pounds of plastic is worth every cent.
That being said, Solomon Grundy is supposed to be better in every way. Not only is he supposed to be bigger and heavier than Darkseid, he comes with a removable chest piece. AND a removable heart. For real. What more could you ask for in an action figure?!?!? |
PHOTOS-VIDEO=> Islamist Ahmad Khan Rahami Cuffed on the Street After Shootout With Police!
PHOTO—– Image of Ahmad Khan Rahami in custody after shootout this morning……..
PHOTO: Alleged image of Chelsea Explosion suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami arrested in Linden NJ – @AAhronheim pic.twitter.com/uO2qkFge9B — Conflict News (@Conflicts) September 19, 2016
He is alive and cuffed on the street…
Rahami shot a police officer in the abdomen during his arrest.
The officer was wearing a bullet-proof vest that saved him.
Rahami was sleeping in a doorway when he was approached by police.
Authorities were searching for Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the bombing that took place in Chelsea district in New York City.
UPDATE: Police release more photos of NY/NJ bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami – @LisaDaftari pic.twitter.com/sFQqz1xuPd — Conflict News (@Conflicts) September 19, 2016
The FBI released an alert saying Rahami is armed and dangerous.
Rahami is US naturalized citizen from Afghanistan.
He reportedly has foreign terror connections.
Seen him? https://t.co/IvaT8sZs5n Seeking to find Ahmad Rahami Call 1800Call-FBI or https://t.co/vylOlg95dq pic.twitter.com/Xd2SXytZmD — FBI New York (@NewYorkFBI) September 19, 2016
UPDATE: ISlamist Ahmad Khan Rahami is now in custody after a shootout with police in New Jersey.
CBS Local reported:
A man being sought in connection with an explosion in Seaside Park, New Jersey and another blast in Chelsea is believed to be in custody, Linden police said. Authorities have been looking for Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen from Afghanistan. The NYPD and the FBI first said Monday morning that Rahami was being sought in the Chelsea explosion that left 29 people hurt.
Bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami being taken into custody after shootout with police https://t.co/EIc2lUMyOS https://t.co/tEGMCxVhHQ — CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) September 19, 2016 |
Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis leaves Downing Street after a cabinet meeting in London, Britain July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
LONDON (Reuters) - Legislation to begin the process of transferring European Union law into British law will be presented to parliament next week, Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said on Tuesday.
The spokesman said Brexit minister David Davis had given colleagues an update on the “Repeal Bill”, which will shift EU legislation into British law as part of the Brexit process, at a weekly meeting of May’s top team of ministers.
“He said the legislation, which is the start of the legislative process for Brexit, is expected to be tabled next week,” the spokesman told reporters.
Tens of thousands of EU-related laws have made their way onto the British statute book during more than 40 years of membership of the bloc and unpicking that complex legislative web is likely to take many years.
The repeal bill, which the government says will help achieve a smooth transition as Britain leaves the EU, will transpose EU law and repeal the 1972 European Communities Act which formalizes Britain’s EU membership.
It will also give parliament the power to change existing laws to make sure they work after Brexit. |
While working in an app using Rails 4 and RSpec’s beta version, I came across a weird bug that caused the following backtrace:
Failure/Error: expect { expected RSpec::Mocks::VerifyingDoubleNotDefinedError, got #<NoMethodError: undefined method `name' for #<RSpec::Mocks::NamedObjectReference:0x000001026308a0>> with backtrace: # ./lib/rspec/mocks/example_methods.rb:182:in `declare_verifying_double' # ./lib/rspec/mocks/example_methods.rb:46:in `instance_double'
Going right where the error happened I saw this:
def self . declare_verifying_double ( type , ref , * args ) if RSpec :: Mocks . configuration . verify_doubled_constant_names? && ! ref . defined? raise NameError , " #{ ref . name } is not a defined constant. " + "Perhaps you misspelt it? " + "Disable check with verify_doubled_constant_names configuration option." end declare_double ( type , ref , * args ) end
So, pretty obvious, isn’t it?
It’s trying to call a name method at the double/mock ref since it isn’t defined yet, but the double doesn’t have a method called name (the correct method would be description ).
Now, before going on to fix the issue, we need to write a spec that shows it happening in a controlled environment. I move on to the specs for this specific file and find this:
describe 'when verify_doubled_constant_names config option is set' do it 'prevents creation of instance doubles for unloaded constants' do expect { instance_double ( 'LoadedClas' ) } . to raise_error ( NameError ) end it 'prevents creation of class doubles for unloaded constants' do expect { class_double ( 'LoadedClas' ) } . to raise_error ( NameError ) end end
Hey, there is a spec for this behaviour. Why isn’t this spec failing?
Well, that’s the catch, NameError is the superclass for NoMethodError so the match is, in a way, correct. It definitely raises a NameError but not the NameError we expected it would raise.
In this case, there are many possible solutions, we could match on the exception message, to make sure it definitely generates the exception we would want it to or we can create our own error to symbolise this specific error (and that’s what I did when I sent them a PR to fix it).
When you use a custom error to signal that something has gone wrong, it’s much less likely that you will get a false positive like this one. You know only your own code would manually raise that error (given all the other code doesn’t even know it exists) so you would be pretty much safe from falling for a case like this one.
Matching against exception messages is brittle, error prone (you will have to copy and paste the message in many different places) and leads to hard to evolve code. I had a codebase that had matches on Mongoid error messages and once we upgraded to Mongoid 3.x all of these matches failed. Not because the code wasn’t working anymore, mind you, but because the messages had changed. Don’t do it, you don’t want to be there to fix this.
So, avoid using and matching against Ruby’s default exceptions, when you need to raise something, create your own exception classes, it’s absurdly simple:
VerifyingDoubleNotDefinedError = Class . new ( StandardError ) |
#notyourshield, a users’ guide,
“Public relations” is the biggest “fuck you” that real feminism ever endured.
The art of public relations appoints men and women into positions of power, where their genders will be the most effective at deflecting criticism. Perpetuating and forcing adherence to gender roles is the only thing that keeps them employed. They stockpile maleness and femaleness, and spend it as currency to win over a public who catches them and their friends pulling some heinous shit.
It’s usually maleness that gets things done; people listen to men, and they ignore women, in many topics of conversation. Femaleness is great for getting sympathy, or when it’s time to talk about gender. People rarely care what a woman has to say, but they hate it if a woman gets hurt. Women—after all—are children, and it’s the patriarchs’ jobs to protect them.
If you’re a feminist like me, you know that “misogyny” is one of the most effective words that the PR patriarchs every co-opted. If you think the patriarchy doesn’t exist and I’m full of shit, you likely still believe that being called a “misogynist” without proof or reason is a real problem.
The reason #notyourshield is important to me is because it harkens back to the era of real feminism again. Women do not need to be leveraged by “white knights” and public relations firms, as a means to avoiding criticism. They do not need to wield femaleness as a tool, to silence critics. In so doing, they create a trauma-addicted, shame-addicted culture that harps on people’s differences and monetizes those differences instead of celebrating them. When people worry about their “shield”, they focus on privilege and oppression and gender instead of humanity. An abuser is not humane; to discuss an abuser’s gender or privilege is derailment.
#notyourshield is for minorities who no longer want to be gambled for the sake of public relations. If Zoe and Anita were real feminists, they wouldn’t want to be anyone’s shield either. They would be huge proponents of this hashtag and this movement. As it stands, however, they welcome the glancing blows of the public, if it satisfies others in their industry. Their niche in the patriarch is comfortable.
#notyourshield is for our white male allies too, of which we have plenty. Consider carefully what you say and how you say it, though. After all, you’ve not been used as a shield by these people. They think you’re under heel. Sure, you’re sick and tired of seeing your friends exploited as social currency, but your friends’ voices will speak volumes to “SJW” paternalist scumbags. Your white male voice cannot do that–and that’s nobody’s fault but theirs.
It’s shit—but if we beat them at their own game, by their own sexist rules, our victory becomes all the sweeter.
But it’s not about Zoe Quinn!,
People were finding out about Joshua Boggs’ wife, TFYC, the boyfriend, and the other victims of Zoe’s abuse and manipulation. Things were looking grim. A series of articles from her industry friends helped salve the burn, for a time. However, human curiosity is no match for censorship and derailment. Note that her victims didn’t “pull an Anita” and capitalize off of it. They could have, but they didn’t. Also, they do not have many connections in the media or gaming scene, so it’s tough to tell how far it’d have gotten them.
So they summoned up Anita after ten days or so. She posts a video. She posts a conversation from a mysteriously-new Twitter user named jdobbsz, from an unlogged account, who promptly vanishes. This one post gives her warrant to call Twitter, inform the media, and vacate her home. Oh and, eventually, inform actual police officers.
Zoe Quinn’s public relations worked. As it stands, if you talk about Zoe, you look like a nut-job to the thousands of people who got dragged into the conversation after Anita arrived. These people never saw how the situation began and they never will. Media agencies won’t report it, for fear of being the industry’s black sheep.
The public relations worked, because people still don’t view women and men as equals. That’s the bottom-line.
So, yes. It’s not about Zoe Quinn anymore. Why? Because she’s gotten off the hook without apologizing for being an abuser, a manipulator, a charity-attacking jerk, for censoring Reddit and 4chan, and all that other shit. The least we can all do is keep #GamerGate and #notyourshield going, to ensure this never happens again. But—mark my words—as long as there is a public and they need to be manipulated, gender will be the first casualty. Until real feminism wins. Until gender isn’t dragged into the discussion every time a woman shows up.
Maybe someday, people will judge us for our words instead of our genitals. Promise me this: If I fuck up, don’t check my privilege, tumblr. Don’t ask my gender. Don’t check the color of my skin.
Check the content of my character.
(Fun fact: Nine out of ten games journalists cannot properly attribute that quote!)
On why we don’t see women characters in games (a horrible love letter to Anita, don’t read this shit),
Finding a woman in a video game is like playing “Where’s Waldo”. The 25,000 characters you kill from point A to point B are basically all men. Why? Because no one gives a shit what happens with these men. But when it’s a woman, you have to put her under a microscope: Is she a victim? Are they saying all women are victims?! Is she evil? Are they saying all women are evil?! Is she completely devoid of flaws? She’s an unbelievable, non-human character! Is she talkative? What a chatty bitch!
Make it a man, and you won’t hear any of these complaints. Not from men or women or anyone. Moreover, if someone complains about a male character, they don’t feel uncomfortable in voicing their criticisms. Complaining about men, talking about men, killing men, what men are sexually attracted to, laughing at men’s misfortune, celebrating men’s heroism. It’s only safe discussing men and showing the male perspectives. Both masculine nitpicking and hyperactive feminist critiques helped create this problem, where female characters cannot be laughed at, celebrated, hurt, helped, or hold conversations without stepping on toes of every gender.
As a result, game devs don’t give women enough screen time to demonstrate how nuanced and human they really are. And it’s all out of fear. Fear of men who need women to be presented a certain way; fear of women who need women to be presented another way; fear of feminists who need women to be presented some other way. This new branch of gamer faux-feminists, thinking they understand fuck-all, just adds another layer to the Superbowl Sunday seven-layer bullshit dip.
Here’s Adam “Must Help Zoe!” Sessler baring his opinions on social justice:
http://www.g4tv.com/videos/39566/best-nude-scenes-in-video-games/
Oh, whoops. Nah, that’s just a list of great tits. Looks like he gets to have his titty cake, and support Anita too.
This hypocrisy is not uncommon. When we’re not coming for their jobs, game journalists and the gaming media will sell you three types of women: Strong, sexy, or victim. The first category seems great, until you realize that “strong female character” is basically meaningless. Motherfucker, have you ever heard of a “strong male character”? Nah—it’s a presumption that male characters are strong. Show us something more. Make the character human.
As women become a larger component of the gaming scene, game journalists must find ways to sell these pre-existing games to women. But it’s difficult! So what do they do? They sell the women a message about gaming, in the hopes they’ll still buy the same old games. The message achieves none of its goals, because it doesn’t have to. This disconnect between the message and the product is what Anita and her ilk thrive on.
The meta-textual irony of Anita is amazing. She talks about how gamers, in playing their Mario games, have come to see women as victimized damsels in distress who lack agency. She then professes she’s a victim after she receives the usual celebrity bullying from Internet trolls, which she ought to have the agency to ignore like everyone else. Later, a bunch of Mario fans rush in to save her, and she profits. Either she’s oblivious, or Andy Kaufmann has faked his own death and lives on as Anita in 2014. It’s legitimately brilliant.
On @jennatar,
Jenna is a gamer who likes to write and who was pulled into these issues after Anita showed up. She was influenced by a home-brewed narrative about misogyny, it successfully enraged her, and she felt the need to come to Zoe’s aid. It’s not her fault that her contemporaries had already spun this message of villainy about us.
People like Jenna—good people—will be set as opposition to #GamerGate, because they are passionate. Passion is often good! But passion is also power, to any public relations expert that can harness it. When you approach a journalist about their misconceptions; be polite, be honest, and be rational. If they still call it harassment, remember that it’s because an author’s words are like their children. It’s tough to face that kind of criticism. There are enough of us that our volume alone will appear like harassment—that is not our intention, but our volume is the only thing that gives us agency.
Jenna’s a great person. She always has been and, whatever her opinions, she always will be. Getting her to change her mind would have been a victory. Getting her disenfranchised about writing is a failure, on all of us. People will tell the gamers that “solidarity” is why everyone on the inside did what they did. The world is replete with friends of friends of friends, who can’t risk insulting each other. Ethics and facts, on the other hand, are hard to come by.
This industry will tear people down. This fifth estate will wreck every life it touches; you either get chased out like Jenna, learn to manipulate the system like Zoe, or become the enemy of your own industry by saying the things they don’t want to hear. Internet journalism turns every topic into a battlefield. Do whatever you can to build these writers back up.
On @CHSommers,
Christina Sommers is a scientist first and a feminist second. That’s basically how all feminists should have gotten their start. We’re supposed to analyze social systems, aggregate data, and apply that data. It was an application of data that first revealed women weren’t equal to men. It was science that made us realize feminism was necessary. The kind of feminism she calls for genuinely helps women and also helps men.
If the third wave of feminism kept to its mission statement, it would align with Christina’s goals. Third wave feminism was supposed to analyze the systems that produce oppression and remove them, creating equality. Gender is not a zero-sum game! Shit, it’s not even a game at all! Everyone can win! If there is shit you’d say to a man that you would never say to a woman, you’re not treating them equally. If you notice a pattern of behavior that denies women opportunities or resources, you’ve detected sexism. If you observe an industry that promotes men for their intellect and ambition but economizes women for their sexuality, you’re witnessing a patriarchal arrangement. But if you notice a pattern of behavior inhibiting men or black people or any other group, you need to take note of that also.
Look up some stats sometime! Women are still the most frequent victims of rape and property crimes. We can reduce those numbers. Men are still the most frequent victims of violent crimes and murder. We can reduce those numbers. Outside the Western world, women are denied many of the property rights and civil liberties that men enjoy. We can get everyone those rights. Men are often treated poorly in family law, largely due to perceptions about women as “caretakers” and men as “providers”. We can alter those perceptions.
This insipid “battle of the sexes” kicks off every time we need to talk about an issue where men and women are both involved. As it stands, we can’t do anything.
But if we ignore gender politics and start looking at real science and cooking up real solutions to real problems, |
When it comes to integration tests, especially when developing web automation tests, test ordering can be useful. In larger web applications where you might want to test out a workflow, you need to have tests execute in a certain order. MSTest has built-in support for ordered testing, but that implementation it’s own disadvantages. So, what about ordered testing in NUnit? NUnit has very limited support for ordered testing, so I decided to build a library to allow test ordering in NUnit. I gladly announce the NUnitTestOrdering library: Allowing you to order NUnit tests similar to MSTest.
Features
The library offers the following features:
Build complex test ordering hierarchies
Skip subsequent tests if an test fails
Order your test methods by dependency instead of integer order
Supports usage side-by-side with unordered tests. Unordered tests are executed first
Usage
Include the library into your project and include the following code in your AssemblyInfo file:
[assembly:EnableTestFixtureOrdering]
Now you can start writing ordered tests. You can order both test fixtures and the methods within fixtures themselves.
Note: If you use the NuGet package this has already been arranged for you!
Test Fixture ordering
The main feature of the library is to order test fixtures. In order to set-up fixture ordering, derive a class from TestOrderingSpecification . Decorate your new class with the OrderedTestFixtureAttribute . Override and implement the DefineTestOrdering method.
In the DefineTestOrdering method you can call TestFixture and OrderedTestSpecification to register an TestFixture or OrderedTestSpecification to run in order.
Let’s say we’re building a webshop, and want to run an UI automation test on the workflow of:
Enter a product as administrator
Buy the product as a customer
Ship the order as administrator
We could model this scenario like:
[OrderedTestFixture] public sealed class WebUITestFixture : TestOrderingSpecification { protected override void DefineTestOrdering () { TestFixture < EnterProductFixture >(); TestFixture < BuyProductFixture >(); TestFixture < ShipOrderFixture >(); } protected override bool ContinueOnError => false ; // Or true, if you want to continue even if a child test fails, but in this case we depend on the workflow to complete, so we don't want to do that. }
And from the commandline execute this scenario using:
nunit3-console.exe MyAssembly.dll -where "test==Ordered.WebUITestFixture"
This also allows us to build multiple test scenario’s. We might have a smoke test we want to execute when we do a daily deployment to the staging environment:
[OrderedTestFixture] public sealed class SmokeTestFixture : TestOrderingSpecification { // ... }
Ordering test methods within fixtures
Within test fixtures you’Il often want to order the individual test methods as well. Let’s check this scenario:
[TestFixture] public sealed class EnterProductFixture { [ Test ] public void EnterProduct (); [ Test ] public void FindProductInOverview (); }
We need to enter a product before we can look it up in the overview. Sometimes, the test fixture itself may be generated, for example by the excellent SpecFlow framework.
In that case you can apply an ordered to the test fixture, to allow test methods to execute in the order you want:
partial class EnterProductFixture { private sealed class Orderer : TestOrderer < Tests > { protected override void DefineOrdering () { TestMethod ( nameof ( EnterProduct )); TestMethod ( nameof ( FindProductInOverview )); } } }
Download
Download the current prerelease from NuGet:
Install-Package NUnitTestOrdering -Pre
Or download and compile build the binaries yourself.
How can you help
The library is currently in alpha stage. It has tests for many scenario’s and > 75% code coverage. I’m currently looking for feedback to improve the library to be able to release a first a first stable version on NuGet.
Just drop me a comment here or open an issue on GitHub. Thanks! |
The dean of students of the University of Chicago (UChicago) is warning incoming students in a letter that if they want “trigger warnings” safe spaces in their college lives, they should attend a different school.
“Once here you will discover that one of the University of Chicago’s defining characteristics is our commitment to freedom of inquiry and expression,” Dean John Ellison says in the letter, which was posted online at Intellectual Takeout. “Members of our community are encouraged to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn, without fear of censorship.”
Ellison then follows up with a massive rebuke of the ongoing trend at various schools to suppress and hide from opposing points of view.
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own,” he says. He then follows up by saying diversity of opinion is a “fundamental strength” of UChicago.
Along with Ellison’s message, the letter includes a short book, “Academic Freedom and the Modern University,” which describes “history of debate, and even scandal, resulting from our commitment to academic freedom.”
Ellison’s approach is in sharp contrast with that taken at another Chicago university, DePaul. A May visit by conservative journalist Milo Yiannopoulos descended into chaos after it was disrupted by student activists and school security refused to restore order. Later, the school banned Yiannopoulos from returning, and it also preemptively banned journalist Ben Shapiro for good measure.
Other schools have seen a rollback of free speech rights as well. California State University, Los Angeles tried to block an appearance by Shapiro and only backed down when Shapiro showed up anyway. Schools like the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve University have announced safe spaces to protect students from unwelcome opinions. At the University of California, Santa Barbara students demanded trigger warnings for all classes, along with the right to be excused from any lessons that may “trigger” them.
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Ali Bagautinov will be the first fighter from the North Caucasus, but certainly not the last, to fight for a UFC title when he faces flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson on Saturday night.
What is it about this region that produces such an incredible concentration of talented fighters? The easy answer is the long- and short-term history of violence throughout the North Caucasus, which I covered in depth yesterday. This is one of the most war-torn and unstable regions in the world, with an ongoing Islamist insurgency, ethnic clashes, and heavy-handed reprisals by Russian federal troops and paramilitaries. Violent places, the reasoning goes, produce people accustomed to violence. Making a career in professional fistfighting would seem to be a logical next step.
If that were true - or more precisely, if that were the only relevant factor - shouldn't we also expect to see an influx of fighters from Afghanistan, the Balkans, and large stretches of sub-Saharan Africa? The fact that we haven't seen a comparable wave of Pashtun, Sudanese, Nigerian, or Bosnian fighters entering the highest levels of mixed martial arts tells us that there are other variables at work here.
What, then, are these other factors?
One of the most salient facts, and something to which fighters from the region often point, is the importance of fighting as a cultural norm. "We come from a culture of fighting," said Dagestani fighter Jalil Alizhanov in an interview with Fightland. "It's impossible to grow up as a boy in Dagestan and not fight. When I was about 6 years old my older brother grabbed me and said, 'Ok, are you ready to fight?' and then he looked for another 6 year old about my size, put us together, and we fought. You can't say no, if you would do that it would be a disgrace."
An anthropologist would look at Alizhanov's statement as an example of how children are socialized into a particular kind of masculine culture, one that places a distinct emphasis on martial ability as a marker of status and toughness. This video of a 9-year-old Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestling a bear made the rounds of the internet with a fair degree of humor attached, but let's take it seriously for a moment as an artifact of a particular kind of culture.
There's bear wrestling in America as well - four-time Ohio State All-American and World Series of Fighting featherweight Lance Palmer drew some flak for it back when he was in high school - but that's essentially spectacle for a paying crowd, in contrast to bear wrestling as a form of serious training and rite of passage for a young boy. The cultural norms to which it speaks are entirely different. Here's another example, in a more formal setting:
This kind of cultural norm is the same reason that Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, an all-around nasty character and one of the major political players in the North Caucasus, constantly posts pictures and video of himself hitting pads, sparring, and engaging in other forms of demanding physical activity:
For someone in Kadyrov's position, photos like this aren't a vain affectation; instead, they represent a savvy public relations move in a place where personal physical prowess and toughness are essential components of the cultural ideal of masculinity and power. This is a society that rewards its combative heroes with political power. 2000 Olympic gold medalist wrestler Sagid Murtazaliev, for example, is the current director of Dagestan's pension fund and a United Russia party deputy in the legislative assembly.
As with a long history of conflict, however, this kind of aggressive, physically-oriented masculine culture (with or without bear wrestling) is hardly exclusive to the North Caucasus. We might expect to find similar emphases and characteristics among tribesmen living along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the rough council houses of Limerick and Dublin, or among inner-city kids in Stockton or Chicago. While it might be a contributing factor, it can't be the only one.
The general poverty of the region is also an essential factor pushing young men into a career in fighting. Per-capita income in the North Caucasus ranges from $8500 in Dagestan to $2640 in Chechnya to $773 in Ingushetia. Even including the wealthier neighboring administrative units, such as Rostov Oblast, the average income in the region is less than half the national average. Even in the wealthier localities such as Dagestan, which benefits from massive deposits of energy resources, the financial benefits aren't broadly shared among the populace due both to social structure and massive corruption within the local and regional governments.
High levels of unemployment are the norm, and frustration with the system is a large part of what drives so many young men without prospects "into the forest," local slang for joining the Islamist rebels who seem to offer an alternative to the status quo. While the mayor of Makhachkala (who was recently indicted for the assassination of a political rival), claims that unemployment is effectively zero, the UN places the number around 13 percent, and other experts estimate that the aggregate proportion is closer to twenty percent. In rural areas, such as the Tsumadinsky District from which UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov hails, unemployment is as high as a shocking eighty percent.
Via Khabib Nurmagomedov's Instagram page: his home village in rural Dagestan.
The natural consequence of these economic conditions, including the extreme scarcity of usable land in the mountainous landscape and the conflicts that accompany it, is a high rate of population mobility. The flow of people runs from villages in impoverished rural areas like the Tsumadinsky District to towns, towns to cities, and from urban centers like Makhachkala out of the region altogether. 10,000 people per year leave Dagestan alone, bound for destinations both within Russia - Moscow and nearby Rostov-on-Don are popular choices - or out of the country altogether.
Fighters from the North Caucasus are just one expression of this emigration, which can be a multi-step, back-and-forth process eventually leading out of the country. Ali Bagautinov is an illustrative example: originally from Kizlyar in the northwest of Dagestan, he went to college in Makhachkala and worked there for several years before taking up fighting full-time and moving to Moscow. When he was signed to the UFC, he began doing his training camps in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and he now moves between Albuquerque, Moscow, and Dagestan. Fighters fit neatly into the broad pattern of emigration out of the North Caucasus.
From an economic perspective, there's a clear incentive to turn a marketable skill - in this case, being really good at punching another guy in the face - into the prospect of a better life. That better life, or at least the means to make substantial amounts of money to bring back to the North Caucasus, is much more likely to be found outside the region than within.
It's worth asking, however, whether that fighting skill itself differs in meaningful ways from those of promising prospects in other parts of Russia or the world. I'd argue that it does, in the sense that fighters from the North Caucasus uniformly possess high levels of skill in wrestling. Wrestling is mixed martial arts' lone indispensable skill set: even at the highest levels of the sport, one can get away with not having great skills on the ground or being a non-threatening striker (although not both), but woe to the fighter who doesn't have the ability to dictate whether the fight goes to the ground or stays standing.
No place on the face of the planet produces wrestling talent at the rates of the North Caucasus, and the presence of Dagestani, Chechen, Ingush, and North Ossetian wrestlers on the national team is what makes Russia a perennial wrestling powerhouse. Of the 37 Olympic medals the Russian team has won since 2000, wrestlers from the North Caucasus were responsible for 29 of them. Moreover, the trend is getting stronger: North Caucasians won five of the nine Russian medals in 2000, six of nine in 2004, all ten in 2008, and eight of nine in 2012. In point of fact, for the London Olympics the Freestyle team didn't include a single wrestler of non-Caucasian descent. Take a look at the results from the 2013 Russian Freestyle National Tournament: it's littered with place-names from the North Caucasus. The pattern becomes even clearer if one includes the numerous emigres from the region who now compete for countries aside from Russia.
It's not chance or some particular genetic mutation common in the area that produces this incredible concentration of wrestling skill; it's the fact that youth participation rates in wrestling are among the highest on the planet. Just about every child growing up in Dagestan wrestles at some level or another, participating in a constant, brutal cycle of competition designed to cull the very best wrestlers from the pack and prepare them for the next level in a ladder culminating in Olympic gold.
Of course, there are youth wrestling programs all around the world, especially in the United States. Aside from small pockets in largely rural areas, however, nowhere in America approaches the sheer scale of youth participation in the North Caucasus, and certainly not spread over as large or as populous a region at such extreme rates. In the North Caucasus, unlike the United States, wrestling doesn't have to compete with baseball, basketball, football, and hockey for the most talented athletes. On top of the high participation rates, an organized system of youth competition insures that only the most skilled and athletic wrestlers advance to the next stage, with the most promising wrestlers leaving the region to train at specialized facilities such as that run by three-time Dagestani gold medalist Buvaysar Saitiev in Moscow.
The Federal and regional governments direct substantial funding into state-sponsored wrestling schools run by exceptionally accomplished coaches, which they see as a relatively inexpensive investment in combating Islamist ideologies:
Buvaysar, who won all three of his Olympic golds in the 74-kg (163 lb.) division, describes wrestling the same way Karl Marx described religion — as "a way of controlling the masses." It is meant to serve as an inoculation against extremism, or at least as a distraction from it, by offering the local kids a way out of the slums that does not involve "going to the woods," says Buvaysar, using the Russian slang for joining the insurgency.
Source
It's both brilliant and incredibly cynical at the same time. These organized systems of talent selection for wrestling produce a vast overflow of talented athletes who then move on to other combat sports such as Judo, Combat Sambo, and eventually mixed martial arts. Ali Bagautinov wrestled until he was 19 and achieved substantial success, while even Khabib Nurmagomedov, who's more of a Judo fighter, still wrestled for five years. In all, six of Russia's eleven medalists in Judo since 2000 are natives of the North Caucasus.
The circumstances of training in the North Caucasus might be harsh and spartan compared to the shiny, technologically advanced facilities and scientific methods one can find in the west, but the sheer concentration of talent is incredible. This video clip, for example, contains one current UFC fighter and at least two other prospects who have a strong chance of eventually fighting in the UFC:
Products of this system are beginning to pop up more and more on lists of Combat Sambo champions as well. Combat Sambo is basically MMA with headgear, a jacket that's legal to grasp and manipulate, and a point system that rewards takedowns and landed strikes. Given their strong base in freestyle wrestling and/or Judo, it makes perfect sense that fighters from the North Caucasus would do well in Sambo competition, and that accomplished practitioners of Sambo would translate well to full-blown MMA competition. They tend to be particularly skilled at combining punches with takedowns and striking on the ground, skills that only exist in Sambo and MMA itself. Moreover, the sheer amount of experience high-level Sambists accumulate is incredible: Ali Bagautinov, a world champion, claims to have had more than 400 fights. While Bagautinov is one of the most accomplished Combat Sambo practitioners ever to cross over into high-level mixed martial arts, nearly all of the other North Caucasian fighters in the UFC have earned national and international accolades in the sport.
It's not difficult to see how a place in which the ability to fight is culturally significant might contribute to these trends. All of these different threads - the history of violence in the region, the culture that rewards martial prowess, the difficult economic situation, and the high levels of skill in relevant combat sports - come together in the persons of the athletes themselves, and all of them are essential to understanding the current and future success of fighters from the North Caucasus. They're interwoven in a complex web of mutually reinforcing strands: violent times help to produce cultures that give material rewards to men who are skilled in violent acts, and putting violent people in positions of power contributes to violent times.
The destructive effects of constant low-level conflict don't exactly ameliorate the ugly economic situation, which produces a surplus of young men with strong financial incentives to emigrate to greener pastures. A great many of these young men, having participated in an organized system of competition designed to advance the most talented and skilled athletes, happen to be really, really good at fighting.
The success of fighters from the North Caucasus isn't a mystery. It's not written into their DNA, and it's not simply a product of having grown up in hard times. Instead, they're products of a complex set of circumstances that combine to create a crucible that pours out a seemingly inexhaustible stream of iron-hard fighters who are ready to take their rightful place on the world stage.
Is Ali Bagautinov the fighter to put the North Caucasus on the map? I don't know. The oddsmakers have him as a massive underdog to Demetrious Johnson, and with good reason. When he steps into the cage on Saturday night, however, remember what he and all of his rising countrymen have had to overcome to get where they are. They've survived outright war, decades of low-level fighting between insurgents and Russian federal military and police, terrible economic conditions, and the strong pull of "going into the forest" to join the radical Islamist rebels. They've left their homeland, at least for a while, to follow the dream of a better life.
Every time they go home, however, that other life - that world of government corruption, poverty, fundamentalist imams, suicide bombings, and pitched battles with military and police - is just one bad decision or stretch of bad luck away. Fighters aren't somehow separate from that culture: they wouldn't be who or where they are without it. |
An ingenious thief has swiped almost a quarter million dollars on a flight in the Caribbean after sneaking into the cash-laden cargo hold via the toilet, police say.
A Brink's security employee placed three sacks of cash containing a total 1.2 million euro in the hold of the Air Antilles plane before it headed from the French island of Guadeloupe to the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin.
The security guard took his seat on the ATR-42 turboprop plane but when the flight landed 40 minutes later it was discovered that 172,000 euro ($236,000) were missing from the sacks.
Police are seeking a man who complained he felt ill and spent most of the journey in the toilet. In fact, he was removing panels to gain access to the hold in the rear of the plane.
Shortly before landing, the unnamed man - who was travelling with a woman who appeared concerned about his health - asked a hostess for an ambulance to meet him on the tarmac, witnesses said. |
After a lone gunman at an Oregon community college opened fire and killed ten people last week, Democrats clamored for stricter firearm regulations as a solution to end mass violence.
But Republican presidential contender Donald Trump believes enacting such legislation won't help -- shooters are "geniuses in a certain way" and will still be able to "break the system."
Donald Trump hits Jeb Bush over "inappropriate" gun control remarks
"No matter what you do, you're gonna have problems," Trump told NBC News in an interview that aired Sunday. "Because you have sick people. They happen to be intelligent. And, you know, they can be sick as hell and they're geniuses in a certain way. They are going to be able to break the system."
Determined killers, Trump continued, are still "gonna be able to get into a school or get into something."
"It's a horrible thing to say," he added. "And it's not even politically correct. But it's common sense. You're going to have problems no matter how good, no matter what kind of checks you do, you know, what kind of laws."
Instead, the GOP hopeful wants to focus legislative efforts on solving mental health problems, and for the nation to provide "better services, better doctors."
Even the mental health aspect, Trump admitted, would be a "very tough part" to address: "How do you take that person and say we're gonna institutionalize him for the rest of his life? It's very tough. He hasn't done anything yet."
Trump also wants the media to take some responsibility for helping to perpetuate "copycat" killings.
"I liked what the sheriff said last night, that he refuses to use his name," he said, referring to Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin, who said he would not use the name of the Umpqua campus killer. "He refuses to show pictures of him. But in the meantime, the news is all using his name. And everybody now knows his name. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you wouldn't cover it? Because I think that's part of the problem."
Donald Trump takes on the press
The billionaire businessman has vociferously defended Second Amendment rights before, and has even bragged that he owns a concealed carry permit from his home state.
"I have a license to carry in New York," Trump told supporters during a campaign stop in Franklin, Tennessee Saturday. "Can you believe that?... Somebody attacks me, oh, they're gonna be shocked."
A gun policy paper he released in September also shows that he backs a nationwide permit system to carry a concealed weapon, which he said was "a right, not a privilege."
Trump also discussed his new tax proposal, which he called a "very dynamic plan."
"Everybody's taxes are going down," Trump promised. "And some people won't pay tax. And the reason they're not gonna pay -- and I love the idea of having a little sort of fat in the game, if we can. But the fact is, these are people that are doing very poorly. I mean, they're making not a lot of money."
The plan, which doesn't require single people making less than $25,000 a year or married couples earning less than $50,000 to pay an income tax, is "cutting a lot" with most cuts benefiting "the middle income more than anything." |
I got this email overnight from a listener.
What do you make of it?
Hi Duncan, well...they're here !
We live in Hamilton, not first home buyer...more 7 or 8th...but , having recently sold our place, kids left home we want to down-size a bit, quit the mortgage and have a bit more free time to travel and fish.
However, it is not working out as we planned...you see, we went to 5 open homes on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, in a very average, very working class hero part of the Tron, and all the open homes were besieged by Asian (read that as Chinese) people.
Related - Duncan Garner: Chinese landlord treats us badly - Kiwi mum
One open home was with a Chinese ethnic Estate agent and you would think you were in Shanghai.(((
There was me and 2 other dare I say it, white kiwis....the rest Chinese. And I know this because they all conversed with the agent in mandarin.
Now, one open home toady , Sunday , was a real eye opener...
A Chinese couple pulled up in a screech, litteraly leapt from their car, raced inside...don't bother taking your shoes off, pushed in front of a looker and the Agent, and demanded he accept their " offer of $390,000 now, before this goes ona to da auction, yes !"
No, its going to auction.
"No no, you no unnerstan...we make offer now"
"NO !!!!"
With that, a young Chinese man of mid to late twenties appeared at my elbow, absolutely going off at the Chinese people.
I looked at him and said, "Aren't you Chinese?"
"Yes, I am", he replied. "However, I have been here 12 years, studied Kiwi English and have residency, I also am a ????? at the ????????.
"OK, what are you saying about these Chinese couple then?".
He said, "I have been walking around behind these two, same as I did at another home 20 minutes ago...they are from Auckland, they have several houses up there, but now they are finding it too expensive , so they are coming here and buying up literally sight unseen. The house across the road and down a bit, they bought it over the phone 12 minutes after it was listed and before being advertised on the open market. I know I am Chinese, but I have residency, a young family here, my wife and I both work, and we cannot even get a look in because of these effing Chinese jaffas((("
Suffice to say Duncan, the Chinese that wanted to make an offer, do not even live in NZ....they stay here 3-6 months of the year and do not have residency....
Also, my new mate the Chinese/kiwi fella, also told me that 4 carloads of Chinese come to Hamilton every weekend for open homes and try to , or do put offers in before a house goes to auction or in some cases , going on the open market., and that is just the ones he has seen in Hamilton....
Duncan, in Auckland it is a tidal wave no matter which way you look at it, and now it is the beginning of a tidal wave heading for the burbs....(Hamilton, Cambridge, Whangarei, etc)...heaven help the young first home buyers of our fair country.)))
PS: Don't give a stuff if your listeners think I am racist, i'm not, but this government needs to step in NOW, and fix this problem fast !!!!
source: data archive |
Young Alice was running around her new house, letting her adventurous spirit go wild. Her mother had recently bought this much more spacious, albeit older, house in a suburban town in Pennsylvania. Alice had spent the last six years of her life, which happens to be the full extent of her life, in a cramped apartment in New York. She never had a large area to scamper around, nor any large fields to play in. Most children would be scared to move and leave their old life behind, and indeed Alice had been at first, but now that she had gotten the taste of wide open air to run around indoors she had no protests.While her mother was busy carrying large boxes stuffed with cloths and dishes into the family of two's new home, Alice started to explore the smaller areas of the house. The many closets in the house were raided in hopes that the prior owner had left something of value. Some treasure lost and begging to be found again. Alice huffed and crossed her small arms as she stepped out of the last tiny storage space empty handed. She thought she'd find some jewels or even just a new toy she could play with. It seems that, alas, the last people to own the house had been thorough about collecting everything.Alice, as all children at a loss for what to do, went to her mother. She loudly complained she had gotten bored. Her mother suggested she could help move some of the lighter boxes, but Alice would have none of that. She continued to complain about her boredom for several more minutes."Well," her mother finally said, "do you want to explore outside?""Nuh-uh," Alice responded, "there are icky bugs out there!""What about that basement?"Alice cocked her head in confusion. "What's a basement?" she asked in a curious tone."Is the space under a house, sweetie. Come on, I'll show you."Alice took her mother's hand and was lead to a door she had not noticed before. The door opened, reveling a dusty, wooden staircase that lead down into the darkness. While most children would be gripped by fear, Alice was more curious. She'd never heard of a basement before as her entire life was spent in an apartment and she was never allowed to play on the lower floors. She wandered down into the darkness, the stairs creaking beneath her feet with each step. She gripped the railing, a simple piece of rough wood that was held up by thin boards. The old planks felt like they would snap under her tiny weight and send her tumbling downward. She inched forward, being careful to not displace too much weight at once for fear of collapsing the supports. By the time she had reached the bottom, her hazel eyes had adjusted to the light, or more the lack there of. It was a large, single room that spread out under the entire house. There was no light switch in sight, but Alice was never scared of the dark.Back upstairs, Alice's mother had left the door open to the basement and went back to moving in the boxes. She wondered how they had so much stuff in such a small apartment. Just as she set down a box filled with items she didn't even know she owned, her young daughter came bolting up the stairs. She turned to face Alice, almost knocked over by the screaming girl."Alice, baby, what's wrong?" she asked in her most nurturing tone."I saw...an angel in the basement, mommy! A scary angel!""But honey, angels are nice.""Not this one," Alice said, shaking her head and making her black hair bounce from side to side, "it was grey and big and it was cold! And its wings were broken so it couldn't fly away and that's why it was in the base....base...""Basement," her mother finished for her."Yeah, that."Alice took her mother's hand, leading her down the stairs to show her the angel she had described. Her mother used the light of her cellphone to illuminate the path in the dark depths of the house. When they came to the spot that Alice had said an angel was, they found only a large statue of an angel that had been overtaken by time.It was indeed a deep shade of grey and it's wings had indeed been broken. Other notable features were large chunks missing from the angel's face where the left eye would be as well as a few fingers that were broken away. It stood around six feet and had no stand or platform that it was on like most statues did. It was beautifully sculpted. The features were all perfect, as expected on an angel. The silk of it's robe looked almost like real silk. It was standing with its arms outstretched as if waiting for an embrace. All-in-all, if it wasn't for the decay it would probably be worth a lot of money.Alice's mother reassured the girl that it was only a statue and couldn't hurt the girl. Her mother began to leave and Alice followed. But she stole one look back at the angel. Perhaps it wasn't so scary after all. She waved to the once nightmare fuel and smiled.The statue returned the wave, with a much more sinister grin upon it's cracked lips. |
The fatwa against Salman Rushdie is reportedly going to be the central plotline of an Iranian video game.
Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images
Iran has become the next big star of in video game world—even if it’s just in terms of creating jaw-dropping headlines. In recent months we’ve seen gaming-related charges of espionage and a death sentence. There have even been virtual fatwas.
These are the side effects of the Iranian video game industry’s rapid growth—something that Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei himself has apparently pushed for.
“We developed around 140 games with Islamic and Iranian contents which can compete with foreign products,” said Mokhber Dezfouli, secretary of Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution, in a recent interview with the Fars News Agency, which Reuters calls “semi-official” for its ties to the government. Iran even has a National Foundation of Computer Games and its own version of E3, the United States’ largest annual video game conference.
So what is behind this state-funded push to establish an Iranian video game industry? Well—it’s certainly not the desire to create art.
In the New York Times last week, Nicholas Kristof pointed out that Iran is a young nation (about half the population is under 25), and education levels are rising. He recalled witnessing many Iranians indulging in traditionally Western pleasures: amusement parks, pirated music, drugs, and “Grand Theft Auto.”
“This youth culture of Iran is nurtured by the Internet—two-thirds of Iranian households have computers—and by satellite television, which is banned,” writes Kristof. Iran is also not subject to WTO copyright laws, making piracy widespread and thus newly released games easily available. And according to the Guardian, “Iranian authorities have complained in recent years that ‘enemies’ have targeted their country in a ‘soft and cultural war’ using illegal satellite channels, western novels, Hollywood films and computer games.” All of this has prompted Iran to create its own popular-entertainment industry and heavily filtered “halal” Internet.
Back in December, Iran banned the sale of the game Battlefield 3, taking issue with its depiction of a U.S. assault on Tehran. The NFCG responded by announcing its plans to create a game called “Attack on Tel Aviv,” which features “Iran’s reaction toward depicting an American soldier on Tehran’s streets in ‘Battlefield 3,” according to the Tehran Times.
More recently, a game with the remarkable name “The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of His Verdict” was announced at the second annual Computer Games Expo in Tehran. The Guardian says it is being developed by the government-funded Islamic Association of Students, which hopes to educate a younger generation of the fatwa placed on The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. While details on the game’s actual contents have yet to be released, Time speculates that the title suggests players may be tasked with answering the “23-year-old call for the author’s head.”
The video game politics don’t stop there. In an interview with Kotaku on Monday, Iranian/Canadian game developer Navid Khonsari revealed he has been branded a spy for his latest game, which depicts the chaos of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. As a result, he can no longer return to his home country.
Khonsari’s woes pale in comparison to those of Amir Hekmati. Arrested and accused of espionage late last year for his alleged involvement in designing CIA-funded games, the former U.S. Marine was sentenced to death in early January.
In a controversial confession on Iranian state television, Hekmati claimed his company, New York’s Kuma Reality Games, was developing titles aimed at “manipulating public opinion in the Middle East,” according to Kotaku. However, a follow-up article revealed that Kuma’s government funding was for a language education game for the Department of Defense.
While Hekmati’s death sentence was overturned in March, he remains imprisoned in Iran. |
The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency that provides investigative support to legislators, will look into the Federal Communications Commission and its chief Ajit Pai’s dubiously supported claims that a cyberattack took down the FCC’s public commenting system earlier this year.
In May, the FCC claimed that downtime on its Electronic Comment Filing System, a platform that allows the public to submit input on agency decisions such as Pai’s plan to gut net neutrality rules, was due to “deliberate attempts by external actors to bombard the FCC’s comment system with a high amount of traffic to our commercial cloud host.” But since the downtime on the system coincided with a high-profile call to arms from HBO comedian John Oliver and the FCC never actually released documentation supporting its version of events, suspicion ran rampant the FCC was merely trying to delegitimize opposition to Pai’s regulations-slashing agenda.
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It wouldn’t be the first time the agency has been unable to provide evidence of an alleged attack. In 2014, the FCC insisted it was attacked by malicious parties against the conclusions of its own cybersecurity officials.
In August, Gizmodo reported that Senator Brian Schatz and Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. had submitted a request to the GAO asking it to investigate the FCC’s cybersecurity standards, its handling of the alleged DDoS attack and whether or not it is complying with best practices as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. Per Ars Technica, the process to start that investigation now appears to be under way, though it may not actually commence for several months.
“The work, since it was accepted, is now in the queue, but won’t get underway for several months when staff become available,” the GAO told Ars Technica. “Once it does start, then one of the first steps will be to determine the exact scope of what it will cover and the methodology we’ll use.”
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The FCC eventually received a record-setting 21 million comments about Pai’s proposal to kill open internet rules, which would allow telecoms to discriminate on the kind of data their customers are allowed to access and at which speeds. However, while analysis of the comments underwritten by the broadband industry concluded the vast majority of the comments were form letters, it also noted Pai’s plans seemed unpopular with the general public.
[Ars Technica/Politico] |
Asylum-seekers in Belgium are to be given lessons in civilised flirting so that they learn to respect women.
Tips such as 'be funny' and 'make eye contact, but don't stare' have been listed in brochures to be distributed to refugee centres across the country.
Men are allowed to kiss other men, and prostitutes should be respected, the brochure states.
Flirting tips such as 'be funny' and 'don't stare' have been listed in brochures to be distributed to refugee centres in Belgium, to avoid a repeat of the New Year attacks in Cologne(pictured)
The guidance is an attempt to avoid a repeat of the New Year attacks on women in Cologne, Germany. The Belgian government admits there are 'no fixed flirting rules' but nevertheless gives pointers that might be useful.
'In Belgium, everyone can chose his or her partner, whom he can meet through a friend, at a party, at work, at school, at university, at a sports club or on the internet,' the brochure states.
Refugees looking to flirt should 'laugh'. 'Introduce yourself'; 'start a conversation'; 'be funny' and importantly 'don't touch'.
Whistling at women is a risky tactic, the brochure states: 'Some women find it funny, others don't!' If a women is wearing a 'sexy' dress, that doesn't mean she wants to have sex.
Prostitution is not illegal in Belgium, but 'prostitutes must be respected'. Polygamy and marriages involving an underage child are prohibited. A forced marriage is punishable by up to two years in prison and a Euro 2,500 Euro fine.
Two people of the same sex can marry, have sex and have children, the brochure states. Parents do not have the right to hit their children.
How-to: Refugees looking to flirt with women in Belgium should 'laugh'. 'Introduce yourself'; 'start a conversation'; 'be funny' and importantly 'don't touch', according to the brochure
Non-consensual sex, even within a couple, is a punishable offence. Police will practice a 'zero tolerance' policy towards these crimes, asylum-seekers are told.
Guidance on the customary practice of kissing on the cheek - often a source of confusion for British newcomers to the country - is given with the aid of diagrams.
It is common for men to kiss other men on the cheek in public if they are friends, refugees are told, though in formal situations one should shake hands with both men and women. The brochure also includes a chapter on safe sex and sexually transmitted infections.
Belgium's migration minister Theo Francken said he was 'revolted' by the Cologne attacks and promised to make asylum-seekers understand that men and women are equal. The nationwide campaign, to be rolled out in coming weeks, is based on a pilot project already underway in Antwerp. |
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Games and interactive movies are fun, but modern virtual reality systems like the Oculus Rift also have the ability to let people travel and experience the world without ever leaving their couch. And the DORA telepresence robot, which can perfectly match the movements of someone wearing a headset, will help make that VR experience even more immersive.
Instead of using a remote camera that captures a 360-degree view of everything going on around it so that an Oculus wearer can look around in all directions, robotics researchers at the University of Pennsylvania developed DORA—the Dexterous Observational Roving Automaton—with a pair of movement-matched cameras that serve as someone’s remote eyes.
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Each of DORA’s cameras can stream live 976 x 582 video at 30 frames per second which is much less than what the latest version of Oculus Rift can display, but given the system is still in the research stages, there’s lots of room for improvement. A VR headset is already able to track the wearer’s movements and position, so that information is transmitted to DORA over a line-of-sight radio link allowing it to perfectly mimic every turn, move, and subtle shift. And since it’s mounted on a mobile robotics platform, it can let someone wearing a VR headset explore wherever they wanted.
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The biggest hurdle for DORA’s researchers to overcome right now is the lag between the VR headset’s movements and the robot’s cameras. When latency is below 20 milliseconds, it’s no longer perceptible to someone wearing a VR headset. And Oculus has suggested that a latency of 60 milliseconds is the upper limit to making the VR experience believable. But DORA’s latency currently sits at around 70 milliseconds—partly due to the speed of its mechanical components—and that could be even longer if the system were dependent on a wireless internet connection instead of radio like it’s currently using.
But the potential for such a robot is staggering. It could give those living with disabilities a new sense of freedom and movement. Emergency responders would be able to safely explore an area too dangerous for humans to enter without the restrictions of a static camera mounted to a more traditional robot. And museums or art galleries could even rent out a DORA-like robot to allow visitors from around the world peruse their collections without having to spend a dime on airfare. Although humanity’s future as predicted in Pixar’s WALL•E edges unsettling closer.
[DORA via IEEE Spectrum] |
VentureBeat pieces together reports coming out of China regarding the recent apparent suicide of a Foxconn employee after he lost track of an iPhone prototype in his possession. The suicide of 25 year-old Sun Danyong, who was responsible for shipping prototypes to Apple, reportedly occurred in the wake of a potentially illegal search of the his home and possible physical intimidation against him by members of Foxconn's security department investigating the prototype's disappearance.
On Thursday, July 9th, Sun got 16 prototype phones from the assembly line at a local Foxconn factory. At some point in the next few days, he discovered that one of the phones was missing. He suspected that it had been left at the factory, but couldn't find it. On Monday, July 13, he reported the missing phone to his boss. Then, that Wednesday, three Foxconn employees searched his apartment -- illegally, according to Chinese law. Accusations are flying that Sun was detained and physically abused during the investigation, although this has not been substantiated (possible evidence: there's this somewhat garbled and potentially faked instant message exchange from Sun shortly before his death).
What is known: On Thursday -- a little after 3 a.m. according to surveillance videos in the apartment building -- he jumped out of a window in his apartment building to his death.
In a statement Google translation ), Foxconn management expressed its condolences to the employee's family over the tragic incident and announced that it has placed the security personnel involved in the visit to the employee's residence on unpaid leave pending investigation and is taking steps to offer resources to assist its employees with mental health issues. CNET reports that Apple has released a statement regarding the incident:
"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET on Tuesday. "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."
Apple declined any further comment on the events or the missing prototype. |
‘Art Deco’ is basically the only school of design I’m at all familiar with. My own approach to design in any regard doesn’t go any further than “make most of the colours the same.” So when I see something that’s Art Deco, I become slightly excited. I recognised a thing that I know! I can sound very vaguely learned! So has it been with Civilization V, a beta build of which I’ve cuddled up to over the last few weeks. “The menus are Art Deco,” I say whenever anyone asks me what the game is like. Then I nod wisely. Then they ask me about hexagons, and I punch them in the teeth.
Put this in your bloody pipe and smoke it, because if I read one more “hex appeal” gag I’m going to storm off the internet in a huff. Yes, Civ 5 includes hexes – but they’re turned off by default. As in, the hex outline isn’t visible, even though the game always remains laid-out in hexes.
Honestly, although it’s primarily a change in the angles units can attack from, you don’t need to see them, most people won’t bother with the outlines, and I left them on for about five minutes before realising they didn’t make a profound amount of difference to how I played the game, bar making a very pretty world look over-cluttered. Gone, forgotten, fine. Civ V is Civ: it’s not some strange and super-hardcore grand-strategy rethink of the series. You will not be thinking “aaargh hexes hexes it’s all hexes.” It feels natural, and you will adapt almost immediately.
Probably. Most of you. Some of you won’t. Of course some of you won’t. I didn’t find it jarring or a problem, but I appreciate I am not as resolute on game-change as some of this wonderful series’ long-term fans.
There are major changes to all kinds of elements, but there’s no way you’d ever mistake if for anything other than a Civ game. This is good! It is also bad! Maybe. A little. Not much, though.
My standard argument, apart from panicking that someone might ask me to explain what I mean by ‘art deco’, is that this early build of Civ V is genuinely, definitely lovely and, as per series’ tradition, I happily swam in its slow-moving river for hour after hour. Buuuuuuut… I didn’t experience the invigorating rush I did the first time I ever fired up Civ IV.
Civ IV hasn’t particularly aged graphically, which is one reason why Civ V might be a harder sell than usual. It has, however, aged in terms of interface – it’s just a little too cluttered and Windows 95y by 2010 standards now. At the time, though: Oh My God. The sense of freshness, of modernity, of opulence and of someone having really taken the time to reinvent a decade-old game for a new audience was unbelievable. From the first strains of Lion King music to the first Nimoyian utterance, it was like a glass of cool water in the face on a boiling hot day.
Plus it had Spock pretending to be a satellite. I don’t believe I’ve ever laughed harder:
Civ V doesn’t have that immediate, This Is A New Dawn glee-shock. I don’t know if any Civ V could do that, outside of moving to something like Microsoft Surface. I’m not convinced there’s much need – yet – to go far beyond what Civ IV did. Which is not to say that I would ever have refused Civ V. Someone would have to shoot me in the eyes to achieve that. It’s also not to say I’m going back to Civ IV; Civ V is far prettier, and the changes do make it an enticingly different experience. I will be playing the final version for weeks at the very least; I have no doubt about that.
Plus, of course, the menus are all Art Deco. Art Deco is an eclectic artistic and design style which had its origins in Paris in the first decades of the 20th century. Nowadays the style is said to have been active from around 1910 until the outbreak of World War II. The style was named in the 1960s after the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes that was the culmination of high-end style moderne in Paris. Led by the best designers in the decorative arts such as fashion, and interior design, Art Deco affected all areas of design throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including architecture and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as painting, the graphic arts and film. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, glamorous, functional and modern.
I definitely wrote all of that off the top of my head. Definitely.
Civ V’s major goal – and another reason why having announced it by showing off the hex thing was massively counter-productive on the marketeers’ part – is to streamline Civ’s multifarious systems. It’s not making the game less complicated as such, but more trying to amplify certain key concepts; add more depth to them rather than simply have a bit of everything.
Notable casualties include religion and unit-stacking. I’ll let that sink in for a moment.
…
You OK? Need a hug?
It’s alright. I promise. It’s different, but it’s not especially distressing in practice. I miss religion most, and to the point that if I squint a bit I can picture an expansion pack-shaped hole in the game. Or maybe not, as what they’ve done is try to build the raw concept of religion into over state and society ethos. Rather than having religions be a defining reflection of a city or civilization’s nature, it’s now more that the overall civilizations have differing social attitudes dependent on how broadly religious you want them to be. So rather than trying to specifically create, say, a Jewish nation, you can pursue piousness, or you could pursue monarchy. Or you can pursue both. But if you try to pursue both piousness and liberalism you’ll struggle. All of this is done through, essentially, a second tech tree, which is unlocked as your civilization pumps out more culture.
It’s less nebulous than the old way – the effects of being more or less religious spelled out clearly, rather than splintered between an array of different faiths that can unlock a slew of different but similar upgrades. You pursue a generalised social ethos, and that can involve being a despot, or a benevolent environmentalist, or a feudal faith-head, or a combination of them all. Cultural victory is accomplished by completing six of the social tech trees, but instead you could cherry-pick the most useful (to you) policies from all over them as a helping hand to another type of victory.
The loss of religion will annoy people, there is no doubt about that. But I honestly think it’s more reflective of how religion works in society than the bitty, fiddly multi-faith approach of before. It’s not a magic bit bolted onto the side: it absolutely underpins a culture’s attitude to itself and to the world.
Plus, I like that developing my nation’s socio-political structure is now an ongoing strategy, with a specific goal in mind, rather than constituting sudden hard-shifts to something that offers a more useful bonus. Though I do miss the old games’ revolutions whenever you did a sudden about-face on your fundamental approach to human existence. Thousands of tiny voices yelling ‘WTF?’
Let’s move on to the unit stacking. This means you won’t get repeatedly ganked by a massive travelling army of invisible-until-it’s-too-late units; on the other hand, it’s harder to be a massive travelling army, which makes epic city invasions simultaneously more and less complicated. You have to surround stuff rather than swarm at it, with each unit’s chances of success clearly labelled. Some will cry that this is dumbed down, but I think in its way its a distillation to forward-thinking strategy rather than defaulting to might makes right.
A single ranged unit microed in out and out of range can make all the difference, for instance. You have to think about what your assault is, not simply how big’n’fat it is. That’s where those (TURNED OFF BY DEFAULT FOR GOD’S SAKES) hexes come into play, defining the number of sides and angles you can attack from. The other interesting wrinkle of this is that you can’t get guys out of the way – if there isn’t a route to the frontline through all the other guys you’ve got circling an invadee, the second line is effectively useless to you.
An additional complication is that cities now sport innate defensive abilities. You’re not going to have Johnny B. Barbarian just wandering into Rome and taking over because you haven’t left any archers there. In other words, the townsfolk do not sit idly by as their homes are pillaged. Cities can launch one fairly beefy ranged attack per turn, which can do enough damage to deter an invader from pressing on. Except for when they’re a very well-organised invader, with plenty of reinforcements and some units upgraded with auto-healing abilities.
Which, of course, you’ll want to do if you want to seize/raze any cities. It can be incredibly infuriating, with half your army wheezing and bleeding before you’ve even reached the city walls – but it means an attack is a major event, one you need to prepare heavily for and, crucially, one whose permutations and likely outcomes you’re entirely aware of, thanks to how the game presents its information.
But it still feels like Civ. The flow is the same, even if the fine detail is changed. It’s been stripped back to its raw components, yes, but it’s then been reassembled. It’s not so much that things are lost, but that they’re reconfigured, the same concepts remaining but merged, reshaped, reimagined.
It’ll cause some upset, as change so often does – but again I must point out that Civ IV still exists. Civ IV is still incredibly contemporary. An alternative rather than a straight replacement makes so much sense.
I’m not going to go into many more specifics as I’m Cap’n Rambly as it is, but if you chaps want to shout questions in comments I’ll aim to assemble a follow-up piece later in the day. With one proviso: this is a very early build, and as such has demonstrated an annoying tendency to corrupting my savegames. This means I haven’t been able to complete a game yet, with the furthest I’ve got down the tech tree before having to restart being cannons or thereabouts. I have absolutely no concern that this won’t be fixed come the final game – it just means I can’t tell you what the tanks are like and whatnot.
I’m also going to do a post focusing specifically on the new City States, which I haven’t gone into here but are one of the more profound game-changers. I’m still making my mind up about them. I’ll get back to you. |
Fair warning: I’m going to spend this article talking about something that happens in the Thor: Ragnarok trailers and how that aligns with what happens in the final movie. It’s not a world-shattering revelation, but if you’ve avoided all of the trailers thus far and would prefer to know nothing about the movie at all before seeing it, here’s your opportunity to bounce to the next article.
There’s a moment in the Ragnarok trailers in which Hela, the leather-clad villainess played by Cate Blanchett, catches Thor’s hammer (good old Mjolnir) out of the air and destroys it with her bare hand. It’s a symbol of her tremendous power, and a sign that she’s not to be trifled with. But in one trailer, this confrontation happens in an alleyway, and in a more recent video, the scene takes place in a grassy field. We’ve actually written about this before, but now director Taika Waititi has explained the reasoning behind changing that Thor Ragnarok reshoot.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Waititi was asked why he decided to change the filming location of this scene, which happens very early in the movie:
“Here’s the thing: alleyways aren’t cool and fields are cool, all right? Ask anyone.”
After kidding around for a second, Waititi revealed the real answer to the question (which, again, features some very small spoilers):
“Everything up until then had been so fast-paced and all over the place, we wanted to go somewhere peaceful and chill out with those characters, and be with Odin while he imparts this wisdom and not have to hear stupid yellow cabs in the background. It just felt like a terrible environment to have a scene which could be very emotional for what happens with Odin and the boys, the first time we’ve seen the three guys together and him telling them he loves them. It was very important for us just to be in a beautiful, peaceful environment.”
Early set photos indicated that Odin would be dressed up as a homeless person in New York City, but as Waititi explains, the final movie ended up revamping that section of the film so Thor and Loki could enjoy some peace during their reunion with their father instead of dealing with the distractions of city life in the background. As we previously pointed out, Chris Hemsworth’s personal trainer Luke Zocchi posted a photo on Instagram during the movie’s built-in reshoot time featuring the new location:
So there you have it: mystery solved.
Thor: Ragnarok arrives in theaters on November 3, 2017. |
President Obama does not agree with former Attorney General Eric Holder Eric Himpton HolderObama political arm to merge with Holder-run group Barack, Michelle Obama expected to refrain from endorsing in 2020 Dem primary: report Ocasio-Cortez to be first guest on new Desus and Mero show MORE that NSA leaker Edward Snowden performed a public service, his top spokesman said Tuesday.
“The president has had the opportunity to speak on this a number of times, and I think a careful review of his public comments would indicate that he does not,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.
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It’s a rare example of disagreement between Obama and Holder, who was one of the president’s closest confidants during his time in the administration.
Holder said in an interview published Monday that the former government contractor’s leaks, while illegal, were valuable because they helped spark national discussions about government surveillance.
"We can certainly argue about the way in which Snowden did what he did, but I think that he actually performed a public service by raising the debate that we engaged in and by the changes that we made,” Holder said in a podcast interview with former Obama adviser David Axelrod.
Earnest also noted that Holder said Snowden, who fled to Russia, should return to the United States to face criminal charges.
“What Mr. Holder is articulating there is the view of the administration,” the spokesman said.
It’s a remarkable change of tune for Holder, whose Justice Department charged Snowden with leaking classified intelligence documents in 2013.
In 2014, Holder floated the possibility that Snowden could return to the U.S and strike a plea deal with the federal government.
Obama has acknowledged the leaks played a role in spurring changes to government surveillance practices, but he has repeatedly said Snowden’s actions harmed national security.
“Given the fact of an open investigation, I’m not going to dwell on Mr. Snowden’s actions or his motivations,” he said in a January 2014 speech at the Justice Department.
“I will say that our nation’s defense depends in part on the fidelity of those entrusted with our nation’s secrets,” he added. “If any individual who objects to government policy can take it into their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will not be able to keep our people safe or conduct foreign policy.” |
On November 17, 1558, Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England and Ireland at the age of 25 and went on to become one of the world’s most famous monarchs. She reigned until she was 69 years old, marking 44 years of rule under her guidance.
In that time, her domain defeated the mighty Spanish Armada, kept England out of any serious wars on the continent, raised the profile and status of England as a regional (and burgeoning global) power, and kept persecution of Catholics in England to a relative minimum. During her reign, a flowering of literature - including the plays of William Shakespeare - enhanced the now-immense cultural impact of England on the world.
But Elizabeth I’s reign wasn’t anywhere near the longest in history. Britain’s current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who will celebrate 70 years of marriage this week, has reigned for 65 years. And she’s still not among the Top 10 longest-tenured rulers in history.
The list below is not comprehensive, and of course the tenure of monarchs grows more and more suspect the further you move away from the present, but it’s an instructive list that can hopefully help us to glean something useful from the past.
𝟏. Sobhuza II of Swaziland (82 years): The king of Swaziland from 1889-1982, Sobhuza II is credited with achieving independence from the United Kingdom at a time when many kingdoms in his neighborhood (southern Africa) were being absorbed into the British Empire or the South African Republic. Sobhuza II’s early reign was characterized by Swaziland’s protectorate status within the British Empire, which just means that the British Empire recognized his regency, but nobody else in the world was allowed to because London assumed Swaziland’s foreign policy.
In 1968, the United Kingdom granted Swaziland full independence and, for about five years, Sobhuza II ruled as a monarch in a constitutional system designed to mimic the one found in the United Kingdom. In 1973, he abolished the parliament and the British-influenced constitution and established absolute rule. He seized foreign-owned property and assumed it for himself (in the name of Swaziland) and set up a council based very, very loosely on governance models thought to be indigenous to Swaziland and its neighboring Bantustans.
𝟮. Bernhard VII of Lippe (81 years): Known as Bernhard the Bellicose, Bernhard VII ruled a small kingdom in what is now Germany from 1428-1511 and, as his name implies, he was constantly at odds with neighboring kingdoms. The Lordship of Lippe was part of the Holy Roman Empire and is sometimes referred to as a principality, but make no mistake, Lippe was a kingdom in the exact same manner as Elizabeth I’s Britain or Sobhuza II’s Swaziland.
Bernhard VII’s reputation as a bellicose neighbor probably had less to do with his temperament than it did with Lippe’s general neighborhood and theological climate during his reign. Although Lippe was a member of the Holy Roman Empire, its sovereignty could not be fully guaranteed by this understudied polity. If anything, Bernhard VII’s nickname should be seen in light of his diplomatic skills and especially his ability to keep Lippe’s sovereignty and bloodline intact throughout the Holy Roman Empire’s bloody 15th and early 16th centuries.
𝟯. Jangsu of Goguryeo (78 years): If any monarch on this list deserves an asterisk next to his name, it’s Jangsu of the ancient Goguryeo Empire. Goguryeo is the largest of the kingdoms featured on this list, in terms of territory and cultural influence, and ruled over what is now much of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria (which is governed by China today). If the ancient records about Jangsu are to be believed, and the scholarship on this region has become incredibly enlightening and rigorous over the past 15 years or so, then Jangsu was the longest-ruling monarch in East Asia’s illustrious history.
Jangsu ruled from roughly 413 -491 and inherited a much-expanded kingdom from his father’s wars of conquest. Like many of the other long-lasting monarchs on this list, Jangsu was a skilled diplomat most known for playing rivals off on each other abroad, and at home his politics are often attributed for a good economy and a burgeoning Korean culture. His most indirect claim to fame might be his decision to rename his kingdom Goryeo (Koryo), which is where the name Korea from.
𝟰. William IV of Henneberg-Schleusingen (78 years): William IV was another monarch reigning over a small kingdom aligned within the Holy Roman Empire. William IV reigned from 1480-1559 and was known for - you guessed it - having a shrewd diplomatic policy. Perhaps the best example of William IV’s diplomatic gusto was his decision to embrace the Protestant Reformation and fall into league with other kingdoms that had done the same. While the Holy Roman Empire’s protestant princely states ended up producing horrific amounts of bloodshed and a century of war, William IV’s reign lasted more than three-quarters of a century.
William IV ended up dying in South Tyrol, a region in present-day northern Italy with a significant amount (30%) of German speakers and a little-known but persistent secessionist movement.
𝟱. Karansinhji Vajirajji of Lakhtar (78 years): Karansinhji was the king of Lakhtar from 1846-1924. Lakhtar was a Princely State within the British Raj during Karansinhji’s reign and was located in present-day Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest states.
Not much is known about Karansinhji from a scholarly standpoint, but Lakhtar was founded in 1604 and managed to secure its sovereignty under the British Raj until Indian independence in 1948. The monarchs of Lakhtar, called “Thakur Sahib” instead of “King,” were known for using the British Raj system to not only protect their kingdom from the predatory instincts of larger, neighboring ones, but also as a way to spur economic growth and enhance civil liberties.
𝟲. Heinrich XI of Reuss-Obergreiz (77 years): Heinrich XI, who ruled from 1723-1800, might be the most boring member of the entire Top 10. Again it’s important to stress that boring is not such a bad thing if it’s longevity you are concerned about. Heinrich XI’s kingdom was also a part of the Holy Roman Empire, albeit a small one -- the population was just 71,000 before Reuss-Obergreiz was absorbed into Thuringia in 1920.
𝟳. Idris ibni Muhammad al-Qadri of Tampin (76 years): Al-Qadri actually died in 2005, which makes him the most contemporary monarch to make this list. Tampin is a small monarchy in Malaysia and it sends representatives to Kuala Lumpur that are elected by the people rather than chosen by the monarch.
So why even include al-Qadri in the list, if his monarchy is so weak that it cannot even speak for itself via representatives in Malaysia’s parliament? Because the monarchy can speak for itself, it just doesn’t have to go through the messy parliamentary process to do so. If you’ve got a kingdom that a larger polity is happy to govern for you, why risk the status quo? You get money, your own kingdom, and a stable peace of mind.
𝟴. Christian August of Palatinate-Sulzbach (75 years): Here we have the fourth and final monarch who can attribute his long reign, in part, to being a member of the Holy Roman Empire. He reigned benevolently from 1632-1708. Christian August let his subjects choose their own brand of Christianity – a rarity in his day and age - and even allowed Jews to settle on his lands beginning in 1666.
Perhaps because of his tolerant manner of reigning, his capital, Sulzbach, became a center of intellectual and cultural life not only in the Holy Roman Empire but throughout continental Europe.
𝟵. Mudhoji IV of Phaltan (74 years): Mudhoji IV ruled the Princely State of Phaltan from 1841-1916, and is known only for his long reign over Phaltan.
Today, Phaltan is a part of Maharashtra, the richest state in India. Like Lakhtar, Phaltan was a non-salute state within the British Raj, meaning it wasn’t important enough to merit recognition from the British military and its empire, which, again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
𝟏𝟎. Bhagvat Singh Sahib of Gondal (74 years): Rounding out this week’s Top 10 is Bhagvat Singh Sahib of the Princely State of Gondal, another monarchy aligned with the British Raj. He reigned from 1869-1944 and is considered to be one of the most progressive monarchs in India, ever.
He earned a medical degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and built schools, hospitals, a police force, dams, irrigation networks for farming and sewage systems, railroads, telephone cables, brought electricity to his kingdom, and ensured that girls could attend schools through compulsory education initiatives. Gondal was raised to the status of 11-gun salute state within the British Empire during Bhagvat Singh Sahib’s reign. Gondal is today, along with Lakhtar, part of Gujarat, one of India’s wealthiest states.
Further thoughts
This list is actually a bit of a snore fest. It turns out the longest-tenured monarchs in history are bores. When you take a little time to think about it, though, this makes a lot of sense. Those who live by the sword end up conquering land and creating myths. They also end up dying by the sword, too, and often at a much earlier age than they otherwise would.
The big issue that stood out to me while making this list was sovereignty. In the age of Brexit, Nexit, Catalonia, and the rise of China, I think it is important to remember the lessons of the past these long-reigning monarchs can teach us. Sovereignty is not an absolute. It is not necessary for good governance, or even long-lasting governance. It can be used in degrees or layers. It can be traded and negotiated upon. Sovereignty can be used to establish relationships with other polities to that ensure a healthy element of equality between political units large and small. |
RIVERVIEW, Mich. - It was around Valentine's Day when things got out of hand in Jody Slavin's son's classroom at Riverview Community High School.
It was "Free Hug Day" at the school. When students surrounded the technology teacher offering a hug, he told them to leave him alone. After they didn't listen, he punched one of the students in the mouth.
Slavin said she was mortified until she heard the whole story from her son.
"I think the situation just got out of control in the classroom," she said. "The kids kind of came up on him and surrounded him and he was telling them no. And they put their hands on him."
That incident put the teacher's job in jeopardy, but students rallied around the well-liked teacher. Now the victim has filed a lawsuit against the teacher and the Riverview Community School District seeking $75,000 in damages.
The suit claims the student has suffered severe physical, psychological and emotional injuries, as well as serious impairment to his academic and social development because of the incident.
The lawsuit alleges before the February incident the district let the teacher's inappropriate behavior go unchecked, claiming the teacher would hit students in the testicles, used profanity, made inappropriate comments, used squirt guns to spray students with water and hit students in the back of the head.
Slavin said she sympathizes with the victim. The teacher has a lot of supporters.
"I think it would be pretty hard on that kid because that is a beloved teacher," said Slavin.
Copyright 2015 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
Yesterday morning, the Twins dealt Sam Fuld to Oakland for Tommy Milone, in a trade that I feel is getting somewhat unwarranted criticism. I’ve seen the term “highway robbery” thrown around, often with the addendum that the Twins “won the trade.”
In a vacuum, yes, Tommy Milone for Sam Fuld is kind of ridiculous. Milone is a 27-year-old lefty with a career 3.84 earned run average who could anchor the back end of the Twins rotation for years. Fuld is a 32-year-old fourth outfielder with a career .240/.323/.337 slash. However, Milone didn’t really have any value to Oakland as their No. 8 starter, and Fuld fills an immediate need as a platoon partner for Jonny Gomes.
Furthermore, if Coco Crisp’s injury continues to linger, Fuld could easily slide over and play center. Oakland is in win-now mode, and Fuld can help them do that. Don’t get me wrong, I still love this trade for the Twins. All I’m saying is that it isn’t nearly the catastrophe people are saying it is for the A’s.
Oddly enough, the most fantasy-relevant factor in this trade is the fact that, in a corresponding move, the Twins called up Kennys Vargas to take Fuld’s roster spot. Vargas seems due to receive plenty of playing time, so now is as good a time as ever to discuss Minnesota’s burly beast of a first baseman.
Vargas — who turns 24 today — is one of those guys who projects to have a much higher ceiling in fantasy than in real life. He’s a poor defender. He’s even slower than his 6’5″, 275 pound frame would lead one to expect (if you watched the Futures Game and saw him get completely gassed on a double, you know what I’m talking about).
As you have undoubtedly guessed, Vargas’ calling card is his light-tower power. However, thanks to the reality that he’s essentially a one-tool player, Vargas has never found himself on a top organizational prospects list here at FanGraphs. The big question with him, as with most guys his size, was whether he would be able to make consistent contact against high-level pitching. The fact that he largely answered that question with an emphatic ‘yes’ this season — to the point where he earned an invite to the Futures Game and a promotion to the majors — is why the perception of Vargas has grown so much brighter since the offseason.
Vargas’ improvement this year really is quite impressive. The power is certainly still there, as he’s hit 17 homers and 17 doubles through 97 games, but what really stands out is his increased ability to make contact. Vargas had never posted a strikeout rate lower than 20% at any level, until he whiffed in just 16.8% of his plate appearances in Double-A this year. That’s a pretty outstanding rate for a 275-pound slugger with a career minor-league isolated power of .205.
Another thing that I like about Vargas is that he’s a nearly identical hitter from both sides of the plate. The switch-hitter has a career .283/.363/.502 slash against righties and a .290/.366/.464 line against lefties. No need for any platoon concerns here.
I’ve seen and heard David Ortiz comps with Vargas, and that’s pretty irresponsible. I get it, they’re both bat-only power prospects who came up through the same system (albeit nearly two decades apart), but Ortiz showed far more power in his minor-league career with two 30-homer seasons, and did so at a younger age.
I think Vargas’ ceiling is that of a poor man’s Big Papi, but that’s still a heck of a player. Even if he does have contact struggles in the majors, his on-base ability should mitigate that somewhat, as his career walk rate is above 10%. Target Field certainly isn’t the ideal park for a power hitter, but those of you in AL-only or very deep mixers could do worse than kick the tires on Vargas. |
For our American readers, it is time to get back in the swing of things from the long Thanksgiving weekend; and for our non-American readers, well…the last few days must have been pretty boring for you (especially for our Canadian readers, who are probably still baffled about why we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving over a month late).
Anyhoo, it is Monday here at Asphalt & Rubber HQ, and while we let the caffeine soak into our veins, we have some high-energy content to help you get going at the workplace job thing. First up is a little video from Suzuki, which has just concluded its 2013 MotoGP testing schedule.
It is mostly just motorcycle porn for racing fans, but to our knowledge the video is the first time that Suzuki has publicly acknowledged its inline-four cylinder engine design for its XRH-1 MotoGP test bike. Suzuki will be back testing in 2014, with Randy de Puniet now solely committed to test-riding the machine for the Japanese OEM.
High on the team’s list is getting its race program to work on only 20 liters of fuel, as well as switching from Suzuki’s current Mitsubishi-designed ECU to the spec-ECU supplied by Dorna and built by Magneti Marelli. Neither task is an easy one as Suzuki gears up for its 2015 return to Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
Source: Suzuki Racing |
Anything that breaks the partisan gridlock would likely be welcome news to a president. W.H. ponders life with GOP Senate
Nervous that Democrats could lose control of the Senate, the White House is already discussing how to cut deals with a Republican majority.
As bad as the electoral map for Democrats is this year, the map for Republicans in 2016 is even worse. GOP incumbents are up in seven states President Barack Obama won twice and two he won once, including Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Rob Portman in Ohio, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, Mark Kirk in Illinois and Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania.
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Those senators, goes one thought circulating in the West Wing, would be under pressure to move toward the middle and be the bridge to larger deals with a caucus eager to show it can get things done.
Aides are discussing potential areas for agreement: tax reform, infrastructure, sentencing reform, renewing unemployment insurance, raising the minimum wage and expanding early childhood education.
( POLITICO's 2014 race ratings)
Anything that breaks the partisan gridlock would likely be welcome news to a president who sees a lot of unfinished business as he stares down the last two years of his administration and not much to show for his “pen and phone” strategy to govern via executive action.
Others in the White House dismiss all this as, at best, an absurdly best-case scenario. If Republicans are in the majority, nothing will come to the floor without the approval of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and anything would need 60 votes — not to mention the green light from what’s likely to be a larger GOP majority in the House.
It’s enough of a stretch to imagine McConnell signing off on handing Obama a victory, they say, but Republicans would also need to be worried about setting off primaries from the right for themselves. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, for instance, worked with Democrats to pass an immigration bill out of the Senate last year and was eviscerated by conservatives, without even a final law to show for it. And former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) surprise primary loss was blamed on talk he would deal with the White House on immigration. But expect Obama to talk about immigration no matter what, even if there isn’t a deal to be reached.
( Full 2014 election results)
So far, there hasn’t been much in the way of big White House strategy sessions about what to do in a Republican Senate. But the conversations have begun, though Obama staffers — superstitious as always, and with enough in poll numbers they see to keep them from giving up hope — would not openly delve into what’s being discussed.
Many Hill insiders laugh at all of this.
Republicans in control in the Senate, they say, would mean two years of obstruction, subpoenas and brutal confirmation fights. Instead of 2016 creating pressure to get things done , it will set up yet another cycle of running the clock with the majority up for grabs again in two years.
Asked last week if the White House had considered what life would be like with a Republican Senate, press secretary Josh Earnest said only, “Not really.”
Regarding potential areas for deals, Earnest’s deputy Eric Schultz declined to speculate. “The president is committed to helping Democrats maintain control of the Senate in November, and we are confident they will do so,” Schultz said.
( POLITICO's polling center)
Republicans, for their part, are projecting the idea that being in the majority would be the way through the gridlock, which they blame on Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) blocking anything before they can even start real negotiations.
They claim to be ready to go on trade, infrastructure spending, even sentencing reform. Minimum wage, not so much. Tax reform could happen, but only if Obama drops his push to get $1 trillion in new revenue (Obama says it’s a short-term fix that will disappear in the long term, but Republicans aren’t buying it).
“In a Republican Senate, the difference would be the president would actually have to make the decision whether to sign or veto bills that would be presented to him — because more would actually be sent his way,” said McConnell spokesman Don Stewart.
McConnell’s said that if he’s in charge, he’d be open to things like having amendments on bills from the minority, and Republicans say that more likely than losing some of their own moderates to Democrats on votes, they’ll be the ones picking off people to join them.
“In a situation where there was actually an opportunity for debates and amendments, you’d have bills getting passed and Democrats joining Republicans on legislation that you don’t have now,” Stewart said. |
Haider Ali Hussein, a porter at a nearby utilities shop, said that for security reasons, the mosque was reserved for people from the neighborhood, Sinak. The guard had tried to block the bomber’s entry because he did not recognize him.
“Very good friends of mine, gone in this explosion,” Mr. Hussein said.
The attack was the second against a Shiite mosque in Baghdad this week. On Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest outside a Shiite mosque in the Harthiya neighborhood of western Baghdad, killing 18 people and wounding 35, the authorities said. Two roadside bombs in the capital on Sunday killed another 8 and wounded 12, officials said.
As the Islamic State has tried to press closer to Baghdad, Iraqi and American officials have insisted that the capital is well protected from a siege and that the most the militants could hope to do was sow fear and death with bombings.
But on Monday, residents of the capital were reminded that mortal threats abound in the city beyond those posed by the Islamic State, especially amid the growth of government-supported militias and the proliferation of weapons.
Shortly after midnight, a protracted firefight between a federal police unit and another armed group erupted along a darkened and otherwise empty boulevard of the Karrada neighborhood, Interior Ministry officials said. The shootout, involving assault rifles and heavy machine guns, lasted at least 20 minutes though remarkably, officials said, only two police officers were wounded.
Saad Maan, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said in an interview that the police had converged on a hotel where “a gang” was holding a kidnap victim. The woman, the relative of a prominent Kurdish politician, had been kidnapped in Basra about two weeks ago and her captors were demanding a $2.5 million ransom, officials said.
The woman escaped her captors during the shootout, Mr. Maan said, yet there were no arrests in the case and it still remained unclear late Monday which group was responsible. |
Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio used threats and intimidation in recent days to block prominent Democrats from backing leftist law professors Zephyr Teachout and her running mate, Tim Wu, in Tuesday’s primary, party insiders have told The Post.
The largely successful pressure has been especially intense to stop endorsements for Wu, who is given a real chance of defeating conservative-turned-“progressive” former upstate Rep. Kathy Hochul, Cuomo’s running mate for lieutenant governor, insiders said.
“Cuomo and de Blasio were pulling out all stops, making it clear that anyone who even considers endorsing Teachout or Wu will pay a big political price,” said a prominent Democratic activist.
“Cuomo especially is obsessed with Wu because he clearly thinks Wu has a chance to win, which would be a disaster for him,” the activist continued.
City Council members were told that pet projects would be endangered if they back either Teachout or Wu, said a source close to the council. “You wouldn’t believe how much we were intimidated and muscled,’’ said one.
Council members and state legislators were also warned that state-funded projects would be at risk if they publicly backed Teachout or Wu, several sources said.
Delivering some of the messages was Joe Percoco, Cuomo’s longtime aide and political enforcer, the sources said.
“It’s almost a running joke in Democratic circles with people who speak up for Teachout saying, ‘I’m about to get a call from Joe,’ ’’ said a Teachout-campaign insider.
Cuomo himself was also described as directly involved.
“A few days ago, Teachout received a call from someone she had hoped would endorse her saying, ‘I’m so sorry. I just got a call from the governor, and he mentioned a particular project that I’m interested in, and so I’m going to have to endorse him,’ ’’ the campaign insider said.
Teachout told The Post, “When you speak to elected officials, they’re pretty blunt about wanting to protect their constituents from reprisals if they were to endorse me.”
“I absolutely would have had the support of dozens of elected officials who have endorsed Cuomo if it wasn’t for that.” |
Asimina. For the common pawpaw of eastern North America, see This article is about the various species of pawpaws in the American plant genus. For the common pawpaw of eastern North America, see Asimina triloba . For the unrelated tropical papaya fruit often called 'papaw' or 'pawpaw', see Carica papaya . For other uses, see Paw Paw (disambiguation)
Asimina is a genus of small trees or shrubs described as a genus in 1763.[2][3]
Asimina has large simple leaves and large fruit. It is native to eastern North America and collectively referred to as pawpaw. The genus includes the widespread common pawpaw Asimina triloba, which bears the largest edible fruit indigenous to the continent.[4] Pawpaws are native to 26 states of the U.S. and to Ontario in Canada.[4][5] The common pawpaw is a patch-forming (clonal) understory tree found in well-drained, deep, fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat. Pawpaws are in the same plant family (Annonaceae) as the custard-apple, cherimoya, sweetsop, soursop, and ylang-ylang;[6] the genus is the only member of that family not confined to the tropics.
Names [ edit ]
Asimina Michel Adanson (1727-1806), who named the genus
The genus name Asimina was first described and named by Michel Adanson, a French naturalist of Scottish descent. The name is adapted from the Native American name assimin[7] through the French colonial asiminier.[8]
The common name pawpaw, also spelled paw paw, paw-paw, and papaw, probably derives from the Spanish papaya, perhaps because of the superficial similarity of their fruits.[citation needed]
Description [ edit ]
Asimina reticulata Flower of
Pawpaws are shrubs or small trees to 2–12 m (6.6–39.4 ft) tall. The northern, cold-tolerant common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is deciduous, while the southern species are often evergreen.
The leaves are alternate, obovate, entire, 20–35 cm (7.9–13.8 in) long and 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) broad.
The flowers of pawpaws are produced singly or in clusters of up to eight together; they are large, 4–6 cm across, perfect, with six sepals and petals (three large outer petals, three smaller inner petals). The petal color varies from white to purple or red-brown.
The fruit of the common pawpaw is a large edible berry, 5–16 cm (2.0–6.3 in) long and 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) broad, weighing from 20–500 g (0.71–17.64 oz), with numerous seeds; it is green when unripe, maturing to yellow or brown. It has a flavor somewhat similar to both banana and mango, varying significantly by cultivar, and has more protein than most fruits.[4]
Species and their distributions [ edit ]
Ecology [ edit ]
The common pawpaw is native to shady, rich bottom lands, where it often forms a dense undergrowth in the forest, often appearing as a patch or thicket of individual small slender trees.
Pawpaw flowers are insect-pollinated, but fruit production is limited since few if any pollinators are attracted to the flower's faint, or sometimes non-existent scent. The flowers produce an odor similar to that of rotting meat to attract blowflies or carrion beetles for cross pollination.[20] Other insects that are attracted to pawpaw plants include scavenging fruit flies, carrion flies and beetles. Because of difficult pollination, some[who?] believe the flowers are self-incompatible.
Pawpaw fruit may be eaten by foxes, opossums, squirrels and raccoons. However, pawpaw leaves and twigs are seldom consumed by rabbits or deer.[21]
The leaves, twigs, and bark of the common pawpaw tree contain natural insecticides known as acetogenins.[22]
Larvae of the zebra swallowtail butterfly feed exclusively on young leaves of the various pawpaw species, but never occur in great numbers on the plants.[23]
Cultivation and uses [ edit ]
Asimina triloba is often called prairie banana because of its banana-like creamy texture and flavor. is often calledbecause of its banana-like creamy texture and flavor.
Wild-collected fruits of the common pawpaw (Asimina triloba) have long been a favorite treat throughout the tree's extensive native range in eastern North America.[4] Fresh pawpaw fruits are commonly eaten raw; however, they do not store or ship well unless frozen.[4] The fruit pulp is also often used locally in baked dessert recipes, with pawpaw often substituted in many banana-based recipes.
Pawpaws have never been cultivated for fruit on the scale of apples and peaches, but interest in pawpaw cultivation has increased in recent decades.[4] However, only frozen fruit will store or ship well. Other methods of preservation include dehydration, production of jams or jellies, and pressure canning.
The pawpaw is also gaining in popularity among backyard gardeners because of the tree's distinctive growth habit, the appeal of its fresh fruit, and its relatively low maintenance needs once established. The common pawpaw is also of interest in ecological restoration plantings since this tree grows well in wet soil and has a strong tendency to form well-rooted clonal thickets.
The several other species of Asimina have few economic uses.
History [ edit ]
The earliest documentation of pawpaws is in the 1541 report of the Spanish de Soto expedition, who found Native Americans cultivating it east of the Mississippi River. Chilled pawpaw fruit was a favorite dessert of George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson planted it at his home in Virginia, Monticello. The Lewis and Clark Expedition sometimes subsisted on pawpaws during their travels. The common pawpaw was designated as the Ohio state native fruit in 2009.[24][25] |
8 coolest things you didn't spot in the Spectre trailer
Best and worst Bond theme songs ranked: Every single's here, but which are classics and which need their 00 status revoked?
James Bond has returned with an action-packed new trailer for the franchise's latest instalment Spectre.
Spectre will pick up from the events of Skyfall as Daniel Craig's 007 receives a cryptic message from his past leading him to confront the deadly criminal organisation of the title.
In Bond movie past, Spectre (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) has been led by Bond's arch-nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld.
It's been speculated that Christoph Waltz will take on the latest incarnation of the character, previously played by Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas and Charles Gray.
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures
Spectre sees Craig back for his fourth appearance as Bond (matching Pierce Brosnan's record), with Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear and Naomie Harris also reprising their roles.
Waltz, Dave Bautista and Andrew Scott are all newcomers to the series.
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures
Spectre will be released in the UK on October 26, the same day as its world premiere in London. A US release follows on November 6.
Spectre teaser trailer
Spectre extended TV trailer |
Map of Red Lake Indian Reservation Lands
The Red Lake Indian Reservation (Miskwaagamiiwi-zaaga'igan) covers 1,259 sq mi (3,260 km2; 806,000 acres) in parts of nine counties in northwestern Minnesota, United States. It is made up of numerous holdings but the largest section is an area about Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake entirely within that state. This section lies primarily in the counties of Beltrami and Clearwater. Land in seven other counties is also part of the reservation.
The second-largest section ( ) is much farther north, in the Northwest Angle of Lake of the Woods County near the Canada–United States border. It has no permanent residents. Between these two largest sections are hundreds of mostly small, non-contiguous reservation exclaves in the counties of Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Koochiching, Roseau, Pennington, Marshall, Red Lake, and Polk.
Home to the federally recognized Red Lake Band of Chippewa, it is unique as the only "closed reservation" in Minnesota. In a closed reservation, all land is held in common by the tribe and there is no private property.[1] The tribe claims the land by right of conquest and aboriginal title; they were not reassigned to it by the United States government.[1] The Red Lake Band of Chippewa refused to join with six other bands in organizing as the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in the mid-1930s; at the time, its people wanted to preserve their traditional system of hereditary chiefs, rather than forming an electoral government.
As of 2011, the Ojibwe language is the official language of Red Lake.[2]
In the 2000 census, Red Lake was the most populous reservation in the state, with 5,162 residents. The only place in Minnesota with a higher Native American population at that time was the state's largest city, Minneapolis, 250 miles to the south; it recorded 8,378 Indian residents that year. By 2007, the White Earth and Leech Lake reservations (both led by parts of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe) had higher resident populations of enrolled Ojibwe.
The reservation's largest community is Red Lake, on the south shore of Red Lake. Given the large lake in the heart of the reservation, its total land area of 880.324 square miles (2,280.03 km2) covers about 70% of the reservation's surface area.
History [ edit ]
In the 17th century, the Algonquian-speaking Ojibwe migrated into present-day Minnesota from the north around the Great Lakes. Their warriors went ahead of colonizers and were told to clear the way for the Anishinaabe families. Before invading the Mille Lacs region, Ojibwe warriors had forced their way into the region just west of what is now Duluth, Minnesota on Lake Superior. They established a village known as Wi-yah-kwa-kit-chi-ga-ming. It was later called Fond du Lac (Bottom of the Lake) by French fur traders, the first Europeans to interact with the Ojibwe in this area. From there, Anishinaabe warriors invaded the Sandy Lake and Red Lake regions. Their conquest of the Red Lake region may have occurred between 1650 and 1750. By that time, Anishinaabe people were already living in the Grand Portage, Rainy Lake, and Pembina region of present-day northern Minnesota.[3]
After subjugating the Dakota who lived in the Red Lake region, and forcing many from the area, the Noka (the Military and Police totem of the Anishinaabe) settled in. They eventually allowed other Anishinaabe totems to enter the Red Lake region to live. Most Anishinaabe immigrants to this area were from the Noka totem (or clan). They established many villages in the Red Lake region. Later, they and their Dakota allies invaded the plains of present-day North Dakota, western South Dakota, and Montana. The Western Dakota, who refused to surrender, continued to fight the Anishinaabe-Dakota alliance. With each battle and defeat, more Dakota asked for peace from the Anishinaabe. The Western Dakota who continued the conflict developed a great hatred for those Eastern Dakota who were allies of the Anishinaabe.[3]
William Whipple Warren, the first historian of the Ojibwe people, noted their longstanding associations with the French Canadians by the mid-18th century, due both to fur trading and intermarriage among their peoples. As a result, the Ojibwe fought with the French during the Seven Years' War against the English; it was known in North America as the French and Indian War. Although the English won the war and took over "French" territory in Canada and east of the Mississippi River, the Ojibwe retained many trading and family associations with ethnic French Canadians.
19th century [ edit ]
In the 1850s two Roman Catholic priests established a mission with the Red Lake band. Later, Catholic nuns from the Benedictine monastery (convent) in St. Joseph founded St. Mary's Mission at Red Lake. They organized a boarding school at the mission to serve Ojibwe girls, teaching them Christianity and English. Over time, most residents on the reservation adopted Roman Catholicism, although many also retained Ojibwe rituals and traditions, including funeral and mourning practices.[4]
Allied with the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, in 1863 the Red Lake Band negotiated the Treaty of Old Crossing in Minnesota with the United States. They agreed to cede their lands in the Red River and Pembina area. They made additional agreements for land cessions in the following decades, under pressure of increased numbers of European-American settlers in the area.
The United States and Canada surveyed the international border between them to correct previous errors. By the corrected boundaries, the Northwest Angle was included within the United States, together with its historic residents, the Lac du Bois Band of Ojibwa. As they lacked federal recognition from the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, the US consolidated the small Lac du Bois Band administratively with the Red Lake Band.
While the tribe ceded large tracts of land to the US, it maintained a central portion. It resisted US attempts to gain its approval for allotment of communal land to individual households under the Dawes Act of 1887. This involved dividing communal tribal land into individual household plots for farming and private ownership. The US would declare any land remaining on the reservation after allocating 160 acres to each head of household as "surplus" and available for sale to non-Indians.
During this period, some of the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians, refusing relocation to the Turtle Mountain or the White Earth reservations, escaped to the Red Lake Indian Reservation because it was "untouched Indian land." It had never left tribal control.[1]
On July 8, 1889, the United States told the Minnesota Chippewa that the Red Lake and White Earth reservations would be retained, but the others would be put up for public sale. They said that Chippewa from the other reservations would be relocated to White Earth Reservation. The United States told the leaders of the Chippewa reservations that the members of each reservation could vote on whether to accept allotment at that reservation, with voting to be by all qualified Chippewa men. The Chippewa leaders were outraged.
Red Lake leaders warned the United States about reprisals if their Reservation were violated. The members of the White Earth and Mille Lacs reservations both voted overwhelmingly to accept land allotments and allow the surplus land sold to the whites, with the tribes to receive the lump sums of money from the sales. The Leech Lake Reservation members also voted for land allotments. The October 5, 1898 Battle of Sugar Point was over land.
In 1889, the Red Lake Reservation covered 3,260,000 acres or 5,093 sq. mi. The Band was forced to cede 2,905,000 acres as "surplus" after allotment to households registered on the Dawes Rolls took place. That left the Reservation with more than 300,000 acres of land and most of Lower and Upper Red Lake. Learning of Chippewa unrest because of the vote, the United States later set aside large areas of forests to add back to the Red Lake Reservation. But, in 1904 US officials returned, and forced the Red Lake Chippewa to cede more land from that set aside in 1889.[citation needed] The present Red Lake Reservation dates to the 1904 land act. There was no allotment of land at that time to individual Chippewa living on the Red Lake Reservation.
Only a small portion of the White Earth Reservation remained. This was the northeast part of the full reservation; it was a fraction of the original territory. All other Minnesota, Chippewa reservations were closed, with the lands sold off after the 1889 Nelson Act. As a result of the 1898 Rebellion, which occurred on the Leech Lake Reservation, the US changed its policy. It returned some land to Minnesota's remaining Chippewa reservations, including White Earth.
20th century to present [ edit ]
The current Red Lake reservation is entirely owned and occupied by members of the Red Lake Band, making it unique among reservations in Minnesota. (As a result of allotment and sales in the intervening years, some tribes own less than 10% of the land within their reservation boundaries). Red Lake is among the most isolated reservations in the United States. In 1934, after the Indian Reorganization Act that year encouraged tribes to restore their governments, the tribe rejected joining six other Chippewa bands to organize the federally recognized Minnesota Chippewa Tribe under a written constitution. Its leaders did not want to give up the tradition of hereditary chiefs for an elected government or give up any control of its land to the Tribe. By 2007, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe reported a total enrollment of more than 40,000 members.
In the 1950s, new tribal leaders of Red Lake wrote a constitution to establish democratically elected government of chairman and council, without term limits. The tribe elected its first chairman and tribal council in 1959. Roger Jourdain was repeatedly re-elected and retained power until 1990. Under his leadership, the tribe developed infrastructure on the reservation, including running water, roads, and housing.
The tribe has established a library and archives, and appointed a tribal archaeologist to study and preserve the archaeological artifacts of its people. Tribal schools on the reservation were established so that the children could be educated in their own community through high school.
Red Lake, like the White Earth, and Leech Lake reservations, is known for its tradition of singing hymns in the Ojibwe language.[5]
In part because of the reservation's isolation, it has struggled economically. Many people are unemployed. High unemployment has contributed to high rates of poverty, alcoholism, violence and suicide. As a result, since the 1990s, the school board has added classes to the high school curriculum to include drug and alcohol abuse prevention, anti-gang training, anti-bullying training, and instruction about fetal alcohol syndrome. As a result of gang killings in the 1990s, the school added security measures to the high school, including guards.[6]
The Red Lake Band of the Chippewa are the only entity beside state governments and Pacific dependencies currently eligible for SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grants[7]
Since the mid-20th century, the tribe has asserted a significant level of sovereignty. Due to its status as a "closed reservation", the tribe can assert a considerable amount of control over non-residents, including controlling their movements within the reservation or expelling them altogether. As an example, the tribe has barred journalists from entry on several occasions. The prosecution of crimes is often complex due to issues of jurisdiction, which often have to be clarified on a case by case basis. The reservation tribal police have jurisdiction over misdemeanors, but the US government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police, legally has jurisdiction over felonies. The state of Minnesota has no criminal jurisdiction over the reservation.
Political tensions have sometimes erupted into violence. In 1979, during a struggle over leadership, men with rifles attacked the tribal police station, and two teenagers were killed. One shot himself accidentally and the other was accidentally shot while struggling with a companion over control of a weapon. Men burned several buildings, including the home of the tribal chairman.[6][8] The tribe and reservation was the first in the United States to issue its own vehicle license plates as a measure of its sovereign status. It is struggling to find ways to develop its economy. It is collaborating in the 21st century with the White Earth and Leech Lake bands to reach out to the business and academic communities to promote job development. (See "Economy" below.)
The Red Lake shootings occurred on March 21, 2005 in two locations on the reservation.
Communities [ edit ]
The communities of Red Lake Reservation tend to have housing units located on each side of one road, similar to other rural settlements.
Redby has housing units on more cross streets and appears more like a typical town. Yet many of Redby's housing units are located deep in the woods.
Demographics [ edit ]
Per capita income is lower at Red Lake than on any other reservation in the state. It was estimated at US$8,372 in 1999, according to the Northwest Area Foundation.[citation needed] Approximately 40% of residents live below the poverty line. Between 1990 and 2000, the population increased by 40% as people returned to the reservation after difficulty finding employment elsewhere during recession years.
An unemployment rate hovering near 60%[9] and associated poverty are thought to contribute to a high level of crime. In 2004, the tribal police filed 3,500 court cases. The majority of the population is young, with approximately 60% of the residents under the age of 18.
The unemployment and poverty have resulted in associated problems of high rates of violence, including suicide. A 2004 Minnesota School Study found that 43% of boys and 81% of girls in the freshman class of the high school had considered suicide, and 48% of the girls had tried it.[6] The school has a low graduation rate.[9]
Economy [ edit ]
Some in the community have expressed hope that renewal of the tribe's traditions and its traditional values may improve life on the reservation. But, others believe that the community needs to focus on education and job development, to employ people and pay them adequately. The majority of jobs on the reservation pay in the vicinity of $7 per hour as of 2005.
The tribe operates three casino operations, which are struggling to generate revenue as they do not allow the sale or consumption of alcohol. A small operation is located in the village of Red Lake, the 13,000-ft² River Road Casino is located seven miles south of Thief River Falls, and the Lake of the Woods Bingo and Casino is in Warroad. Seven Clans Casino Red Lake is located in Red Lake, Minnesota. The three casinos combined are known as Seven Clans Casinos.
Industry on the reservation has consisted primarily of logging and commercial fishing of walleye in the lakes. Walleye production dropped significantly in the 1990s, adding to the reservation's financial problems. The community receives $50 to $60 million each year in US federal subsidies, such as Social Security and welfare. Because the reservation has few retail businesses and no bank, little money is exchanged within the reservation to help generate more jobs.
The poverty level of the tribe, coupled with financial difficulties in state government, led Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2004–2005 to propose a joint casino operation to be co-owned by the White Earth, Leech Lake, and Red Lake bands, and the state government. The state was willing to designate a site in the populous Twin Cities area, where some of the most successful Indian gaming facilities in the country are located. Many state residents turned against the plan, and it was ruled to be illegal by the state Attorney General Mike Hatch. The Red Lake Band pulled out of negotiations.
Northern Minnesota tribes are working together to stimulate economic development in the region. The Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth nations created the Northern Minnesota Tribal Economic Development Commission. They are seeking to make more connections with area businesses and resources. In 2008 the three tribes organized the Northern Minnesota Reservation Economic Development Summit and Trade Show.[10] The White Earth Band is the largest of the six who belong to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, to which the Leech Lake Band also belongs.
Government [ edit ]
In 1934, Red Lake rejected organization under the Indian Reorganization Act, as it preferred to retain a clan-based system of governance. The Band did not join the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, a federally recognized conglomeration of Minnesota's other Chippewa nations, which has its own governing authority.
During the 1950s, governmental reform efforts in Red Lake resulted in the drafting of a tribal constitution. The constitution established an elected Tribal Council; a group of seven traditionally selected tribal leaders was established to serve on an advisory basis. Together with the elected council members, these traditional leaders form the Tribal Council's subordinate committees.[10]
In 1959, Roger Jourdain was elected as Red Lake's first chairman; he was successively re-elected until 1990.[1] Jourdain is credited with working to affirm the tribe's sovereignty through negotiations with the state and federal governments, which resulted in Red Lake's continued exemption from Public Law 280.
Jourdain's administration also oversaw the reopening of an Indian Health Service hospital and extensive infrastructure improvements, which focused on running water, housing development, and roads.[11] Jourdain's administration also attracted controversy; in 1979, a two-day riot occurred on the reservation following the Tribal Council's dismissal of its secretary-treasurer. During the riots, armed protestors attacked the tribal police station and burned fourteen buildings, including Jourdain's home.[11] Two teenagers were killed; one during a struggle over a weapon and the other due to an accidental, self-inflicted wound.[8]
In 1990, Gerald "Butch" Brun unseated Jourdain. Darrell G. Seki, Sr. is the current tribal chairman.
Education [ edit ]
School systems include:
Topography [ edit ]
Red Lake Reservation has some widely scattered properties in northwest Minnesota. Most of the Reservation is located around Lower and Upper Red Lake, which is one of the largest lakes in the United States. The land area of the Reservation is located mainly around Lower Red Lake and west of that and Upper Red Lake. The land is covered by prime forest.
Elevation across the Red Lake Reservation is uniform. It ranges in elevation from 1,100 feet above sea level to 1,300 feet above sea level. Besides Lower and Upper Red Lakes, many smaller lakes are scattered across the reservation, especially south of Lower Red Lake.
Climate [ edit ]
Red Lake Reservation has extreme climate conditions. Winters are long and cold, while summers are short and warm. During the winter months of December, January, and February, the average low temperatures at Red Lake are 0, -8, and -3. Average high temperatures for the same winter months at Red Lake are 19, 13, and 20. Average high temperatures for the summer months of June, July, and August at Red Lake are 73, 78, and 76. Average low temperatures for the same summer months at Red Lake are 51, 57, and 54.
The lake and forest contribute to significant precipitation at Red Lake, 23 inches annually. The large lake has a warming effect, especially in low temperatures. The mild summer low temperatures are a result of the warming effect of Lower and Upper Red Lake. Low temperatures during the summer further south, are cooler, especially at communities that are not located next to lakes.
Notable natives and residents [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Coordinates: |
As the dust fades after Parliament’s heated debate over the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill many are examining what, exactly, the anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare contributed to India’s political landscape.
Within his own camp, there is introspection and a lot of open-ended questions:
“Where do we go from here? We are conscious that a wrong decision at this stage could prove disastrous for the movement,” Arvind Kejriwal wrote in the Times of India Friday. Mr. Kejriwal paints a picture of a deeply disillusioned Mr. Hazare, to whom promises were made by the Congress government which have not been met.
He also signals that Mr. Hazare himself, whose dogmatic anti-corruption stance made him a national hero, is unclear about a next step, even asking supporters to e-mail in suggestions.
“What should we do now? Should we campaign against Congress or UPA?,” he asks.
“The movement was successful because thousands participated. The people should now suggest the way ahead. Send your suggestions to [email protected].”
The highly unusual strategy comes after Mr. Hazare, who in August rallied tens of thousands, didn’t draw similar crowds in Mumbai last month, and has decided not to campaign in upcoming elections because his is ill.
Mr. Hazare’s recent defeats have sparked some highly criticalexaminations of the movement, in one case naming it a “farce” from the beginning. Others are analyzing his team’s missteps along the way.
There are few leaders who have solicited the public for advice on what to do next — while New York City mayor Ed Koch was famous for asking “How’m I doing?” voters rarely got the sense that he had no idea what he was doing. In a recent example, New York senator Greg Ball asked his Twitter followers how they thought he should vote on the gay marriage bill, received many responses in favor, and voted that way.
Advice is already pouring in for Mr. Hazare, some of it also unusual. A writer on Firstpost this afternoon suggests he think more like a vacuum cleaner salesman:
“Imagine, 25 years ago, you were a salesman of vacuum cleaners, a product neither wanted nor needed. Think of the Lokpal bill as a product facing similar challenges, and remember that the sale is going to be long and hard.”
Perhaps the best thing for the Hazare camp would be to think long and hard about what to do next amongst themselves, and devise their own plan. There are few examples of a movement succeeding that was based on an outsider’s advice. |
An Irish teenager is being sought by Lancashire police after a supermarket fishmonger was "assaulted with a large bream".
No, we're not codding (sorry).
Police said the incident took place in Accrington on Tuesday, February 4.
The 52-year-old supermarket worker was battered (sorry, again) when the young woman approached the fish counter to ask about different fish.
It is believed she was the sole fishmonger on duty (I'll stop in a minute, I swear).
"Without warning the woman picked up a large bream from the fish stall and slapped the worker across the face before running out of the store," police said.
"The victim believes the incident was being filmed on a mobile phone by a man stood nearby who also ran from the scene."
The alleged assault weapon (file photo)
Police said the crime was on the serious end of the scale (honestly, I do apologise) but could not confirm reports that the victim was "absolutely gutted" (last one, I promise).
The woman is described as being Irish and aged between 15 and 18 with blonde, shoulder-length untidy hair. She was wearing dark jeans and a blue coat with white cuffs, white down the front and a red collar with ‘I love PB’ on the left breast pocket.
The man is described as being around the same age, 5ft8 tall, wearing a dark coat and dark grey trousers and boots.
Police are now looking for the gillty parties (sorry).
“This behaviour is completely unacceptable and I would appeal to anybody that witnessed this incident or recognises either the man or the woman pictured in the CCTV images to come forward," PC Graham Hartley said.
(H/T: The Independent) |
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