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THE TRIUMPH of Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam in Virginia's gubernatorial election Tuesday was a victory of decency, civility and moderation over fear, dread and barely veiled racist coding. The outcome reinforced what has become Virginia's quintessential, if imperiled, idea — that of a determinedly centrist Southern state that has repeatedly rejected efforts to coax its electorate to the toxic margins of American politics.
Mr. Northam — understated, personally gracious and so lacking in partisan fire in the belly that Republicans once took a shot at recruiting him to their ranks in the state Senate — led in the polls from the outset. Yet his win still contained a measure of surprise. It was a repudiation not only of Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate, but also more fundamentally of the racially divisive Trump campaign playbook, which Mr. Gillespie, ditching his reputation as a traditional and fair-minded conservative, embraced whole-heartedly.
[Democrat Ralph Northam defeats Ed Gillespie in race for Virginia governor]
Virginians have now rejected President Trump's tawdry, tasteless, taunting brand of politics in consecutive years — in 2016, when Hillary Clinton won the state by a greater margin than President Barack Obama managed in 2012, and again on Tuesday, when Democrats swept all three statewide offices and gained perhaps a dozen or so seats in what had been a GOP-dominated legislature. The rest of the South may be Trump country — though even that is uncertain given the president's anemic poll ratings — but Virginia most assuredly is not.
Virginia voters suffered through a barrage of Gillespie campaign attack ads vilifying illegal immigrants by equating them with violent gangsters; celebrating the candidate's support for Confederate monuments immediately after they were the rallying cause of racist and neo-Nazi marchers in Charlottesville; and attacking Mr. Northam, a pediatrician, for his ostensible support for restoring voting and other civil rights to child sex abusers. Eschewing the pocketbook issues Mr. Gillespie himself said mattered most to Virginians, his ads aimed to inflame and frighten.
Like every Virginia governor, Mr. Northam is barred from running consecutively for a second term; he will have just four years to make his mark in Richmond. Like the incumbent, Terry McAuliffe, and his predecessor once removed, now-Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, Mr. Northam will take office as a Democrat facing stiff resistance from Republicans in the General Assembly. GOP leaders there have been loath to work cooperatively with recent Democratic governors, for fear of granting them a platform of achievements on which to run for higher office, as then-Gov. (and now Sen.) Mark Warner did after striking a bipartisan deal with lawmakers to raise taxes in 2004.
Still, Republicans will have in Mr. Northam a Democratic governor who is popular in the legislature and with whom they've worked in the past. Despite some flirtation with a $15 minimum wage and a few other populist stances during the spring Democratic primary, when he faced and vanquished a leftist challenger, his campaign generally avoided appeals to the Bernie Sanders-inspired extreme of his party's base. He offered substantive proposals to make progress in health care, the economy and the environment. That, along with his generally civil tone, provides a basis to hope that Mr. Northam can forge a record of accomplishment for all Virginians.
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This drill (see Figure 1) is the primary sample acquisition element of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) that collects powdered samples from various types of rock (from clays to massive basalts) at depths up to 50 mm below the surface. A rotary-percussive sample acquisition device was developed with an emphasis on toughness and robustness to handle the harsh environment on Mars. It is the first rover-based sample acquisition device to be flight-qualified (see Figure 2). This drill features an autonomous tool change-out on a mobile robot, and novel voice-coilbased percussion.
Figure 1. The Drill Bit Assembly (left) and Sample Paths and Interfaces (right) for the DBA. The drill comprises seven subelements. Starting at the end of the drill, there is a bit assembly that cuts the rock and collects the sample. Supporting the bit is a subassembly comprising a chuck mechanism to engage and release the new and worn bits, respectively, and a spindle mechanism to rotate the bit. Just aft of that is a percussion mechanism, which generates hammer blows to break the rock and create the dynamic environment used to flow the powdered sample. These components are mounted to a translation mechanism, which provides linear motion and senses weight-on-bit with a force sensor. There is a passive-contact sensor/stabilizer mechanism that secures the drill’s position on the rock surface, and flex harness management hardware to provide the power and signals to the translating components. The drill housing serves as the primary structure of the turret, to which the additional tools and instruments are attached.
The drill bit assembly (DBA) is a passive device that is rotated and hammered in order to cut rock (i.e. science targets) and collect the cuttings (powder) in a sample chamber until ready for transfer to the CHIMRA (Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis). The DBA consists of a 5/8-in. (≈1.6-cm) commercial hammer drill bit whose shank has been turned down and machined with deep flutes designed for aggressive cutting removal. Surrounding the shank of the bit is a thick-walled maraging steel collection tube allowing the powdered sample to be augured up the hole into the sample chamber. For robustness, the wall thickness of the DBA was maximized while still ensuring effective sample collection. There are four recesses in the bit tube that are used to retain the fresh bits in their bit box.
The rotating bit is supported by a back-to-back duplex bearing pair within a housing that is connected to the outer DBA housing by two titanium di - aphragms. The only bearings on the drill in the sample flow are protected by a spring-energized seal, and an integrated shield that diverts the ingested powdered sample from the moving interface. The DBA diaphragms provide radial constraint of the rotating bit and form the sample chambers. Between the diaphragms there is a sample exit tube from which the sample is transferred to the CHIMRA. To ensure that the entire collected sample is retained, no matter the orientation of the drill with respect to gravity during sampling, the pass-through from the forward to the aft chamber resides opposite to the exit tube.
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So many sporting sporting icons of this generation – from Tim Duncan to Alex Rodriguez – have stepped away from competition without ever receiving their due for all they achieved. While the Jeters and Kobes almost get over-appreciated on the way out, other legends are taken for granted and only truly appreciated long after they’re gone. Let’s not make this mistake with Jeff Fisher.
Yes, Jeff Fisher is a sports legend. For years now his career has very much been the stuff of legend, for what bad head coach hasn’t been delighted and inspired by the tale of the mustachioed fist-pumper who remains employed year after year at the highest level despite never achieving anything? But now Fisher is closing in on some milestones that will forever secure his place in the history of the sport and end all debate about who deserves the title of the greatest bad football coach of all-time.
Thanks to Sunday’s 14-10 loss at home to the Miami Dolphins, Fisher is now tied with Tom Landry for the second-most losses by a head coach in NFL history. He did it in style, too, turning his hat backwards as his team blew a 10-0 lead with less than five minutes remaining thanks to their coach’s ultra-conservative style. On the debut performance by quarterback Jared Goff, in which the No1 overall pick threw for 134 yards and no scores on 31 pass attempts, Fisher said: “He did a really good job. No delay of games.” It’s comments like that one that give insight on how Fisher manages to convince ownership to keep him on year after year: “We went 7-9 again, but we did a really good job. We had the most punt yardage.”
The Browns are an abomination but they're far from the worst team in NFL history Read more
In addition to complimenting the No1 overall pick’s ability to take the snap before a 25-second clock ticked down after four months of watching and learning from the bench, Fisher called Sunday’s game “one of the most disappointing losses” of his career. That’s quite a comment to make, as there have been 162 of them since Fisher took over the Houston Oilers at age 36 in 1994 – with 60 of those coming in just the past six-and-a-half seasons alone. Perhaps all the losses have run together and he can’t differentiate one from the next, this week’s from last week’s, losing 14-10 to the Dolphins in 2016 or 23-16 to the St Louis Rams in 2000. But it’s that level of consistent losing that makes it disrespectful to Fisher and all the failure he has achieved to even mention him in the same sentence as Tom Landry.
The Hall of Famer and late Cowboys coach lost his 162 games over 29 years while also winning 20 playoff games, five NFC championships and two Super Bowl titles. None of that can hold a candle to Fisher losing 162 games in less than 22 seasons while notching just five playoff wins – and none since 2003 – and a single conference title that was won last century. And when Fisher ties Dan Reeves later this year for the most coaching losses all-time with 165, he’ll have done it faster than Reeves, too, while also winning far fewer games in the postseason. Reeves having more career losses than Fisher doesn’t mean Reeves is better at losing, just as Matt Ryan having more passing yards than Tom Brady this year doesn’t make him a better quarterback. But when Fisher holds the record alone, there will be no question of his eternal place in the game.
Of course, Fisher is more than just large numbers in the loss column. It’s the fact that he’s maintained employment that truly amazes. Landry’s 162 defeats came because when you win for so long, you also accumulate some losses along the way. Even Bill Belichick is 15th all-time in head coach losses with 115, and only 44 of those came with the Browns. Don Shula is fourth in losses all-time. Reeves never had quite the success as that trio, but he coached teams to a Super Bowl in both the AFC and NFC and even went 9-6-1 in the season before he was fired by the Falcons 13 years ago. Fisher hasn’t had a season that good since 2008. Yet he’s still employed, year after unremarkable year, failing in four different cities with two different franchises and three different team names. Each year we think his time is up, but he comes back as mediocre as ever and armed with a new contract and worse haircut.
Criticize his coaching all you want – I’ll wait, it will take some time – but the man has a unique talent to keep a job unlike any other coach in football history. That’s undeniable. In college football, coaches are canned after two losing seasons, let alone two decades of losing seasons. In the NFL, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is supposedly on the hot seat at all times because he can’t get his team over the hump with a playoff win. Fisher’s team doesn’t even get near the hump. In fact, if they saw the hump, Fisher would decide it was too big and have his quarterback check down three times before punting out of bounds away from the hump. Yet Lewis won 52 games from 2011 to 2015. Fisher won 33 over his last five seasons. (Perhaps he made the case to Rams ownership that he was undefeated in the playoffs over that span?) Those are not comparable resumes. Lewis does not deserve to sit on the same hot seat as Fisher.
While some pin Fisher’s continued employment on bumbling Rams owner Stan Kroenke not knowing any better, Fisher isn’t simply the benefactor of good luck. He’s playing failure chess, setting up future undeserved paychecks far in advance. Taking Goff No1 overall and then letting him sit for half the season was a master stroke in job preservation. At the end of the season, Fisher can make the case that he needs more time to develop a new QB. He can say that when Goff gets up to speed – be that in 2017 or much later – the Rams will win. He can make the claim that changing coaches on Goff would be bad for the young QB’s development. He can make the case that he needs another contract extension so the team and its young quarterback knows there is stability. And he can say all that because he will have only let Goff play a few games. Had he started him Week 1 and it was a disaster, Fisher could have been blamed for making a bad pick. Now there won’t be enough of a sample size to truly evaluate the supposed franchise QB. It’s a no-lose situation for Jeff Fisher. Unlike most every football game he has ever coached.
Yes, Fisher will likely be back in LA next season. And the season after that and long after we are all dead, putting up 7-9 seasons for the Mexico City Ubers of the National Robot Football League. I know that all sounds far-fetched. But remember that Jeff Fisher is still allowed to be a head coach in the NFL. Nothing is more absurd than that.
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An incident in Dublin city centre where Garda negotiators were drafted in to deal with a man standing at the top of a hostel has ended.
The man, who is believed to have been his twenties, was standing on the roof of Isaac’s Hostel on Frenchman’s Lane off Store Street near the entrance to Busáras.
The incident ended shortly after 4pm when the man came down from the roof.
The area around the hostel had been sealed off and several units of the Dublin Fire Brigade were also in attendance.
The man was standing near the top of the building with a blanket wrapped around him.
Earlier a woman was stabbed in an attack in Dublin city centre. Her injuries are not thought to be life threatening. Gardaí could not confirm a link between the two incidents.
Isaac’s Hostel is very close to the train tracks and train services between Connolly station and Grand Canal Dock were suspended for a time this afternoon. They have since resumed with delays of up to 30 minutes.
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Advertisement Potential price tag for Boston's 2024 Olympic bid? Under $5 Billion US cities urged to keep price tags down for 2024 Olympics Share Shares Copy Link Copy
The magic number for the U.S. cities hoping to host the 2024 Olympics is $5 billion.Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington have all submitted spending plans under that mark for their bids to host the Olympics. Keeping the price tag down is a key goal of any future Olympic bid.The U.S. Olympic Committee is less than two months away from deciding which city, if any, it will back as a candidate for the 2024 Games. The International Olympic Committee has put an emphasis on staying away from skyrocketing spending. It's an especially touchy subject in the United States, where, unlike most countries, the federal government does not help bankroll the Olympics.None of the cities are offering specifics about their budgets, though all are coming in between $4 billion and $5 billion. Those numbers almost always grow after the Olympics are awarded. The preliminary budgets also don't include infrastructure improvements - airport expansions, highways, railways and the like - that often make the overall budget skyrocket."We've strongly encouraged each of the cities to make sure that whatever new infrastructure is needed in connection with the Games is part of the long-term plan for the city even if they don't host the Olympics," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun told The Associated Press.Russia's total bill has been widely reported as $51 billion for the Sochi Games and China spent around $40 billion for the 2008 Olympics. Those numbers are part of the reason cities have grown more reluctant to get involved. The 2022 Winter Olympics has just two candidates, China and Kazakhstan.Here's what to know about the United States' chances in the bid process:THE DEADLINES:The four cities will turn in the final pieces of their technical plans to the USOC in the next week. Some key dates to watch after that include the Dec. 16 USOC board meeting, where cities will give their official presentations to the board, then mid-January, which is the deadline the USOC has set for making a decision. The Games will be awarded in September 2017.WHY A U.S. CITY MIGHT WIN:So many factors point toward the United States hosting the 2024 Games. But the strongest may be that it's been 18 years and counting since the Summer Olympics have been on American soil. (The last U.S. Winter Games were 12 years ago.)The USOC has worked hard to improve its standing among its international colleagues, and settling a financial dispute over how much money the USOC receives from TV and marketing rights was a big step toward that. The USOC doesn't like to play this card, but holding an Olympics in the most-successful Olympic country - the U.S. has won the most medals at the last five Summer Games - can't hurt. Exhibit A: NBC pays $7.75 billion through 2032 to televise the Games in America - a deal that dwarfs all the other international networks pay to televise in their respective countries.WHY COULD A U.S. CITY LOSE:IOC members love the money the U.S. brings to the movement, but some of them resent it, too. Publicly, many say they're happy the USOC leaders have become more a part of the family instead of lording power over them. "I think this is the best time for the States to come back with a nice bid," IOC member Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait said recently. But the vote is secretive. Chicago (2016) and New York (2012) were both considered favorites at one point. Both lost badly, and "American arrogance" was brought up time and again. The USOC leadership has tried to tone that down by participating in more international meetings, and creating better relationships - both over a cocktail in the hotel lobby and during the tense negotiations in the meeting rooms. The ballot could be the answer to how successful they were.CITIES IN THE MIXBoston offers a great sports town with a compact Olympics. But it's small, and not great at big projects. (Remember the Big Dig?) Los Angeles has done it before and is full of Hollywood glamour, but also known for its sprawl. San Francisco offers great scenery, but it's pricey. Washington could offer expertise in security and lots of arenas and stadiums, but compares dimly to other world capitals that may compete, such as Paris and Rome.GAME CHANGERS:An African country has never hosted the Games. If one put together a solid bid it changes the calculus dramatically, much the way Rio's serious bid for 2016 helped doom Chicago. That's not planned now, but it's something to watch.
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The Egyptians line their beaches with fine two-metre high nets that can stretch for miles across the Nile delta and will catch any bird coming close; the Maltese will cover whole trees in nylon; the Cypriots smear branches in glue to stop birds flying; the Italians will kill nearly anything that flies and the French like to set metal traps for small birds.
But the sheer scale of the cruelty of the illegal wild bird killings around the Mediterranean which was revealed last week has shocked conservationists and bird lovers across Europe.
According to the first study of its kind, which has attempted to put a realistic number on how many birds are killed illegally each year, possibly 25 million chaffinches, thrushes, robins, quails and many other species are being shot, trapped or poisoned as they migrate to and from mainland Europe.
But what has shocked most is that strong laws have been shown not to be working and are being openly flaunted by hunters. Nearly half the 25m killings occur in EU states where the birds directive applies, and many other Mediterranean countries also ban the hunting of songbirds.
British ornithologist and conservationist Bill Oddie this week blamed hunting groups and complicit bureaucrats for what he says is a massive failure of governments and the authorities to act.
“Around half the birds being killed are in countries where strong laws theoretically protect birds,” said Oddie. “The figures are shocking and it’s getting worse. Hunting groups in many countries are stopping the laws being enforced. Many people in the EU probably know or actually are shooters. People in power like killing things.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest A fan-tailed warbler trapped by glue in Cyprus. According to BirdLife, an estimated 900,000 birds were caught at Dhekelia, a British military base in the south-east of the Island. Photograph: RSPB/PA
According to Oddie, hunters are now going to extreme lengths to trap birds on a much greater scale than just 20 years ago. “In Egypt a 70km stretch of coast was found with continuous 6-7ft high mist nets to catch quails,” he said. “In some countries, like Cyprus, the bird killing is on an industrial scale. We did not know how dangerous it is for birds in Egypt. What is new is that we know now that it’s not just some countries. Even ‘unsafe countries” like Syria and Libya are killing them on a huge scale.”
Lobbying by hunting groups, reluctance by the EU to act and national justifications of tradition and culture have encouraged illegal bird hunting to flourish despite strong laws, says Ann-Laure Brochet, the author of the study.
“These are best estimates, a baseline figure. Figures cannot be entirely accurate because there is no monitoring or checks in some countries. In some places we don’t know what is going on, so we can only estimate the range of killings,” said Brochet who took evidence from hunting organisations, governments and conservation groups to arrive at the estimated number.
The research, which has been accepted for publication later this year in Bird Conservation International journal, suggests that Italy and Egypt are the the most dangerous countries for migratory birds, followed by Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. In Italy, where about 5.6m birds are killed each year, over 150 species are killed in significant numbers.
According to a report (pdf) which draws on the scientific study, the most dangerous place in the Mediterranean was found to be the Famagusta area of Cyprus where nearly 700,000 birds are killed every year. Many hundreds of thousands are are targeted on or close to the British Dhekelia military base where the Ministry of Defence has agreed to uproot illegally planted trees and shrubs which trappers use for cover and to lure birds.
The chaffinch tops the Mediterranean ‘kill list’ with an estimated 2.9m killed every year, closely followed by blackcap (1.8m), quail (1.6m) and song thrush (1.2m). Numbers of many of the species tgargeted, like the European turtle dove and the song thrush, are already in steep decline, while others like the pallid harrier and the Egyptian vulture, are on the European red list, meaning that any killings can seriously affect numbers.
“We know that there are far fewer birds in Europe than there were 20 years ago, so what is happening now is more serious,” said Brochet.
The paper exposes some of the methods that hunters use to kill birds. These include shooting and catching in nets, the use of birdsong recordings to lure species to traps, and putting glue on branches to prevent birds flying.
“This review shows the gruesome extent to which birds are being killed illegally in the Mediterranean. Populations of some species that were once abundant in Europe are declining, and disappearing altogether,” said BirdLife International chief executive, Patricia Zurita.
The report is published as the European commission seeks to “modernise” Europe’s birds and habitats directives which form the base of nature protection in all 28 member states. The official assessment to decide whether the laws, which were largely drawn up by British bureaucrats, are “fit for purpose” is widely seen by conservation groups as an attempt to weaken them in the face of pressure by governments, hunting groups and developers.
This has sparked outrage. In May, over 100 leading nature organisations wrote in a briefing to the European commission that as a result of this review, British species and landscapes could face the “biggest threat in a generation.” Over 500,000 people, including 100,000 in Britain, have now urged the commission “to maintain and enforce EU nature legislation.”
A recent assessment of European birds showed that nearly one-fifth are considered to be at risk of extinction across the European Union with habitat loss, climate change and increasingly intensive farming being key causes of threat.
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Conclusions and Comments
Although health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease is less common than some other health care–acquired infections, its impact on patients and affected health care facilities is considerable. For patients, health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease can result in high morbidity, mortality, and financial cost (1,12). For health care facilities, Legionnaires’ disease cases and outbreaks can involve substantial expense related to investigation, remediation, legal action, and reputational costs (13,14). Furthermore, compared with more common health care–acquired infections, general understanding of the necessary prevention and response measures for waterborne pathogens, such as Legionella, might be lacking.
In this analysis, definite health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease cases were reported by the majority of the 21 jurisdictions and occurred in 72 institutions. Although only 3% of reported Legionnaires’ disease cases from the 21 jurisdictions were definitely health care–associated, the CFR among these cases was high. Furthermore, the number of definite cases and facilities reported here is likely an underestimate of the actual case number, because some possible cases likely acquired their infection from a health care facility, and some infections were likely undiagnosed because of a lack of Legionella-specific testing. A larger number of definite cases were associated with long-term care facilities than with hospitals. One explanation for this might be that hospital stays are typically shorter (15) than the 10-day period used in this analysis to define a definite health care–associated case. Pending further research, other conclusions cannot accurately be drawn, and thus these findings should not be used to establish the level of risk among facility types.
In health care facilities, prevention of the first case of Legionnaires’ disease is the ultimate goal. This goal is likely best achieved by establishing and maintaining an effective water management program (8,10). In 2015, ASHRAE¶ issued guidance on water management programs (3). CDC and partners adapted this standard into a simpler format (https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/WMPtoolkit) that guides users such as health care facility leaders** or other decision makers through the steps needed for such a program. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a survey and certification memo stating that health care facilities should develop and adhere to ASHRAE–compliant water management programs to reduce the risk for Legionella and other pathogens in their water systems (16).
In general, the principles of effective water management include maintaining water temperatures outside the ideal range for Legionella growth, preventing water stagnation, ensuring adequate disinfection, and maintaining equipment to prevent scale, corrosion, and biofilm growth, which provide a habitat and nutrients for Legionella (3). Once established, water management programs require regular monitoring of key areas in the system for potentially hazardous conditions, and the use of prespecified responses to remediate such conditions if they are detected. The additional benefit of water management programs include the control of other water-related health care–associated infections such as those caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria. Programs need to be monitored for their efficacy in reducing risk across microbial species (17). Such ongoing monitoring is especially relevant because specific mitigation strategies, or partially implemented mitigation strategies, might control one pathogen at the expense of selecting for another (18).
Health care providers play a critical role in prevention and response by rapidly identifying and reporting cases. Legionnaires’ disease is clinically indistinguishable from other causes of pneumonia; a failure to diagnose a health care–associated case could result in a missed opportunity to prevent subsequent cases. Legionella should be considered as a cause of health care–associated pneumonia, especially for groups at increased risk, when other facility-related cases have been identified, or when changes in water parameters might lead to increased risk for Legionnaires’ disease. The preferred diagnostic procedure for Legionnaires’ disease is to concurrently obtain a lower respiratory sputum sample for culture on selective media and a Legionella urinary antigen test. Sputum should ideally be obtained before antibiotic administration and should not be rejected on the basis of specimen quality (e.g., lack of polymorphonuclear leukocytes or contamination with other bacteria), as sputa produced by patients with Legionnaires’ disease might not be purulent and contaminating bacteria will not negatively affect isolation of Legionella on selective media (19,20). The urinary antigen test only detects Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, the most common cause of Legionnaires’ disease (21). Particularly in health care settings, cases of Legionnaires’ disease caused by other species and serogroups can occur. An isolate from culture is needed for the identification of these species and serogroups, as well as for molecular comparison of clinical to environmental isolates as part of investigations.
In addition to being critical partners in national Legionnaires’ disease reporting, public health jurisdictions have an influential role in prevention and response activities. Some public health departments or agencies might serve as a resource to facilities during the development, implementation, and evaluation of a water management program. Public health officials also play an important role in response, including outbreak identification, environmental assessment to determine Legionella exposure sources, and development of recommendations to prevent ongoing transmission. Hence, prompt reporting of Legionnaires’ disease cases to public health can facilitate a timely and effective response.
The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, data from more jurisdictions and more years would improve the accuracy of U.S. health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease case estimates. Second, the completeness of the health care exposure information in this data set was not assessed. For example, whether a substantial number of health care exposures were not reported or inaccurately reported is unknown. Finally, CFRs reported here might be biased by lack of information on Legionnaires’ disease deaths that occurred after reporting to CDC (resulting in CFR underestimation) or deaths of Legionnaires’ disease patients from other causes (resulting in CFR overestimation).
This report demonstrates that Legionnaires’ disease continues to result from exposures to health care facility water systems. The high case fatality rate of health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease underscores the need for effective prevention and response programs. Implementation and maintenance of water management programs, combined with rapid case identification and investigation, could reduce the number of health care–associated Legionnaires’ disease cases.
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Most users who upgrade to Windows 10 will be doing so from Windows 7 or Windows 8. Both will be able to upgrade directly to the new operating system but if you’re curious or in genuine need for an installation disk for Windows 10, Microsoft has you covered. You can create a bootable disc or a bootable USB with the media creation tool that you used to upgrade to Windows 10. Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of the entire process.
Requirements
Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft (free) A USB with at least 4GB space. It will be wiped clean during the process so make sure nothing is on it or a DVD drive for burning the ISO file to Windows 7, 8, or 10 running with an active internet connection
Download the Media Creation tool and run it. The tool will ask you if you want to upgrade the current Windows version or if you want to create installation media. Select the ‘Create installation media for another PC’ option.
Next, choose which edition of Windows you want to create, what language you plan to use Windows in, and whether you want to create the installation media for 32bit, 64bit, or both 32 and 64bit versions.
In the next step, choose whether you want to create a bootable USB or get an ISO file to burn to a DVD. If you choose the USB option, you must have the USB on hand and it should be connected to your system.
We went with the USB option.
And now for the wait as the files download;
Once the files have downloaded, the tool will automatically start creating the bootable USB. When it completes, your USB is ready for installation. Alternatively, the ISO file will be saved to a location of your choice and you can then burn it to a DVD later.
That’s all folks!
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Detroit City plumber denounces bankruptcy
By Lawrence Porter and Thomas Gaist
9 May 2014
The WSWS interviewed Steve Paraski, a disabled master plumber with the city of Detroit, about his views of the bankruptcy of Detroit. This is the third in a series of interviews the WSWS has conducted with Detroit city retirees. The first and second interview can be seen here.
Steve Paraski
Steve made it clear from the very beginning that he opposed the bankruptcy: “The bankruptcy is a crime. I bought the pamphlet you have and gave it to someone and told them to pass it on. Where is the outrage?
“You need to look at it in the totality of this being planned years ago. [Emergency Manager Kevyn] Orr is looking to dump the liabilities and get someone to take over the water department. I think he is working in the interests of his friends at Jones Day.
“This debate about the Water Department has been going on for decades. They claim the Detroit Water Department is losing money, but they are planning for the city to get $47 million per year for the lease of the infrastructure. How can this be losing money?
“I think the whole thing was a setup. The funding was withheld by the state of Michigan and by the federal government to accelerate the situation in Detroit and push it to the precipice. They wanted to use the Chapter 9 to abrogate the pension obligations to municipalities and that’s exactly what they’re doing. I feel like I’m being robbed and cheated.”
Steve worked for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department for over 20 years. Like many city workers, his job often involved long hours of work to keep the city going.
“I worked everywhere from the water plants with the 120 inch mains pumping out, to a 5/8th inch lead service that was put in in 1830.
“I would punch in Monday morning and I wouldn't punch out till a week later,” stated Steve, explaining that he had to work on a water main break after a DTE Energy contractor bored a hole through a main. “300 feet of the road collapsed. I had to go out there on Friday afternoon about 5 o’clock.”
Steve stated that on another occasion he was hospitalized from chlorine gas poisoning.
“I was doing a repair on the chlorine injection pit, where the chlorine is injected into the raw water tunnel. The original piping was installed in the ’30s, when it was built. The pipe had rusted away. I had smelled chlorine before, but this time it was much worse. As soon as we lit the torch we had a huge flare. About an hour-and-a-half later, the other guy started showing the effects of it.
“We were taken to the hospital from 6 in the evening to 4 in morning. They spent about four to five hours just trying to figure out what to do with us. The last case of chlorine gas poisoning was World War I. When we inhaled the gas, it turned into a liquid in our lungs. It ended up burning our sinuses. I have damage in the right side of my sinus to this day. Three weeks after this incident we were hocking up yellow chunks of stuff from our lungs. My girlfriend was beating on my back to knock it out. Believe it or not, we got one day off for that.”
Steve began working for the DWSD in the 1980s and was injured several times due to the hazardous conditions he regularly encountered.
“I got injured on the job after a trench collapsed on me. I got hit with 3,500 pounds of dirt. When I came back to work they gave me a week off without pay for going into an ‘unsafe hole.’
“They told me it was my fault, but I didn’t have any control over it really. The hole has to be boarded and boxed and sloped. When we go to these repairs, we try to do them as expeditiously as possible. So, you make a judgment call. Is the hole safe enough? This one obviously wasn’t. After that, this guy, the assistant superintendent, started following me around.
“When the accident happened, the risk management people told me that they actually should have taken me off of work two injuries ago.”
Steve said there was a huge change in the working conditions because of the layoffs carried out by Coleman Young. “When I started working in the 1980s there were seven plumbers. When I left in 2000, there were only two of us left.”
Steve said he went from making $100,000 a year to only receiving $611 a week, a reduction of two-thirds of his previous pay.
“They tried to give me a job for minimum wage and release themselves from any liability on my injury. A lot of times I’ll get a headache that is worse than any kind of migraine you could ever think of. My doctor told me I have all the symptoms of brain cancer. But it’s from the stenosis, the fluids not moving around in my veins.
“I had an MRI two years ago that showed I have degenerative changes in vertebrae C5. I have a severe injury to my upper spinal cord. So far, I have lost an inch-and-a-half in height as a result of the accident.”
Steve said that in the last year, as the city was going through the Consent Agreement and later the bankruptcy, his benefits were reduced significantly. In June or July, around the time the emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, filed for bankruptcy, the city informed him that bankruptcy allowed the city to eliminate his workman’s compensation.
“They stopped paying me by disputing the medical records that my doctor had been submitting. For 6-7 years my doctor was submitting the same records every month. Then they disputed it and then it stopped. As a result, my medical bills are piling up. My doctor hasn’t been paid since 2011 because the city is saying that we haven’t submitted the right records. It isn’t just me that they’ve done this to. They’ve done it to everybody that’s on workers comp.
“Presently, I take morphine because of the pain. I wake up all night. My hands go numb and burn. Yesterday I cut the tip of my finger and I didn’t feel it because my hand was so numb.
“I can’t get a job because no one will hire me. I’m considered a PT retiree—‘permanently totaled.’
“As a plumber, our wages were 20-30 percent less than the union scale, but we did it because we had the pension and benefits, which was part of the job. This is the part of what you were guaranteed when you signed up. That’s what you were going to get. And now you’re taken away because you have a bunch of slick lawyers coming in? People made the sacrifice so that they could have the pensions.
“This town used to be beautiful,” continued Steve. “There used to be 100,000 auto workers living in Detroit alone. Then they started shutting down the factories. You had all the industries, all the skilled labor, all the shops and now it’s all gone.
“I’m worried about the breakdown of society. I’m worried about my kids. What the hell is going to happen to them? What is this world going to be like in five or ten years?
“It’s a crime what Orr and Snyder are doing, and these MFs are going to get away with it too. If I did something like this I’d be in federal prison and they’d throw away the key.
“AFSCME doesn’t give a shit either. In their monthly newsletter there’s a tiny little paragraph on what’s happening in Detroit, on what’s being done to their own members.
“No aid for Detroit, that’s what Obama said. But they just gave a billion or two to the Ukraine for some episode that they manufactured. They give them two billion dollars but they won’t give a thing to this city which was once the fourth largest city in the US.”
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Bitcoin has been having block size limit issues for quite some time. As a result, there have been debates as to whether Bitcoin should increase its block size in order to cater to more investors.
While Bitcoin has a few scaling options, it appears that a number of Bitcoin investors have been switching to altcoins, according to Roger Ver.
Investors have switched to altcoins
Ver’s tweet shows how other cryptocurrencies have gained momentum as a result of the block size issue.
The graph also shows the percentage of total market capitalization between 2013 and 2017. From 2013 to early 2017, Bitcoin’s market capitalization remained on top when compared to other cryptocurrencies. However, it saw a dip after January 2017.
While this happened, it can also be seen that the market capitalization of other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Ripple has been increasing. In fact, Ethereum is expected to reach the same percentage of market capitalization as Bitcoin later in the year.
Recurring problems
Before the Bitcoin block size issue is fixed, there remain many other crucial issues that users have been experiencing this year which, as a result, have affected investors. Aside from the block size issue, there have also been problems such as delayed confirmations and high transaction fees. While these problems have dragged on since last year, they only seem to have escalated in the middle of 2017.
Opportunities for other cryptocurrencies
Meanwhile, Ethereum has seen a rise in value this year and has been slowly sharing the spotlight with Bitcoin. With such issues still unresolved, it presents an opportunity for other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and many others to become noticed.
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A union lobbyist who qualified for a teacher pension windfall by subbing at a school for one day is now suing a state retirement board because his benefits were scaled back once his sweet deal was exposed.
Retired Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyist David Piccioli, 65, is arguing that lawmakers violated the state constitutional provision that says a pension cannot be "diminished or impaired" once it is set.
Piccioli is already collecting $31,485 from the Teachers Retirement System. If he wins his case, his teacher pension could increase by more than $36,000, the Tribune estimated — more than doubling what he gets now.
Piccioli also gets a second state pension worth just over $30,000 that covers time he served as a legislative aide. Both pensions are based on an average of his six-figure salaries as a union lobbyist.
With another federation lobbyist, Piccioli entered the pension system for teachers outside of Chicago through a small window opened by a 2007 law. One day of teaching in Springfield qualified them for pensions based on all the years they spent as employees of the union.
After the Tribune and WGN-TV reported on the pension maneuvers, legislators passed a bill aimed at scaling back the lobbyists' benefits. Piccioli is now arguing that 2012 law should be declared unconstitutional and voided.
Sen. Kwame Raoul, the Chicago Democrat who sponsored the latter bill, called Piccioli's attempt to secure more money from the teachers fund "kind of bold." Piccioli's attorney, Carl Draper, said the retired lobbyist "did what the law allowed and in good faith."
Would you substitute teach for one day if it meant you would receive a full teacher's pension? Would you substitute teach for one day if it meant you would receive a full teacher's pension? SEE MORE VIDEOS
The lawsuit takes on an added dimension because the "diminished or impaired" clause sits at the heart of a case argued before the Illinois Supreme Court last week. Public employee unions and retirees want to block a law, signed by former Gov. Pat Quinn, that scales back some retiree benefits to help reduce Illinois' more than $100 billion in pension debt.
Their advocates argued to the justices that the constitution's ban on pension reductions is absolute. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office disagreed, saying such a stance meant pension payments would take priority over spending to stop a health epidemic or responses to other catastrophes.
If Piccioli's lawsuit succeeds, the outcome may suggest to lawmakers that they cannot reduce pension benefits under any circumstances.
"It's bold and it's unfortunate given the image that that gives about people who are receiving public pensions," Raoul said. "That's not characteristic of the common, hardworking public-sector worker who makes a modest income and has a modest retirement benefit. It gives people the impression of otherwise."
Draper said he expects the far-reaching case before the Supreme Court to provide reasons for a circuit judge to side with Piccioli.
The pensions secured by Piccioli and fellow union lobbyist Steven Preckwinkle are just one example of how Illinois' public pension rules have been manipulated for political purposes and personal gain.
The teachers union, a longtime supporter of Democrats in Springfield, endorsed Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich in his 2006 re-election campaign, donating more than $515,000 in the two-year election cycle. Blagojevich signed the pension bill, which included various unrelated measures, in February 2007 after voters returned him to office.
The law allowed Piccioli and Preckwinkle to enter the Teachers Retirement System by spending one day teaching before the law was enacted, and it allowed them to count their work with the Illinois Federation of Teachers toward a pension.
Piccioli later bought retroactive pension credits so his prior service with the union would count toward his benefits. Preckwinkle did not buy such retroactive credits. But for both lobbyists, time spent in their union jobs after their one day of teaching would help boost their pensions.
The later law, which Quinn signed in January 2012, revoked the lobbyists' ability to put their earlier years with the union toward their pensions. At the time, legislators widely interpreted that move as equivalent to kicking them out of the system.
But Piccioli and Preckwinkle remained in their union jobs and in the pension system, continuing to rack up time until they retired — Piccioli in December 2012 and Preckwinkle in November 2013. Preckwinkle now receives $38,659 a year from the teacher pension fund, records show.
The new law also allowed Piccioli to obtain a refund for the retroactive time he had purchased. According to the Teachers Retirement System, he received the $192,668 he paid for that time plus $34,319 in interest. The fund also returned money he had contributed to a teacher retirement insurance plan, without interest, for a total of $234,456 in refunds.
Piccioli's second state pension comes from a fund for rank-and-file state workers that includes his time as a House Democratic staffer, according to Tim Blair, who oversees the State Employees Retirement System. For the second pension, Piccioli got to count nine years and 11 months worth of state experience, Blair said.
The last annual salary Piccioli received as a state employee was $46,000 in December 1997, according to Blair. But because of the way Illinois law is written, his state pension is based on the same salaries used when he entered the teacher pension system — the higher pay he drew as a union lobbyist.
In response to Tribune requests, the Teachers Retirement System showed that Piccioli's current $31,485 teacher pension is based on the nearly six years he worked for the union after subbing, as well as on two years of unused, unpaid sick leave accumulated in his union job.
Pensions in the teacher system are based on a formula that includes the number of years of service and an average of the four highest consecutive years of salaries in the last 10 years that a person works. For Piccioli, those four years ranged from about $151,000 to nearly $204,000, according to the system.
If Piccioli is permitted to add nearly 10 more years of union service to his benefits, his pension would increase by more than $36,000 a year, the Tribune estimated based on the system's formula. That would push his total public pension benefits above $97,000 a year.
David Urbanek, a Teachers Retirement System spokesman, declined to comment on Piccioli's lawsuit.
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Kentucky will host Harvard at Rupp Arena during the non-conference portion of its 2017-18 schedule, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
The Crimson return four of its top five scorers from a team that finished the 2016-17 season 18-10 and second in the Ivy League under head coach Tommy Amaker.
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Other known games on the Wildcats' 2017-18 schedule include Kansas in the Champions Classic in Chicago Nov. 14 and UCLA in New Orleans at the CBS Sports Classic on Dec. 23.
Kentucky has already lost De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk to the NBA Draft and are expected to lose more prior to the April 23 early entry deadline.
But John Calipari also once again has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class coming in next season.
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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Short-term funding costs in China shot to their stiffest level in nearly 10 years on Thursday on fears of a cash crunch heading into its most important holiday of the year, but ended well off the day’s highs as state banks stepped in to offer more yuan supplies.
A 100 Yuan note is seen in this illustration picture in Beijing March 7, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo
Chinese households and companies usually withdraw huge amounts of cash from banks ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Jan. 27.
This year, the holiday also extends over the month-end, when corporate cash demand increases and some tax payments are due, adding to the drain.
While liquidity always tightens in China ahead of big holidays, and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) routinely pumps more funds into markets to ensure there is ample liquidity, some traders say its injections have barely been keeping up with heavier demand this year.
A key overnight rate for borrowing funds surged to as high as 22.099 percent in early trade on Thursday - the highest since data became available in April 2007.
It was later pulled lower by speculation that authorities were ready to pump more liquidity into the market, but remained at a highly elevated level.
The onshore overnight implied deposit rate for yuan CNYONID=CNR finished the day at 8.602 percent, but was still well above Tuesday’s close of 4.357 percent.
Some money rates and trading floor blood pressures shot up on Wednesday after the central bank surprised markets by not rolling over medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans which were due to mature that day.
Further MLF loans are due to mature on Thursday. The two batches of loans total 216.5 billion yuan ($31.5 billion), according to Reuters calculations.
The sudden surge in funding rates has also sparked volatility in the foreign exchange market, forcing traders with short positions against the yuan to bail out of their positions.
That has led to a solid strengthening in the beleaguered currency this week, though it dipped on Thursday on signs that state banks may be offering additional yuan supplies and after an overnight bounce in the U.S. dollar.
Spot yuan CNY=CFXS settled at 6.8760 per dollar at 4:30 p.m. (0830 GMT), 328 pips weaker than the previous late session close.
But it is up more than half a percent so far this week, on course for its best week since July. It has firmed around 1.1 percent so far this year as Chinese authorities try to slow capital outflows and quash speculators betting on further currency declines.
The official yuan midpoint CNY=PBOC was fixed at 6.8568 per dollar prior to the market open, 43 pips weaker than the previous fixing of 6.8525.
Analysts said Thursday’s fixing was set at a firmer level than their models had suggested.
The volume-weighted average rate of the benchmark seven-day repo CN7DRP=CFXS traded in the interbank market, considered the best indicator of general liquidity in China, also pulled back slightly on Thursday while remaining at high levels.
It closed at 2.6336 percent, compared with the previous close of 2.7607 percent, which was the highest since July 2015.
“The market has calmed down slightly. (But) we have U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in two days and that may create volatility again,” said a trader at a Chinese bank in Shanghai.
Chinese authorities are widely believed to have been involved in a sharp spike in offshore yuan funding costs earlier this month to support the currency. But it is still trading at more than eight-year lows.
The unexpectedly sharp onshore cash pinch comes despite central bank injections of a net 1.035 trillion yuan ($150.87 billion) through open market operations so far this week, nearly 10 times the amount it injected last week.
“Companies’ quarterly payments starting Jan.16 and seasonal cash demand are the key factors draining money out,” said a liquidity trader at a Chinese bank in Shanghai.
Some traders said they heard that the central bank had asked commercial banks in the morning about potential demand for MLF loans, but there was no indication if the bank would inject the funds later in the day.
“We hope the central bank will roll over the maturing MLF loans (on Thursday), but no one knows whether it will do it or not,” the trader said.
In offshore markets, the yuan was 0.5 percent firmer than onshore at 6.8438 per dollar.
Highlighting investors’ strongly bearish views on the yuan, offshore one-year non-deliverable forwards contracts (NDFs)CNY1YNDFOR= traded at 7.1195, 3.69 percent weaker than the midpoint.
NDFs are considered the best available proxy for forward-looking market expectations of the yuan’s value.
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This beautifully finished CB500 with a fifties vibe is owned by Mike McFadden of Kentucky, and he’s just finished building it himself in his garage. The story started a year ago, when Mike stumbled across “Brat Style” bikes for the first time. ‘The look and cheap building price of the bikes just blew me away. After many nights of scanning websites, I determined I wanted a XS650—but in my area, only one 650 was to be found. And the guy wanted way too much for it.’ Then a colleague tipped Mike off about a 1972 Honda CB500 K1, parked in the kitchen of an acquaintance. ‘The bike hadn’t been started since ‘94 and the seller had no clue what was wrong with it. After a few minutes of checking it over, I offered two hundred dollars—and took it.’
Mike wanted to create a café style bike with the look of something built with basic tools in the 50s. (‘I wanted the bike to look like it would be ridden by the likes of Brando or James Dean in a movie.’) The first job was to clean up the frame and fabricate the tail section; Mike then reshaped and fitted a CB750 tank, and added clip-on bars. The muffler was next: ‘I know I will get my ass ripped for having the pipe wrap and the Avon vintage-look tires in the comments, but honestly, it was needed for the look I wanted.’
Using a drill press, Mike then began to drill ‘anything that would unbolt’ to lighten the bike. He cleaned the motor and rebuilt the carburetors, and installed Dyna coils and ignition. And now the bike is back on the road, where it belongs. ‘One thing that has amazed me is the fun I have had cutting through the country roads on this bike. I’ve owned several bikes over the years, and the CB500 just blows them away for the fun factor.’ Mike’s next project is a 1980 XS650: it was given to him by a Yamaha rep at last year’s Indy MotoGP race. We’ll be keeping an eye out for that one when it’s finished.
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Uber has stepped forward to defend itself after one of its drivers was accused on Twitter of a racially motivated assault by a passenger.
A police officer attending the scene didn't make any arrests, however, because neither party wanted to press charges, according to the driver and the company.
And the woman making the accusations, Washington, D.C., resident Bridget Todd, has since made her Twitter account private.
Last weekend, Todd tweeted at popular private-driving service app Uber to claim that her driver had pulled her out of the back of the car and choked her.
Here is Todd's tweet, sent Saturday:
Screenshot/Valleywag
Valleywag was able to take screenshots of more than thirty of Todd's tweets before Todd — a writer, activist and former lecturer at Howard University — made her account private.
Todd accused her driver, "David E." of grabbing her out of the car by her throat because she was kissing her "white husband". In her tweets, Todd says she believes the incident was racially provoked, though she admits she and her husband were both under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
Uber was quick to defend itself.
Here is the statement from the driver, "David E," which Uber's PR team gave to Business Insider:
I picked up the Uber user, Bridget, along with two other riders, a man and a woman at 9th & U Streets NW. The user was highly intoxicated. She started the trip by throwing an empty beer can out of the vehicle, which she got from inside of her purse. She said the beer was leaking out into her purse. I explained that she could get me a citation for having alcohol in the vehicle. She stated don't worry she would pay for it. I also expressed concerns about the beer leaking in the vehicle and making a mess. As trip continued, user was conversing with other two people in the vehicle. The other woman remarked about how drunk Bridget was.
I dropped one person off, the other woman, and continued. The user began making out with her male friend. I was not bothered by this except that her shoes were dug into the seat. I asked nicely if she could take her shoes off the seats. She complied. Two minutes later she had both feet in the seat turned completely backwards in his lap. She had straddled him while he was faced forward. I said "Ma'am I just asked you not place your feet in my seats, please take your feet out of my seats." The user began to curse at me. She said "you work for me," among other things, and asked me to stop the vehicle so she could get out. I said "gladly" and pulled over. As she got out she used both hands and slammed the car door with great force. I exited my vehicle to assess if there was any damage to the door and the seat. She continued cursing, ranting and raging on towards me in a threatening manner. She was hitting at the me, and tried at one point to knock my driving hat off. I pushed her away from me. She continued to come forward cursing. Her friend tried to hold her back but had a hard time. At this point a police woman came by and the user calmed down. The officer spoke with all parties. No report was made and no damage was noticed. Bridget and the man walked to their destination.
Uber drivers are independent contractors and not Uber employees.
Valleywag writer Nitasha Tiku was copied on another email, one from Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick. The email was sent to the entire Uber press team, Tiku says:
In the email, Kalanick blamed the media for thinking that Uber is "somehow liable for these incidents that aren't even real in the first place." Kalanick also stressed that Uber needs to "make sure these writers don't come away thinking we are responsible even when these things do go bad."
Uber provided the following statement to Business Insider:
It is our standard policy to de-activate drivers and clients as soon as an individual is accused of criminal activity. In situations where disputes occur between drivers and clients, we act swiftly to provide all parties with the information and support they need to pursue their legal rights to the fullest extent of the law.
Regarding the events that occurred this weekend, our understanding is that an argument broke out between the driver utilizing Uber's technology and one of his passengers, after he was provoked by the passenger. The police approached the scene and neither party elected to press charges. If legal action is taken, Uber remains committed to helping appropriate law enforcement agencies in any way possible.
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The Religious Right Supports Affirmative Action
I can’t believe it. Several prominent folks from the religious right are coming out strongly in support of the idea that a job candidate’s qualifications can be eclipsed in importance by demographic issues.
If you think that I am making this up, think again. Here’s Matt Barber Director of Cultural Affairs from the Liberty (HA!) Counsel:
He may very well be qualified for this position, but…
Of course, I am taking his quotation out of context for the time being to show that Barber thinks it’s appropriate to judge issues other than a job candidate’s qualification for the job in question.
So what’s all this about? Barack Obama has appointed Amanda Simpson as the Senior Technical Advisor to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Simpson has an M.S. in engineering, an M.B.A., and an undergraduate degree in physics. She has 30 years’ experience in private aerospace and defense work. Her job at Commerce is to oversee the export of weapons to foreign countries. Given her credentials, this should be right in her wheelhouse.
Case closed. Right?
Well, not to the theocrats on the right. They object to Simpson because she is transgender. Here’s Barber in context:
He may very well be qualified for this position but it appears that he was not picked (merely) for his qualifications, he was picked because of his wardrobe. That is not diversity or tolerance. It’s political correctness run amok.
Peter LaBarbara from Americans for Truth (HA!) About Homosexuality added this:
Is there going to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration? How far does this politics of gay and transgender activism go? Clearly this is an administration that is pandering to the gay lobby.
Obama is pandering to the gay lobby by hiring someone to do a job for which she is qualified. Ostensibly, Barber and LaBarbera would prefer that Obama hired someone else for the position because of their gripes with Simpson’s gender. Note that they have no complaints with her qualifications. Sounds like affirmative action to me.
When we look back on this in 50 years, it will be similar to the way we now feel about the racists who threw black cats on the field to protest and harass Jackie Robinson. In the bright light of history, this primitive and ugly behavior will appear withered and rotten to almost everybody.
Update: I almost forgot. The article I used as a source comes from the Catholic News Agency. The news agency of an organization whose leadership is comprised of old virgin men. Of all the people to gripe about transgendered people, I’d think that the organization with that kink built into its hierarchy would be a little more understanding of sexual behavior that deviates from the norm.
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D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced Friday the city has reached a business agreement with D.C. United for a $300 million soccer stadium.
Gray has submitted legislation to D.C. Council, outling his plan to bring a 20,000 to 25,000-seat stadium to southwest Washington.
The city has agreed to pay $150 million for land acquisition and infrastructure to support the stadium in southwest Washington. The team would pay $150 million to build the stadium itself.
According to a news release from the mayor's office, the city now owns 88 percent of the proposed site of the stadium at Buzzard Point.
“The new soccer stadium is the final catalyst for what is certain to become one of the most vibrant and sustainable sports and retail districts in America," Gray said in a release.
The city exchanged the city's Frank D. Reeves Center of Municipal Affairs with a real estate firm for the majority of the land at the site of the stadium.
The agreement reached Friday includes specific provisions including 51 percent of stadium jobs going to D.C. residents.
Some D.C. councilmembers, including mayoral candidates Muriel Bowser and David Catania, have expressed concerns about the deal.
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A teenager has become the first person to move into an innovative 'micro-home' built as part of a unique project to tackle Britain's homelessness.
Kieran Evans, 18, was handed the keys to the cosy property today after it was air-lifted into a back garden over the summer.
The 186sq ft (17.25sq m) space - which takes inspiration from yachts and first-class aeroplane cabins - cost just £40,000 to build and the slick design comes complete with a bedroom, a fully furnished kitchen, a bathroom 'module' and even an entertainment zone.
The structure is held in place by a steel frame with a front cladding made of larch wood with a green, corrugated iron roof.
The ambitious project has been run by the Homeless Foundation, and the property itself will be managed by the Spring Housing Association.
Tenants will have to take responsibility for paying for rent, water bills and food in a bid to teach them how to survive independently.
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A teenager has become the first person to move into an innovative 'micro-home' built as part of a unique project to tackle Britain's homelessness
Kieran Evans (pictured), 18, was handed the keys to the cosy property today after it was air-lifted into a back garden over the summer. The 186sq ft (17.25sq m) space - which takes inspiration from yachts and first-class aeroplane cabins - cost just £40,000 to build
The micro home has now been handed over as a place for Kieran to live in Barbourne, Worcester in the hope he can start to rebuild his life after living on the streets for a year
The ambitious project has been run by the Homeless Foundation, and the property itself will be managed by the Spring Housing Association
The homes are inexpensive to build and can be stacked on top of each other to create a bigger community. Shallow foundations mean they work well on Brownfield sites
It has now been handed over as a place for Kieran to live in Barbourne, Worcester in the hope he can start to rebuild his life after living on the streets for a year.
The project, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, is aimed at solving the country's homelessness and housing crisis.
If the pilot is successful, the homes - called iKozies - could be installed across the rest of the UK.
Kieran left home at 17 and spent a few weeks at a YMCA hostel before moving into temporary accommodation on his 18th birthday.
He said: 'I'm ecstatic, genuinely so happy to have my own space. It's like a compact luxury apartment.'
Plans to build a community of iKozies – perhaps 25 of them – in Worcester are being mooted. The idea is that they would house key workers and students as well as homeless people.
Kieran, who spent time at a YMCA hostel before moving into temporary accommodation, said: 'I'm ecstatic, genuinely so happy to have my own space. It's like a compact luxury apartment'
The project, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, is aimed at solving the country's homelessness and housing crisis. If the pilot is successful, the homes - called iKozies - could be installed across the rest of the UK
Tenants will have to take responsibility for paying for rent, water bills and food in a bid to teach them how to survive independently
The charity believes the accommodation could be used to house students, young professionals, and key workers in areas where there is a housing crisis.
Joanne O'Donnell, a trustee of the Homeless Foundation charity, said, 'Rough sleeping is just the tip of the iceberg.
'The biggest issue in homelessness is the plight of young homeless people who cannot afford a home and end up sofa surfing or in hostels and temporary accommodation.
'The iKozie will provide a home for Kieran and will hopefully help him to secure his own tenancy with a Housing Association by proving that he can live independently and sustain a tenancy.'
The slick design includes a bedroom, a fully furnished kitchen, a bathroom 'module' and an entertainment zone, all held in place by a steel frame with a front cladding made of larch wood with a green, corrugated iron roof
The charity believes the accommodation could be used to house students, young professionals, and key workers in areas where there is a housing crisis
Joanne O'Donnell, a trustee of the Homeless Foundation charity, said, 'Rough sleeping is just the tip of the iceberg. The biggest issue in homelessness is the plight of young homeless people who cannot afford a home and end up sofa surfing or in hostels and temporary accommodation'
Manufactured off-site and then lifted into place, it's said to be possible for councils and other organisations to stack them on top of each other to create 'sustainable communities'.
Mike Johnson, chair of Worcester City Council's Communities Committee, added, 'Worcester City Council is proud to support such an interesting and innovative concept.
'We wish the Homeless Foundation every success and will continue to work with them on future plans to create more iKozie homes for our city.'
Andrew Eastabrook, of Eastabrook Architects based in Stow, who designed the micro home, said: 'I believe this is a world first.
'We think it feels really nice inside. We will be moving on to do a lot more of these. This is the proof of the concept.'
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Muslim leaders here and elsewhere have already started organizing or expanding prevention programs and discussions on countering violent extremism, often with assistance from law enforcement officials and trained counter-recruiters who emphasize that the Internet’s dangers for young Muslims now go far beyond pornography.
With the Islamic State in particular deploying savvy online appeals to adolescents alongside videos of horrific executions, the sense of urgency has grown. Though some Muslim leaders still resist cooperating with the government, fearing that they would be contributing to religious profiling and anti-Muslim bigotry, many have been spurred to respond as they have come into contact with religiously ardent youths who feel alienated by life in the West and admit that they have been vulnerable to the Islamic State’s invitation to help build a puritanical utopia.
“The number is small, but one person who gets radicalized is one too many,” said Rizwan Jaka, a father of six and the board chairman of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, where Imam Magid is the spiritual leader. “It’s a balancing act: We have to make sure our youth are not stereotyped in any way, but we’re still dealing with the real issue of insulating them from any potential threat of radicalization.”
In practice, it often means one-on-one conversations with Muslims like Amir, a 22-year-old computer programmer in Virginia who said he was drawn to extremist videos from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, because he was a new convert struggling with how to live out his faith in the United States. He said he chafed at having to work in an office with Muslim women who covered their heads but wore clothing he considered too tight. He also did not like seeing photographs of people on the walls, or advertisements for credit cards, which he said Islam strictly forbids. “Every time I mentioned it, no one heard me out,” he said. “I definitely felt like a stranger.”
He said his disenchantment with the Islamic State began when the group beheaded Peter Kassig, who reports said was a Muslim convert, and later executed a Jordanian pilot. Amir then had some long talks with Imam Magid, who pointed him to passages in the Quran that forbid killing other Muslims, innocent women and children. Amir concluded that the Islamic State was only sowing chaos and hatred, which the Prophet Muhammad abhorred.
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Wearables is a massive growth area and growth is anticipated to continue into 2015. Whilst devices such as the Pebble have taken off, a number of other wearables supporting a single OS have entered the market such as the Apple Watch and Galaxy Gear.
The No. 1 G2 is a new device from the phone manufacturer which borrows heavily from the Galaxy Gear but offers both Android and iOS compatibility.
Thanks to GearBest for providing a sample to review. You can purchase one from them here.
No.1 G2 Technical Specs
Chipset: MTK2502
Operating System: LinkIt OS
Screen: 1.54 inch TFT Screen(240×240 pixels), Sapphire Glass
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0
Camera: 0.3MP
Battery: 350mAh Li-polymer battery
Other Features: Speaker,Microphone, Water Resistant
Dimensions: 11.02 in x 1.46 in x 0.39 in (28 cm x 3.7 cm x 1 cm)
Weight: 3.92 oz (111 g)
What’s in the box?
The No.1 G2 comes with everything you need to get it up and running.:
1 x No. 1 G2 Smartwatch
1 x Micro USB charging cable
1 x Charging cable
No.1 G2 Design
To say that the No.1 G2 borrows from the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 is generous. As far as I’m concerned, it’s almost identical design-wise. However, I think they’ve picked a good target to mimic.
The N0.1 G2 comes in various configurations. The watch itself is available in silver or gold, with rubber(black, orange, coffee), “leather” (I suspect vinyl, brown) or stainless steel bands. I received the stainless steel variant as I felt it was suitable for both casual and business settings.
With an attractive brushed metal finish, the frame is nice and sleek, gently tapering at the top and bottom where the watch attaches to the band. The watch band appears to be a standard 22mm band and is readily removable thanks to both small cutouts on the inside of the band and access to the push-pins on the outside. This means you can swap it out – a massive plus for those liking customization.
Build quality feels top notch. The device feels solid and has a nice weight to it. The stainless steel band is relatively light making it feel slightly cheap, but it looks fantastic. I much prefer the look of the No.1 G2 to that of the slightly more expensive Pebble, as I find the plastic and rubber build of the latter very tacky and more akin to a child’s toy than an adult’s watch. That said, I’d say the No.1 G2 is equally as appealing as the Pebble Steel but at a third of the price.
The No.1 G2 is dominated by its 1.54 inch TFT display. At 240×240 pixels, whilst not the highest resolution, it’s perfectly functional. The top of the device houses a small 0.3MP camera and IR blaster, whilst the bottom has the”Home” button. There is a microphone and speakers on the sides and underneath houses the optical heart rate sensor and charging port.
Using It
Using the No.1 G2 is a pretty solid experience. To charge the No.1 G2, you clip on the included charging cradle and plug it in to a USB port with the micro USB cable. It takes about 30 mins to fully charge the device which is nice.
The device is booted in a few seconds by holding down the “home” button and the stock watchface is displayed. The stock watch face displays the time, date and shortcuts for the camera, pedometer and settings. Swiping to the left reveals 7 pages of functions.
Swiping and tapping the screen is responsive, and animations are smooth. The whole device feels well-optimized.
To see the time, you need to press the “Home” button to display the watch face. A subsequent press will turn off the display or, alternatively, a user-configurable screen timeout can be set. It’s unfortunate to see that No.1 haven’t leveraged the in-built accelerometer to display the time like devices such as the Pebble.
Connecting it to your smartphone is handled both via the Bluetooth menu in your phone and the “MediaTek SmartDevice” app. You first connect to the device via your phone’s Bluetooth menu which enables your call features. Opening the app and connecting the watch allows the notifications, device finder and other functions to work. The app is basic but works well enough. I didn’t have any issues connecting the device on either iOS or Android.
The watch has a built-in vibration motor to alert you and its strong enough to get your attention. The speaker can also be set to give an audible alert if you are so inclined and offers plenty of volume.
Functions Galore
The list of functions in the No.1 G2 is extensive and includes:
Video Player
Smart Home
Quick Response
Stopwatch
Calculator
Flashlight
Power Saving
Settings
Phonebook
Dialer Call logs
Messaging
Remote notifier
Find My Device
Alarm
Calendar
BT Music
Remote Capture
BT Connection
File Manager Pedometer
Sleep Monitor
Sedentary Reminder
Heartrate
Sound Recorder
Image Viewer
Camera
Video Recorder
That’s a pretty extensive list of features and the fact they’ve managed to cram them all in is great. However, the quality of the applications themselves vary. Basic apps such as the calculator and stopwatch work perfectly.
Heart Rate Monitor
The heart rate monitor didn’t seem accurate at all. Optical heart rate monitors aren’t particularly accurate in the first place, but the No.1 G2 just feels massively off. Sometimes the result was absurdly low, then a test just a few seconds later resulted in a different reading. I’m hoping a software update can fix this.
Camera
The inbuilt camera is not a replacement for your smartphone snaps by any means but is functional for the odd day shot but it does tend to overexpose. Don’t bother using it in low light, as you simply get a black, noisy mess. I’ve included a few sample shots below:
There is also a video recorder function though I’d hardly call the resulting video usable. The output format is 176×144 JPEG Video at only 4.9fps:
IR Blaster
So I was super-excited about this feature, solely for the novelty of it. However, getting the remote up and selecting my TV brand, I got… nothing. Selecting the TV brand takes you to a nondescript screen with two arrows, an “OK” button and a number. Pressing the arrows makes the number go up and down but the “OK” button does nothing. Similarly, pressing any of the volume/channel buttons got no response. Massive fail here.
I’m told that there will be a demo showing how it works, but at this stage, I’d just consider it non-functional.
Customization
Given that the watch is basically a simple computer, I was hoping customization would be a bit better. There are only 3 in-built clock faces (1 digital and 2 analog) and 3 wallpapers to select. 1 additional digital watch face can also be installed via the Android app. This is a real shame, as support for custom wallpapers or watch faces would be amazing and I can’t help but feel this is a missed opportunity.
No.1 G2 Android and iOS support
iOS and Android are both supported, however, the number of features available to each platform varies. This is where Apple’s locked-down OS really hurts peripherals as connecting to an Android smartphone is a much richer experience.
On iOS, you get access to most of the functions. Notifications are delivered via the Notification Center. However, you get bombarded by every single notification from the useful (messages) to the annoying (game notifications). The only way to limit what you can receive is by turning off the Notification Center notifications on your iOS device. I’d love to see a way to disable individual notifications via the app, but the Pebble suffers the same fate, so I can’t really criticize the lack of this feature. Furthermore, whilst you can read the excerpt of a message, you can’t reply.
Android gets a much improved experience, with app-specific icons, remote camera shutter, enabling/disabling specific notifications via the app or watch and being able to reply to messages via several pre-defined responses (which unfortunately can’t be changed). Strangely, only the Android app can install additional apps such as watch faces, but only 1 watch face and a Yahoo weather app are currently available. The iOS app does offer HealthKit compatibility though which is a bonus.
Contact sync, dialing, call notifications and music control all work flawlessly on both platforms. There is definitely something cool about taking a call entirely on your wrist, and whilst the speaker is a little muddy, the microphone is incredibly clear for those on the other end of the call.
No.1 G2 Battery Life
Battery Life was not bad at all. With minor use (checking the time, notifications), I was able to get about 3-5 days of use. Using the device to make calls drained the battery significantly faster, knocking out the battery in about a day. A power-saving mode does help eek out a few more hours out of the device by disabling some of the more power-hungry features.
Other Notes
Water Resistance
The No.1 G2 is water resistant and getting a splash of liquid on it won’t be an issue. Don’t submerge it however, as it’s definitely not waterproof.
Scratch Resistance
The screen is sapphire glass and, despite a few knocks, it remains scratch-free. It is a bit of a fingerprint magnet however, and an oleophobic coating wouldn’t have gone astray.
Firmware Updates
So far, No.1 have released 2 updates for the No.1 G2. Hopefully, the company continue to support the device with more updates refining and adding features. The update process is awful however, having to connect to a PC and use a technical flashing tool to flash the new firmware. Those used to flashing custom ROMs will be right at home, but I can assure you that your average consumer will be terrified.
Getting One
I recieved my No.1 G2 from GearBest. You can purchase one from them here.
Alternatively, you can purchase the No.1 G2 from GeekBuying or DealExtreme.
No.1 G2 Additional Photos
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The driver of the semitrailer had minor injuries and wasn’t taken to any hospital and he did not appear impaired. (@NHPSouthernComm/Twitter)
Northbound Interstate 15 at Lamb Boulevard has reopened after an early morning traffic crash that left a 24-year-old man dead.
All lanes were shut down for about six hours Saturday.
About 3:40 a.m., a silver Nissan Sentra, driven by a 24-year-old male, later identified as Alejandro Aguilar of North Las Vegas, was traveling southbound in I-15’s northbound lanes near Apex, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Jason Buratczuk said.
Just after mile marker 52, the Nissan hit a semitrailer head-on. The semitrailer was carrying strawberries and was headed from California to New Jersey, Buratczuk said.
The semitrailer’s driver had minor injuries, was not hospitalized and did not appear impaired.
Aguilar was pronounced dead at the scene, Buratczuk said.
It is unknown whether impairment was a factor in the crash.
Contact Jessica Terrones at [email protected] or at 702-383-0381. Follow @JessATerrones on Twitter.
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Mike Barrett
Activist Post
To those of you who have been eager to hear the latest news concerning the potential release of genetically modified mosquitoes – here it is.
It turns out that the genetically modified mosquitoes could be released into the U.S. environment as early as January of 2012.
A private firm plans to initiate the release of the GE mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. Florida will be the first beta testing grounds to determine whether or not the mosquitoes lead to detrimental environmental and genetic impact. Residents in this area will also be subjected — without choice — to these genetically manipulated insects, unless the private firm decides to seek permission.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes — An Unknown Dangerous Experiment
The first mosquito release took place in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean in 2009. On Sunday, October 27, the release was discussed in a scientific paper by the journal of Nature Biotechnology with the report concluding the release’s success.
A second trial occurred in 2010, where 6,000 mosquitoes were released in Malaysia for further experiments. The mosquitoes are genetically modified with a gene designed to kill them unless given an antibiotic known as tetracycline. Offspring of the GM mosquitoes will receive this same lethal gene which will kill the offspring before it can ever reach adulthood. As more genetically modified mosquitoes mate with wild mosquitoes, the idea is that more and more offspring will be produced with the lethal gene, thereby reducing the mosquito population.
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Of course the risks these mosquitoes pose both on the environment, as well as the health of all living creatures are highly unknown, leaving everyone with many more questions than answers. We have already seen how terribly genetic modification can threaten the environment and human health, yet people are still moving toward a genetically modified world.
With the release of genetically modified insects could come the downfall of both local and global ecosystems as well as negative consequences concerning the food chain. There is simply no way of knowing what could happen by replacing the naturally born life forms on planet earth with genetically modified creations.
Some questions that still remain unanswered:
Will Oxitec, the creator of the insects, need to acquire the free and informed consent of residents in Key West for the release of the GM mosquitoes? With the previous release of the mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands there was no public consultation taken on potential risks and informed consent was not given from locals.
With 0.5 percent of the released insects being female (the gender which bites humans), what happens to humans if bitten by the female mosquitoes?
What could happen to the ecosystem and local food chain with the major decrease in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population?
Who will regulate the release, and who will be responsible in the event of complications – to any degree?
If Florida and the US approves Oxitec’s planned release of these genetically modified mosquitoes, we will become that much closer to future genetic modification of living creatures as well as the potential collapse of environmental and human health.
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The Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom are the 26 bishops of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords along with the Lords Temporal. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, and the Anglican churches in Wales and Northern Ireland, which are no longer established churches, are not represented.
Ranks and titles [ edit ]
The Church of England comprises 42 dioceses, each led by a diocesan bishop. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, as Primate of All England and Primate of England, respectively, have oversight over their corresponding provinces. The occupants of the five "great sees"—Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester—are always Lords of Parliament. The Bishop of Sodor and Man and the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe may not sit in the House of Lords regardless of seniority as their dioceses lie outside both of England and of the United Kingdom. (The former, however, sits on the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man ex officio.) Of the remaining 35 bishops, the 21 most senior sit in the House of Lords. Seniority is determined by total length of service as an English diocesan bishop (that is to say, it is not lost by translation to another see).[1][2]
Theoretically, the power to elect archbishops and bishops is vested in the diocesan cathedral's college of canons. Practically, however, the choice of the archbishop or bishop is made prior to the election. The Prime Minister chooses from among a set of nominees proposed by the Crown Nominations Commission; the sovereign then instructs the college of canons to elect the nominated individual as a bishop or archbishop.
One of the Lords Spiritual is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to be the convenor of the bench; he or she coordinates the work of the bishops in the House. David Urquhart, Bishop of Birmingham, was appointed the current convenor on 18 May 2015.[3]
Peers [ edit ]
Even during the early years of the Peerage, the position of bishops was unclear. During the reign of King Richard II, the Archbishop of Canterbury declared, "of right and by the custom of the realm of England it belongeth to the Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being as well as others his suffragans, brethren and fellow Bishops, Abbots and Priors and other prelates whatsoever, — to be present in person in all the King's Parliaments whatsoever as Peers of the Realm". The claim was neither agreed nor disagreed to, however, by Parliament.
The Lords Spiritual at first declared themselves entirely outside the jurisdiction of secular authorities; the question of trial in the House of Lords did not arise. When papal authority was great, the King could do little but admit a lack of jurisdiction over the prelates. Later, however, when the power of the Pope in England was reduced, the Lords Spiritual came under the authority of the secular courts. The jurisdiction of the common courts was clearly established by the time of Henry VIII, who declared himself head of the Church of England in place of the Pope, ending the constitutional power of the Roman Catholic Church in England.
Despite their failure to be tried as temporal peers in the House of Lords, it remained unclear whether the Lords Spiritual were indeed peers. In 1688, the issue arose during the trial of the Seven Bishops—William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury; Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet, Bishop of Winchester; Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells; John Lake, Bishop of Chester; William Lloyd, Bishop of Worcester; Francis Turner, Bishop of Ely and Thomas White, Bishop of Peterborough—by a common jury. The charge was that a petition sent by the Bishops constituted seditious libel; the Bishops argued that they had the right to petition the Sovereign at any time, while the prosecution charged that such a right was only permissible when Parliament was in session (which, at the time of the delivery of the petition, it was not). If the bishops were only Lords of Parliament, and not peers, their right to petition would be vitiated while Parliament was dissolved. Peers, however, were and still are counsellors of the Sovereign whether Parliament is in session or not; therefore, if the bishops were indeed peers, they would be free to send petitions. Since there was no doubt that the petition was actually sent, while the Court still ruled the bishops not guilty, it appears that it was taken for granted that the bishops were counsellors of the Crown.
Nevertheless, the Standing Orders of the House of Lords provide, "Bishops to whom a writ of summons has been issued are not Peers but are Lords of Parliament."
Number [ edit ]
In the early history of the Parliament of England, the Lords Spiritual—including the abbots—outnumbered the Lords Temporal. Between 1536 and 1540, however, King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, thereby removing the seats of the abbots. For the first time and thereafter, Lords Spiritual formed a minority in the House of Lords.[4]
In addition to the 21 older dioceses (including four in Wales), Henry VIII created six new ones, of which five survived (see historical development of Church of England dioceses); the Bishops of the Church of England were excluded in 1642 but regained their seats following the Restoration; from then until the early nineteenth century no new sees were created, and the number of lords spiritual remained at 26.
Bishops, abbots, and priors, of the Church of Scotland traditionally sat in the Parliament of Scotland. Laymen acquired the monasteries in 1560, following the Scottish Reformation, and therefore those sitting as "abbots" and "priors" were all laymen after this time. Bishops of the Church of Scotland continued to sit, regardless of their religious conformity. Roman Catholic clergy were excluded in 1567, but Episcopal bishops continued to sit until they too were excluded in 1638. The bishops regained their seats following the Restoration, but were again excluded in 1689, following the final abolition of diocesan bishops and the permanent establishment of the Church of Scotland as Presbyterian. There are no longer bishops in the Church of Scotland in the traditional sense of the word, and that church has never sent senior clergy to sit in the House of Lords at Westminster.
Bishops and archbishops of the Church of Ireland were entitled to sit in the Irish House of Lords as Lords Spiritual. They obtained representation in the Westminster House of Lords after the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of Ireland's ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, with the members rotating at the end of every parliamentary session (which normally lasted approximately one year). The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871, and thereafter ceased to be represented by Lords Spiritual.
The Bishop of Sodor and Man, although a Bishop of the Church of England, has never been included among the English Lords Spiritual, as the Isle of Man has never been part of the Kingdom of England or of the United Kingdom. The Lord Bishop is the holder of the oldest office in Tynwald (the oldest continuous parliament in the world) and remains an ex officio member of Tynwald and its Legislative Council.
In the 19th century the dioceses of the Church of England began gradually to come under review again. However an increase in the bench of bishops was not considered politically expedient, and so steps were undertaken to prevent it. In 1836, the first new bishopric was founded, that of Ripon; but it was balanced out by the merger of the Bishoprics of Bristol and Gloucester. (They were later divided again.) The creation of the Bishopric of Manchester was also planned but delayed until St Asaph and Bangor could be merged. They never were; but in 1844, the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847 went ahead anyway with an alternative means to maintain the 26-bishop limit in the House of Lords: the seniority-based proviso which has been maintained to this day.[4] However, the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 gives any woman appointed a diocesan bishop in England during the next decade priority in terms of succeeding those among the current 21 who retire during that period. Rachel Treweek became Bishop of Gloucester and the first woman Lord Spiritual under the Act in 2015; Christine Hardman became the second later that year.
In 1920, with the independence of the Church in Wales from the Church of England and its disestablishment, the Welsh bishops stopped being eligible for inclusion.
The 26 seats for the Lords Spiritual are approximately 3.3% of the total membership of the House of Lords.
Politics [ edit ]
Although the Lords Spiritual have no party affiliation, they do not sit on the crossbenches, their seats being on the Government side of the Lords Chamber. As such, their seats are on the right-hand side of the throne, representing the fact that they, of all the members of the House of Lords, are the most loyal to the Crown.[not in citation given] Though in a full sitting the Bishops occupy almost three rows, the Lords Spiritual's front bench is subtly distinguished by being the only one in the House with a single armrest at either end; it is on the front row, close to the throne end of the chamber, indicating their unique status.[5]
By custom at least one of the Bishops reads prayers in each legislative day (a role taken by the Chaplain to the Speaker in the Commons).[6] They often speak in debates; in 2004 Rowan Williams, then Archbishop of Canterbury, opened a debate into sentencing legislation.[6] Measures (proposed laws of the Church of England) must be put before the Lords, and the Lords Spiritual have a role in ensuring that this take place.[6]
Ecclesiastics as Lords Temporal [ edit ]
Other ecclesiastics have sat in the House of Lords as Lords Temporal in recent times: Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits was appointed to the House of Lords (with the consent of the Queen, who acted on the advice of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), as was his successor Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.[7] In recognition of his work at reconciliation and in the peace process in Northern Ireland, Robin Eames, the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, was appointed to the Lords by John Major. Other clergymen appointed include the Methodist Donald Soper, the Anglican Timothy Beaumont, and some Scottish clerics.
There have been no Roman Catholic clergymen appointed, though it was rumoured that Basil Hume, the Archbishop of Westminster, and his successor Cormac Murphy O'Connor were offered peerages, by James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair respectively, but declined. Hume later accepted the Order of Merit, a personal appointment of the Queen, shortly before his death. O'Connor said he had his maiden speech ready, but ordained Roman Catholics are prohibited by the internal Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church from holding major offices connected with any government other than the Holy See.[citation needed]
Former Archbishops of Canterbury, having reverted to the status of bishop but who are no longer diocesans, are invariably given life peerages and sit as Lords Temporal.
2011 proposed House of Lords reform [ edit ]
Under the 2011 Coalition Government draft proposal for Lords reform, the Lords would be either 80% elected and 20% appointed, or 100% elected. In the former case there would be 12 Church of England bishops in the reformed Upper House.[8] The total of 12 bishops would include the five "named Lords Spiritual" (the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Bishops of Durham, London and Winchester, entitled as they are to sit ex officio) plus seven other "ordinary Lords Spiritual" (diocesan bishops chosen by the church itself through whatever device it deems appropriate). The reduction from 26 to 12 bishops would be achieved in a stepped fashion: up to 21 bishops would remain for the 2015–2020 period and up to 16 for the 2020–2025 period. The ordinary Lords Spirituals' terms would coincide with each "electoral period" (i.e., the period from one election to the next), with the church able to name up to seven to serve during each electoral period. These reforms were later dropped.[9]
Under the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 whenever a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the ten years (18 May 2015 – 18 May 2025) following the Act coming into force, the vacancy has to be filled by a woman, if one is eligible. This does not apply to the sees of Canterbury, York, London, Durham and Winchester. Three women have consequently become Lords Spiritual as a result.
Criticism [ edit ]
The presence of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords has been criticised for being an outdated and non-democratic system by some media commentators and organisations.[10] The British Humanist Association said it was "unacceptable" that "the UK is the only Western democracy to give religious representatives the automatic right to sit in the legislature".[11][12]
Richard Chartres, when Bishop of London, defended the bishops, saying they are "in touch with a great range of opinions and institutions", and suggesting the inclusion of "leading members in Britain's [other] faith communities".[13]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
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Good day all and welcome to another dev blog by me, your friendly neighborhood Stunlocker Christian. In this Dev Blog we will speak in short about some of the things Stunlock will be focusing on in the remaining time before the Free-To-Play release. And no, I can’t give you any news on that date quite yet, but we’ll be sure to tell you as soon as we can! This post is a bit shorter than normal as there are still details being worked out that I can’t divulge, but hopefully it will still be at least slightly interesting.
But first I’d like to address the Dev Blog as a whole a bit. As I mentioned last week, I and most of the people involved with the Dev Blog will be away for a bit during July. As such there won’t be a weekly Dev Blog for a while. There might be some smaller “Dev Blog Lites” but don’t expect something to show up weekly. Anyway, let’s get going!
UI 2.0
We know we’ve been talking about the new UI for quite some time now, but redesigning and creating new underlying systems from scratch is no small feat. A lot of work has gone into it thus far and there is still a lot of work to be done. At this point a lot of the layout designs are closing in on being ready for proper (smaller scale) testing and implementation has begun in earnest.
What’s pictured above is the part of the UI that will replace the current “Chests” tab. “Collection” will work as a general shop where you’ll be able to buy everything available in one place. It will also function as a place to simply browse everything you are able to collect in Battlerite, whether you own it or not.
The UI has come a long way but will continue to be refined and worked on for a while yet. There’s always a lot of unforeseen things that come up when working with UI and the possibility tree for how every little interaction can work with all possible states is surprisingly large. Getting a robust system into place has been, and still is, a challenge. Especially since one of the goals we had was to have it compatible with several platforms if the need arose to spare us from having to create two separate UIs. In hindsight it turned out to be a good decision.
Brawls
Like I mentioned last week, the Rocket Balloon Brawl had gotten a very positive reception. We’d like to get some more statistics on it though so if you haven’t done so we’d greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to fill out our survey on it. Thanks in advance!
The Rocket Balloon Brawl was in large iterated and worked on by our Summer Workers (formerly our interns) who built a lot of the foundation with guidance from the rest of Stunlock. Of course when we prepared the game mode for release we stepped in and helped push it the final stretch to make it ready. After launch we looked into it for a bit and decided to clean up how it’s made and separating parts of it into clear components. Unless you’ve got a bit of programming knowledge this might not mean much to you, but basically this would involve, for example, making the Rocket Balloon function as its own individual thing rather than a piece of the game mode that only works with the game mode. Now why would we be doing this? The answer is to allow the components to be quickly and easily reused for potential future game modes. By doing this we could drastically cut down the time required for creating other types of brawls that use elements of what is currently Rocket Balloon Brawl in them. You could call it an investment into the future.
In General
Other than the above I have a few little tidbits to share. It might not come as a huge surprise but yes, there are more champions planned for F2P and beyond. I can’t give you any specific dates here either, but they will arrive and they will be awesome.
Related to Champions, work will continue to make sure all existing Champions receive their visual updates and Legendary Outfits. Like the new champions, these too will be awesome and I’m sure you will be excited to get your hands on them when they arrive.
Finally, I’ve gone on record before saying, in regards to champion picking, that Blind Pick has never been the end goal of League play. This holds true until this day and we have been taking some more time recently to discuss how we’d like a draft system to work. The time frame for when this would arrive though is a bit more unclear as we may need to prioritize other areas over it. This means it won’t necessarily make its way to the game before F2P but it is something we will be taking a closer look at.
And that is all I have for you this week. Actually, you won’t be hearing from me for a while now so it’s all I have for you guys for a while yet. Anyway, as previously mentioned, there may be some smaller Dev Blog Lites coming up here so keep an eye out, but don’t hold your breath.
Thank you for reading!
/Christian
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A National Same Sex Kiss Day is being organized at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country on Friday, August 3 to protest the fried chicken chain's admitted anti-homosexual stance. It's basically what it sounds like. They want you to go to your local Chick-fil-A, make out with someone of the same sex, and post photos and videos on their Facebook page. Sounds easy enough, or at least easier than those protests in which people try to out-pun each other with clever signs.
In other Chick-fil-A news, former presidential candidate/current talking head Mike Huckabee has decided August 1 is "Chick Fil-A Appreciation Day." In a statement on his website, Huckabee says he's cranky that "a great American story [like Chick-fil-A] is being smeared by vicious hate speech and intolerant bigotry from the left."
And the Jim Henson Company has ceased a partnership with Chick-fil-A because of the controversy. CEO Lisa Henson has recommended the company donate any money they made from the deal to LGBT advocacy group GLAAD. And as previously noted, Boston mayor Thomas Menino has already spoken out against Chick-fil-A. Will the political leanings of a fast food chain be the final straw in the American culture wars? Stay tuned to find out.
· National Same Sex Kiss Day at Chick-fil-A [Facebook via Buzzfeed]
· Chick-fil-A Loses Muppets, Gains Mike Huckabee in Gay Controversy [LAT]
· All Chick-fil-A Coverage on Eater [-E-]
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The failure of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act could lead to an ironic result: the expansion of government-run health care.
The Affordable Care Act provides generous federal funding to states that expand their Medicaid programs starting in 2014, but 19 states led by Republicans or by divided partisan control of their governments declined to do so after a 2012 Supreme Court ruling made it optional.
Now that the federal effort to repeal and replace “Obamacare” is dead, states that turned down those federal dollars to cover their poorest residents may revisit the idea to open up Medicaid ― which is jointly managed and financed by the federal and state governments ― to more people.
The Republican-led Kansas Senate passed a bill Monday to expand Medicaid in the Sunflower State, following passage by the majority-GOP Kansas House last month. This legislation had been moving before the collapse of the congressional repeal effort, but it illustrates interest in red states in covering more people using Affordable Care Act funding. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback opposes the bill, however, making its fate uncertain.
Also Monday, one Democrat began to take action in the aftermath of Trump’s failed bid to undo Obamacare.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, stymied by the GOP-led legislature in his attempts to enact Medicaid expansion in his commonwealth after taking office in 2014, announced Monday he would renew his push to get the legislature to adopt the policy now that Trump and national GOP leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) have moved on from repeal.
“President Trump’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed and even Speaker Ryan has said that Obamacare is the law of the land for the foreseeable future,” McAuliffe said in a news release. “I’m asking the General Assembly to work with me to pursue Medicaid expansion and put this funding to work for our most vulnerable Virginians.”
McAuliffe campaigned in support of Medicaid expansion, so his statements aren’t surprising. But his thinking could spread to even Republican governors and state legislators, said Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
“There is now a motivation to many of those states who were on the fence to take it,” Rowland said. “They could cover a lot of low-income people with a lot of federal money.”
Another ironic twist is that having a Republican in the White House could make state GOP leaders more willing to negotiate with federal health care authorities on so-called waivers from standard Medicaid rules that would let states nudge their Medicaid expansions in more conservative directions. States like Arkansas and Indiana made such arrangements with President Barack Obama’s administration, but didn’t always get what they wanted.
“They now have an administration that’s very willing to do waivers and set up some of the kinds of things they wanted to have in an expansion, like a work requirement,” Rowland said.
Trump’s top Medicare and Medicaid official, Seema Verma, is a strong proponent of state innovation in Medicaid and was a key figure in the development of the Healthy Indiana Medicaid expansion that Vice President Mike Pence implemented while governor of that state.
The Trump administration would be more willing to allow states to impose rules on Medicaid recipients that the Obama administration wouldn’t approve, such as work requirements, higher monthly premiums and higher costs when patients use their Medicaid benefits.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, also indicated Monday that the demise of the federal repeal effort may change his thinking about Medicaid.
“Those are areas that some would like for us to explore, and I think we have the possibility of doing that within the context of our Medicaid program,” he said, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Deal did not specify that he would take up the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, but expressed an interest in seeking Medicaid waivers from the federal government.
Expansions in the other 31 states and the District of Columbia strongly contributed to the historic reduction in the national uninsured rate, and those localities saw greater success than non-expansion states.
In addition to extending coverage to more people, these Medicaid expansions have been shown to reduce premiums for private health insurance by moving sicker, costlier people to Medicaid instead, and to stimulate local economies as federal dollars flow through the state to medical providers and others.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government pays no less than 90 percent of the cost to cover newly eligible people, which includes anyone earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 a year for a single person.
Movement could pick up now that the Affordable Care Act seems secure from repeal, including in states that had actively debated Medicaid expansion in recent years but not gone through with it, such as South Dakota and Maine.
In Maine, GOP Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed several bills to expand Medicaid passed by the state’s divided legislature, most recently last year. But Mainers will get a chance to vote on expansion in a referendum this November.
In 2015, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard (R) ended his opposition to broadening Medicaid expansion and began work on an unusual proposal to expand Medicaid while also seeking to improve health care access for Native Americans in his state who have Indian Health Service benefits.
Daugaard courted the state’s majority-GOP legislature and coordinated with the Obama administration in drafting his plan. But the governor dropped it at Pence’s urging shortly after Trump won the presidential election last year, a decision he may reconsider now that repeal isn’t looming.
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FINAL FANTASY XIV was updated at the time below.*Game clients will update automatically upon launch.[Date & Time]Oct. 31, 2017 7:15 p.m. (PDT)[Affected Service]・FINAL FANTASY XIV【Update Details】◆ FINAL FANTASY XIV HotFixes (Oct. 31, 2017) ◆■ Temporary measures have been implemented for the ongoing UI settings and display issues.After the update is live, we would like to ask all players to enter the HUD Layout mode to automatically activate the temporary measures to prevent any further issues from occurring.* Even if you are currently not experiencing any UI settings and display issues, there is a chance that the issue may surface until the temporary measures have been activated. Therefore, we would like to ask you to enter the HUD Layout mode as soon as possible.Please refer to the news below for more information regarding the ongoing UI settings and display issues.■ The following issues have been addressed.・An issue wherein if a player has reached the maximum number of indoor/outdoor furnishings that can be displayed on their screen at the same time, the player is unable to place any additional indoor/outdoor furnishings from their storeroom.・An issue wherein a player will experience an error when they repeatedly attempt to place indoor/outdoor furnishings from their storeroom.
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On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton’s memoir slash election postmortem, What Happened, will be released, followed by a cross-country airing of grievances-cum-national book tour that will run through December. Perhaps unsurprisingly, members of her own party and even people who worked to get her elected are less than enthused about the 15-city tour, which kicks off in D.C. on September 18. “Oh, God,” “I can’t handle it,” and “the final torture” were among the responses from former campaign aides polled by Politico. “I think she should just zip it, but she’s not going to,” one major Democratic donor said.
Clinton fatigue has been building as Democrats look to move on from relitigating the 2016 election, bury the hatchet with Bernie Sanders supporters, and prepare for the 2018 midterms. But Clinton isn’t ready to let go just yet, preparing one last major public therapy session before shifting gears into whatever phase of her post-campaign political life comes next. Her new memoir is partly an apologia as she seeks to make that transition, with Clinton writing in already-released excerpts that she takes full responsibility for her loss to Donald Trump. But What Happened is also a burn book filled with finger-pointing at a long list of people on Clinton’s blacklist, including Sanders, Joe Biden, and even Barack Obama.
Democratic strategists worry it will inflame tensions within the Democratic Party just when it most desperately needs to be coming together. The book and tour are coming “maybe at the worst possible time, as we are fighting some of the most high-stakes policy and institutional battles we may ever see, at a time when we’re trying to bring the party together so we can all move the party forward—stronger, stronger together,” Rep. Jared Huffman, told Politico. “She’s got every right to tell her story. Who am I to say she shouldn’t, or how she should tell it? But it is difficult for some of us, even like myself who’ve supported her, to play out all these media cycles about the blame game, and the excuses.”
The greater fear is that not only will the tour trigger election P.T.S.D. and divide Democrats, but that it will give a fractious and fractured Republican Party an easy target to unite against, bringing the G.O.P.’s warring wings together in their shared hatred of Clinton.
Of course, not everyone wishes HRC would stay home. “Her book and her tour is not just important for history, it’s so important for now,” Democratic National Committee fund-raiser Robert Zimmerman told Politico. “It’s a very healthy conversation to have, and it’s important to put the internal party issues in perspective. If we’re going to move forward as a party, and if we’re going to move forward as a country, Hillary Clinton’s experiences, her insight, is essential.”
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A stranger who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in her own home in Melbourne's south-east offered her money to compensate her for the attack, police say.
It comes as the father of the teenager broke down as he made a public appeal for the attacker to come forward and described his daughter's strength.
Police have released this image of a man wanted over the Cheltenham sex attack.
The girl was sleeping in a bungalow attached to the family's home in Devon Street, Cheltenham when she woke to find a man sitting at the end of her bed at 2.30am on Thursday.
What followed was a "bizarre and disturbing" conversation where the attacker, who claimed he had a knife - which was never revealed - offered money to compensate for the assault and told the girl his parents would be disappointed in him, sex crimes squad Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Walsh said.
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A 25-year-old Ugandan woman was allegedly stabbed to death here in a scuffle over payment for sex, police said on Thursday. The accused has been arrested.
“Accused Ishan, 30, from Himachal Pradesh, has been arrested for fatally stabbing Florence Nakayaki, a degree student in a private college, over a sexual favour,” IANS quoted the deputy commissioner of police, Bengaluru North-East, PS Harsha as saying. The incident came to light when neighbours called the police on hearing screams from the second floor house at Kothanur.
“The victim met the accused on Wednesday night and drove to her house to have sex. An argument ensued when Florence asked Ishan for Rs 5,000 more after he already paid her Rs 5,000, IANS reported.
However, Praveen Sood, Bengaluru police commissioner, told HT that the two had taken a cab to the victim’s house, where the incident took place. David Amun of the African Students’ Union said he was not aware of the details and would enquire with police. However, Sood said the accused had injuries and that the probe was on. Ishan has been charged with murder. As per Ishan’s preliminary deposition, he stabbed Florence in self-defence after she threatened to raise an alarm and kill him for not paying her more. “Ishaan said he snatched the knife from the victim and stabbed her in a fit of rage for betraying him on the ‘deal’ and in self-defence,” said Harsha.
“It is an unfortunate incident or accident involving a foreigner and an Indian. We have asked the CCB to probe the case,” Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara told reporters, adding that it was not a racial attack but an “accident”.
(with agency inputs)
First Published: Feb 02, 2017 21:48 IST
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Casey Affleck poses with his Golden Globe earlier this month. Credit:Photo: Jordan Strauss If you doubt the privilege given to men of means when it comes to neatly sidestepping allegations of crimes against women, Hollywood has conveniently provided yet another example in the lauding of Casey Affleck despite accusations against him recently bubbling to the surface. Affleck is well known for parts in films like Gone Baby Gone, Good Will Hunting and the Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary, I'm Still Here, which Affleck directed. He has recently been praised for his role in Manchester by the Sea, winning a Golden Globe at the same ceremony at which Streep delivered her take-down of Trump. Of less importance (apparently) are the allegations of sexual harassment that were levelled against Affleck in 2010 by two of his colleagues. Barely causing a ripple at the time, they have resurfaced now as Affleck enters the awards circuit. But they are still being treated as a minor footnote to an otherwise stupendous rise to fame. Various media outlets have referred to them by such names as "the controversy" and "the Casey Affleck hoo-hah". Hollywood blogger Jeffrey Wells (responsible for the "hoo-hah" descriptor) has been especially dismissive, summing up behaviour (which he admits he did not witness) as being essentially no more than "boorish".
So what did happen? As Rory Carroll reported in the Guardian, "Cinematographer Magdalena Gorka and producer Amanda White alleged that behind the scenes [of I'm Still Here] Affleck verbally and sexually harassed them: bragging about sexual exploits, propositioning and grabbing White, sliding into Gorka's bed uninvited and creating a hostile climate by, among other things, instructing a crew member to display his penis." The women sued Affleck, seeking $2 million in damages. The case was settled out of court (a fact that Wells was quick and eager to point out doesn't mean Affleck is guilty) and talk of it seemed to quickly disappear. Now Affleck, having won not just praise but also the Golden Globe for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, is everybody's hot pick to win the Oscar in February. Say, what was that again about how allegations of misconduct towards women will ruin men's careers? In fact, every time I share an article about men's violence against women, I am invariably met with a percentage of responses urging caution. "What if he's innocent?" the naysayer demands to know. You can't just go around accusing men of criminal acts without any evidence! This could ruin his entire life!
The ferocity of these arguments increase in direct correlation with the reputation of the man in question, despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. Men's lives are NOT ruined by allegations of sexual assault or misconduct – women's are. It is women who are accused of being liars, gold diggers, famewhores, revenge seekers and troublemakers. This can be seen across the board, from women bringing forward complaints against their schoolmates (Jane Doe in Steubenville, Daisy Coleman in Maryville, Erica Kinsman in Florida) to women alleging crimes against powerful men like Woody Allen, Michael Fassbender, Jared Leto, Johnny Depp and President-elect Donald Trump. Even men whom the public generally accepts are abusers – Charlie Sheen, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and Chris Brown – continue to enjoy overwhelming support not only from their community and employers but also their fans. Long after the allegations of violent behaviour from Sheen had piled to the ceiling, he was still the highest paid man on television. Allegations against Cosby were summarily discarded for decades before Hannibal Buress talked about it during a stand up set and people suddenly took notice. Roman Polanski admitted to drugging and raping a 13 year old girl and he still has hundreds of friends in Hollywood who petition for his extradition to be dropped so he can return to America as a free man. How can anyone continue to declare that even whispers of these things are powerful enough to end a man's career, when the truth is so starkly different? People don't believe women. They don't want to believe women because believing women means they might have to accept that men they like and admire are also capable of abusive behaviour. And that in turn means they might have to actually take a stand against some of that behaviour. No. It's far easier to continue to herald and revere these men as 'complex' and treat the subjects of their abuse as spoils for their emotional growth. And why would they change when they are supported at every turn to stay exactly the same? Consider the words of one anonymous member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), also quoted in Carroll's piece:
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A secretive dark money group backed by George Soros and other liberal mega-donors is looking to steer nearly $40 million to left-wing groups in 2014 to support high-profile political and policy efforts, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The documents reveal for the first time the Democracy Alliance's full portfolio of supported organizations, a large network of powerful liberal groups looking to win key electoral and legislative victories.
The Democracy Alliance connects major Democratic donors with some of the largest and most influential liberal activist groups in the country. Previous beneficiaries, such as the Center for American Progress and Media Matters for America, are set to get millions more in 2014.
The list also reveals DA support for newer organizations, such as Organizing for Action, the advocacy group that succeeded President Barack Obama's reelection campaign. That group has received official sanction from the White House, and operates websites and social media accounts branded with the president's name.
In all, the document reveals, the Democracy Alliance hopes to provide $39.3 million to 20 organizations this year. If it meets those fundraising targets, it will likely be responsible for one out of every five dollars in those groups' 2014 budgets.
Alliance-supported organizations will spend more than $175 million in 2014, according to budget projections contained in the document.
The Democracy Alliance is highly secretive in all of its operations. The donors it solicits and the organization to which it directs their financial support are prohibited from speaking publicly about its operations.
Security was tight at its recent conference in Chicago where reporters from the Free Beacon and Politico were rebuffed by attendees who would not answer questions about their involvement with the group.
The Free Beacon obtained and recently published a list of new Alliance "partners" -- individuals and organizations that must pay $30,000 in dues and contribute at least $200,000 to DA-aligned groups each year -- providing previously unreported details on its financial backing.
Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
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Three weeks ago we speculated that Australian wonder-rockers Karnivool were planning a U.S. tour with The Contortionist this spring based on a date featuring both bands that had been announced in Dallas. Stranger things have happened, but it seemed unlikely Karnivool would travel all that way and spend all that money for one club show, and the lineup seemed like a good match.
Unfortunately it now seems as if such a tour is not to be. MetalSucks reader Blayne S., who initially tipped us off to the Dallas show, now writes to tell us that he just received an email saying the show’s been canceled and his money’s been refunded. This could be an instance of Karnivool and/or the tour not being able to put a proper routing together in time but, based on the fact that only one date was ever announced, it seems way more likely that an overzealous promoter jumped the gun, or somehow had his wires crossed as to how firm the show was.
Which is all a bummer. It’s been way too long since Karnivool hit the U.S., and a pairing with The Contortionist would’ve been a great match.
Speaking of The Contortionist, the whole band took over the official MetalSucks Instagram account yesterday from the road on their current trek with Revocation, Fallujah and Toothgrinder; get dates here.
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Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by Charlie Savage Little, Brown, 769 pp., $30.00
1.
Over the past decade, Charlie Savage has become an indispensible reporter of US counterterrorism. He won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for his articles on presidential signing statements, an obscure legal device the George W. Bush administration frequently used to reject legislation that in its eyes encroached on the president’s power. Savage’s first book, Takeover, was a broad study of executive overreach by the Bush administration.1 In Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency, Savage pursues the same themes in the Obama administration. Power Wars is a long and comprehensive book, covering in intricate detail nearly every major issue in Obama’s national security policy: detainees, military commissions, torture, surveillance, secrecy, targeted killings, and war powers. Its behind-the-scenes story will likely stand as the definitive record of Obama’s approach to law and national security.
Savage offers a distinctly lawyer’s-eye view of his topics. The major participants in his story are not politicians and planners, but top lawyers in the White House, the Justice Department, and the security apparatus—what Savage calls the “national security legal-policy team.” They work mostly behind the scenes, veiled by lawyer–client confidentiality; no more than half a dozen of the more than fifty lawyers described in the book have names that readers are likely to recognize. Their domain is the arcane network of laws that constrain the president as he wages what continues to be, at least in US eyes, an endless war against al-Qaeda and its offshoots.
One reviewer has complained that much of Power Wars will interest national security professionals and law students but not a broader audience.2 That misses the real importance of Savage’s work. His main interest is presidential power in its perennial struggle with Congress and the courts. Ultimately, the stakes are high: whether we will continue to have, in John Adams’s words, “government of laws, and not of men.”3
Savage focuses on executive branch lawyers because they play a central part in restraining the presidency—or not restraining it, as the case may be. Lawyers are trained to pose two questions whenever they interpret laws: What did the legislature mean, and what would the courts say? Metaphorically speaking, Congress and the courts have automatic stakes in the deliberations of any competent lawyer, including lawyers for the executive branch. And if the president’s lawyers tell him that a policy is illegal, he will have a hard time carrying it out. Even an adventurous president willing to say “Do it anyway!” would find too many other officials who won’t sign off on an illegal action.…
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John Achterberg is hopeful that the promising signs of communication between Dejan Lovren and Simon Mignolet can help the Liverpool defence prosper during the upcoming season.
The former, who arrived at Anfield only last month following a move from Southampton, was a revelation on his first appearance for the Reds, against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
In addition to a first-half headed goal, the Croatian centre-back was a robust and dominant presence at the back, endearing himself to a sold-out home crowd immediately.
Notable too was the level of communication among the defensive line and goalkeeper Mignolet, who clocked up a second clean sheet in three matches as pre-season concluded.
"It's very important for any defender and goalkeeper that communication works well between them," Achterberg outlined to Liverpoolfc.com at Melwood.
"They are already training together. If you play as a centre-half in any team, most rules are the same. You are just learning from each other and looking at the movement of each other to pick up the right positions.
"We know what to expect, what to do and how to handle different situations. Simon always needs to look for the right balance in the team; when we're attacking, we need to make sure the defence behind the ball is set up correctly.
"When we're defending, the combination of centre-halves squeeze up to the ball, close down and make sure that the gaps are small and tight."
Watch the video here »
Of the seven new recruits signed by Brendan Rodgers this summer, one other has been a defender - Javier Manquillo, captured on loan from Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.
On Tuesday, it was also announced that an agreement is in place with La Liga outfit Sevilla for the transfer of full-back Alberto Moreno.
Having recorded 10 Barclays Premier League clean sheets last season, Achterberg believes the Reds are more strongly equipped this time around to regularly thwart opponents.
The Dutchman continued: "As a whole team, we want to improve defensively because obviously the fewer goals you concede the more chance you have to win games and the more clean sheets you keep.
"That's what we'll be focusing on - it's communication between the defence, Simon and the whole team from the front to the back. Hopefully we can improve.
"There are a lot of new players that have come into the club to help the team improve. I definitely think we will improve.
"We have already kept a few clean sheets in the recent games; we're improving that side of things by working in training."
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When a polar vortex descended on North America in early January 2014, people were expecting cold temperatures. But very few anticipated quite how cold it was going to get.
Ontario has been rocked by ice quakes. Roads, offices and schools have been shut in almost every state in the US. Low temperature records were broken, and flights were cancelled en masse. This wasn’t your average cold snap.
But one of the effects of the extreme cold, seen over the Great Lakes, was more beautiful than destructive. The bone-chilling Arctic wind passing over their warmer surface created a phenomenon known as steam fog, or sea smoke.
Arctic Vortex causing Lake Michigan to steam near Navy Pier
It’s exactly the same effect that you see when you run a hot bath. The hot water makes the layer of air just above its surface both warm and saturated with moisture. When the colder air passes over, it mixes with this warm layer, and cools it. The cooler air can no longer hold as much water vapour, so it condenses out into tiny water droplets that appear as fog or mist.
This layer usually stays close to the surface of the water, but if there’s a wind then it can be whipped up into columns as high as 20 or 30 metres. It’s not particularly rare — you’ll often see it over ponds and lakes in the wintertime, particularly at higher latitudes. But the stronger the difference, the more intense the steaming effect is.
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Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
It’s been said that everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.
Well, seven years of drought in the Holy Land has been so bad that it has brought together Muslim, Christian and Jewish clerics to offer prayers for rain.
The rainy season should have begun over a month ago, but the skies remain blue on this November afternoon. These devout men believe that now more than ever is the time for divine intervention.At a spring named Ein Heniya in the Valley of the Ghosts that separates Jerusalem from the Bethlehem hills, the clerics gathered on Thursdayafternoon for an unusual prayer session. They decided to put aside their differences and, as followers of one God, united their prayers for the muchneeded rain.“Look up, it’s dry, dry,” said Rabbi Menachem Froman, an Orthodox rabbi from the Tekoa settlement near Bethlehem, who has close ties with Palestinian religious leaders.“Before anything else, to live we need rain. If there isn’t any rain, there won’t be any Jews or Muslims or Christians here.”“According to our traditions, the Jewish and the Islam, rain is due to the deeds of man, and if we make any step of peace between us, perhaps that will open the treasures of the skies and rain will fall,” Froman told The Media Line.The spring is located a few hundred meters from an IDF checkpoint, and is sort of a no-man’s land. But its location on the fringes of Israel and the Palestinian Authority have allowed it to serve more as an everyman’s land, where Jews and Arabs can gather away from the watchful eyes of the security forces.Still, there were some who tried to turn the prayer into a political event. A Palestinian man from the nearby village of Walaje began yelling that he was being oppressed and occupied when two curious border policemen stopped by to see what all the fuss was about.After a quick word with one of the rabbis, the policemen left and the prayers began.“I came here with my Jewish and Muslim brothers to pray that God has mercy on us and bestows blessings and rain on this holy land,” Rev. Issa Elias Musleh, spokesman for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, told The Media Line.“God willing, our prayers will reach God, who will grant us all our wishes – for he is capable for changing all things. I hope everyone who supports peace will take this union of clerics into consideration,” Musleh said.After declarations of unity, the three groups broke off to pray separately. About 20 Jews gathered around a dry pool, where they recited the special prayer for rain. It is required to fast for the day, if one recited this prayer.Musleh stepped on a large boulder closer to the spring and began his Christian prayer, his followers nearby.The Muslims, watching curiously at the Israelis praying – perhaps seeing this Jewish worship for the first time – took to higher ground. When the Jewish prayers were over, they lined up in two rows behind an imam and began their salat al-matar, or rain prayer.“God likes unity, and when people make unity on the earth it is very good, and Allah likes this kind of life. Allah wants people not to quarrel with each other because of religion.Because Allah sent religion to make peace, not to make war,” Sheikh Abdel Najib, mufti of the Bethlehem area, told The Media Line. “We hope that God will be happy.”Amid the throng of local and international television crews and journalists, American tourist Micah Rosenblatt watched, enthralled.“I wanted to be part of something where everyone is coming together for a common cause, because we all love this land and we are all a part of it, and so we want to work together to, like, bring some goodness here, you know,” said Rosenblatt, a Jewish man from Florida who is staying in Tekoa.Looking up at the cloudless sky, he wondered: “Who knows? Maybe the prayers will change something.You never know. You never know what can happen,” he said.Froman said God was looking down from above.“I believe that if God sees his children working together, the heavens will open and not only will rain come down, but so will peace,” Froman said.
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Nate Schmidt's first memory of an NHL expansion draft goes back to 2000, when he was 8 years old and his beloved home state of Minnesota got a new team, the Wild. That was also when Schmidt first learned about the reality for expansion franchises in their first season.
"They had a lot of growing pains," Schmidt said with a laugh. The Wild won just 25 games that year, finishing last in the division.
Fast-forward 17 years and there's Schmidt's name being announced by the Vegas Golden Knights as their expansion draft selection from the Washington Capitals. The 26-year-old defenseman started his NHL career with a team that won the most regular-season games over the past three years, so Schmidt tempered his expectations for the Golden Knights' inaugural season. But 20 games in, Vegas has won 13 of them, good for first place in the Pacific Division.
So, about those expectations?
"I don't really know how to put it any other way, but not the way we started," Schmidt said.
Perhaps it hit home for Schmidt when, less than a month into the season, the Golden Knights already had eight wins, matching the Capitals' miserable 1974-75 campaign. Washington went 8-67-5 that year, still the worst season ever. With more than 40 years separating the two teams, their different trajectories underscore how the expansion draft has changed - and how impressive the Golden Knights' start has been.
Just three teams who were in a playoff position on Thanksgiving last season fell out by the end of the season, holding true to a trend: Since the league expanded to 30 clubs in 2000, roughly 80 percent of playoff teams on Turkey Day ultimately make the postseason. That means the Golden Knights are on track to make the playoffs and become the first first-year club to win more than 33 games. They've lost just once at home - maybe the Las Vegas attractions have something to do with that - and Schmidt recently quipped to reporters that, "The house always wins."
"I didn't really know what to expect," Schmidt said in a phone interview. "I had hoped that for me personally, that this would be a time where I would have some room to grow into a new role. And I just had hoped that there were other guys on our team that were looking to make that step as well. ... We all could grow in a way together with our roles increasing."
Members of the 1974-'75 Capitals team have followed the Golden Knights with pride and a little envy. The late Abe Pollin's entry fee into the league was $6 million, chump change compared to Vegas owner Bill Foley's $500 million. It also bought Foley quite a bit more. Teams had the option of two player protection formats for the expansion draft - either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender, or any eight skaters and one goaltender. In 2000, when Minnesota and the Columbus Blue Jackets entered the league, established teams were permitted to protect nine forwards, five defensemen and a goaltender.
Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee made some side deals, picking up picks and prospects in exchange for avoiding certain players in the draft. The team amassed assets for its future, but it also was able to snatch a bona fide first-line winger in James Neal, who scored 23 goals last season with Nashville, and a No. 1 goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Proven veterans such as forwards Cody Eakin and David Perron were available. Then there were a collection of players who seemed to have upside, but perhaps they'd been squeezed out of top spots with their respective clubs because of good depth. Count Schmidt in that last category.
"Effort and work ethic and being able to go out and play a hard, physical game and managing the puck well, those are things that these guys had to do on their former teams, otherwise they wouldn't be able to play very much," Schmidt said. "That's something I had to do. Now that you give these guys an opportunity to play a little bit more and they have that background and now that you're adding some offense, it gives a chance to win a lot of games. ... That's the beauty of it."
When Washington and Kansas City had their expansion drafts in 1974, teams were permitted to protect 17 skaters, which left a sorry talent pool for the draft. The fledgling teams combined for 23 wins that season, but the Capitals were clearly the lesser of the two. No other team in the league's 100-year history has played at least 70 games while posting fewer points (21) or wins (8). The Capitals won one road game that year - 5-3 over the Golden Seals at Oakland Coliseum - and players famously celebrated by passing a garbage pail around the locker room as if it was a Stanley Cup.
"The protected list was a joke," said Jack Lynch, a defenseman on that first Capitals team. "If you look back at the players who were exposed for the expansion draft back then, you were getting basically access to the 17th, 18th and 19th player on the existing NHL teams' rosters."
Indeed, of the more than 50 players at Washington's inaugural training camp, none had scored more than 10 goals in the NHL the year before. Defenseman Bill Mikkelson finished with a minus-82 rating that season, still an NHL record, and that was in part because teams would often run up the score on the Capitals because players saw an opportunity to pad their personal stats.
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"I was in college, and now instead of going to college I'm doing Bitcoin," says Louis Parker, an entrepreneur who has set up shop at the Bitcoin Center NYC, a cavernous storefront in lower Manhattan's financial district that's fast become a central gathering spot for New York City's cryptocurrency traders, programmers, and enthusiasts. "There's no college class on Bitcoin, except in Cyprus, and I wasn't ready to move there," he says.
Every Monday night, Bitcoin traders holds a meet up called Satoshi Square, named in honor of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, in which participants exchange virtual currencies for U.S. dollars. Before Satoshi Square relocated to the Bitcoin Center NYC a couple weeks ago, it was held in the shopping aisles of a Whole Foods grocery store on the Lower East Side.
Why exchange Bitcoins for dollars in person when it's easy to do so on the web? For one thing, online trades require a bank account, which some Bitcoin users lack. Trading in person also reduces transaction fees and enables haggling. "There's a lot of benefits to coming together on an exchange," says Scott Tuddenham, who helps manage the order book during Satoshi Square. "Commerce has been conducted in city centers since the beginning of time," he says.
The cofounder of the Bitcoin Center NYC is Nick Spanos, a tech entrepreneur and the owner of the New York City real estate brokerage firm Bapple. He says his interest in Bitcoin and other virtual currencies is partly driven by concern that over printing of money by the U.S. government could lead to runaway inflation.
"Maybe people just by learning about Bitcoin will slowdown the dollars being printed as an educational function of its existence," says Spanos.
About 3.15 minutes.
Produced by Jim Epstein and hosted by Naomi Brockwell.
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The famed gray wolf that had traveled to the Grand Canyon from the Northern Rockies late last year is officially dead.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed yesterday that the wolf, whose astonishing trek made national headlines, was shot near Beaver, Utah, by a local hunter who allegedly mistook it for a coyote.
Genetic tests conducted at the University of Idaho found that the DNA sample taken from the wolf killed on December 28 was identical to the DNA in scat samples taken from Echo, the name given to the Grand Canyon wolf following a worldwide naming contest among schoolchildren. (See our gray wolf pictures.)
The Fish and Wildlife Service revealed for the first time this week that the animal had been radio-collared roughly a year ago, in January 2014, near Cody, Wyoming—which suggests Echo had traveled at least 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) before being killed.
Wolves in Utah are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and hunting them can bring penalties of up to a year in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines. A spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service would not comment on the shooting, but said the investigation is under way. (Read “Wolf Wars” in National Geographic magazine.)
“It’s very sad news,” said Michael Robinson, a conservationist and wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We and a lot of other people were rooting for her. Echo’s death illustrates the peril wolves face even under the protection of the Endangered Species Act.”
View Images NG STAFF. SOURCE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; USGS
Uncertain Future
A gray wolf hadn’t been seen in the Grand Canyon area since the 1940s. The predator once roamed much of North America, but was hunted nearly to extinction by the mid-20th century.
But thanks to conservation efforts including reintroduction, the species has rebounded. Today, 1,700 gray wolves roam the West. (See an interactive on the return of the wolf to much of the United States.)
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, however, the gray wolf has recovered to 10 percent of its historic range in the U.S.—a number the center believes is too small. Biologists have identified more than 350,000 square miles (900,000 square kilometers) of unoccupied suitable wolf habitat.
This habitat includes portions of the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains, the Adirondack Mountains, and, not least, the greater Grand Canyon area.
That future is uncertain. The gray wolf has been deemed to have recovered in Montana and Idaho, where it has been delisted as an endangered species.
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PERIL ISLAND—Big-game hunter Baron Hugo von Urwitz conceded Tuesday that his theory that human beings are the most cunning and challenging of quarry is seriously flawed.
"Perhaps I gave my fellow man too much credit," said von Urwitz, looking on as his servants carried three lifeless human beings bound to poles by their hands and ankles. "Admittedly, there are fewer kills today than yesterday, but only because the herd is thinning."
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Bored with netting such elusive and dangerous prey as Bengal tigers, white rhinos, and Cape buffalo, the 51-year-old adventurer said he had thought it would be "capital sport" to hunt humans on his uncharted, densely forested private island.
"My huntsman's heart thrilled at the prospect of bringing down a live human, who alone in the animal kingdom has the capacity to outwit and even best his enemies through sheer intellect," von Urwitz said. "What I neglected to consider is that man is also alone in the capacity to tumble straight into quicksand while fleeing from a swarm of yellow jackets after trying to steal honey from their nest."
Von Urwitz chanced upon his stock of prey Saturday, after a chartered luxury yacht ran aground in the shoals surrounding his island. The yacht's 29 passengers and five crew members were promptly invited to lodge in the baron's imposing fortress.
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At dawn Sunday, von Urwitz roused his guests to announce his shocking intent to hunt them. Allowing them only small knives and the clothes on their backs, he anticipated that his human prey would elude him in inventive and clever ways—and perhaps even make their hunter the hunted himself.
Yet in the first night alone, eight tourists died of exposure.
"I'm not sure I even need to be here, really," von Urwitz added.
"At the very least, I assumed they would take to the trees and hills in desperate flight," he said. "Instead, many of them just milled about like peahens within the confines of my estate, periodically rattling the backdoor knob to ensure that it hadn't been unlocked since they last checked."
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The baron theorized that the grave danger simply didn't register with most of the humans. "Look at this one," von Urwitz said, as a cellar meat locker revealed an overweight, middle-aged male bearing a single gunshot wound to the forehead. "I bagged him in the courtyard as he sipped vitamin water, after I had given him a four-hour running start. Where's the sport in this?"
Von Urwitz said three vacationers brazenly approached him with strange questions.
"They asked about grand prizes and something they called an 'immunity challenge,'" von Urwitz said. "I had my men slit their throats."
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Those who had the wherewithal to hide did so in obvious places, such as in the toolshed, under the car, or behind bushes. Von Urwitz said his hounds "made short work of them."
A few did flee to the jungle, including one man who raced in the direction of a pit trap dug by von Urwitz's men. From a hunting blind close to the trap, von Urwitz said he watched with "immense excitement."
"Would [the man's] eyes catch the carpet of dead, flattened leaves in the clearing, noticing their rather unnatural distribution, and quickly surmise, through reason and intuition alike, that something was dreadfully amiss?" von Urwitz said. "Or would he blindly stumble into the pit and be finished off by our arrows?"
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Ultimately, the man did neither. Before coming within 20 yards of the pit, he was knocked cold by a low-hanging tree limb.
With 22 kills by nightfall Tuesday, the baron recognized the need to amend his strategy. "I had snared a couple of tourists, but they were so obviously feebleminded that I threw them back into the brush," von Urwitz said. "If I leave them alone, perhaps in a few weeks one or two of them will have developed survival tactics besides uncontrolled weeping and involuntary defecation."
Hinting that his ruthlessness was quickly turning to pity for the pathetic, fragile creatures, von Urwitz also mused about rounding them up in an island game preserve. "I am reminded of Theodore Roosevelt, with his hunter's love of nature," von Urwitz said. "Perhaps future generations of von Urwitzes can enjoy the humans' comical antics, and if their numbers increase sufficiently, perhaps hunt some of the—one would hope—increasingly fit adults from time to time."
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"On the other hand, I could always put out some large glue traps," von Urwitz added.
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Researcher Yair Neuman, associate professor of education at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev, Israel, and his team have developed software that can detect depression in blogs.
The software, developed at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), is capable of identifying language that can indicate the writer's psychological state, which could serve as a screening tool.
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“The software program was designed to find depressive content hidden in language that did not mention the obvious terms like "depression" or suicide. A psychologist knows how to spot various emotional states through intuition. Here, we have a program that does this methodically through the innovative use of 'web intelligence," explains Neuman.
The program can find certain words that express various emotions such as "black" combined with other terms that describe symptoms of depression, such as sleep deprivation or loneliness. The software will be more of an aid to mental health workers and other professionals since "no one can actually replace excellent human judgment," says Neuman.
In the US, there is a big problem of undiagnosed people suffering from depression. The usual screening process is an online questionnaire, which is a self-selective process and if the blogger agrees, they will know whether or not he needs to seek professional counseling.
A panel of four clinical psychologists reviewed the samples and concluded that there was a 78 per cent correlation between the computer's and the panel's findings. Originally conducted for academic purposes, the findings could potentially be used to screen for would-be suicides.
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About
My best friend (Justin Addison) is an awesome artist, He has an natural talent but it doesn't pay the bills. He is trying to make it and be able to get his name out there, and how would be better than taking a portfolio of his art work and turning them into cards and give them out to people that could enjoy looking at his artwork as much as he enjoys making it. He has many different styles of art he can do, but right now he is into space paintings. If these cards do well he might do a second volume in a different style of painting. The paintings he is currently doing are on 1/2 sheet of poster board so they are of decent size. He is going to make 52-54 pictures (depending on if people want their pictures on the jokers)
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(By Judson Massingill) – For decades, machinists and engine builders have been taught that when balancing a crankshaft, its counterweights should equal 100 percent of the rotating mass and 50 percent of the reciprocating mass. Machinists have used this formula to calculate bobweight for decades. While this technique works extremely well for the vast majority of both street and race 90-degree V-8 engines, the truth of the matter is that it’s nearly impossible to perfectly balance a crankshaft. That’s because the balancer cannot account for variables such as cylinder pressure, ring drag, rod length, counterweight phasing, engine rpm, stroke length, bearing friction, secondary vibrations, rocking couples, and static mass.
All of these factors play a dramatic role in overall engine balance, yet the traditional mathematical formula used for calculating bobweight completely ignores all of them. Instead, calculating bobweight is based strictly on measuring rotating weight and reciprocating weight, which is a gross oversimplification of the actual dynamic forces at play inside an engine that affect balancing. In other words, the traditional method of balancing a crank is, at best, an imperfect science. In fact, it’s not based on any real science or mathematics at all. It’s simply a technique based on trial and error that happens works well in most 90-degree, cross-plane V-8s.
Not surprisingly, as engine rpm and horsepower output increases, the traditional methods used to balance crankshafts become less effective. The big challenge for engine builders is figuring out how to work around these limitations to balance a crankshaft as precisely as possible based on the demands of each particular engine combination. This explains why many engine builders have experimented with techniques such as overbalancing, and why they’re often topics of intense debate.
Crankshaft balancing will always be a compromise, but to get a better handle on how to more effectively balance an engine, we will first outline basics of the balancing process. Next, we will briefly explain the shortcomings of traditional balancing techniques before finally exploring some of the advanced solutions top race teams have experimented with to prolong engine durability in extreme, high-rpm race applications.
Basics of Balancing
Properly balancing the rotating assembly in any engine build is paramount to maximizing performance and longevity. The typical hot rodder will walk into an engine shop and say they want their rotating assembly balanced to one or two grams. What they think they want you to do is to make sure all the pistons and rods weigh within a couple of grams of each other, but most quality aftermarket manufacturers already do that at the factory. The real goal of balancing a rotating assembly is to make sure that the crankshaft counterweights offset the rotating and reciprocating forces created by pistons and rods. With today’s lightweight pistons and rods, accomplishing this usually involves removing mass from the crank counterweights. With extremely long-stroke cranks that have shorter counterweights, or rotating assemblies with very heavy pistons and connecting rods, tungsten metal slugs can be pressed into the counterweights to increase mass.
The mass of the crankshaft counterweights should equal 100 percent of the rotating mass and 50 percent of the reciprocating mass. Determining how much mass to add or remove from the crank counterweights requires measuring all of the components in the rotating assembly individually on a high-precision scale. The pistons, rings, wrist pins, pin locks, and the small end of the connecting rods move up and down the bores, and comprise the reciprocating mass of a rotating assembly. An extra five to 10 grams is typically added to the reciprocating mass to account for the weight of the motor oil. The big end of the rods and the rod bearings rotate around the crankshaft centerline, and therefore represent the rotating mass.
During the balancing process, bobweights are bolted to each rod journal to simulate the mass of a pair of pistons and rods. This is because each rod journal supports two sets of pistons and rods. After bolting the bobweights to the crankshaft, the balancer spins the assembly to roughly 750 rpm. Once the rotating assembly comes to a rest, the LCD display on the balancer indicates the amount and location of weight that needs to be added or removed as the operator slowly rotates the crank by hand.
Mass and Distance
Crank balancing equipment—such as the Sunnen DCB-750—measure the imbalance that exists in a rotating assembly in grams, but that’s just half the story. Simply stating that a crank is 60 grams out of balance isn’t sufficient. That would be like trying to use a map that had latitude co-ordinates, but no longitude co-ordinates. You have to specify both the mass of the imbalance and the location of that imbalance. In this case, the location of the imbalances is simply the distance of the imbalance from the crankshaft centerline.
To put the importance of this location into perspective, imagine swinging a rock tied to a string, then doubling the length of string and swinging it again. The rock would pull on your hand twice as hard even though its mass hasn’t changed. The same applies to a crankshaft, because the farther away a given unit of mass is from the crankshaft centerline, the greater effect it will have on the balance of the crank. For example, a crank that’s 20 grams out of balance three inches from the crank centerline is the same as a crank that’s 60 grams out of balance one inch from the crankshaft centerline. This is why the correct unit for measuring crankshaft balance is ounce-inches, not just ounces or grams.
Consequently, the distance any given unit of imbalance is located from the crankshaft centerline is just as important as the amount of imbalance itself. Interestingly, however, many engine shops don’t pay any attention to this critical detail. In fact, it’s possible for machinists to balance crankshafts for decades without even realizing the importance of specifying the distance of imbalance. The obvious question is, how can this be the case? The answer is quite simple. The correction radius is the distance from the crankshaft centerline to the edge of the counterweights, and in most domestic V-8 engines, this figure is roughly three inches. When a shop orders up balancing equipment from Sunnen, the salesman sets up the machine using a three-inch correction radius, and trains the customer to add or remove material from the crank counterweights until the machine reads ¼ ounce-inch.
The problem with this approach is that once you factor in a three-inch correction radius, the crank is actually ¾ ounce-inch out of balance. So even though a machinist thinks they just balanced a crank to ¼ ounce-inch, it’s actually ¾ ounce-inch out of balance. The reason you can get away with it is because a crank balanced to ¾ ounce inch will run just fine in a typical street/strip motor, and it’s still far better balanced than a production engine.
How Good is Good Enough?
A rotating assembly can be balanced to varying degrees of precision, and a moderate-rpm street motor can get away with far more imbalance than a high-rpm race motor. So how close is close enough? The standard unit of measurement for crankshaft balancing is an ounce-inch. There are 28.34 grams in one ounce, so balancing to ½
ounce-inch means that a crank has roughly 14 grams of imbalance one inch from its centerline. A factory 350 small-block Chevy is balanced to around two ounce-inches while a 7,000-rpm street/strip performance engine is usually balanced to ¾ ounce-inch. A very high-end race motor is usually balanced to ¼ ounce-inch, which is seen as the holy grail of balancing by engine builders. Even at ¼ ounce inch, the rotating assembly is still 7 grams out of balance an inch from the crankshaft centerline. That might seem like a lot, but a 10,000-rpm NHRA Comp Eliminator motor will run all season long when balanced to ¼ ounce-inch.
Nevertheless, with NHRA Pro Stock motors approaching 12,000 rpm, and NASCAR Sprint Cup motors turning 9,000-plus rpm for 500 mile race distances, the ¼ ounce-inch standard becomes less effective in extreme racing engines. The effect of rpm on an engine’s internal loads cannot be underestimated. As engine rpm increases, the tensile loads experienced by the connecting rods—and therefore the crank throws—increase exponentially. In other words, the tensile loads are four times greater at 5,000 rpm than at 2,500 rpm, and 16 times greater at 10,000 rpm than at 2,500 rpm. Likewise, as rpm increases, the effect of ring drag, bearing friction, and cylinder pressure (until peak torque is reached) on an engine’s overall balance increases as well.
With high rpm and big cubic inches comes serious horsepower, and the cylinder pressure generated along the way significantly impacts engine balance. For example, let’s say that an NHRA Pro Stock motor produces 3,000 psi of cylinder pressure on the conservative end of the spectrum. When combined with a 4.750-inch bore—which equates to 17.71 square inches of surface area on the piston crown—the result is over 50,000 pounds of force that’s transmitted into the block and rotating assembly during the power stroke. Clearly, merely balancing a rotating assembly to ¼ ounce-inch isn’t always enough in to accurately replicate the dynamic forces at play inside extreme race engines.
V-8 Nuances
The most fundamental factor to consider when balancing a race engine is why a 90-degree V-8 needs to be balanced in the first place. This particular configuration presents some inherent challenges. If a V-8 was flattened into a horizontally opposed (boxer) configuration, the forces generated by a piston and rod at top dead center (TDC) on one bank of cylinders would be cancelled out by an opposing piston and rod at TDC on the other bank of cylinders. Since each bank of cylinders are phased 180 degrees apart, the forces cancel each other out perfectly and, therefore, do not need counterweights. Much like a flywheel, the primary purpose of the counterweights in these engines is to smooth out the rotational velocity of the crankshaft.
In contrast, when folding the block 90 degrees to create a V-8, the pistons and rods generate forces that travel in multiple planes. Since the forces generated by the pistons and rods on opposing banks in a V-8 cannot cancel each other out directly, they require counterweights to achieve proper balance. By positioning a counterweight phased 180-degrees away from TDC, they can effectively cancel out the movement of the piston and rod. Further complicating the situation is the fact that pistons and rods positioned at a 90-degree angle to each other transfer forces downward into the cylinder wall as well as at 45-degree angle to the crankshaft. The 50-percent reciprocating weight factor used during the balancing process attempts to compensate for these forces that are generated in multiple planes.
Center Counterweights
The textbook explanation of how counterweights offset rotating and reciprocating mass is easy enough to understand, but it’s at best merely a partial explanation of the actual dynamic forces at hand. That’s because most 90-degree V-8 crankshafts have only six counterweights, which means that the center two cylinders do not have any counterweights beneath them. Having two sets of pistons and rods whose bobweights are not accounted for requires adding this mass to the six existing counterweights. Although this approach works fine from a mathematical standpoint, the counterweights are not in the ideal position to cancel out the forces of the center two cylinders. Not surprisingly, this leads to extremely uneven bearing loads where the forces on the #2 and #4 main caps can be significantly higher than on the #1, #3, and #5 main caps.
Additionally, as horsepower and rpm increase, the rotational inertia of the counterweights combined with their positioning at the far ends of the crankshaft impart their own torsional loads into the crankshaft. This effect is similar to the torsional loads channeled into the crank by the flywheel and balancer in an externally balanced engine. Ultimately, these loads can lead to crank fatigue and crank failure.
Obviously, compensating from two missing counterweights by adding mass to the six existing counterweights is a less-than-ideal solution for high-rpm race engines. This explains why most custom billet crankshafts are built with center counterweights, bringing the counterweight total to eight. That said, merely adding two center counterweights is only half the battle. Even when using a crank with center counterweights, mass must also be removed from the front and rear counterweights to reduce the torsional loads imparted into the crank. In the past, many engine builders felt that the additional rotating mass of a center counterweighted crank would offset any potential horsepower gains resulting from evening out the bearing loads. However, dyno and track testing in recent years has proven that the decrease in bearing loads are so beneficial to horsepower output that they more than offset the additional mass.
Factors Unaccounted For
Among the dozens of variables that traditional balancing methods do not account for, peak engine rpm and horsepower output are two of the most significant factors. However, putting the extremely complex science of balancing into perspective requires examining variables such as ring drag, rod length, counterweight phasing, stroke length, bearing friction, secondary vibrations, rocking couples, and static mass in closer detail. Individually, each of these variables may not dramatically affect the overall balance of an engine, but cumulatively their effects are much more significant.
Weight and Power
Static weight is a topic that’s seldom discussed with regard to engine balancing. Even so, the ongoing quest to increase horsepower while reducing weight makes it a relevant topic nonetheless. If an engine weighed 1,000 pounds but only produced 100 horsepower, the effects of engine imbalance would be minor. That’s because a relatively small unbalanced force would have to move against a very heavy mass in order to create a vibration. On the other hand, if an engine weighed just 500 pounds yet produced 1,000 horsepower, any engine imbalance would be far more damaging. That’s because a very large quantity of unbalanced force would easily move against a relatively small mass to create detrimental vibrations. Engine builders are always striving to squeeze out the most horsepower while reducing engine mass as much as possible, and both of these objectives make an engine more vulnerable to harmful vibrations caused by imbalance. Since no engine builder in their right mind is going to decrease horsepower or increase weight to make their engines more resistant to imbalance, it’s imperative to find more practical methods of balancing race engines.
Internal Friction
Ring drag and bearing friction are very easy concepts to understand. During the balancing process, the crankshaft sits on two precision-calibrated stands that support the front and rear mains journals. The crank rides on plastic inserts fitted to the top of the stands, and oil is squirted onto the crank to reduce friction and to protect the mains. As such, the balancer sees just a miniscule fraction of the bearing friction a crank will encounter in a running engine. Likewise, the pistons aren’t actually attached to the crank during balancing, so ring drag is a non-factor.
On the other hand, when turning an assembled short-block over by hand, it takes about 30 lb-ft of torque to rotate the crank in a typical street/strip engine equipped with standard tension rings. Most of that required force is attributable to ring drag and bearing friction. Increase engine speed to 7,000 rpm, and the horsepower required to overcome that 30 lb-ft of drag is substantial. That resistance is channeled back through the crankshaft and block as unbalanced force.
Secondary Vibrations
Rotating and reciprocating forces generated once per every crankshaft revolution are defined as primary forces. Rotating and reciprocating forces generated twice per every crankshaft revolution are defined as secondary forces. While primary forces are easy to visualize, understanding secondary forces isn’t as intuitive. Imagine drawing a line on the cylinder wall precisely half way in between TDC (top dead center) and BDC (bottom dead center). Since the wristpin is positioned slightly below the piston crown, when the crank pin rotates downward to half the length of the stroke, the piston actually travels a distance greater than half the length of the stroke. As a result, the piston accelerates away from TDC toward the halfway point more quickly than it accelerates from the halfway point toward BDC. The same applies as the piston reverses direction back up the bore. In other words, the piston’s rate of acceleration increases once it passes the halfway point on its way back up toward TDC. This disparity in piston acceleration creates an upward vibration that occurs twice per crankshaft revolution, which is where the term secondary force (or vibration) comes from.
Fortunately, since each of the four crankpins in a cross-plane V-8 are phased 90 degrees apart, there are always pairs of pistons moving through different phases of the crankshaft rotation cycle. As crank first crank pin (from the front) rotates downward from TDC to 90 degrees after TDC, the third crank pin travels from 90 degrees before TDC to TDC. Likewise, as the second crank pin rotates downward from 90 degrees after TDC to BDC, the fourth crank pin travels upward from BDC to 90 degrees before TDC. Consequently, the fast downward movement of the first crank pin cancels out the fast upward movement of the third crank pin, and the slow downward movement of the second crank pin cancels out the slow upward movement of the fourth crank pin. This effectively cancels out the secondary forces.
Unlike many of the other variables discussed thus far, secondary forces aren’t ignored by traditional balancing methods. They simply don’t seem as important in a cross-plane V-8 since this particular engine configuration naturally cancels out secondary forces.
Rocking Couple
One downside of the cross-plane V-8 configuration is that the design of the crankshaft creates a see-saw rocking motion from front to back. This is because the first and second crank pins move upward at the same time, while the third and fourth crank pins move downward at the same time. Since the orientation of the front two crank pins and rear two crank pins reverse every 180 degrees of rotation, the crank rocks up and down like a see-saw. This rocking couple is yet another force that the counterweights are responsible for cancelling out.
Similarly, each pair of rods share a common crank pin in a 90-degree V-8, which requires staggering their positioning to prevent them from running into each other. This offset creates another rocking vibration that’s difficult to eliminate. These rocking couples can be eliminated through some clever engineering, but they aren’t addressed directly, as cancelling them out usually requires completely redesigning the short-block components.
For example, V-twin engines often utilize a blade-and-fork rod arrangement. In this type of setup, one rod is forked while the adjacent rod fits in between the “prongs” of the neighboring rod’s fork. This allows both rods to share a common crank pin and to also be positioned on the same vertical plane, thus eliminating the rocking vibration. Domestic V-8 manufacturers would have probably experimented with a similar design if it was worth the effort, which suggests that this particular rocking couple is only a minor issue. Even so, it’s still one of dozens of variables that can impact balancing in some way or form that isn’t directly addressed.
Cylinder Pressure
Granted that the cylinder pressure pushing down on the rotating assembly is immense during the power stroke, but that’s not the only cycle during the four-stroke process that affects engine balance. As an engine cycles through the intake, compression, power and exhaust strokes, the cylinder pressure is constantly changing. Changes in throttle position and engine rpm create even larger swings in cylinder pressure.
To illustrate the point, imagine a scenario where a driver winds an engine out to 9,000 rpm at wide-open throttle, then suddenly snaps the throttle shut while stepping on the clutch. Not only has the rpm suddenly dropped, but the engine has transition from having tens of thousands of psi of positive cylinder pressure during the power stroke to now having negative cylinder pressure on the intake stroke. The resulting shock would send quite a bit of unbalanced force through the motor. Although this is an extreme and contrived example, pushing and engine through far lesser extremes still subjects it to large changes in cylinder pressure that adversely affect balancing.
Rod and Stroke Length
Rod-to-stroke ratio has long been debated regarding its impact on horsepower and torque. What isn’t nearly as controversial is its impact on balancing. As the length of the stroke increases, the rod angularity increases as well. The same applies to when the stroke length remains the same, but the rod length is reduced. Any increase in rod angularity increases the side loads transmitted into the cylinder walls, thus increasing the unbalanced forces inside an engine. In other words, the lower the rod-to-stroke ratio, the higher the magnitude of unbalanced force acting upon the engine. Consequently, a 400 small-block Chevy with 5.565-inch rods and a 3.750-inch stroke (1.48:1 ratio) will generate greater imbalance than a 302 small-block Chevy with a 5.700-inch rods and a 3.000-inch stroke (1.90:1 ratio), since the 400’s rods oscillate in a larger arc.
Measuring Rod Weight
Since a connecting rod moves in both a reciprocating and rotation motion, it is the wildcard in the overall balancing equation. Determining which section of a rod reciprocates and which section of a rod rotates is a tricky proposition, yet it’s critical to establishing the bobweight when balancing. The center of the wristpin is pure reciprocating mass, while the center of the rod journal is pure rotating mass. Consequently, any section of the rod in between these two points both reciprocates and rotates to varying degrees.
Breaking things down even further, the section of the rod beam directly beneath the wrist pin oscillates in a very small arc, which means that its reciprocating motion is far greater than its rotating motion. In contrast, the big end of the rod oscillates in a very large arc, which means that its rotation motion is far greater than its reciprocating motion. Therefore, the upper sections of the rod beam (closer to the wrist pin) reciprocate more than they rotate, while the lower sections of the rod beam (closer to the crank pin) rotate more than they reciprocate. At the half-way point between the big and small rod ends, 50 percent of the rod movement reciprocates, and 50 percent of the rod movement rotates.
Interestingly, the conventional method of measuring the weight of a connecting rod takes none of these facts into account. Measuring the weight of the big and small ends of the connecting rod independently involves placing it in a simple fixture that supports each end on a stand. One stand rests on the scale, while the other stand rests on the table. To weigh the big end of the rod, it’s placed on the stand resting on the scale. The small end of the rod is raised or lowered on its adjustable stand (resting on the table) until the rod is horizontal. To weigh the small end of the rod, the entire procedure is repeated after reversing the orientation of the rod 180 degrees.
The fundamental flaw with this method is that it assumes the center of gravity is the half-way point on the rod where 50 percent of rod movement is reciprocating, and 50 percent of rod movement is rotating. If this was true, the half-way point would be heavily biased toward the big end of the rod, since in reality the big end is much heavier. To illustrate the point, imagine attaching heavy magnets to the big end of the rod. According to the conventional method of weighing a rod, the resulting shift in center of gravity would also change the reciprocating weight dramatically, when clearly this isn’t the case. Similarly, since the center of gravity of a rod is much closer to the big end of the rod than the small end of the rod, it assumes that the majority of the rod beam represents rotating mass. However, even sections of the rod beam very close to the wristpin oscillate in a rotating motion, so this assumption is also inaccurate.
Over/Under Balance
Considering the inherent problems associated with weighing a rod off of its center of gravity, suspending it by a string at its geometric center, then weighing the big and small ends, yields far more precise results. Using this method, the measured reciprocating weight of the rod would decrease, while its measured rotating weight would increase. The net effect is a three percent increase in bobweight. (Jud: I’d like to include some real numbers here once we’ve had a chance to measure a real set of rods in the shop using the described method).
Interestingly, this increase in bobweight seems to support the practice of overbalancing a crankshaft. Many engine builders claim that adding an extra one to five percent of mass to the reciprocating weight helps even out bearing wear. For example, setting up the bobweights to 100 percent of the rotating weight and 53 percent of the reciprocating weight is the equivalent of overbalancing a crankshaft by three percent. Let’s say that an LS1 rotating assembly calls for a bobweight of 1800 grams. In this example, the rotating weight is 880 grams and the reciprocating weight is 920 grams. Adding three percent to the reciprocating weight equals 947.6 grams, which represents an overall increase in bobweight of 27.6 grams, or 1.5 percent.
Nevertheless, it would be overly presumptuous to declare the validity of overbalance based on this simple example. While overbalancing is common is race engines, some engine builders have found no benefits to overbalancing. Meanwhile others claim that underbalancing a crank to less than 50 percent of the reciprocating weight improves bearing wear. The only thing that is certain is that there is no consensus amongst engine builders regarding the benefits of over- or underbalancing a crankshaft. Ultimately, the traditional method of measuring the weight of a connecting rod based on its center of gravity is far from precise, but it tends to work well enough in most engine applications.
Potential Solutions
Given all the variables that go unaccounted for during the balancing process, how can engine builders improve upon standard balancing techniques in high-rpm, big horsepower applications? Racers and industry experts have been attempting to solve this riddle for decades. Through a combination of incredibly advanced technology and good old fashioned trial and error, engine builder are making steady progress in navigating these murky waters.
Since GM, Ford, and Chrysler (or any other OE manufacturer) have resources far beyond that of even a top-tier engine shop, it’s not surprising that they have developed incredibly advanced tools to assist with the balancing process. To eliminate all the variables that a standard balancer can’t measure, the world’s ultimate balancer would allow running an engine on the dyno at idle, part-throttle, and WOT. The OEs aren’t there quite yet, but GM has taken a stop in the right direction.
At GM LS7 engine assembly plant, the company utilizes dynos that spin the motor to approximately 2,000 to 3,000 rpm. A series of sensors attached to the motor measure the imbalance, and a technician then adds or removes mass from the flywheel as necessary. While GM performs an initial baseline balance before the engine is assembled, this final step allows fine tuning the balance beyond what’s possible using standard balancing equipment.
It’s important to note that on the engine isn’t running under its own power during this balancing process. Instead, it’s the dyno that’s rotating the engine over. While this makes it impossible to directly measure the effects of cylinder pressure during the power and exhaust strokes, the dyno can still replicate the forces generated during the intake and compression strokes. Equally as important is the dyno’s ability to measure the effects of ring drag, bearing friction, counterweight phasing, rod-to-stroke ratio, and static weight on balancing.
Counterweight Phasing
Considering that the counterweights are the components that are actually responsible for balancing the rotating and reciprocating forces inside an engine, logic says that refining the balancing process starts with the counterweights. When comparing an off-the-shelf cast or forged crankshaft to a custom billet crank, engine builder often attribute reduced engine vibrations and bearing wear to reduced crank flex and the addition of the center counterweights. These are valid points that shouldn’t be ignored, but it’s also possible that much of the improvements are attributable to the actual positioning of the counterweights in relation to the rod journals.
Counterweight positioning, or phasing, is something that’s seldom discussed, so it’s a term that probably doesn’t register with most people. To get a better handle on this concept, imagine looking at a crank from the head-on profile with the snout up front and the rear main in the back. The counterweight phasing is simply where the counterweight is positioned in relation to each rod journal. While most literature on balancing states that the counterweights are positioned 180-degree out from the rod journal, no one has bothered defining what 180-degrees out actually means.
For example, if the entire mass the counterweight was moved clockwise by several degrees, most of its mass would still be 180-degrees out. Likewise, if the entire mass the counterweight was moved counter-clockwise by several degrees, most of its mass would still be 180-degrees out. Obviously, when carving out a crankshaft from a single piece of billet steel, custom crank manufacturers like Bryant or Windberg can position the counterweights wherever they want in order to experiment with its effects on balancing. Companies on the cutting edge of technology usually aren’t willing to disclose their trade secrets, so whether they determine counterweight phasing based on mathematical formulas, trial and error, or both is a mystery.
Of course, all this talk about counterweight phasing assumes that it has positive effects on crank balancing in the first place. That said, the negative effects of positioning the counterweights in the wrong place have clearly been demonstrated in real-world testing. In extreme situations, the positioning of the counterweights can be so far off that even after balancing to ¼ ounce-inch, a motor can rattle itself to death and destroy the bearings. Although this doesn’t happen often, every now and then a defective crank will slip past a manufacturer’s Quality Control department, and the carnage they create leaves people scratching their heads. I’ve personally witnessed this happen on the dyno.
If poorly placed counterweights can wreak havoc on engine balancing, this seems to suggest that ideally placed counterweights will even out bearing loads and prolong engine durability. Evidence certainly suggests that this may be the case. Although it flew under the radar at the time, Ford experimented with phasing the counterweights in different positions during the ‘60s in its Le Mans road racing engines.
Similarly, one of my graduates that works for a NASCAR Sprint Cup team was tasked with carrying out a similar experiment. In it, he removed material from the leading edge of the counterweights, and added the same amount of material back onto the trailing edge of the counterweights. This effectively changes the counterweight phasing in relation to the rod journal. Not surprisingly, my anonymous source wasn’t at liberty to discuss the results of this experiment, but the amount of time and money one of the top engine shops in the country was willing to invest in this research suggests that the potential benefits of phasing the counterweights just right are significant.
Lab Testing
Based on the aforementioned examples drawing any definitive conclusions regarding the effects of counterweight phasing on engine balance isn’t possible. It’s hearsay at best. Fortunately, engineers at North Carolina State University conducted extensive lab experiments to test this theory in the late ‘90s on a NASCAR Sprint Cup small-block Chevy. The results can be read in SAE paper 960354, and the results are eye-opening to say the least. By changing the position of the counterweights while leaving their overall mass relatively unchanged, the engineering team of Robert Sharpe, J.W. David, and Erik Lowndes reduced average bearing loads by 74 percent, and peak bearing loads by 41 percent.
The primary focus of the lab testing was to test the effects of counterweight phasing on engine balance while also accounting for cylinder pressure. During the experiment, the overall mass of the counterweights was left relatively unchanged, but the center of mass—and therefore the location of the counterweights—were optimized to reduce bearing loads. To simulate the operating range in a typical Cup race, the testing procedure varied engine rpm between 5,200 and 7,200. The key piece of data gathered during the test was comparing the bearing loads generated with an unmodified racing crankshaft to the loads generated with the modified crankshaft. Since bearing loads peaked at 6,200 rpm, the following figures were measured at that point.
With the unmodified crank, the baseline average bearing loads on main caps #1 through #5 read 19.89-, 24.20-, 10.94-, 27.72-, and 22.65 kilonewtons of force, respectively. Keep in mind that one kN equals 240.8 pounds of force, which is significant to say the least. With the modified crankshaft, those readings plummeted to 5.97-, 9.76-, 10.90-, 9.96-, and 6.08 kN, respectively. While the load on bearing # 3 didn’t change much, the load on all the other bearings was reduced 60- to 74 percent.
The reduction in maximum bearing load was extremely impressive as well. With the unmodified crankshaft, the baseline peak bearing loads on main caps #1 through #5 registered 38.59-, 45.15-, 27.13-, 48.75-, and 41.60 kN, respectively. As expected, main caps #2 and #4 experienced substantially greater loads, which isn’t surprising since bearings #2 and #4 typically experience the most wear. After modifying the crankshaft, the bearing loads dropped to 25.40-, 28.15-, 26.40-, 28.62-, and 25.62 kN, respectively. With the exception of the center bearing, this represents a 34- to 41 percent reduction in peak bearing loads. Equally as revealing is how effectively repositioning the counterweights evened out the bearing loads across all five main caps. With the modified crank, bearings #2 and #4 are no longer taking the brunt of the abuse, which can only lead to increased crankshaft longevity.
Conclusion
Although the cited SAE paper doesn’t go into great detail on exactly where the counterweights were repositioned to, which could have been intentional, the changes in bearing loads are staggering. Equally as surprising is the fact that the center of mass of the counterweights was only moved a few millimeters to optimize crank balancing. This begs the question, why does altering counterweight phasing affect overall balance and bearing loads so profoundly? Crank flex could be the key.
There’s lots of talk about how balancing affects crank flex, but very little talk about how crank flex might affect balancing. Consider that, when measured from front to back, a crankshaft can flex quite few degrees (Jud: I’d like to add a specific number of degrees of flex, but don’t know figures to use). It’s already been established that changing the counterweight positioning just a few millimeters can dramatically affect balance. That said, if crank flex caused the position of the rod journal to change in relation to the position of the counterweight, it’s conceivable that this flex would have some degree of impact—or perhaps even a very large impact—on balance.
Even if a crank did not flex between the rod journal and counterweight, or if this flex was too insignificant to affect balance, the crank can still flex torsionally along its own centerline. In this scenario, the location of the rod journals in relation to one another would change. For example, instead of rod journals number 1 and 2 being positioned 90 degrees apart, crank flex could squeeze this dimension together just a tiny bit to 87 degrees, or spread it apart to 93 degrees.
Minor flexing of just a few degrees in either direction may seem inconsequential. However, the fact that secondary balance is dependent upon maintaining consistent 90-degree phasing between the rod journals cannot be overlooked. Flex along the crankshaft’s rotational axis could potentially compromise a cross-plane V-8s ability to naturally cancel out secondary vibrations. Yet another factor to consider is that if this type of flex did in fact upset the secondary balance, a shorter connecting rod could conceivably make things worse since it would accelerate the piston away from TDC even more quickly than a longer rod.
Perhaps someday technology will exist that allows bolting a running engine to a balancer under all operating condition, thus eliminating nearly all the variables that can affect engine balance. Until then, modifying counterweight phasing seems to be one of the most effective methods of optimizing balance in a high-rpm racing engine.
About the Author
Judson Massingill is the Co-Founder and Head Instructor of the School of Automotive Machinists in Houston, Texas. Along with his wife Linda, he runs one of the most highly respected vocational engine building schools in the country. From NASCAR Sprint Cup to NHRA Pro Stock, SAM graduates occupy the ranks of the industry’s top race teams. Legendary engine shops such as Hendrick Motorsports, John Force Racing, Roush-Yates Racing Engines, Jon Kaase Racing Engines, Penske Racing, Cosworth Engineering, Don Schumacher Racing, and Cagnazzi Racing all rely on SAM graduates to stay at the front of the pack.
The school’s unique program focuses strictly on the art of building race engines, and encompasses everything from short-block machining and assembly to cylinder head porting and design to CNC programming and machining. In 2012, SAM students and instructors captured the coveted Engine Masters championship, beating out some the best professional engine builders in the industry. SAM’s 1999 Camaro SS project car runs 8.0 quarter-mile e.t.’s at 175 mph, and has racked up three NMCA LSX Challenge championships in the All Motor class. In addition to his duties as SAM’s head instructor, Judson serves as a tech consultant for leading publications such as Hot Rod, Car Craft, Super Chevy, and Chevy High Performance magazine.
Source
School of Automotive Machinists;
Houston, TX; 713.683.3814;
www.samracing.com
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The IDF said the Iron Dome’s interception of Grad missiles made ‘world history,” but Hamas continues to attack with short-range Kassam rockets.
The IDF said the Iron Dome’s interception of Grad Missiles made ‘world history,” but Hamas continues to attack with short-range Kassam rockets.
Gaza terrorists broke a subdued offensive against Israel and fired a missile towards Ashkelon Sunday morning. It failed to reach its target, but it is not yet clear if the Iron Dome system intercepted it or if the rocket exploded in an open area.
Initial but unconfirmed reports from Voice of Israel government radio were that terrorists fired a medium-range Grad missile. Simultaneously, a Hamas spokesman said, "We have no interest in an escalation in attacks.”
The newly-deployed but expensive Iron Dome system, operating in Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon, intercepted six Grad missiles Friday night. It was the first in-the-field successful interception.
Air Force Commander Major-General Ido Nechushtan said that although the deployment of the Iron Dome is only in its first stage, the IDF has "already made world history" by exploding several Grad missiles in mid-air.
Lt. Col. Shabi Ben-Boher, commander of the Iron Dome unit, said, "Though we knew we would be deploying the system earlier than expected, in these past few days it was decided to use it operationally. We are in a trial period and as such will act slowly and with great consideration to ensure that the first interceptions will be successful."
The Iron Dome’s capacity is limited to foiling rocket attacks only in the areas where it is deployed. Its high cost has limited its use to defending major population centers, while thousands of Israelis in Gaza Belt communities have to rely on the Code Red incoming alert siren, which sounds 15-20 seconds before a shorter-range Kassam rocket strikes.
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Kevin Hayden – TruthisTreason.net
Source: Center for Public Integrity
The Pentagon, which previously warned that reliable military spending figures could not be produced until 2017, has discovered that financial ledgers are in worse shape than expected and it may need to spend a billion dollars more to make DOD’s financial accounting credible, according to defense officials and congressional sources.
Hayden’s Note:
To echo the editor of Cryptogon.com, I have to wonder if the Pentagon’s accountants and auditors will be blown up again by “terrorists.” On September 10th, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that $2.3 trillion – TRILLION – had gone “missing” from the Pentagon. What happened the next day? The accounting department was hit in a surgical strike by amateur pilots. I’m just sayin’…bit of a coincidence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a lot of faith in Government Accountability or the Budget Office to begin with, but coupled with past issues, it raises some flags.
Experts say the Pentagon’s accounting has never been reliable. A lengthy effort by the military services to implement new financial systems at a cost so far of more than $6 billion has itself been plagued by overruns and delays, senior defense officials say. The Government Accountability Office said in a report last month that although the services can now fully track incoming appropriations, they still cannot demonstrate their funds are being spent as they should.
Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/43hahy3
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All the right factors came together to produce today’s action. Megabears Nouriel Roubini and Meredith Whitney were out in full force, forecasting the worst possible scenario for the markets. Roubini said the Dow would drop straight to 5,000, while Whitney announced in Wall Street Journal article that credit-card debt was the next great trial we’d endure. Newspapers, too, have been calling a 5,000 level for the Dow, and Senator Richard Shelby, ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, has been calling for the liquidation of the banks. Moody’s even put out a death-watch list. This kind of overwhelming bearish sentiment, Cramer said, is always the first part of any big move higher.
Then news that the uptick rule would be reinstated hit the wires. Lack of regulation on this specific point has allowed short sellers to hammer down stocks with impunity. But the uptick’s return puts a stop to that. It also stifles the UltraShort Financial ProShares fund , which bears have been using to sidestep SEC margin rules and do even more damage to stocks. This development traps the bears, Cramer said, something that’s essential for a nice rally.
Three big positives will keep this rally going, namely in tech, oil and financials. Texas Instruments’ good news about lower inventories and increased demand for 3G cell phone components should ripple out to others in the business. Think Research in Motion , Analog Devices and Skyworks Solutions.
Oil in the $40s is attracting money back to the sector, Cramer said. Some overly negative sentiment here – such as The New York Times story “Wondering if Crude Could Fall Even More” – indicates that crude should continue higher. Also, Chevron’s doing well. The strength in oil, like TI’s good news, should work its way into energy infrastructure companies, who’d lost projects because the price per barrel was so low.
The financials play a part here as well. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke seems ready to adjust the mark-to-market accounting that’s so devastated the institutions holding asset-backed mortgage paper. If this happens, Cramer said, the banks look cheap and it finally frees them up to move higher.
Other events of note: Citigroup’s quarterly numbers should mean that the Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reports would be even better. Cramer thinks we could see some upside surprises.
These all add up the material positives Cramer said he’d need before changing his mind about this market. They indicate a genuine rally that should go much higher.
Cramer's charitable trust owns Chevron, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Questions for Cramer? [email protected]
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? [email protected]
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To effectively sell any new gaming technology, you need free companion software that convinces gamers it's worth using. That software needs to be instructional but disguised by an addictive, fun, simple, and intuitive package. The most successful example of this has to be Nintendo's Wii Sports, which deftly got new Wii owners comfortable with the motion controls, and curious onlookers interested. VR will need the same kind of software to accomplish the same things. Fortunately the creative developers at Valve have been toiling away on that very thing for the HTC Vive. It's called The Lab, and it's the most fun I've had at GDC.
The Lab is a collection of mini-games developed by Valve that will be available for free to customers who buy an HTC Vive system. Its purpose is to introduce players to the various mechanics VR -- specifically the Vive -- brings to the table. Stuff like room-scale, projectile physics, locomotion, and interaction with the environment among others.
Today was the first time Valve has shown The Lab, and even then it was only by invitation. I should also note that Valve hasn't provided any assets besides the game's logo, so unfortunately I can't show you screenshots or video, but I certainly promise to once I start my formal review of the HTC Vive and its games. Instead, I'll do my best to convey how much damn fun I had today, how frequently I giggled like a little boy, and the withdrawals I'm experiencing by merely writing about it instead of playing it.
Valve showed me 4 of the 8 or 9 different experiences collected in The Lab, so let's dive in:
The Postcard
Not the proper name of the experience, but it's a setting Valve calls a postcard. To begin the scene, I physically walked forward and picked up a glowing teleportation orb using the Vive's touch controllers, and pulled it to my face, which instantly transported me to a photorealistic recreation of Washington's beautiful Vesper Peak. Don't worry, this was much more serene than my Everest VR experience!
I was joined by my faithful pooch "Fetch-bot" who wriggled around on the mountaintop. I could bend down, pick up a stick, and toss for Fetch-bot to chase. I could freely walk around and explore the peak, taking in the peaceful view. If I wanted to traverse a lengthier distance, I could aim one of the touch controllers at a nearby portal and teleport down the mountain.
It was simple, but that's the point. That VR isn't remotely limited to pure gaming experiences. This "postcard" was an example of how VR could be used for virtual tourism, or just for some escapism and relaxation.
Slingshot
Pulling another teleportation orb to my face, I found myself on a platform in the middle of an absolutely massive warehouse stocked with nothing but red explosive barrels and wooden crates. Dozens of wisecracking spherical robots from Portal sat in rows, waiting for me to hoist them onto a slingshot device and raise all manner of hell with each one, seeing how much damage I could produce with each shot. Each orb had a conversation with me, explaining its role in what I remember being savagely funny ways.
It was another experience that was self-explanatory, immensely satisfying, gorgeously rendered, and insanely accurate. The 1:1 reproduction with the HTC Vive (the movement you make and how its translated in virtual reality) is already so perfect that if you miss something -- a basketball shot, a headshot, or a potentially explosive spherical robot, you know it was your fault.
Longshot
Tower defense, anyone? Teleport over to the table and you'll be sent into a living, breathing tower defense game using a bow and arrow as your main weapon. If you're right handed, you pick up the bow with your left hand and pull back the right hand (your arrow) against the bowstring. You can actually feel the tactility, the tautness, in this action, and it's fantastic. As simple silhouetted enemies start marching on your gate, you can pick them off with your arrows, or reach back and light them on fire to aid in penetrating their shields.
As I approached the end of this demo, I started rapid firing arrows, self-correcting with each shot. I found that in no time I was able to pull off headshots, and once again if I missed, it's because I was simply not aiming properly.
This was seriously fun and makes me crave a full tower defense game where you are quite literally the tower.
Xortex
Now we come to a game I'd happily fork over $20 for, should Valve choose to develop it into a standalone experience. Remember the old shmups like Galaga? This is a wondrous VR recreation of those classic arcade games. Here, you're holding your ship in your hand, moving it around like a child would pretend with a paper airplane. You simply aim the ship (your right touch controller) at invading enemies and pull the trigger to fire on them.
At the same time, they're shooting an increasingly dense amount of bullets at you that resemble oversized red paintballs. You have to physically dodge these in 3D space, and later have to avoid the solid lasers that emit from the ships and rotate as the ship moves. So you're ducking and weaving and firing and genuinely working up a sweat taking out an armada of baddies. It's a completely transformative experience projecting that sense of agency into the game world, and really being in the thick of it. I even instinctively dodged the bullets with my body, even though the goal was just to protect the ship from them.
All too soon my time was up, and my final destination was a hub room of sorts, with several other experiences I hadn't seen. These will be in the final, free release when the Vive launches. I cannot wait to play them all.
Valve The Game Developer
Valve's creativity is on full display in The Lab. They've managed to capture the magic of VR, the memorable characters they're known for in games like Portal 2, and the kind of unforgettable spaces and environments the developer is known for.
On that note, I really miss Valve the game developer. Clearly they've been busy, (and the time well spent) but I genuinely hope they're also hard at work developing something like Portal 3 for the Vive. Or an entirely new, all-encompassing VR game.
The Lab isn't selling a gimmick. It's effortlessly demonstrating the appeal of VR in a playground I'll have a difficult time staying away from.
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By any objective measure, Donald Trump is poised to lose the November election by a wide margin.
Taking into consideration new swing-state polls from Quinnipiac University that show Trump trailing Hillary Clinton by 12, 10 and 3 points in Virginia, Colorado and Iowa, respectively, we can use RealClearPolitics's average of recent polls in swing states (and 2012 results everywhere else) to estimate how this thing would turn out: Clinton with the easy win, improving on President Obama in 2012.
That tally reflects Trump giving up Georgia and North Carolina to Clinton, since he trails in each state according to the RCP average. Georgia is closer than North Carolina, but barely. Even if Trump wins both of those, of course, he needs to perform better than Mitt Romney did four years ago somewhere to beat Clinton. Needs to win some Obama 2012 state.
That seems unlikely. We have RCP averages for a few states, some of them quite out-of-date. (The average only updates with new polls, and states that tend to always vote the same way don't get polled a lot.) But in nearly every case where we have that data, Clinton is either leading in the state or outperforming where Obama ended up four years ago. The states below are ranked according to how close they were in 2012. Arizona is the first one on the list where Trump has a lead — but Clinton's doing almost 9 points better right now than Obama did in 2012.
The mantra of the Trump campaign at the moment, understandably, is that this can change. That's very true. Things can change. The Washington Post reports that Trump's (revamped) campaign team will focus heavily on five states: Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Obama won all of those states except North Carolina. If Trump wins all five, he wins the presidency. If he wins North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania and holds everything else — he still loses to Clinton. Trump basically has to win Florida to stay alive.
In Florida — as in four of the five states he is targeting — he currently trails Clinton. In all five, Clinton leads. In those five states and the other two polled by Quinnipiac, he is behind in all seven and in two is doing worse than Romney was at this point four years ago. Whoever was leading in each of these seven states at this point in 2012 ended up winning the state.
Notice that there were only occasional big shifts in the yellow lines on those graphs. At this point in 2012, the conventions hadn't happened, which moved them a bit. The first debate (about two-thirds of the way across) moved them more. But generally they stayed pretty even.
This story is probably fairly familiar to you by now, and it's not the case that we're alone in spelling it out.
Trump could sweep our entire Toss Up column and still come short of 270. New ratings: https://t.co/dzi8TFZh7z pic.twitter.com/z27Oy7Zq0x — CookPoliticalReport (@CookPolitical) August 17, 2016
But the clock keeps ticking. Election Day is 82 days away. We have four debates in the interim and a lot of campaigning. But the direction of the blue lines on those graphs above is all that matters. Trump needs to change their direction as soon as possible. If not? That's it.
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CLOSE Each year, the Iowa Department of Education releases its Condition of Education report. Here are 7 facts about Iowa schools from its 2016 report. Wochit
Buy Photo Demonstrators gather in the rotunda Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, as Iowa legislators hold a public hearing to discuss proposed changes to Iowa's collective bargaining laws at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. (Photo: Scott Morgan/For the Register)Buy Photo
Iowa school leaders have greater flexibility and authority to determine teacher pay under a new law that vastly reduced union negotiating power.
That could upend the traditional approach used to set teacher salaries, which some say "overburdens" their districts' finances.
How to change teacher salary schedules was discussed Thursday at the Iowa Association of School Boards' annual convention, which draws about 1,200 education leaders from across the state.
The focus was largely on balancing district budgets by matching teacher raises with yearly increases in state funding.
But some also discussed other forms of teacher pay, such as bonuses for hard-to-fill jobs, pay for tougher assignments and incentives for performance.
"It's a nice thing to offer," said State Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion, of rewarding top teachers financially. "To say, ‘Hey, we do think you’re a rock star and we do want to reward you.'"
Iowa law requires districts to negotiate with teachers unions over base salary, but outlaws bargaining for additional pay. Superintendents and school boards now have great discretion over staff pay.
That's immense freedom — and responsibility, Linn-Mar Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said to about 200 school leaders during a conference session.
"Let's not do anything rash or without serious thought," said Shepherd. "We're not going to make any of these decisions lightly, because every single employee who is in our care matters."
Shepherd discussed a non-traditional pay model he developed while working as a superintendent just outside of Chicago. The approach helped him shore up the Skokie School District's budget and get it off the state's financial "watch" list, he said.
"We were in pretty bad shape," Shepherd told the Register. "We had laid off a number of teachers and cut programs, and put this in place mostly to balance revenues and expenditures.
"It took a few years, but we were able to get back on financial solid footing."
RELATED:
Shepherd warned Iowa school leaders that the pay model he used is not appropriate for every district because it does not provide employees with the same "stability" of a traditional salary schedule.
It's not being used by Linn-Mar Schools, the 7,300-student district Shepherd now leads just outside Cedar Rapids, for example.
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"What teachers have to give up is the stability they've known for years and years and years," he told school leaders. "If stability is what you need in your district right now, don't do this."
Salary schedules typically list a matrix-like chart of pay based on the number of years worked and the number of credits earned toward advanced degrees, which would be eliminated under this approach.
Instead, teacher raises would be based on a percentage of their current salary and their educational attainment, with higher percentages given to teachers with graduate credits or degrees.
It would also allow districts to base raises on how much state funding is available, instead of negotiating wages before state funding is set, Shepherd said.
During tough financial times, districts would have the flexibility to lower pay raises, potentially staving off program cuts or staff layoffs.
"When times are good, everyone celebrates together, and when times are bad everyone struggles together," Shepherd told the Register.
It's unclear how many districts will change their approach to teacher pay, or when those changes could occur.
A recent Register analysis found that the majority of school districts will negotiate contracts with teachers under the new rules by the 2018-19 school year. The rest will follow in subsequent years.
About 10 district leaders have so far expressed interest to Shepherd about implementing aspects of the model, he said.
That's a sliver of Iowa's 333 districts, but a sign that school leaders are starting to shift their thinking about teacher pay following a Republican-led overhaul of Iowa's collective bargaining law.
"It’s a huge change," said Craig Ambrose, school board president for Albia Schools, a 1,200-student district about 60 miles southeast of Des Moines. The district is not currently looking at changing its schedule, he said.
"How do you get people to understand, to agree and to trust that we can do something different that makes education for our kids successful, and makes education for our teachers successful?" said Ambrose. "It’s a hard question."
How could it work?
Here's a simplified example of how a new approach to teacher pay could work in Iowa. It’s one of multiple ways being considered by school districts.
The approach outlined below was presented Thursday at the Iowa Association of School Boards' annual convention. Actual figures and amounts would vary.
The idea is to set raises based on yearly increases to state funding. If a district received $100,000 in new state money, teacher raises could reflect the amount the district received by “working backwards” to set a percentage increase.
Different teachers could receive different percentage increases based on credits earned toward advanced degrees, a way to continue to reward and incentivize teachers to improve their skills through graduate education.
For example, a teacher with a bachelor's degree might earn a 1 percent raise while one with a master's degree earns a 2 percent raise. If more state money is available, that could rise to 2 and 3 percent.
Every teacher could still receive a raise, even those that have currently "maxed out" on the traditional salary schedule, as raises would no longer be based on years worked.
For example, a teacher who now earns $40,000 that receives a 2 percent raise could earn an additional $800 a year, while a teacher who now earns $80,000 could earn $1,600 more.
Districts leaders who want to set aside money for bonuses or merit pay could do that before determining the total amount available for teacher raises.
For example, if the district received $100,000 in state funding, they might keep back $10,000 that's divided among certain teachers and given as retention bonuses for hard-to-fill positions, or performance incentives to reward top talent.
Such approaches could be part of a new pay model, but are not required.
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What are the religious affiliations of members of the 111th Congress?
Pretty similar to the American public.
Except for one category…
The “Unaffiliated”?
They apparently don’t exist in Congress.
Before atheists ask the obvious question, here’s a more specific breakdown from a report released yesterday by the Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life:
The first question that came to my mind: What about Congressman Pete Stark? Isn’t he an atheist?
Well, yes he is, but he is technically listed as a Unitarian.
(In fact, here’s a full breakdown of every Congress member along with his/her religious affiliation (PDF) — a terrific resource!)
The (mis?)categorization of Stark leads David Hume of the Secular Right blog to speculate further:
there are almost certainly other “cryptic atheists” in Congress, who take advantage of the conventional assumption by Americans that affiliation with a religion connotes theism.
Hume looks at statistics about belief in God among Jewish people and surmises:
It seems very likely that many of the Jews in Congress are culturally and not religiously identified. A quick & dirty check in the [General Social Survey] suggests that Jewish confidence in the existence of God tends to decrease with education…
I’m still hoping the new Obama administration will give certain members of Congress the impetus and freedom to come out as a non-theist without fearing the worst.
By the way, who are those 5 members of Congress who are “Unspecified” or didn’t answer the question?
Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D–HI)
Rep. Bill Foster (D–IL)
Rep. John W. Oliver (D–MA)
Rep. John F. Tierney (D–MA)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D–WI)
(via Secular Right)
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As of last week, posting a message that the Chinese government deems inaccurate on social media platforms can get you three years in the slammer, provided it gets 500 retweets (or their equivalent) or 5,000 views. At least, that’s what the law said. But would the new policy, part of the Chinese government’s draconian crackdown on “online rumors,” be enforced?
The answer seems to be yes. Wednesday afternoon, police in Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu province, detained a local teenager for “disrupting the social order” when the teen’s post on microblogging service Sina Weibo about a suspicious death went viral, reports the Beijing Times. The teen’s remarks were the sorts of Weibo “tweets” that have provided a crucial source of information for others as they report on stories that the media, which are state-controlled, are late or unwilling to report on.
The death occurred on Sep. 12, according to the Beijing Times, in Zhangjiachuan, a sleepy, hill-country backwater with a population of 320,000. Passersby discovered a local man on the sidewalk in front of a karaoke bar suffering from head wounds apparently incurred from a fall. He died before the police reached the scene. Though the local authorities have since ruled the death accidental, there’s some question as to what exactly happened. According to the police, the dead man’s relatives spread rumors that he’d been beaten to death first and then thrown from a window.
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Arsenal have had a €100million euro (£87million) bid for Kylian Mbappe rejected by Monaco.
The offer is the third turned down already this summer by the French champions, including a world-record fee of €120million (£105million) made by Real Madrid.
A third big club has also been thwarted and although sources would not confirm the identity there has been interest in the precocious teenager from all of Europe’s superpowers.
Those include Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Mbappe is from Paris and the club regard him eventually returning to the city as ‘coming home’.
Monaco are determined to keep Mbappe during this transfer window but given three huge offers have been made already – with the possibility of higher bids to come – they face a fight. However given they have flatly rejected such extraordinary bids already it shows their resolve is genuine. They also hope to end the interest by agreeing a new contract with the striker. Monaco insist they will not sell Mbappe now.
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At the end of a long or hard day, it’s not uncommon to want to just kick back and relax. Many people like to use music to help accomplish this. But which song is best suited for the purpose? Is there a song that can qualify as the “most relaxing”?
The World’s Most Relaxing Song
According to a group of researchers, the award for the most relaxing song goes to a band called Marconi Union for their song titled ‘Weightless’ (You can listen to the song below at the bottom of the article).
Marconi Union is a British band which consists of three members, Duncan Meadows, Jamie Crossley, and Richard Talbot. Their musical style often contains elements of jazz, electronica, dub and ambient.
In October of 2010, Marconi Union collaborated with the British Academy of Sound Therapy to create the eight minute track ‘Weightless’. The researchers at the Academy had but one goal in mind; to create the most relaxing song ever. And it appears they achieved it. In a recently released study carried out by Radox, it was officially labelled as the “most relaxing song ever”.
The Science Behind It
The scientists at the Mindlab institution showed that the song (Weightless) induced a 65% reduction in overall anxiety and also brought the test subjects resting pulse rates down 35% lower than their usual resting rates. The song features piano, guitar, and manipulated field recordings. The song is also marked throughout by low tones that can help to induce a trance-like or ‘zoning out’ state. The altered mental state induced by the song is thanks to the intervals of the beats, which are at a continuous rhythm of 60 BPM. The 60 BPM rhythm causes the brain and heart rate to synchronize. A process called as ‘entrainment’.
After Weightless was made available as a free download, it quickly became a hit with over 60,000 downloads in the first 36 hours. Back in November, Marconi Union was featured in Time magazines’ list of Inventors of the Year, for creating ‘Weightless’. The song is so relaxing that drivers are being warned not to listen to it while driving.
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Efforts by well-meaning apologists to absolve Islam when Muslims in Australia turn to violence are ultimately futile, as the tragic case of Yacqub Khayre in the recent Brighton siege demonstrates.
As a refugee worker among Khayre's Somali community, I was among the many Melburnians who welcomed his family from the horrors of civil war. In that decade, I grew to deeply love the Somali people – including Khayre's family. My heart was continually rent by the stories of unimaginable pain and loss so many of my friends had suffered. It was rent again as refuge in Australia failed to break the cycle of violence for the troubled Khayre.
Police responding to the hostage crisis in Brighton. Credit:Luis Ascui
Khayre was clearly sending (yet another) salvo across the bows of the narrative that "this has nothing to do with Islam". Surely this has at least something to do with Islam.
I know this because I have discussed theology with the people Khayre hung out with; listened to the Islamic teachers Khayre was influenced by; been to the Islamic centres Khayre has been to; and read the theologians that outline the traditional Islamic approach to politics. In short, whatever social or personal factors drove Khayre's act it was, to some degree, also driven by a traditional Islamic political theology.
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-Tight End Zach Potter is an imposing figure and he showed why he has a shot to make the roster. He has the ability to move outside linebackers and defensive ends off the line of scrimmage with his size and is one of the few that can pass block without help. Potter can pick his spots to be a pass catcher and he made a nice reception off the arm of Tom Savage, who dropped it right in Potter’s hands.
-Quarterback Tom Savage looked much better than he did the previous days and is starting to settle into his groove once again. He did the same during offseason workouts by starting slow and as he had more practice he started to get dialed in. Today he looked much more confident in the pocket and throwing the ball with a purpose to his receivers.
-Jadeveon Clowney for the second day in a row produced the “wow” moment of practice. He was able to show his overall strength against the tight ends in a blocking drill and it was impressive. Clowney has such long arms that he is able to move players with ease and it showed today. Clowney is slowly coming into his own on the field, but he is just scratching the surface of his overall potential.
-Tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz put together a good day and showed the part of his game that made him intriguing coming out of Iowa. He is a polished inline blocker and has a chance to become a better pass catcher. His pass catching is not the issue, it is the fine tuning of his route running that needs work. If Fiedorowicz keeps blocking the way he has been in the first two day of pads, he will be finding more snaps when gamedays arrive.
-Kicker Chris Boswell had field goal duties today and he was consistent with his approach and results. He makes it look easy when he kicks and the ball takes off from his foot, which is a big difference from Randy Bullock. Boswell is smooth with his approach and if he is given a fair shot to win the job, he has enough overall skill to push for the kicking duties in 2014.
-Rookie runningback Alfred Blue continues to impress and today he popped off a long run by making defenders miss. He runs high at times and will need to get his pad level lower, but he has shown that he can handle what this offense is asking from him. He is becoming a reliable target for the quarterbacks out of the backfield and is slowly progressing with his pass protection. Blue will be pushing Andre Brown for the backup role at this rate.
-Nose Tackle Ricardo Mathews has the size and quickness this defensive line missed in previous seasons. Mathews has a handful of moves that he put on display to rush the passer today and they can be of the finesse or power variety. He offers the defensive front a player who can play either the run or pass with some success which will be important when the team goes to nickel and dime defenses on game day.
-Nose Tackle Jerrell Powe is a true nose tackle and he is not scared to do the dirty work for the defense. He has been eating up blockers for the linebackers to roam and make plays, and he has cleared free runs for the backers to make plays down hill. Powe is a strong run defender and looks like he has the base 3-4 nose tackle position to himself for the time being.
-Brandon Harris had a much better day than his previous and he produced in coverage against DeAndre Hopkins. Harris had a pass breakup to open up 7 on 7s and he looked much more under control today. It is an upward climb for Harris to keep making positive steps after a rough two days, but he looked like he has made some adjustments to what he has to do to be successful.
-With Arian Foster out for the time being, Brown has been called upon to be the guy for the offense. He has shown some light flashes of running the football with a purpose, but he has a tough time catching the football. Throw in some ball security issues, Brown had a rough day at the office.
-It has been a rough two day stretch for Dennis Johnson and it is slowly creeping into his head. It is just not one portion of his game, but he too has had some ball security issues through these past two days. He has had his nice bounce to the outside runs but when he is asked to run in between the tackles, Johnson has issues breaking tackles. It will be important for Johnson to get back on track in a hurry.
-Free Safety Jawanza Starling is slowly making progress and is turning into a better fit for what this team might need. There is the idea of a true free and strong safety and Starling is the next best free safety after Kendrick Lewis. Starling has nice instincts and a good grasp of this new defense and he has quietly put together a solid camp.
-The question comes to mind on what Tyson Clabo might have left in the tank as an offensive tackle. The next thing to look at is if the layoff might have slowed him some, but he is trying to get back into real football playing shape. Either way, Clabo has struggled mightily since he has arrived in camp and it is tough at the moment to see that he is going to help this team at any point in the future. There is still time to go, but he is struggling to pass block consistently and move players off the line of scrimmage. It could be early for Clabo, but the early returns have been tough to watch.
-Defensive End Tim Jamison is still doing what made him successful before, rushing the passer from the interior of the defensive line. He and offensive guard Ben Jones went at it today in 1 on 1s and both pushed each other, but Jamison proved he still has above average skills to get to the quarterback. Jamison is pushing for one of the last defensive line spots, but he could be a situational pass rusher for the Texans if he can make this roster.
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Wizard Cops is a free RPG originally written as a demo for the ConnectiCon game design panel Cancel your Fantasy Heartbreaker: How to Actually Write that RPG. It's only a paragraph long, but it is used as an example how a very small number of rules can create very specific conflicts with controlled resolutions. People at the panel wanted to know where they could get it, so I'm putting it up for the big bad internet!
Wizard Cops is a game that creates standoffs, and asks players how much they'll put on the line. And it does so with rules shorter than this description.
Included is a revised version of Advanced Wizard Cops, which was likewise used as an example of how to add complexity to games to reinforce the themes without losing sight of the central hook. It, too, is only a short paragraph long.
Enjoy!
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NEW YORK—Shaking hands and thanking each other for taking the time to meet, the architects of the 2026 Market Crash parted ways Tuesday after a highly productive meal at the Capital Grille steakhouse in lower Manhattan. “You were right, Alex, that filet was fantastic—best steak in the city,” securities trader Anthony Bergen told the group, whose aggressive speculation on high-risk, off-balance sheet derivatives will, within 12 years, cripple nearly every sector of the global economy and send unemployment rates soaring. “Glad we could finally make this happen. How about we circle back next Tuesday and follow up on some of these thoughts. I’m thinking Nobu?” At press time, the main beneficiaries of the 2029 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act were reportedly calling their secretaries to schedule a lunch next week.
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Super Girls & Wonder Women Posted on Apr 26, 2011 by Comic Booked Guest Writer in Features |
Whether strategically draped over a cover or acting as the wish-fulfilment ideal girlfriend of a strong male protagonist, female characters have been a marked presence within comics for some time. However, this is a stark contrast to the actual number of women creators behind the stories. Tim Hanley, Wonder Woman aficionado and blogger has been researching the numbers indicating that women play a very small role in the creation of these characters, which given the importance placed on the relatability of modern super heroes is an interesting conundrum.
Hanley has been producing his reports on Straitened Circumstances by sourcing the statistics from the Grand Comics Database. Checking his information against the credits provided by online previews, he then releases his review of the current state of the industry’s employment of women two weeks after each book comes out. The percentages given in his blog postings relate to eight main categories of employees – writers, pencillers, inkers, colourers, letterers, editors and assistant editors. Hanley attributes the inspiration for his project to tumblr site Ladies Making Comics, where writer Alexa Dickman reported in November that 13% of the credits from online solicits referred to women. So far he has produced three months of stats, with both companies between January and March 2011 achieving a small amount of progress – 11.1% to 11.4% of female credits with DC and 8.6% to 9.6% with Marvel.
It seems a world away from the celebratory tone of Louise Simonson’s DC Comics Covergirls, which features a series of profiles of the company’s most notable heroines. The book also includes a wide variety of artists that have produced beautiful covers for the likes of Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Batwoman. Obviously as an officially endorsed book, the discussion of DC’s treatment of female characters is largely uncritical. It does point out the historical importance of these creations, such as the following passage: “[Mort] Weisinger had been looking for a way to hold reader interest in the Superman comics, but Supergirl…he hit upon a phenomenon who soon acquired a fan-base in her own right.”
That iconic cover of a teenage Supergirl leaping out of a crashed alien rocket ship before a startled Kal-El (‘Look again, Superman! It’s me – Supergirl and I have all your powers!’) makes for a telling example of how important a female character was for sales. Superman’s appeal had begun to wane by 1959. His cousin helped reignite interest in the franchise. Female superheroes were a marketing coup for comic books, especially if they could be attached to a pre-existing male protagonist.
Of course by this time by Fredric Wertham’s testimony at the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency on the seditious effect of comic books had damaged the reputation of the industry. The expert witness had identified Batman in particular as inspiring homosexuality in young male readers, so DC spent the next decade trying to prove him wrong. Hanley mentioned during an e-mail exchange while researching this article that Ace the Bat-Hound was added to the cast because the editors thought that a German Shepherd was an appropriately masculine breed. By 1956 Kathy Kane the first Batwoman had joined Detective Comics and given Batman a legitimate female love interest. The ultimate male fantasy had finally added heterosexuality to his long line of skills.
Since then Batwoman has returned as Kate Kane, inspired by her male counterpart but no longer romantically interested in him – given that she is a lesbian. The new J.H. Williams III led title does thankfully have a woman, Amy Reeder, assisting on artistic duties. The teaser #0 issue last November also had Janelle Siegel as an assistant editor, making ratio of 2:7 for female/male credits on the book. The ongoing Batgirl title also had Siegel since February along with Katie Kubert on editorial, but every other position was filled by a man.
The sales of comic books continue to drop, while counter-intuitively the concepts behind them inspire superhero films and video games, earning huge profits. Newsarama recently reported on the three-year scholarship programme from Sony Online Entertainment, G.I.R.L. Laura Naviaux, SOE’s Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing is quoted in the article as saying “we have a lot of females that play our games so in turn, we need females on our development teams to be able to deliver content that they’re going to appreciate and want to play.” In fact the Entertainment Software Rating Board reports that 40% of all gamers are women.
Sony is making a sound investment in cultivating that market (Women In Games International is also a site worth investigating). The popular trend of ‘Geek Chic’ targeting women continues to grow. By contrast comic companies such Marvel struggle to follow through on their media blitz for 2010’s ‘Year of the Woman’, producing a small number of titles such as the Girl Comics miniseries and some variant covers spotlighting individual heroines. DC retains its lead on Marvel by publishing books like Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey, but the advantage is miniscule at best.
In 1937 William Moulton Marston gave a quote to the New York Times stating that: “the next one hundred years will see the beginning of an American matriarchy—a nation of Amazons in the psychological rather than physical sense.” This is understood to be the statement from Marston that won him the job of creating Wonder Woman. As the comic book industry becomes increasingly moribund, with its ‘boys club’ image and the low number of female employees, perhaps the shot in the arm comics need is just that – a new wave of ‘Amazon’ creators invested in writing for a broader audience.
This article was written with the assistance of Tim Hanley of Straitened Circumstances, currently researching a book on Wonder Woman (prospective publishers take note!). Several of the above images are photos taken from Louise Simonson’s book DC Comics Covergirls.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama spoke of the need to help "lift up" communities
President Barack Obama has said police violence against African-Americans is a "slow-rolling crisis" after a night of violence in Baltimore.
But Mr Obama said those who looted and started fires on Monday "should be treated like criminals".
The rioting came after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man fatally injured in police custody in Baltimore.
A week-long curfew has been announced and thousands of troops have been deployed to the city.
The National Guard has been sent to Baltimore to stop unrest for the first time since 1968, when some of the city's neighbourhoods went up in flames after the assassination of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters took to the streets to express their frustration with what they see as excessive police force.
The peaceful demonstrations were a contrast to the day before, when about 200 people were arrested as more than 100 cars were set alight and 15 buildings destroyed.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aerial footage shows fires in Baltimore and violent protests
Mr Obama harshly criticised "a handful of people" for "senseless violence and destruction".
"That is not a protest, that is not a statement, they are stealing."
But the US president said the rioting had distracted from the frustration over Gray's death.
"This has been a slow-rolling crisis. This has been going on for a long time. This is not new. And we shouldn't pretend that it's new," Mr Obama said.
He added such problems would not be solved just by changes to policing.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Community members help clean up a looted and burned pharmacy store
Image copyright Reuters
"It would require everybody saying this is important, this is significant, and that we don't just pay attention to these communities when a CVS burns and we don't just pay attention when a young man gets shot or has his spine snapped."
At an afternoon briefing, Baltimore Captain Eric Kowalczyk was asked why the police had not responded with more resources to prevent fires and rioting.
He said police had originally deployed for a "high school event", expecting young students.
"I don't think there's anyone in the country that would expect us to deploy automatic weapons and armoured vehicles to an event with 13, 14 and 15 year olds," but saw it turned into an incident that drew in older troublemakers and escalated in violence.
At the scene: Rajini Vaidyanathan, BBC News
Image copyright Getty Images
It's been hours since the CVS was set alight here at Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, but fire fighters are still battling the flames.
Earlier the stench of burning fumes filled the air as groups of people, armed with brooms and bin bags helped clear the mess from the night before.
As the day progressed the crowds of protestors built up. A line of police, wearing full riot gear and carrying batons and shields have been blocking one of the road's here.
For most of the afternoon protestors, danced and beat drums close by. There was the air of a carnival - a contrast to the violence this same area witnesses just the night before.
At one point things did get a little tense. A conversation between protestors and police ended with pepper spray being directed at the crowds.
But things have been calm overall. Protestors formed a human chain as the sun beat down on this bruised city. As nightfall a there'll be a curfew. The focus will be on what happens then.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Video shows a woman apparently beating and berating her son who was heading for a protest
Out of 235 arrests, 201 were adults, Capt Kowalczyk said.
He also noted there was a large group at a major intersection in Baltimore on Tuesday who were protesting peacefully. "That's what we're used to seeing in Baltimore."
Volunteers and city workers began cleaning up affected areas on Tuesday morning. Smoke still rose from buildings set alight the night before.
Image copyright AP
Image copyright Getty Images
African-American Freddie Gray, 25, died on 19 April after suffering unexplained injuries to his spinal cord and spending a week in a coma.
Officials have suspended six police officers who were involved in the case.
Monday's clashes began hours after Gray's funeral.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said it was very clear there was a difference between the "peaceful protests of those who seek justice" and the "thugs who want to incite violence".
Image copyright Reuters Image caption There were scenes of chaos late into the evening
Image copyright AP Image caption Various police vehicles were set alight
A curfew was set to begin at 22:00 local time on Tuesday, continuing until 05:00 each morning for the rest of the week.
National Guard commander Linda Singh said that up to 5,000 troops could be put on the streets.
Freddie Gray's death is the latest in a string of high-profile cases where black men have died after contact with the police.
Nationwide protests followed the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.
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The State of Kansas will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review recent Kansas Supreme Court decisions that overturned death sentences, including the Carr brothers sentence.
“We are not convinced that the Kansas court’s application of federal constitutional requirements is correct, so we are requesting review of all three cases by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “In each case, we doubt the U.S. Constitution compelled the Kansas court to set aside the death sentences that were recommended by juries of the defendants’ peers.”
On July 18, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the capital murder conviction of Sidney Gleason but vacated Gleason’s death sentence. One week later, on July 25, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld a single capital murder conviction each for Reginald and Jonathan Carr but similarly vacated both of their death sentences.
By law, the attorney general’s office represents Kansas on matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. Schmidt said his office is working closely with Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett on the two Carr appeals. The Gleason appeal is being handled solely by the attorney general’s office, which also prosecuted the case in the trial court.
“On behalf of the victims and their families, I believe it is incumbent on the state to seek review of these decisions to ensure every effort has been made to preserve the jury’s verdict and uphold justice for the citizens of Kansas.” Bennett said. “With Attorney General Schmidt, I look forward to the opportunity to bring these cases to this nation’s highest court.”
The attorney general today formally notified the Kansas Supreme Court of his decision to appeal, putting further proceedings in all three cases on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to review the cases. Last term, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear five percent of requests for review filed by state attorneys general.
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court whether to hear the state’s appeal in any or all these three cases could come later this year.
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The developers at Old City game studio Cipher Prime knocked down a wall and created the city’s first coworking space for game developers.
Meet the Philly Game Forge.
Cipher Prime knocked down the wall between its office and nightlife site Drink Philly, whose staffers will now be telecommuting, said Cipher Prime cofounder William Stallwood. Its first members are Final Form Games, previously based in Center City, and Flyclops, previously based out of Indy Hall. Stallwood hopes to have five studios total in the space.
The effort aims to support Philly’s indie game developer scene, Stallwood said. The Philly chapter of IGDA and the Philly game developers meetup will happen there at 3rd and Chestnut too.
“This is an incredible opportunity for us and the Philly game dev scene as a whole,” Stallwood said in an email.
If you want to join the space, email both will AT cipherprime.com and aaron AT cipherprime.com
The space is not associated with the Philadelphia Game Lab, a coworking space for game developers that has been in the works for the past year and a half. While that effort, led by Nathan Solomon, has been trumpeted as one bringing together various institutions, including university programs often criticized as isolated, it has been slow-going.
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Consider the symbolism of the two different approaches.
A video game startup seized on the opportunity of another tenant’s departure to get a landlord’s approval to literally knock down a wall. In one fell swoop, they declared it had started a coworking space to house a community they had been helping to build for years. Theirs is a startup way embraced by the ideals of N3rd Street: ready, fire, aim.
That comes in considerable contrast with the Game Lab, which has an advisory board, stakeholders and mounting expectations. No word on its location, after a deal fell through for the former Springboard Media offices on Walnut Street in Rittenhouse.
Aside from being a spot for game studios and solo game developers to work, the new space will host Cipher Prime’s dev night, where developers come together to work on projects, and meetings of the Philly chapter of the International Game Developers Association. It’ll also host quarterly game showcases. There are no hard dates yet, but if you’re interested in participating, sign up here.
Expect a big opening party later this fall, said Stallwood, and sign up here if you’d like to present there.
Find more pictures below, courtesy of Stallwood. Read more on Geekadelphia here.
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Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Bars are seeing a changing pattern of spending, the Bank of Scotland said
The lowering of the legal drink-drive limit in Scotland has affected business in the hospitality sector, according to a new report.
The Bank of Scotland said restaurants and bars were seeing "a changing pattern of spending" because of the new law, which came into force in December.
The comments came in the bank's latest survey of Scottish purchasing managers.
Its PMI report indicated a slight fall in overall service sector activity last month.
The new legislation on drink-driving reduced the legal alcohol limit from 80mg to 50mg in every 100ml of blood.
In February, purchasing consortium Beacon published a survey of hospitality sector customers that suggested Scottish businesses saw bar sales drop by up to 60% in the two months after the introduction of the new limit.
'Marginal growth'
Looking at the wider private sector economy in Scotland, the PMI report said there was marginal growth in manufacturing output.
However, manufacturing exporters reported they had been affected by the falling euro.
In contrast, there was a modest increase in new business for Scottish firms with companies reporting "some dissipation of the uncertainty that has plagued client decision-making since the start of the year".
The Bank of Scotland PMI - which measures changes in manufacturing and services activity - registered 49.4 during March, down from 50.2 in the previous month.
Any figure below 50 suggests economic contraction.
It is the second time in the past three months that a fall in output has been recorded, although the latest decline was marginal.
Image copyright Bank of Scotland Image caption The Bank of Scotland PMI measures changes in manufacturing and services activity
Manufacturers, while signalling a fractional increase in output, recorded a fall in new orders for a third month in succession.
Survey respondents suggested the drop reflected subdued demand from the oil and gas industry.
In contrast, service providers recorded modest growth as economic conditions improved.
The latest data suggested modest growth overall in employment, although business services companies indicated a particularly strong rise.
Bank of Scotland chief economist Donald MacRae said: "Manufacturing exporters have been affected by the falling euro while services businesses in hospitality are seeing a changing pattern of spending resulting from the lowered alcohol limit while driving.
"All are affected by subdued business confidence associated with the fall in the price of oil and the bad winter weather.
"But recovery is on the way with levels of new business increasing, employment rising in all sectors and the oil price up 20% from January's low."
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Mitt Romney’s final pre-election visit to Florida Monday morning included a surprise guest: the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott. “Tomorrow night, Florida is going to go big for Mitt Romney, and it’ll be a precursor to what happens in the country,” Scott told the crowd in his warm-up moments before Romney took the stage.
You might expect a presidential candidate to stump with a friendly swing-state governor on the eve of a tight election. But Scott’s no ordinary governor, as we’ve written before. The political novice and former health care executive, who pumped $70 million of his own money into his successful 2010 campaign, has alienated conservatives and progressives alike with a failed costly legal challenge to Obamacare, a failed attempt to charge welfare recipients for their pee, and threatened cuts to disabled care, liberal arts education, rape counseling, and tuberculosis treatment during “the worst outbreak in 20 years.“
A mid-October PPP poll, taken at the height of Republicans’ post-Denver debate bounce, found 37 percent of respondents approving of Rick Scott and 46 percent disapproving. Incredibly, that was a near-all-time high in popularity for Scott. When asked if they’d vote for him or a generic Democrat in the next election, the no-name Dem won, 45-43. Numbers like those have led PPP to call Scott “the most toxic of the raft of Tea Party governors.”
And all that was before this weekend, when Scott capped off his yearlong campaign to tighten voting laws by denying appeals from thousands of Floridians to restore the state’s historically generous early-voting hours, after multiple counties reported snaking lines of voters with wait times of up to half a day.
It was a showdown that began in May 2011, before the GOP presidential primaries had even begun, when Scott pushed through a voting bill that cut the state’s early-voting days from two weeks to one and made it nigh impossible for independent groups, liberal or conservative, to register new voters without facing a ton of red tape and potential prosecution. (The latter effort was halted in August by a federal court judge, who called the registration limits “harsh and impractical.”)
This summer Scott launched an unprecedented purge of registered voters whom he suspected of being noncitizens. Imposed against the will of the state’s 67 county elections supervisors, that purge ended up disenfranchising scores of US citizens—including 30 active and reserve service members in the Tampa area and a 91-year-old World War II vet in Democratic-heavy Broward County.
That was small potatoes compared with the controversy that broke out over the weekend, when voters in Democratic-heavy urban counties—Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough—spent up to seven hours waiting in long lines to cast votes before the work week started, with many being turned away after closing time. That led to appeals from numerous political leaders and voters for Scott to extend voting hours by executive order—a move that two of his Republican predecessors, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, took in previous elections. But Scott refused. “Early voting will end Saturday night,” he announced Friday at a GOP fundraiser, paradoxically adding: “But I want everybody to get out to vote.”
Florida is a pivotal part of Romney’s remaining paths to presidential victory—he almost can’t win the election without carrying the Sunshine State. “Florida is everything,” Paul Ryan told a crowd of supporters there Sunday. And Scott is doing his part to keep the vote Republican-leaning, even as polls show the state has become a true toss-up.
But Romney and Ryan’s efforts to pull out all the stops Monday morning could potentially backfire. Romney’s rally was held at the airport in Sanford, not far from where 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed last February—a tragedy that Scott bungled, and that brought national scrutiny to the state’s draconian “stand your ground” deadly-force law. That law was sponsored by the same Republican legislator who helped shepherd Scott’s bill to shorten voter hours last year.
“We need every single vote in Florida,” Romney told the Sanford crowd. “We can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow.” Scott’s voting tactics may have assisted the ex-Massachusetts governor. But given the anti-Scott voter backlash in Florida, Romney may have just frittered away his advantage by standing with Scott in Sanford.
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In this Nov. 30, 2006, file photo, Kasatka the killer whale performs during SeaWorld’s Shamu show in San Diego. (Chris Park/AP)
When SeaWorld San Antonio announced the death of an 18-year-old killer whale this week, it sounded a lot like a somber broken record.
“We are saddened to share the passing of Unna today,” the park’s statement said. Unna suffered from an infection from a resistant strain of fungus called Candida. The whale had been in serious condition and under around-the-clock care, although the exact cause of her death has yet to be determined.
The life expectancy of a female killer whale ranges from 30 to 50 years.
In her passing, Unna joins two other whales that have died at the park in the past six months. November saw the death of Stella, a beluga whale that was being treated for gastrointestinal problems. And in July, SeaWorld-goers mourned a newborn beluga who died after being born premature.
The succession of deaths is raising eyebrows as SeaWorld has faced increasing scrutiny since the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which detailed the circumstances of orcas who live and perform at the company’s parks. The film focuses on the life of Tilikum, an orca at SeaWorld Orlando that killed one of his trainers and is associated with two other deaths.
SeaWorld Antonio is accustomed by now to questions about its conduct. In fact, it preempted them with a “Frequently Asked Questions”-style addendum to the announcement of Unna’s death.
The queries posed and answered include: “Some have claimed that SeaWorld has unbalanced water disinfection with high levels of chlorine. Is that true?,” “Activists claim that Unna’s immune system was compromised from stress, making her more susceptible to infections and ultimately causing her death. How do you respond to that?” and “We saw that SeaWorld Antonio had three whales die in six months. Is something wrong with the animals or the care they are receiving?”
In response to the last, the park iterated that the deaths have no connection to each other.
“After a review of each of these cases, none of the issues were related to each other, or to the care that the animals received, which is the care that SeaWorld is world-renowned for,” the release said.
According to SeaWorld’s website, Unna began undergoing treatment as early as September, and received a medication that had never before been used on killer whales. This “novel treatment plan” was developed by SeaWorld veterinarians working with kidney and fungal experts from around the country.
This plan was devised after Unna didn’t respond to conventional therapies. Her condition fluctuated over the months, and it was unclear whether she was responding well to the new treatment, which is commonly used on humans suffering from fungal infections.
“We have no evidence that Unna was stressed from her environment,” the release said. It has been 25 years since a killer whale in SeaWorld’s care last died of a Candida infection.
Unna’s passing caps a year of — some might say crippling — change for the marine park company.
[The fate of SeaWorld’s ‘Shamu’ show was forecast by the very first whale performers]
In this Nov. 30, 2006, file photo, four killer whales, including Kasatka and her calf, Kalia, leap out of the water while performing during SeaWorld’s Shamu show in San Diego. (Chris Park/AP)
SeaWorld’s San Diego location announced in November that would be phasing out its controversial trademark “Shamu” shows, theatrical performances featuring trained orcas. A month before that, the California Coastal Commission banned the breeding of killer whales in captivity at the same time that it approved an expansion of SeaWorld San Diego’s killer whale habitat.
The new regulations also restrict the sale, trade or transfer of orcas, though SeaWorld can still house beached and rescued animals approved by the government.
The biggest blow was the breeding prohibition, which may mean that SeaWorld’s current crop of 11 killer whales will be its last.
Prior to 2015, SeaWorld was already suffering declining revenue and attendance, in part as a result of the “Free Tilly” movement that emerged from “Blackfish.” Formerly loyal parkgoers began to see SeaWorld’s treatment of its whales as dangerous to both the animals and the humans who cared for them.
SeaWorld San Antonio’s preemptive responses to questions about Unna’s death is reminiscent of an even lengthier document the company published in the lead-up to the release of “Blackfish.” The statement, sent to 50 film critics, pushed back against many of the points in the documentary, principally the notion that SeaWorld often neglected its animals for the sake of its bottom line.
“We sleep and breath care of animals,” Kelly Flaherty Clark, a SeaWorld employee who works with Tilikum, told the New York Times. She said her testimony at an Occupational Safety and Health Administration hearing, at which SeaWorld was cited for violating safety regulations, was taken out of context and did not accurately represent her views.
The public relations campaign ultimately did little to temper “Blackfish”-related fallout, which prompted the resignation of then-CEO Jim Atchison in December 2014.
[A world of trouble for SeaWorld]
The responses to SeaWorld’s Facebook announcement of Unna’s death were largely sympathetic.
“I’m so sorry,” user Karen Kuchar wrote. “I just visited SeaWorld, and it’s obvious how much the trainers and workers love the whales and animals. It’s like losing a family member. Thank you Sea World for doing all you can, and for the great work you do.”
More from Morning Mix
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North American anime publisher Nippon Ichi Software America (NIS America) have confirmed their acquisition of anime series Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (這いよれ! ニャル子さん), which they will be publishing as part of a Premium Edition set under the title Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! Season 1. Described as containing “Adventure, Love and World Saving” featuring creatures based on the lore of H.P. Lovecraft, this set will be available across two blu-ray discs on the 15th April 2014.
As with other Premium Edition sets, this collection will come with a hardcover artbox and 32-page hardcover artbook. The collection will also include clean opening and ending sequences as well as Japanese trailers as on-disc extra content.
At this point in time the Premium Edition will be the only edition available on the market, and unlike their video games division NIS America’s acquisition ONLY covers North America.
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Mahiro Yasaka finds his quiet life thrown into chaos when he’s attacked one night by a fearsome demon. Luckily for Mahiro, Nyaruko, the Crawling Chaos, has been sent by the Planetary Defense Agency to protect him. It turns out all of the creatures from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos are in fact just aliens! Soon enough, Kuko, the Ravenous Chaos, and Hasuta, the Deity of Wind, have entwined themselves in Mahiro’s life as well. Follow Mahiro and gang as they fight for their lives, learn about love, discover intergalactic video games, and perhaps even save the world!
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THE highlands of Peru have long sheltered one of South America’s larger concentrations of poor people. This persisted even after a radical agrarian reform abolished large estates in the 1970s. Explanations for this secular stagnation have ranged from the racist (the “idleness” of the Amerindian) to the notion, prevalent among economists, that highland peasant farmers cannot compete against cheap imports. But Richard Webb, a former president of Peru’s Central Bank, argues in a new study* that one of the most important explanations for the poverty of the high Andes has been geographical isolation—and that this is diminishing fast.
Data from household surveys show a correlation between family labour productivity and the size of settlements: on average, productivity doubles between rural areas and a small town, and doubles again in Lima, the capital. Access to public services, such as schools and health clinics, also increases with the size of settlements. That explains why millions of Andean farmers have migrated to Peru’s Pacific coast over the past 80 years.
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But when Mr Webb visited five of the most remote provinces in the Andes he found unexpected signs of dynamism, such as new markets, lots of traffic (motorbikes, moto-taxis and vans) and modern farming techniques, including drip irrigation and farm machinery. Many locals had more than one occupation, tending a plot of land while also working in the local town, often having houses in both places.
A survey of municipal officials in 176 rural districts in the poorest areas revealed two big changes. First, in 2001-11 the day rate for farm labourers rose by an average of 73% in real terms, the price of a hectare of agricultural land by 88% and that of a house in the local town by 166%. Second, in the same period, journey times to the nearest city dropped from almost nine hours to just under four and a half. That was thanks to a burst of roadbuilding and improvement which began in the 1990s. Much of this involved rural roads. The network of asphalted highways in Peru also expanded, by 550km (340 miles) a year between 1995 and 2011, up from just 140km a year in the previous quarter-century. Thanks to mobile technology, ownership of telephones among people in rural areas has shot up, from 2% in 2004 to 54% in 2011.
Mr Webb estimates that since 1994 rural income per person has risen at an annual average rate of 7.2% in real terms (compared with 2.8% for urban incomes). Between them, the rise in income and better connections add up to a radical transformation in rural Peru. The study suggests the two are closely related. It points to the wisdom of boosting investment in infrastructure in the poorer rural parts of Latin America: Andean roads are vulnerable to rains and mudslides and need active maintenance, and there is scope to slash journey times further. Clearly, peasant farmers respond as creatively as anyone else to the opportunities that come from being connected to the market economy.
* “Conexión y Despegue Rural”, Instituto del Perú, Universidad San Martín de Porres, Lima.
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UPDATE: A number of players are now complaining that the server problems have killed their character in the game's permadeath Hardcore Mode. We've contacted Blizzard for comment and will update should we hear back.
ORIGINAL STORY: Diablo 3 has been hobbled yet again by the infamous Error 37.
Disgruntled gamers have taken to the official Blizzard forums in their droves today to complain that they've found it impossible to log-in to the game.
A community manager offered the following explanation at around 3.00pm UK time:
"Login is currently being impacted by the number of players that are coming online after they downloaded the patch and accepted the Terms of Use. Sadly, the additional steps required to patch and log in to the game is creating a lot of the 'Error 37' prompts for players.
"We're currently working on a fix for this and are looking to have it implemented as soon as possible; we hope to have future patching processes smoothed out for Diablo 3."
There has been no further update from Blizzard since.
The patch the community manager is referring to, update 1.0.2, went live earlier today.
The exact same issue kept countless players offline immediately after the game's launch earlier this month, prompting a public apology from developer Blizzard.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Remove giblets, liver, gizzard, and neck from the cavities, but set aside neck. Heather Finn, Good Housekeeping, "How to Perfectly Prepare and Roast a Turkey This Thanksgiving," 20 Nov. 2018
The 150-seat spot also rolls an array of soul food staples, such as cheese grits, collard greens, yams and fried gizzards, livers and giblets. cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians 2018: 88 bars, restaurants near Progressive Field," 6 Apr. 2018
Use the turkey gizzards and neck bone to make stock and stuffing. Audrey Bruno, SELF, "How to Roast a Turkey if You've Never Done It Before," 20 Nov. 2018
Last year’s winner, Godshelter Oluwalogbon, says sales at his Nigerian food truck at the corner of Second Avenue between 44th and 45th streets in Midtown grew 40% as tourists flocked to sample his stewed goat and sautéed gizzard. Anne Kadet, WSJ, "Vendy Awards Recognize City’s Best Food Truck or Cart," 18 Sep. 2018
Get the homemade merguez sausage and duck gizzard cassoulet. Todd Plummer, Vogue, "A Guide to Dundee, Scotland—the First City Outside London to Get Its Very Own V&A Museum," 14 July 2018
Chop the duck’s neck, gizzard and heart into pieces of 1 1/2 inches or less (do not use the liver; reserve it for another purpose or discard it). Heat the oil in a 2-quart pot and brown the duck pieces with 1 carrot and 1 onion. Daniel Neman, sacbee, "Main dishes? Fruit is not forbidden," 26 June 2018
Ham hocks, neck bones, gizzards, and other animal parts unwanted by white families found their way into black kitchens by necessity; unsung black cooks turned these disparate bits into craveable dishes. Hannah Giorgis, Bon Appetit, "How Freda DeKnight’s Cookbook, ‘A Date with a Dish’ Inspired Generations of Black Cooks," 19 June 2018
Their diets are the fish that people don't care about like carp, gizzard shad, and others. Craig Hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "Texas' own 'Fish Whisperer' catches an 8-foot alligator gar in the Trinity River," 18 June 2018
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gizzard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Roma join Klaassen race
By Football Italia staff
Ajax hinted Davy Klaassen wants to leave this summer, so Roma, Napoli, Lazio and Everton are the main contenders.
The 24-year-old midfielder had already been close to Napoli in the January transfer window, but opted to remain in Amsterdam.
After losing the Europa League Final to Manchester United last night, it was hinted Klaassen had requested a move to a bigger European club.
Napoli remain in the running, as do Lazio, but Roma have now leapt into the race, according to Sportmediaset.
Everton currently seem to have the advantage, but the Giallorossi hope new director of sport Monchi can help convince Klaassen to go for the Stadio Olimpico instead.
If Roma secure second place in this weekend’s final round of the Serie A season, they will be guaranteed a spot in the Champions League group phase.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE (The Borowitz Report)—In a stunning announcement on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that he was dropping out of the Presidential race to focus his energies on tormenting Florida Senator Marco Rubio full-time.
“At the end of the day, running for President was interfering with what I really love, which is making Marco Rubio’s life a living hell,” he said. “Now I can get up every morning and spend all day just doing that.”
Christie said that he had tired of fielding questions about ISIS, immigration, and the economy and having to find some contrived way of answering them with a scathing attack on Rubio. “Don’t get me wrong, I was great at it,” he said. “But it’ll be so much easier to just get out there and start tearing him apart with no pretext whatsoever.”
The New Jersey governor, who plans to bring his message of character assassination to all fifty states, did not indicate how he would finance this mission. “I’ll pay for it myself if I have to,” he said. “If, looking back on my life, I can say that I ground Marco Rubio into the dirt, I will die a happy man.”
Asked what his first stop would be after leaving the campaign trail, Christie said, "I want to reconnect with my family, hug my kids, and tell them what a douche Marco is."
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CARACAS, June 1 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Venezuelan judge at a street barricade in the latest fatality from two months of anti-government unrest that have killed at least 61 people, authorities said on Thursday.
Nelson Moncada, 37, was killed and stripped of his belongings as he tried to get away from the roadblock on Wednesday night in Caracas' El Paraiso district, the scene of regular clashes, the state prosecutor's office said.
There was violence around the capital on Wednesday after security forces forcibly broke up tens of thousands of opposition supporters marching on government offices downtown, and skirmishes continued into the night.
Protesters frequently block roads with rubbish and burning tyres, sometimes asking passers-by for contributions to a self-styled "Resistance" movement against President Nicolas Maduro.
It was unclear why Moncada had been targeted.
Some local news sites said it appeared to be a robbery while others noted he had presided at the controversial case of Bassil Da Costa, a protester shot at the start of another wave of anti-Maduro demonstrations in 2014.
Victims from the violence then and this year have included supporters of both sides, bystanders and members of the security forces. El Paraiso has seen nightly clashes between demonstrators, pro-government gangs and National Guard soldiers.
Venezuela's opposition is demanding new elections to replace the unpopular socialist president whom foes accuse of wrecking the OPEC nation's economy and becoming a dictator.
Maduro, 54 calls them coup-mongers seeking his violent overthrow with U.S. support akin to the short-lived toppling of his predecessor Hugo Chavez in 2002.
Since the latest round of protests began in early April, hundreds of people have been also injured, and 3,000 arrested, of whom nearly half remain behind bars, according to local human rights campaigners. (Reporting by Andrew Cawthorne and Andreina Aponte; Editing by David Gregorio)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Guest post by Nick Normandeau
Special to The Cult of Hockey
Every year since the 2013 lockout season, I’ve been keeping track of a lot of the Oilers’ statistics. To watch the team’s progress throughout the year, I split these stats into groups of eight-game segments (ie. segment 1 has the results from games 1 through 8, segment 2 has results from games 9 through 16, etc). That way, instead of just looking at the entire season’s running total, which is what most people do, you get to see if the Oilers have improved throughout the year or if they have gotten worse. Last year, I wrote two guest articles showing how the Oilers have done under Krueger, Eakins, & Nelson, and in this article, I’ll update things to show how the Oilers fared under Todd McLellan (their first veteran coach since the 2011-12 season). One thing to keep in mind is that there were major injuries to key players throughout the entire season, so things probably went a lot worse than they would have if the team had to deal with a more normal amount of injuries.
Let’s start by looking at the team’s goal differential under the four coaches. This shows how many more goals the Oilers scored than their opponents during each set of eight games.
Krueger’s team only had two segments that weren’t close to (or over) the break-even line, so his Oilers were the closest to getting the job done. Then Eakins took over and everything fell apart: there were only 3 out of 14 segments where his Oilers were close to the break-even line, and 9 of the 14 segments were total disasters where the Oilers’ opponents out-scored them by at least 8 goals (an average of -1 per game). Nelson took over and the Oilers were out-scored by at least 4 goals each segment, including two disaster segments (one in which the Oilers were outscored by 13 goals).
So how did McLellan’s Oilers do? I’d say his team made a decent improvement: in 6 of the 10 segments, the Oilers came within four goals of the break-even line, and only two segments were disasters where the Oilers were out-scored by eight or more goals. Now let’s keep in mind that although there was real progress, this is still a terrible graph showing that over four entire seasons, you can only find FOUR small segments of eight games where the Oilers scored more goals than their opponents!
___
Let’s move on to the powerplay. As my study showed last year, the Oilers had a decent powerplay under Krueger, then under Eakins & Nelson they were consistently scoring between 2 to 5 PP goals every eight games (in 75%, or 15 of their combined 20 eight-game segments). When McLellan was hired, most fans looked at San Jose’s great powerplay and assumed that there would be a dramatic improvement. Here’s the graph of what happened:
There’s a few ways of interpreting it, but I would definitely call last season’s powerplay inconsistent! Half of McLellan’s segments fell within the “2-to-5 PP goals per 8 games” range, and for the first time since I started keeping track of it, the Oilers scored 7 or more PP goals in three 8-game segments in a season. On the other hand, there were two stretches where the Oilers scored one single PP goal in eight entire games! You could blame it on injuries, but that’s atrocious and unacceptable. The highs and lows were much more extreme last year, and I’d like to see how things turn out this upcoming season.
Because Dallas Eakins’ Oilers were such a trainwreck when it came to allowing short-handed goals against (the Oilers’ opponents scored more than one SH goal in 6 of his 14 eight-game segments), it’s worth looking at how McLellan’s Oilers did:
Although Krueger’s & Nelson’s teams allowed almost no SH goals against, McLellan’s team still did a good job; there were only 2 of this past season’s 10 eight-game segments where the Oilers allowed more than one SH goals against.
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One of the Oilers’ biggest problems since the “2012”-2013 season has been the goaltending. I keep track of the average segment Save% under each coach (where I take the average of each 8-game segment, not the total Save% for the season), and these are the final results under each coach:
• Krueger’s team had an average segment Save% of .917 which was by far the best result of the four coaches.
• Eakins’ Oilers had an average segment Save% of .897 which was horrible, and the beginning of the goalie carousel
• Nelson’s team had an average segment Save% of .888 which includes the Apr 2nd game where L.A. scored 8 goals!
• McLellan’s Oilers had nowhere to go but up, and did just that, with an average segment Save% of .905 which is still really bad, but at least is above the .900 mark for the first time since Krueger was coach.
With a more veteran defense (than usual) this upcoming season, I’d like to see if the Oilers can improve and get back up to Krueger’s .917 level.
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Many fans put a lot of emphasis on shooting, so let’s look at two ways of measuring this. First, I keep track of how many games per segment the Oilers were able to out-shoot their opponent. It’s a binary “did they out-shoot them or not?” stat which tries to eliminate huge outlier games where the Oilers get obliterated on the shot clock (or vice versa). Let’s look at the average 8-game segment under each coach:
• Krueger’s Oilers out-shot their opponents in 1.7 out of 8 games! This is laughable and not even close to acceptable
• Eakins’ team out-shot their opponents in 2.8 out of 8 games. It’s an improvement but still pretty ugly
• Nelson’s Oilers out-shot their opponents in 3.4 out of 8 games. That was getting closer to out-shooting their opponents in half of their 8 games
• McLellan’s Oilers out-shot their opponents in only 2.7 out of 8 games. Unfortunately, that’s back to the level that things were at under Dallas Eakins, and it’s something that the team really needs to work on this upcoming season.
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A different way of looking at shooting is the team’s Shot Share, which is all of the Oilers’ shots (not just 5-vs-5 shots) divided by the total shots during each 8-game segment. This is different from Corsi, because it only counts shots that actually made it to the goalie. Here’s a graph of the results:
This tells a completely different story than just looking at whether the team out-shot their opponents in a game or not. Looking at this graph, you can see that over the course of the last four seasons, the Oilers have been getting closer and closer to having the same amount of shots as their opponents. The average segment’s Shot Share under Krueger was .450, under Eakins it was .463, under Nelson it was .481, and under McLellan it was .483. Again, the red line on the graph shows the break-even line where both teams are getting the same amount of shots, so let’s not kid ourselves: this is an ugly graph of a bottom-of-the-league team that rarely has a better Shot Share than its opponent.
Overall, you can point to some progress each season, but this rebuild has been moving by sundial and really needs to start moving in the right direction. Hopefully a better defensive group and a full season with Connor McDavid can turn this team around.
___
Edmonton Oilers fan Nick Normandeau has been tracking performance by the local team and its opposition on a game-by-game basis over the past four seasons. Normandeau’s two-part series on the 2014-15 season at the Cult of Hockey can be found here and here, and his work was previously featured here and here . You can follow Nick on Twitter here.
Recently at the Cult of Hockey:
Staples 3-part series on the Oilers in the Daryl Katz era:
The Katz Oilers have been a worse team than the EIG Oilers
Opinions differ on why the Katz Oilers have been so bad
Accountability must again become a core value for Oilers
Willis: 2016 Oilers prospects, No. 18 — Jere Salinen
McCurdy: 2016 Oilers prospects, No. 19 – Aapeli Rasanen
Follow Bruce McCurdy on Twitter
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The ‘cinematic mode’, aka ‘Virtual Cinema’, offered by PlayStation VR has remained a mystery for some time. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has revealed that all PlayStation 4 software and experiences – including videogames and video content – can utilise the feature, and yet has been seemingly reluctant to showcase it. That is, until now, as VRFocus has been hands-on with the PlayStation VR’s most interesting alternate use case.
First, the technical aspect of the cinematic mode: there are three simulated screen sizes available; 117 inches, 163 inches and 226 inches. The middle option encompasses your entire field-of-view, making the largest option practically redundant: in cinematic mode, the simulated screen is locked to your forward-facing view and will not change viewpoint with head movement.
In order to assist with comfort, the screen can be set to dynamically rotate in accordance to the angle of your head. So, should you wish to watch a movie laying on the couch the screen will rotate to align with your new position. This function can also be turned off or switched to a manually operated system.
In its debut hands-on session VRFocus was treated to a preview of a light-hearted comedy movie showcasing all of the above technical capabilities. The largest virtual screen option proved impressive here: a true virtual cinema in which the movie almost completely encompassed your field-of-view. It was a demonstration that highlighted the strengths of the PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode yet called into question it’s versatility and comfort: can you really use the HMD whilst lying with your head resting on a pillow or cushion?
A later demonstration allowed the cinematic mode to come into its own: not every PlayStation 4 videogame it going to be made for virtual reality (VR), and yet every single one can be played via the PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode. Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the most highly anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusive releases of 2017, and in PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode becomes wholly immersive.
Horizon: Zero Dawn casts the player as Aloy, a skilled hunter, and grants them the opportunity to explore a vibrant and lush world inhabited by mechanised creatures. All of this is realised in remarkable visual fidelity from a third-person perspective. Some will lament the loss of screen quality when playing on PlayStation VR due to the comparative low resolution given the HD screen is mounted so close to your face, but when the outside world is no longer a part of the experience it’s easy to see how hours can be sucked away in what feels like mere minutes.
The largest virtual screen presented by PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode may struggle with some videogame titles due to important information being displayed in the lower corners of the screen. However, this will largely be an individual concern than a one-size-fits-all problem. Some will be more forgiving of the flaws of the experience in favour of the immediate immersion PlayStation VR’s cinematic mode can offer.
The PlayStation VR is set to launch on 13th October 2016, and you can make sure you’re ready to take full advantage of the device with VRFocus‘ guide to the best accessories for PlayStation VR.
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Since you are just setting out with this SE, you might appreciate to hear about my learning experience: I've been a moderator on Bitcoin.SE for more than two years now, and I have spent a lot of time on fixing tags there: Tagging can quickly grow rampantly, when not cultivated.
E.g. when I started the clean-up, we had lots of
meta-tags (describing the type of question instead of the topic), e.g. definition, opinion, comparison
ambiguous tags, e.g. future, computing, offline
too broad tags, e.g. mining and transaction were on more than 10% of our questions
duplicate tags, e.g. jargon, terms, vocabulary, and terminology
So, perhaps consider these ideas to evaluate tags:
What properties do good tags have?
Descriptive. Does the tag add valuable information when it is added to a question? Representative. Can the tag be the only tag of a question? Unambiguous. Does the tag commonly mean the same thing for different people? Confined. Does the tag create a specific, well-defined category? Meaningful. Can you see anyone at some point subscribing to the tag or searching for related questions by using the tag? Constrictive. Can you see anyone using this tag to ignore a topic? Unique. Is there a very similar tag that is more popular which could be applied instead?
If a tag's usefulness is contested, think about whether its name or definition could be improved, but finally rather err on allowing it.
The good news is that your tagging looks pretty already. Lots of tags have descriptions and most seem to be good ones.
I'd just like to point out a few tags that we've already had run-ins with on Bitcoin.SE:
mining and transaction ended up on almost 10% of our questions in the end. I suggest that you try to start out with a more diverse array of tags in those areas from the start. For some ideas see here: mining and transactions
development tended to be misused for any and all questions about software development. Perhaps you would like to clarify it to monero-development or similar.
We have a bunch of tags along the lines of merchants which we haven't found a good clean-up for, yet. Perhaps you can get a head start by offering a few more specifically defined tags such as face-to-face-payments, webshop-integration, and merchant-address-management.
We found security and attack a bit too broad in the long-term and have since added more tags for specific topics such as majority-attack, race-attack, ….
There are few meta-tags such as usage, and technical-comparison.
And some tags may be too unspecific in the long run such as size, maintenance, integration, improvement, creation, support.
Believe me, it's much easier to do a little work now than cleaning up tags with 1400 questions later because the tag encompasses a huge part of all topics on your SE. ;)
I'd be happy to help or advise, if you are interested. I'm usually hanging out in chat, and will be looking at this SE from time to time. :)
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MLA
Lichterman, Joseph. "Americans don’t have much trust in social media as a source of news, a new report says." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 18 Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Feb. 2019.
APA
Lichterman, J. (2016, Apr. 18). Americans don’t have much trust in social media as a source of news, a new report says. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved February 26, 2019, from http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/04/americans-dont-have-much-trust-in-social-media-as-a-source-of-news-a-new-report-says/
Chicago
Lichterman, Joseph. "Americans don’t have much trust in social media as a source of news, a new report says." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified April 18, 2016. Accessed February 26, 2019. http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/04/americans-dont-have-much-trust-in-social-media-as-a-source-of-news-a-new-report-says/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/04/americans-dont-have-much-trust-in-social-media-as-a-source-of-news-a-new-report-says/
| title = Americans don’t have much trust in social media as a source of news, a new report says
| last = Lichterman
| first = Joseph
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 18 April 2016
| accessdate = 26 February 2019
| ref = {{harvid|Lichterman|2016}}
}}
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When I was growing up, most of the kids in my neighborhood were fairly uncreative. Instead of thinking long and hard about what you wanted to be for Halloween, you'd run with your parent to the store at the last minute, and grab a prepackaged costume made by Ben Cooper or Collegeville of some famous character. Superheroes, Monsters, and Star Wars characters were usually the favorites, but every now a nd then you came across a few gems that really made you scratch your head. Make sure you check out this year’s hottest costumes so you don't look like these costumes below. Take this Father Murphy costume for example. I suppose you could have drawn a swastika on the forehead and passed yourself off as Charles Manson, but being that nobody under 60 years of age even watched this show, it makes you wonder what kid actually asked to be this. Only slightly more popular than the Colonel Potter from M*A*S*H* costume. Sure, The Sweathogs Hogs were all fairly popular in their day, but to think some poor 7 year old kid was wandering the streets dressed up as Gabe Kaplan is a crying shame. If you were really cool, you could wear the mask with a basketball uniform and go as Kaplan from Fastbreak, or just go naked with it as Ron Jeremy. Something tells me this Robert "Baretta" Blake costume would be far scarier if worn this Halloween than when it was originally released in the '70s. Get your buddy to dress as OJ Simpson, and you'd be the scariest duo out there. Keep your eye on the sparrow! Here's another one that just defies expectation. Sure, The Gong Show was popular beyond belief in the 70s, but to think that a kid would want to be Chuck Barris for Halloween defies all logic. My parents were pretty cheap, so I just had to put a bag over my head and be The Unknown Comic. I'd actually love to have this costume now, though, something oddly cool about it. I bet this outfit would have been more dangerous to wear than the famed all-black "Invisible Pedestrian" costume from the classic SNL sketch. You're just asking to get your candy stolen, and be beaten within an inch of your life when you're dressed up as Scott Baio. Wouldn't you just love to throw sardines in the bag of a kid that showed up at your door wearing this? There's just something freakish about a dolphin with arms and legs running about asking for candy. It's like some experiment from The Island of Dr. Moreau gone horribly wrong. If you were even tempted to go the Flipper route, why not at least trade up to the JAWS costume? It's certainly scarier, and as far as I know, it's the only kid's costume ever made with a naked chick swimming across the top. How many poor kids that got stuck with this one had to hear, "Hey Rubik, how about if I rearrange your face?" This very well may be the least popular costume of all time, 2nd only to the failed Parcheesi costume of 1974. AAAAIIIIEEE! And I thought Herve Villachaze was the freakiest little costume ever made. It'd be a SMALL WONDER if a kid wanted to be this for Halloween (Get it! HAW HAW HAW!). The picture quality is a bit blurry, but it looks like she's dancing in a microwave oven on the shirt illustration. Yahoooo! Yes, you just tell your parents that it's Easy Reader from The Electric Company (as played by Morgan Freeman, by the way), but to you and your friends, you're PIMP DADDY! This is about as close as you were going to get to a Huggy Bear costume. Ol' Easy wore Kangol hats before Kangol even existed! How pathetic was the poor little girl that chose to be the lamer half of Laverne and Shirley? This is akin to asking to be Rhoda or Maude for Halloween. It kind of looks a bit like Jon Benet Ramsey's mother, to be honest with you. I suspect that "Mommy I want to be Atari's Asteroids Game for Halloween" was only slightly less creepy for parents to hear than, "Mommy, I just chopped up Fido with a shovel and had sex with his face!" Kids who couldn't afford this one had to settle for being Intellivision's "Astroblast" game, instead. I actually bought this costume for my high school girlfriend, cut a big hole in the mouth, and asked her to wear it when we went to the drive in. I never saw her again after that night, but I ended up keeping the mask for...uhhh...collectible purposes. What kid didn't want to be "Leather Guy" from The Village People? I suppose this might have been several kids second choice after the Richard Simmons costumes were sold out. At least it's already got a built in protective vinyl coating. By the way, I want to thank my friends at Pure Costumes. You should go give them a visit! Just CLICK HERE and check them out, all year round. -Robert Berry
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Share. The new anti-captivity film Blackfish has sparked an uproar over SeaWorld. The new anti-captivity film Blackfish has sparked an uproar over SeaWorld.
Be advised that the following contains possible SPOILERS for Finding Dory.
Pixar Animation has reportedly changed elements of their forthcoming Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory in light of a highly publicized, new documentary and its allegations leveled at the practices of the Florida-based marine park SeaWorld.
That film, Blackfish, chronicles the capture and captivity of orca whales, specifically the notorious performing whale Tilikum, who has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. The film has generated a public outcry against SeaWorld, which saw one of its trainers battered and drown by Tilikum in 2010.
"The script for Finding Dory, which is still in the early stages of production ahead of its planned 2015 release, initially had an ending that involved a marine park, according to a Pixar employee," reports the New York Times. "But as a result of the sometimes harsh Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and the resulting publicity battle SeaWorld has had to fight, Pixar decided to restructure that part of the story so that the fish and mammals taken to its aquatic center have the option to leave."
As we reported Friday, Finding Dory director Andrew Stanton revealed that the sequel "picks up a year after Finding Nemo and while Dory is living a good life with Marlin and Nemo, her condition 'can be a burden for those around her.' The story kicks into gear when 'a traumatic event causes her homing instincts to kick in,' and Dory takes off to return to her family. As the film continues, Marlin and Nemo are looking for Dory, while she in turn is looking for her family."
The sequel's voice cast includes returning stars Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks, as well as Modern Family’s Ty Burrell (as a beluga whale named Bailey that befriends Dory) and Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy as Dory's parents, Jenny and Charlie.
Finding Dory opens November 25, 2015.
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Mark Rosewater, head of Design at Wizards of the Coast, has released a statement in response to recent articles which have shown that it is currently more expensive to play Standard than at any point since Cawblade – and potentially even more expensive, when you consider the lack of available ‘budget’ alternatives.
MaRo (Mark Rosewater) addressed reporters in the secondary Wizards of the Coast ballroom, from atop his towering throne of fetchlands: “This expensive Standard format was no accident. Each piece was carefully considered; every ramification thoroughly studied – no decision on any card’s effect on Standard prices was made imprudently”.
A crown of Jaces atop his furrowed brow, MaRo continued: “These prices reflect the measure of your sin. For too long players have been enjoying the vibrant Standard format, with multiple viable tier 1 decks and a myriad of cheaper budget alternatives.”
“And how did players respond to this generous bounty, to my weighty benevolence? Did they stop to reflect upon their good fortune? Did they take pause to appreciate their idyllic circumstance, to show their gratitude, to pay homage to my tireless efforts? Did they spend even one measly second of their miserable pathetic lives thinking about something other than themselves? No! A thousand times NO!”
At this stage, you could have heard a Needle Drop. Only two things were echoing through the vast hall: MaRo’s panted breath, and Kenneth Nagle’s quiet whimpering – but the Tzar of Design was not done. He gathered himself up, the naked hatred on his face matched only by the fire in his voice: “For 12 straight months you did nothing but complain about Siege Rhino, week after week after week. Like pampered lapdogs, scrabbling pathetically at the bathroom door if I decide I want to be alone while I take a shit. I cannot even begin to comprehend your pathetic existences, how meek and shallow your lives; that Siege Rhino – SIEGE RHINO – of all cards should draw your ire.”
“Rest assured, your punishment will not end soon – Oath of the Gatewatch will not bring the relief you so desperately crave. Instead, a whole new colour combined with the completion of the creature-land cycle will push the price of a Standard manabase to completely unprecedented levels, and you can rest assured that there will be multiple format staples at Mythic. Only when you go to bed at night dreaming of winning the lottery just to compete in an FNM will your penance be complete.”
When asked what players had done to deserve Modern, a format so atrocious that even thinking about having to play causes anybody to retch, MaRo had this to say: “Oh, gosh, modern – what kind of monster do you think I am? That’s an honest mistake – you’ve done nothing to deserve that. You have my most abject apologies for my role in the creation of that misbegotten format. It is a stain on my soul that will never come clean, and I beg of you: please find it in your hearts to forgive me for Modern.”
As of publication, GAS has not forgiven Rosewater for Modern and we never will.
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Members of Congress swear an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, but that doesn’t mean they understand it. Over the past week, several Republican lawmakers have expressed outrage over the fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the Boston marathon bombings, was read his rights and reportedly stopped talking to interrogators. These GOPers have accused President Barack Obama of making a grave error by recognizing the constitutional rights of a suspected terrorist.
The Obama administration, however, didn’t have a choice in the matter. Tsarnaev was read his rights by a magistrate judge during an initial appearance that was required by the federal rules of criminal procedure, which are rooted in the constitutional right to due process under the law. The Supreme Court has held that, barring exigent circumstances, a criminal suspect has to be brought before a judicial officer within 48 hours, give or take, at which point the suspect is informed of his rights no matter what.
The interrogation priorities of law enforcement officials don’t count as exigent circumstances, because the point of the rule is to prevent secret detention and to inform suspects of the charges against them. The public safety exception to reading suspects their rights affects whether suspects’ statements can be used in court. It does not affect the requirement that a suspect see a judge within 48 hours. These Republicans don’t seem to understand that distinction.
Rep. Peter King (R-NY): The former chairman of the House homeland security committee told CNN the fact that Tsarnaev was read his rights was “disgraceful” and said “It is the matter of life and death. I don’t know of any case law which says that magistrate has a right to come in to a hospital room and stop an interrogation.” Rep. King, let me Google that for you.
The former chairman of the House homeland security committee told CNN the fact that Tsarnaev was read his rights was “disgraceful” and said “It is the matter of life and death. I don’t know of any case law which says that magistrate has a right to come in to a hospital room and stop an interrogation.” Rep. King, let me Google that for you. Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.): On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Coats said that he “was very surprised that they moved as quickly as they did. We had, I think, legal reasons and follow-up investigative reasons to drag this out a little bit longer…I think the AG, attorney general, should have sent a signal basically saying we’re within our legal bounds in doing this for the public safety exemption.” This seems to be a popular misconception. Again, the public safety exception affects the admissibility of statements in court. It does not magically eliminate a suspect’s constitutional right to a speedy trial.
On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Coats said that he “was very surprised that they moved as quickly as they did. We had, I think, legal reasons and follow-up investigative reasons to drag this out a little bit longer…I think the AG, attorney general, should have sent a signal basically saying we’re within our legal bounds in doing this for the public safety exemption.” This seems to be a popular misconception. Again, the public safety exception affects the admissibility of statements in court. It does not magically eliminate a suspect’s constitutional right to a speedy trial. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas): Rep. McCaul is the current chairman of the House homeland security committee, and a former federal prosecutor, so it’s difficult to believe he doesn’t know the federal rules of criminal procedure. “The only other avenue we had to get this intelligence is through this emergency exception to the Miranda warning,” McCaul told CNN. “But in my judgment, the FBI was cut short in their interrogations when the magistrate judge decided to Mirandize him within 16 hours…I think that cost us dearly in terms of valuable intelligence.” Yes, that’s a former federal attorney mangling not only the nature of the public safety exemption and the requirement to bring the suspect before a judge, but also constitutional separation of powers. The FBI does not get to tell judges when they should see suspects.
Rep. McCaul is the current chairman of the House homeland security committee, and a former federal prosecutor, so it’s difficult to believe he doesn’t know the federal rules of criminal procedure. “The only other avenue we had to get this intelligence is through this emergency exception to the Miranda warning,” McCaul told CNN. “But in my judgment, the FBI was cut short in their interrogations when the magistrate judge decided to Mirandize him within 16 hours…I think that cost us dearly in terms of valuable intelligence.” Yes, that’s a former federal attorney mangling not only the nature of the public safety exemption and the requirement to bring the suspect before a judge, but also constitutional separation of powers. The FBI does not get to tell judges when they should see suspects. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich): Probably the only thing more embarrassing than being a federal prosecutor who doesn’t understand the federal rules of criminal procedure is being a former FBI agent who doesn’t understand them. Enter Rep. Rogers, chair of the House intelligence committee, who in an interview with MSNBC last week slammed the judiciary for “interceding” in an interrogation, referring to Tsarnaev being read his rights as “confusing” and a “horrible, God-awful policy” that is “dangerous to the greater community.” It’s not that confusing: The public safety exemption does not allow interrogators to indefinitely detain and interrogate suspects in violation of their constitutional rights.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has gone a different route and argued that Tsarnaev should have been held in military detention as an “enemy combatant.” But federal law specifically defines those who can be detained militarily as individuals who are play an operation role in foreign terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, and so far the evidence indicates the Tsarnaevs acted alone. It’s also possible that holding an American citizen like Tsarnaev in military detention after apprehending him on US soil would be unconstitutional even if some tie to foreign terrorist organizations were discovered.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is accused of doing horrible things. But he is an American citizen who is entitled to all the rights due him under the Constitution, none of which would mean anything if the government could pick and choose when they apply. Then they wouldn’t be rights at all.
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By G. M. Davis, Ph.D.
In an earlier column, I argued that the great adversary we are facing on the world stage today is not “radical” Islam, or “extreme” Islam, but Islam pure and simple.
It is the same adversary that, beginning in the seventh century, overran the Middle East and North Africa killing and enslaving tens of millions, and oppressed most of the Christian East under Shariah law for more than a thousand years, and it is now pushing down roots in the urban centers of Western Europe and North America.
It is this metastasizing danger that recently prompted Patrick Calvar, chief of the French Directorate General of Internal Security, to declare, “We are on the brink of civil war.”
The answer to this challenge is neither the gutless multiculturalism of Western elites, which refuses either to name or resist the adversary that is threatening Western Civilization, or the misguided efforts to “democratize” the Islamic world through military action, but rather a policy of active containment, which would simultaneously curtail Muslim immigration into the West and disengage Western military assets from costly and fruitless overseas entanglements.
Containing Islam is a deliberate echo of the strategy articulated by George Kennan in 1947 and pursued to ultimate victory during the Cold War against Soviet Communism. It may be said that it was not merely containment that won the Cold War – that the Soviet Union collapsed for other reasons – or that containment itself was pursued inconsistently, all of which certainly have grains of truth to them. Nonetheless, containment was the essence of the successful American strategy against Communism, and it can bring the much-needed clarity to Western strategy against Islam that has been so terribly lacking.
Containment would operate in two ways: stopping the Islamization of the West through curtailing Muslim immigration and clamping down on Islamic activism, while supporting secular and quasi-secular regimes overseas that share an interest in quashing jihadist activity.
At home, Islam would, in addition to its status as a religion, be recognized as a hostile political ideology, which would give the government broad powers to stop terrorists as well as “soft jihadists” from pushing their agenda of bringing Shariah to the West.
“Religion of peace”? Really? Read G.M. Davis’ fascinating book exposing the history and goals of Islam: “House of War: Islam’s Jihad Against the World”
Overseas, no mission of the U.S. military would henceforth include “nation building” or bringing “democracy” to any Islamic country; Islam itself is a form of government and is entirely unsuited to Western democratic principles. The only effective alternative government to the repressive and barbaric code of Shariah is the only form that has ever worked in the Islamic world, namely, quasi-secular dictatorship.
The reason the Islamic world breeds strongmen like Saddam Hussein, Moammar Gadhafi, Hosni Mubarak, Bashar al-Assad, etc., is because they are the only types of leaders capable of lending order to what is a fundamentally chaotic and brutal culture in which true-believing jihadists ever threaten to rend the tenuous strains of freedom and order (e.g. ISIS). Even “enlightened” Turkey, which has teetered along as a nominal democracy since the draconian reforms of Ataturk, is at least two parts dictatorship, as current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems intent on proving on a regular basis.
On immigration, Muslims wanting to enter the United States would be given greater scrutiny as a matter of course for the simple reason that, all things being equal, their religion disposes them to the sort of otherwise unpredictable violence we have witnessed again and again, in this country and overseas.
As Winston Churchill observed, “Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith.”
Exactly. The problem now is that our immigration controls are so upside-down that the call for a moratorium on Muslim immigration is the right one. In time, with more discerning policies, it should be possible to allow Muslims who can demonstrate their genuine good intentions and pass rigorous background checks to be granted long-term residency and even citizenship. Until then, halting Muslim immigration to the U.S. and other Western countries is just common sense. Furthermore, entry visas should immediately be required for all Muslims seeking to enter U.S. territory with attendant extra background checks and reduced times for remaining on U.S. soil.
The most difficult question is how the U.S. government should regard Muslim Americans. Here, it is imperative to bear in mind that, along with the objectives of defending the nation against jihadist attack and the sort of creeping Shariah occurring in European cities, an equal imperative is the safeguarding of civil liberties. The current policy regime of profiling people on the basis of everything except the salient ideology that drives terrorism is a recipe for the police state we see growing around us. Profiling on the criterion of Islam would dramatically reduce the need for the present sprawling surveillance apparatus, which in turn would dramatically reduce the threat to civil liberties. Muslim Americans, in turn, should be granted all of the rights and privileges accruing to all American citizens with the caveat that their allegiance, explicit or implicit, to a political-religious ideology that sanctions violence against unbelievers and intends the replacement of the U.S. Constitution with Shariah law will necessarily mark them for greater scrutiny and must preclude them from sensitive areas such as government service. For all Muslims wanting to leave their religion and who come to the U.S. for sanctuary, they should be afforded every help and protection to undertake their act of conscience.
In this whole debate, it is imperative to bear in mind that containment is not merely about us versus them: Islamic terrorism is at least as great a threat to Muslims around the world as Westerners at home. Preserving Western civil society not only serves the interests of Westerners but also those from around the world who look to the West – and to America – as a safe haven from Islam-based violence.
Countless Muslims have left their own societies and made better lives for themselves in the West – something they will no longer be able to do should the West fail to rise to the challenge of resurgent Islam. Indeed, Islam’s greatest victims are the many ordinary Muslims around the world oppressed by Shariah law, persecuted as heretics by their coreligionists or killed outright in jihadist attacks.
We are fighting, in other words, not only for our own freedoms, but also for those of others; others who will come after us, and others around the world who, unlike ourselves, have experienced the true face of Islam firsthand.
G.M. Davis studied political religions and totalitarianism at Stanford University, where he received his Ph.D. in political science in 2003. He has written for Human Events, FrontPage, JihadWatch, Chronicles, and other websites and magazines. He was a guest speaker at the 2007 International Conference on the Collapse of Europe at Pepperdine University. He has appeared on Fox News, the BBC World Service, and numerous radio programs across America and Britain. He has lectured on issues of politics, international policy, and culture in the U.S. and the Balkans. He is the author of “House of War: Islam’s Jihad Against the World” from WND Books and producer and director of the feature documentary “Islam: What the West Needs to Know.”
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The first thing you notice is the eyes—they all have the same look in them, the look of men accustomed to waking up every morning in a prison cell. These 37 men spent years, and in some cases decades, staring through bars at a world that believed they were guilty of terrible crimes. But they weren’t. Each was convicted of doing something he did not do. It’s hard to characterize the look in their eyes. There’s anger, obviously, and pride at having survived hell, but there’s also hurt, and a question: “Why me?”
The short answer is simple: People make mistakes. Most of these cases share a common story line: A woman, usually a traumatized rape victim, wrongly identifies her attacker. Sometimes her testimony is backed by rudimentary serology tests. Sometimes the cases are pushed too hard by aggressive police officers or prosecutors. Sometimes the accused already has a criminal record and becomes a suspect in an unsolved case in which he resembles (or is the same race as) the perpetrator. Almost every man here had a solid alibi, but cops, prosecutors, and juries chose not to believe it.
So why do we believe it now? How can we be so certain these men are innocent? DNA testing, which over the past two decades has changed the way we convict the guilty—and free the innocent. This is especially true in Texas, which has had more DNA exonerations—37 in all—than any other state (there have been 222 nationwide according to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit advocacy group for the wrongly convicted). Dallas County alone is responsible for 19 exonerations, more than every state except Illinois and New York. Unlike most jurisdictions, which discarded evidence after the appeals in a case were exhausted, Dallas County had a policy of saving it in storage lockers at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, in the belief that it might someday be used to reaffirm a criminal’s guilt. As for the other 18 Texas exonerations, it was mostly dumb luck that prevented the old swabs from being thrown away. (In 13 of these cases, the guilty man was eventually fingered.)
We say these men are “exonerated,” even though the word is not a term of law. Legally, a person is either guilty or not guilty, but when the governor grants a convict a pardon or the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) grants his writ of habeas corpus, he is considered officially exonerated. At that point he can file for compensation from the state for his years of wrongful imprisonment. As of 2006, he can receive up to $50,000 for every year spent locked up, though compensation is limited to $500,000 (and subject to federal taxation), and to receive it an exoneree must forfeit his right to sue.
A few of these 37 have found success on the outside—jobs, families, stability—but most are still trying to figure out what to do with themselves. They lack skills they might have developed living in civilized society. Brutalized by prison, they are now bewildered by the modern age. And unlike parolees, for whom a variety of support services are available, exonerees have no state programs to help them ease back into society. They often struggle to find work. They are terrified of getting stopped by the police. They may have been exonerated, but they are not free.
The lesson from these stories is clear: We must learn to be more skeptical of eyewitness testimony, especially, it should be stressed, when the victim and the suspect are different races (almost half the black men in this group were misidentified by a white or Hispanic victim). Our eyes are imperfect instruments for documenting violent and traumatic events. As these portraits prove, they are better at looking inward.
Gilbert Alejandro, 53
Year convicted: 1990
Sentence: 12 years
Years in prison: 4
A Hispanic man raped a woman in her Uvalde apartment. She identified Alejandro from a book of mug shots. The state’s case was buttressed by the testimony of forensics expert Fred Zain, who said that a 1990 DNA test showed that semen on the victim’s clothing “could only have originated” from Alejandro. But after Zain was found to have botched forensics reports in several cases in West Virginia, the results of two other tests were reexamined; both excluded Alejandro and ultimately made him the first Texan to be exonerated by DNA. He sued Bexar County and won $250,000 (Zain was indicted for perjury, though the charges were dropped, and he died of cancer, in 2002). Today Alejandro lives in Uvalde, where he works as a janitor.
“I could never figure out why Zain said what he did. He had nothing against me. We’d never met or anything. The only thing I could come up with was money—if you testified against somebody, you’d get paid a lot of money. Not only me—he had others in West Virginia he did the same thing to.”
Michael Blair, 38
Year convicted: 1994
Sentence: Death
Years in prison: 14
A girl was raped and killed in Plano. Blair, a known child molester, was convicted, based on hair evidence and testimony from eyewitnesses who said they saw him near the crime scene. He was sent to death row. DNA tests in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007 excluded him, and—after the CCA set aside his conviction this summer—the DA dismissed the case. Blair was taken off death row, but he wasn’t released from prison because in 2004 he had pleaded guilty to four charges of child sexual assault and been given four life sentences. He is incarcerated at the Beto Unit, in Tennessee Colony, and is eligible for parole in 2034.
Blair turned down a request from TEXAS MONTHLY for an interview.
A. B. Butler, 54
Year convicted: 1983
Sentence: 99 years
Years in prison: 16.5
A black man abducted a white woman from a Tyler hotel parking lot and raped her. She picked Butler out of a book of mug shots. Butler first filed for a DNA test in 1987 but didn’t get one until 1999. He was pardoned in 2000. Today he lives in Tyler, where he drives a dirt truck.
“There are a lot of people my age already set for life, friends who I grew up with. They are pretty much settled in, and I’m out here working. When I went to prison, I was twenty-eight years old, and you know, you make up your mind on what you’re going to do with your life in your thirties, and you’re still able to get out there and do it, whereas I’m in my fifties now. I can’t really work as hard as I could back when I was in my twenties and thirties. I just try to do the best I can.”
Kevin Byrd, 47
Year convicted: 1985
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 12
A black female victim told Houston police she had been raped by a white man with “honey-brown” skin. Four months later she saw Byrd, a black man, in a grocery store and told her husband he was the rapist. Byrd got a DNA test in 1997 and was pardoned later that year. Today he runs Remodeling by KB, in Houston.
“I’m at peace, man, I’m at peace. I don’t have any family. I mean, I have brothers and sisters, but they weren’t there for me the twelve years and they’re not here for me now. It’s like I’m a stranger in the world. I try to limit myself with friends and women. It’s hard being lonely. But the great part about it is, I’m independent, man. I don’t ask anybody for anything. I get out and work every day. Try and make ends meet even though it is hard. That’s just life after exoneration.”
Charles Chatman, 48
Year convicted: 1981
Sentence: 99 years
Years in prison: 26.5
After a white Dallas woman was raped in her house by a black man, she picked Chatman, who lived down the street from her, out of a lineup. Three times over the course of Chatman’s years in prison he came up for parole, and three times he was denied, because he refused to admit guilt. He got a DNA test in 2007, and the CCA granted his writ of habeas corpus in 2008. Chatman now works for a delivery service in Dallas.
“I try to keep it in perspective, which is that after the police investigators latched onto my name, they didn’t look elsewhere. It was like tunnel vision once they zoom in on one person. They were trying to get a quick conviction, satisfy society by just prosecuting somebody. That doesn’t do society no good to prosecute the wrong person. Because then the right person, the person that needs prosecuting, is still out there.
“Being accused and convicted for a sexual crime, especially one you know you did not commit, wears and tears on the family. I lost touch with everyone in my family except my nephew. The relationships that I have with them now are all in a building state. We are just trying to get to know each other. Before, we had our problems, but we were a pretty close family. So this situation has destroyed that.
“I tell everybody that being exonerated, in some ways it’s worse than being on parole, because people on parole have institutions designed to help them reintegrate into society, things like job placement, insurance, medical. But being exonerated and getting out like I did, we are virtually let out on the streets with nowhere to go. We’re just lost.”
Roy Criner, 43
Year convicted: 1990
Sentence: 99 years
Years in prison: 10
A sixteen-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Porter. Criner was arrested after three men said he had bragged about picking up a drunk hitchhiker and having “rough” sex with her; only one testified at trial, but Criner was convicted. Two DNA tests excluded him in 1997. The trial judge ordered a new trial, but the CCA overturned the ruling. A third DNA test—on a cigarette butt—also excluded Criner, and he was finally pardoned in 2000. He moved to New Caney and did odd jobs. Then, this past June, he was arrested for making terroristic threats to a New Caney police officer and sentenced to six months in county jail.
“Since I got out, life has been real crazy, man. My mom says, ‘At least I knew you was okay in prison.’ She don’t know if I’m going to be okay from one day to the next. I’ve tried to kill myself three times since I’ve been out. A lot of anger. You ever been taken hostage from your own country, man? I haven’t been able to really hold a job in four and a half years. I can’t even have a normal life. I have to actually isolate myself. There are a lot of people out here that don’t like my name, that still think I did it. They got me down as something bad, man. I’m not bad. There’s also a lot of people in this community who have bent over backward for me. To know me is to love me, man, or hate me, one.”
Richard Danziger, 38
Year convicted: 1990
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 11
A woman who worked at a Pizza Hut in Austin was raped and murdered. Danziger and his roommate, Christopher Ochoa (see page 157), employees of a different local Pizza Hut, were later seen raising a glass of beer to the dead woman at the restaurant where she had worked. They were reported to the police. Ochoa was questioned for two days, physically threatened, and told he would get the death penalty if he didn’t confess. He did, implicating Danziger too. While in prison, Danziger was savagely beaten by another inmate. After brain surgery, he suffered from depression, hallucinations, seizures, and memory lapses. He tried to kill himself and spent time at the state mental hospital in Rusk. In 1996 Texas inmate Achim Marino confessed to the crime, and DNA testing in 2000 excluded Danziger. He sued the City of Austin, Travis County, and Ochoa and received $10.5 million. He now lives in Jacksonville, Florida. According to his sister, he likes to garden and play with his dog, Blackjack. He has partial paralysis on his left side and still suffers seizures and memory lapses. When he and Ochoa met soon after their 2001 release, Danziger refused to talk to his former roommate.
Danziger turned down a request from TEXAS MONTHLY for an interview.
Wiley Fountain, 52
Year convicted: 1986
Sentence: 40 years
Years in prison: 16
A black man wearing warm-ups and a hat over a stocking cap or plastic bag raped a pregnant black woman in Dallas. A few hours later, Fountain, a recent parolee wearing warm-ups and a baseball cap over a shower cap, was arrested a block away from the victim’s apartment. He was picked out of a lineup by the victim and convicted. Fountain got a DNA test in 2002 and was released that year; a pardon followed. He netted $190,000 in compensation, most of which he spent on crack, cigarettes, and women. He became homeless, selling aluminum cans to survive. In March he was arrested on theft charges and released. “Poor Wiley,” says his attorney, Michelle Moore. “If his mother were alive, he wouldn’t be in this pickle.”
Attempts by TEXAS MONTHLY to reach Fountain were unsuccessful.
Larry Fuller, 60
Year convicted: 1981
Sentence: 50 years
Years in prison: 19.5
A black man armed with a butcher knife raped a white woman in her Dallas apartment. She picked Fuller out of a photo lineup, despite the fact that he had a beard and her attacker had been clean-shaven. He was paroled in 1999. DNA testing excluded him in 2006, and he was pardoned in 2007. He lives in Dallas, where he’s using his compensation to help fix up his father’s house.
“You got a lot of bitter people in the world. I’m pretty sure they ain’t going to need my help. I’ve got more important things to do in life. Like live and live good.”
James Curtis Giles SR., 54
Year convicted: 1983
Sentence: 30 years
Years in prison: 10
A white Dallas woman was raped by three black men, one of whom she recognized as an acquaintance named Stanley Bryant. A few weeks later Crime Stoppers got a tip that a James Giles, along with two others—“Michael Brown” and “Stan”—were the rapists. Police tracked Giles down in Duncanville, twenty miles from the crime scene, and put his photo in a lineup. The victim ID’d him, saying she was “absolutely positive that it was him.” But two weeks before Giles’s trial, police finally questioned Bryant, and he said that his accomplices were two teens named James and Michael, who were neighbors of the victim. Indeed, there was a teen named James Earl Giles who lived across the street from her. James Curtis Giles’s attorneys, however, weren’t given this information, and he was convicted. Early DNA testing in 1992 was inconclusive. Giles was paroled a year later, but he continued to seek further testing. Finally, tests in 2003, 2005, and 2006 excluded him. He lives in Lufkin, where he helps his second wife run All Brothers Bail Bonding.
“The number one thing to change: If a law officer or an investigator intentionally was withholding evidence, they should be the first one to be put in jail once it comes to light. Because the detective knew. He knew that the guy who did this was probably eighteen or nineteen years old. They should have never left the area that these folks lived in. They did a shoddy job with the investigation, and they should be held accountable, because they withheld the evidence from us. Money is not going to bring back one day. Let’s take him away from his family. The officer should be in jail right now. The DA shouldn’t be practicing law nowhere in this country. They should be held accountable for what they done.”
Donald Good, 48
Year convicted: 1984
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 13.5
A white man raped a white Irving woman while her eight-year-old daughter was in the next room. An Irving detective thought Good, a convicted burglar in police custody for forfeiting a bond on a DWI charge, resembled the victim’s description. So he took a Polaroid, put it in a lineup, and the victim identified Good. After getting paroled in 1993, he was arrested in 2001 for stealing tools out of a garage and returned to prison. He requested DNA testing, and in 2004 results proved he wasn’t the rapist. Today Good lives in Emory, where he’s been mowing yards, painting houses, and doing other odd jobs. He is suing the City of Irving, the Irving Police Department, and the detective who worked his case.
“When I got out in ’93, there was this guy going around the neighborhood telling people I was a sex offender living there. He posted a picture of me on trees and businesses around my house. He put arrows pointing to my house. I wasn’t able to see any of my nieces or nephews, even though they lived close to me. I even had to put up a chain-link fence to make sure that no kids came in my yard, because people from a sex offender registration program would drive around to all the addresses of those registered. Now I’m afraid that if I get pulled over, any officer can still see everything that I’ve been exonerated for. I can’t apply for a job, because nobody is going to hire me because of my record. I can’t do the things I used to do. Sometimes I get really stressed out and I can’t sleep. I’ve lost so much time.”
Andrew Gossett, 48
Year convicted: 2000
Sentence: 50 years
Years in prison: 7
A white Dallas victim gave a description of the man who had raped her—he was white, about six two, 230 pounds, had a scar on the right side of his face, and did not wear glasses. A few hours after the crime, not far from the scene, a policeman saw Gossett. He was short, small, and bespectacled—but he was white and had a facial scar. The next day Gossett was taken in for questioning. The victim ID’d him. A DNA test excluded him in 2006. He lives in Lubbock with his wife and works as a day laborer.
“The world still treats me like a criminal—doesn’t want to give me a job where I can make decent money, even after my lawyers wrote up letters explaining my situation. People still shoo me away. I’m supposed to get my compensation soon, and I want to buy a travel trailer and move back to Garland. I don’t need nothing fancy. I lived eight-by-ten for seven years. I figure I can live in a twenty-three-foot travel trailer. Get there, work with a construction company I know of in Grapevine that pays well. I’m ready to get up every morning, go to a job I look forward to going to.”
Eugene Ivory Henton, 42
Year convicted: 1984
Sentence: 4 years
Years in prison: 1.5
Henton was a seventeen-year-old Dallas kid with a juvenile record—he had received 4 years probation for helping a friend sell stolen tires—when he wound up in police custody for rape. Prosecutors told him he would get a life sentence if he went to trial, or he could plead guilty and get 4 years. He pleaded guilty and was paroled after eighteen months. He couldn’t get a job, so he started selling cocaine. He got in trouble three times in the nineties for drugs and assault; the third time, he was convicted and sentenced to 42 years in prison. The harshness of the sentence was due to the rape conviction. Henton got a DNA test in 2004. The results excluded him a year later. He lives in Dallas, where he drives a truck that supplies water to oil fields. He is thinking about going to law school.
“I pled guilty to the rape because my lawyer told me that if I did not accept the four-year sentence, they would give me a life sentence. At that time I was illiterate to law. I had no idea what was going on because I’d never gone through that process. I was frightened. I was seventeen—a kid. So I took the four years. I had never been in prison before. I had to adjust to the treatment and the environment, just being around all the chaos and violence. And that created a snowball effect, because after I was released, I couldn’t get a job, I couldn’t provide. So I turned to the streets, and that led to other crimes. That’s what got me back the second time. Then they used the sexual assault case to compound the sentence.”
Entre Nax Karage, 37
Year convicted: 1997
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 7
Karage’s Cambodian girlfriend was raped, beaten to death, and thrown into a ravine behind a Dallas shopping center. Though evidence taken from the victim didn’t provide a DNA match with Karage, a refugee from Cambodia, the prosecutor’s theory was that he had killed her after catching her with another man. A DNA test in 2003 pointed to a convicted rapist as the killer, and Karage was pardoned in 2005. He lives in Dallas, where he is married with two children.
“After I was convicted, I was in a holding cell, and I was just crying, saying, ‘Why would you want to lock up an innocent man?’ I was just bursting into tears. Two weeks later, they put me on a bus. When I got down there, some guy was saying stuff like ‘When you get out to the big house, are you gonna fight or are you gonna be someone’s punk?’ People trying to scare you. You fight. I went down there and I fight. I fight almost every day. Sometimes I still have dreams and get nightmares out of it. Basically I went to hell and back. It’s a blessing from God that I make it out alive.”
Carlos Lavernia, 58
Year convicted: 1985
Sentence: 99 years
Years in prison: 15
A Hispanic male attacked a white woman who was jogging on the Barton Creek Greenbelt, in Austin (a serial rapist had been terrorizing the area). Police developed a sketch and put together two photo lineups, neither of which led to a suspect. Lavernia was a Cuban immigrant who had come to the U.S. in the 1980 Mariel boatlift; his photo was put in a third lineup, which the victim viewed fourteen months after the crime. She was “absolutely positive” he was the perpetrator. A DNA test in 2000 excluded Lavernia. He lives in Austin, where he works two full-time security jobs.
“I worked in the field at the prison, four years, picking cotton, tomato, onion, corn. I got these scars on the top of my head. It came from the horses. Real hot in the field, ninety-five degrees. I fell on the ground because it was so hot. The guard thought I was playing with him. He pulled the horse over me, and the horseshoes hit me on the head. They finally took me to the hospital. There was a person at the prison whose sister lived in Austin and had been raped in the same place, in Barton Creek. He thought I was the Barton Creek rapist. I got in the shower, and he stabbed me—twice, behind the ear and on the wrist. Guards saw me over there. They were saying, ‘Kill that motherfucker! Let him die!’ People who go in there for raping, child molesting, sex offenders—you got your life on the line. You can die anytime.
“I dream too much about it all. Too much. Almost every day. All the pain. I don’t want to go nowhere. I still got it on my mind. All the time I stay in the apartment complex. Because they got a gate. I open the gate with a code.”
Johnnie Lindsey, 56
Year convicted: 1983
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 25.5
A shirtless black man raped a white woman on the White Rock Lake bike trail, in Dallas. Fifteen months later, police mailed her a photo lineup, and she picked out Lindsey, who was a suspect in an attempted rape that had occurred in the same area. He was one of two men in the lineup without a shirt. After filing several motions for a DNA test, he finally got one this year; it excluded him in September, and he was released. He lives in Dallas and is looking for a job as a tailor, which was his occupation in prison.
“I never realized how devastating it was to my family until after I got out. I was talking to each one. They were giving me their side, their story, their hardships behind what happened to me. I feel like not only did they send me to prison, they sent them to prison too.”
Thomas McGowan, 50
Year convicted: 1985
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 22.5
A black man armed with a knife raped a white woman in her Richardson apartment. McGowan was arrested two days later after a traffic stop. The victim picked him out of a lineup. He got a DNA test in 2007 and was released in April 2008 after the results pointed to another man, a convicted rapist whose picture had also been in that 1985 lineup. McGowan lives in Dallas, where he takes computer classes.
“I had a suspended license. I was young, and I guess I just didn’t want to pay the ticket. So I was riding down the street and pulled into a parking lot, and the police stopped me and said I turned and didn’t put the proper signal on. They ran my ID and saw I had a suspended license, and I went to jail. That was the only reason why I was in custody. Then a whole lot of crazy things happened. The crime had been committed over here, in Richardson, and the guy, they said, had a big brown car like mine. The police officer that arrested me, he came down there, and he said, ‘Well, if it ain’t you, don’t worry about it.’ And I said, ‘It ain’t me.’ Next thing I know, I’m at the penitentiary.”
Billy Wayne Miller, 55
Year convicted: 1984
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 22
Miller was at his father’s house, in Dallas, on parole for robbery and assault, when he was arrested for raping a woman who said her assailant had attacked her at that address. Miller got a DNA test in 2005 and a pardon in 2006. He lives in Dallas and is battling cancer.
“When you get that compensation check—well, first of all, you’re going to have to pay thirty-three percent tax to the Internal Revenue. And then the lawyers, they want their end. After everyone else gets their little bits, you really don’t have anything. It’s not all a bed of roses like they’d lead you to believe. The Social Security examiner told me, ‘You haven’t paid any Social Security.’ I said, ‘You’re telling me that I wouldn’t qualify for some type of aid?’ She said, ‘Naw.’ Even when you go for the food stamps they’re more snide than helpful. So I’ve just been trying to make a little here, make a little there with my lawn mowing. Keep my electric bill paid. Regardless of everything, nothing beats being free.”
Brandon Moon, 47
Year convicted: 1988
Sentence: 75 years
Years in prison: 17
An El Paso rape victim picked Moon, an Army veteran and a college student, out of a photo lineup and then a live lineup (he was the only person in both lineups). A rudimentary DNA test in 1990 was inconclusive; a more sophisticated test, done in 1997, revealed the perpetrator’s genetic profile, but inexplicably it was never compared with Moon’s. Finally, in 2002, his profile was compared with one taken from the evidence—Moon wasn’t the guy. He was released in 2004. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, and works as a technician for Garmin.
“I run a Web site, texasexonerees.org, and have become something of an advocate for exonerees. It’s not what I want to do, but it’s something that I promised to do for the guys that are still in prison. At the unit that I was on, the Hughes Unit, there have been three guys that have been exonerated—myself, Greg Wallis, and Eugene Henton. So that’s three guys out of, say, three thousand. That’s one tenth of one percent. There’s, what, one hundred fifty thousand people in Texas prisons? If that goes across the board, you got one hundred fifty more people in prison that are innocent, just in Texas. And for a lot of these guys, unfortunately, the evidence is probably not there anymore.”
Arthur Mumphrey, 45
Year convicted: 1986
Sentence: 35 years
Years in prison: 17
Two black teenagers raped a thirteen-year-old white girl in Conroe. An initial investigation led to a man named Steve Thomas, who implicated Mumphrey as the second rapist. Mumphrey’s younger brother Charles confessed to police, but they accused him of trying to protect his older brother. At the trial, Thomas pleaded guilty and got a reduced sentence for testifying against Mumphrey, whom the victim couldn’t identify in court. Mumphrey was paroled in 1999 but went back to prison three years later for violating parole. In 2005 he got a DNA test, which revealed the second rapist to be his brother Charles. Mumphrey lives in Houston, where he is using his compensation money to invest in real estate.
“When my brother went and gave the confession to this case, they scared him, talking about, ‘You’ll get a bunch of penitentiary time.’ He wasn’t but fifteen years old, so he recanted his statement and came to trial as a state witness and testified against me. And they told him what to say. They wanted a grown man to be convicted of having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl. She never did say it was me. They said, ‘Can you identify the defendant?’ She said, ‘No, I can’t say it is him and I can’t say it ain’t.’ They were ruthless to get that conviction, even though they knew they had the wrong person.”
Christopher Ochoa, 42
Year convicted: 1990
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 11
Ochoa and his roommate, Richard Danziger, became suspects in the rape and murder of a woman who worked at a Pizza Hut in Austin. Under extreme pressure from police, Ochoa confessed and implicated Danziger. In 1996 Texas inmate Achim Marino confessed to the crime, and though initially Ochoa kept to his story, DNA testing in 2000 excluded both him and Danziger. The Wisconsin Innocence Project, which works on cases nationwide, had aided Ochoa in his case, and after he was freed, he went to the University of Wisconsin Law School. In 2003 he won a $5.3 million civil suit against the City of Austin. He now practices criminal and real estate law in Madison.
“Why would a person confess to something he didn’t do? I get this question from a lot of people. This is an analogy I have used: Everybody’s taught to drive. And when you’re taught to drive, they teach you that if you hit ice or your car starts skidding, ease off the brake and turn into the skid. This has been taught to you and taught to you. Well, what is the first thing people do when they hit an ice patch? They slam on the brake. So now, why do people confess to something they didn’t do? You’re taught to stay quiet and all this stuff, right? But you don’t know. You’re in a tiny room, and they’re telling you if you don’t cooperate, you’ll get the death penalty. What do people expect people to do? They can’t sit there and keep saying, ‘I didn’t do it.’ I was a twenty-two-year-old kid. I had never been in trouble. When I was in there, I didn’t know which way was right and which way was left.”
Steven Phillips, 50
Year convicted: 1982
Sentence: 30 years
Years in prison: 24
Over a 24-hour span, a white man terrorized five dozen women at apartment complexes and spas in North Dallas, forcing them to disrobe. He also raped a white woman. Two weeks later, he struck again, in Kansas City. Shortly after that, Phillips was arrested for exposing himself to two women; his photo was put in a lineup. The Dallas rape victim picked him (as did, eventually, five other women from the sprees); at trial the victim testified about her attacker’s “piercing blue” eyes. Phillips, who has green eyes, was found guilty. He was paroled in 1996, only to be arrested for peeping and sent back to prison. He got a DNA test in 2007, and the results pointed to a convicted sex offender as the rapist. A judge threw out Phillips’ sentence. He lives in Dallas and works for a Christian book publisher. He is writing a book about his experience.
“I didn’t just go to prison and die. I lived my life, went to college and church, wrote letters, stayed in tune. I had faith that this day would come, and it did, so what do I have to be bitter about? I’ve got it going on! I’ve met my family, I’m writing a book about how everything changed, and I’m on top of the world!
“When we were leaving my hearing, we got on the elevators—Barry Scheck [the co-director of the Innocence Project], my lawyer, and my girlfriend, Connie Jean. It was completely full, and some guy says, ‘Well, if it’s not the infamous P. E. Jones.’ I looked up, and it was him, in the corner of the elevator, the head investigator of my case. I asked him, ‘Dude, do you know who I am?’ He said, ‘I don’t think I do.’ I said, ‘I’m Steve Phillips.’ He was speechless, though he did say something like he’s glad I’m in a better place. But sweat was popping out of his head. I’ve seen that kind of fear in prison dayrooms before. He was outnumbered. Back in 1982, when they put me in that detective’s room, I was outnumbered. I told him then, ‘Dude, I’m not going to be some average convict you’re sending down to prison. You’re going to see me again.’ And I did, on the elevator. That made my day right there.”
David Shawn Pope, 47
Year convicted: 1986
Sentence: 45 years
Years in prison: 15
A blond man armed with a steak knife raped a white woman in Garland. Afterward he left messages on her answering machine. Pope was a homeless blond housepainter who was sleeping in his car on the grounds of her apartment complex. Police arrested him one month after the rape, and the victim picked him out of a live lineup in which he was the only blonde. At trial his voice was “matched” to the one on the answering machine by a voiceprint expert (the “science” of voiceprint matching was then viewed with skepticism and has since been thoroughly discredited). An anonymous phone call in 1999 tipped off investigators that another man was responsible and led the DA’s office to grant Pope a DNA test. He was pardoned in 2001. He lives with his mother in Cotati, California, and recently completed truck-driving school.
“I haven’t been back to Texas. I was in prison for a really long time, and what happened to me still affects me. Plus, I don’t feel comfortable that, right after I was exonerated, the Garland police released a press statement saying that they still think I’m guilty. They still stand by their conviction. Even after the DNA pointed to somebody else. Garland is not willing just to be honest and say, ‘Look, we made a mistake; we wish you the best and all that.’ I might someday come back, but I’m not very empowered right now, which means I don’t have any control, any financial control over my life. What if I came to Texas right now and I was living from one dollar to the next? And then I get pulled over for something, right? And I end up in jail, and I don’t even have money for a lawyer? That’s the same scenario as before.”
Anthony Robinson, 47
Year convicted: 1987
Sentence: 27 years
Years in prison: 10
A white female student at the University of Houston had been raped by a black man with a mustache who wore a plaid shirt. Robinson, an Army veteran and a college graduate from Southern California, was driving on the campus the day of the crime when police arrested him. He was clean- shaven, but he was wearing a plaid shirt. The victim ID’d him. After getting paroled, in 1996, he raised the money for a DNA test. It excluded him, and he was pardoned in 2000. Robinson graduated from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, at Texas Southern University, and today runs a legal consultancy firm in Beijing.
“My first thought when I was arrested was, ‘Okay, it’s a mistake, but mistakes are easy enough to clear up.’ If there’s any kind of crime, you just check the fingerprints against the ID, you check the person’s alibi, you check out whether this person has a history. You just don’t drive up and arrest people. I just could not believe that it went to a trial. I was standing in the courtroom, and I was thinking, ‘There is something really seriously wrong with this. This is some kind of sick, twisted joke.’ I mean, you just don’t take people to court and say, ‘Oh, this person raped me’—you gotta have some kind of corroborating evidence. If there’s a rape, there’s gotta be some physical excretion, fingerprints, hairs. I told them, ‘Look, I’ll give you whatever you need. You want semen, you want saliva, you want hair, you want fingerprints? Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.’ The real problem was, there was no reliance on the facts. I think what the prosecution basically decided was that we don’t need facts; we got a living victim here, and that’ll be persuasive for the jury. We got a cross-racial crime, a white victim and a black defendant.
“A lot of people say, ‘You had to have done something to get convicted. They don’t just convict innocent people.’ No matter what I have in the way of proof, somebody’s always going to say that I got away with it. My thinking is that you can’t change that person. All you can do is hope that your life is something they can look at.”
George Rodriguez, 47
Year convicted: 1987
Sentence: 60 years
Years in prison: 17
A fourteen-year-old Hispanic girl was raped by two Hispanic men in Houston. She led police to the house of a man named Manuel Beltran. She also told them that one of her assailants called the other one “George.” Based on this, Rodriguez, a friend of Beltran’s, became a suspect. Then the victim picked him out of a photo lineup. Even after Beltran confessed, saying he and another man, named Isidro Yanez, had raped the girl, police continued to focus on Rodriguez. He was convicted, in part because the director of the serology department of the Houston Police Department crime lab testified that through blood-typing Yanez could be excluded as a source of the semen found at the scene and, therefore, the rapist had to have been Rodriguez. But in 2004 a DNA test excluded Rodriguez and pointed to Yanez, who, it turned out, has the same blood type as Rodriguez and thus should not have been excluded as the semen source. Rodriguez’s conviction was vacated. He lives in Houston, where he works as a handyman and an air-conditioning repairman. He has filed suit against the City of Houston, Harris County, former DA Chuck Rosenthal, and various policemen and employees of the Houston crime lab.
“It can happen to anyone, no matter who you are. I lost everything. I lost my wife, lost my kids. I lost a lot of things. My daughters, they were little when I left. When I was locked up, they were abused by two different men. But there was nothing I could do. They would write me and tell me, ‘Daddy, this happened.’ But I couldn’t do nothing because I was locked up. When I got out, the hardest thing was that my dad passed away just a month before I got out. I never got to see him get buried or anything. When you’re innocent, you’re kinda wondering what he’s going through, whether he knows or not that you’re innocent, which is kinda hard.”
Ben Salazar, 43
Year convicted: 1992
Sentence: 30 years
Years in prison: 5.5
A rape victim, who saw her assailant for several minutes in her well-lit Austin living room, identified Salazar from his photo in a book of mug shots. His family paid for a DNA test in 1997, but the state insisted on running two more before he was pardoned later that year. He works for the same Austin commercial remodeling company that he worked for in 1992.
“As far as the judicial system, I think they should take a little bit more time on looking over all the evidence and make the best judgment, you know? I just think they should look at everything a little better. Don’t be in such a rush and take time to look at all the evidence, ’cause there’s people’s lives—not just my life, but my kids’ lives—that they’re going to ruin.”
Billy James Smith, 56
Year convicted: 1987
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 19.5
A black man raped a black woman in a field near the Dallas apartment complex managed by her boyfriend. She described her attacker to her boyfriend, and he thought it sounded like Smith, who was staying at his sister’s apartment in the same complex. The boyfriend knocked on Smith’s door and asked him to step out onto the balcony of the apartment at two-thirty a.m.; the victim, standing below, identified Smith as her attacker and called the police, who arrested him later that morning. He got a DNA test in 2005 and was granted a writ of habeas corpus in 2006. Smith lives in Lancaster, is planning on getting married next spring, and has filed suit against the Dallas Police Department.
“Prison was horrible. There was a time I was scared to close my eyes, scared to open my eyes, scared to wake up. There was a time I didn’t know if I was in this world or out of this world. I converted to Islam in 1989, and I know I would not have made it if I hadn’t been a Muslim or if I hadn’t been involved in some type of religious faith. Islam helped me discipline myself and help me get through it. Without religion, I would have got caught up in all the different things that are wrong about prison—drugs, alcohol, women, homosexuality, gangs. I could have had the ‘don’t give a damn’ attitude. I knew I was wrongly convicted, but I never would have survived if I kept on with the hate and rage inside me. The first thing I had to do was let that go. I had faith in God, and God pulled me through.”
Josiah Sutton, 26
Year convicted: 1999
Sentence: 25 years
Years in prison: 4.5
Two black men raped a black woman in a car. Five days later, driving through her southwest Houston neighborhood, she saw Sutton and a friend, both sixteen, walking down the street and contacted police. At Sutton’s trial, a lab analyst said DNA from semen found at the scene was a match with his. This, along with the victim’s ID, led to a guilty verdict. After the Houston crime lab’s flaws became a national scandal, in 2002, the samples were retested and Sutton was excluded. He was released in 2003. He lives with his mother in the same southwest Houston neighborhood where he was arrested and works in maintenance at the city’s Solid Waste Management Department.
“It’s hard to put that behind you, to forget about it. But every day I try to do at least a little bit to find myself, to find out some of the things I would like to do. Basically, just adjust without thinking about that. I can honestly say it’s kind of hard, because it’s something I’ll probably never forget. The thing I know to do to overcome it is to keep myself busy, try my best to overcome it.”
Ronald Gene Taylor, 48
Year convicted: 1995
Sentence: 60 years
Years in prison: 12
A black woman was raped by a black man wearing a white T-shirt in Houston. Taylor was put in a lineup because a witness said he had seen Taylor near the crime scene that night. Taylor was the only man in the lineup wearing a white T-shirt, and when the victim watched a videotape of the lineup nearly six weeks after the rape, she picked Taylor. He got a DNA test in 2007, was released that same year, and moved to Atlanta, where he runs a handyman business and is planning to marry his longtime girlfriend.
“I think people should look at all these exonerations as a wake-up call. I mean, everybody wants to be really, really tough on crime—and probably rightfully so. But a lot of things just get lost in the heat of the moment, or a lot of things get overlooked. Mistakes get made that affect people’s lives. People should be more careful, and eyewitness testimony should be scrutinized pretty tough. People make mistakes. The biggest thing that I’ve taken away from it was, I learned the value of life. I learned to appreciate things. Never take nothing for granted. Anything could happen at any time.”
Victor Thomas, 49
Year convicted: 1986
Sentence: Life plus 20 years
Years in prison: 15
A black man armed with a gun abducted a woman from a Waxahachie convenience store and raped her; he also robbed the store. A month later, Thomas, an ex-con living with his mother in Waxahachie, was taken in for questioning about his relationship with an underage girl. He was put in a lineup for the convenience store rape and robbery, and the victim picked him out. Thomas spent much of his time in prison writing letters proclaiming his innocence and asking for DNA testing. He got a test in 2001; the results excluded him, and he was freed.
Attempts by TEXAS MONTHLY to reach Thomas were unsuccessful.
Keith Turner, 47
Year convicted: 1983
Sentence: 20 years
Years in prison: 6
A black man raped a Hispanic woman in the laundry room of her apartment complex in Dallas. Four months later she identified Turner, a truck driver at the furniture company she worked for. He was paroled in 1989 and registered as a sex offender. He saw a TV show on DNA in 2001 and began writing letters to the DA and judges asking for a test, until he was granted one and pardoned, in 2005. He lives in Dallas and works part-time delivering cars.
“I keep a copy of my pardon on me. Every job, you have to explain yourself. You have to put it on there—‘rape conviction’—because they check it. I always write, ‘I’ll explain at the interview.’ Same story I’ve told for nineteen years. ‘Rape’—that’s a bad word. I hate to even say it. I’d rather spell it out. That’s a serious thing. That bothers me. That’s close to murder. My mother died six months after I was convicted. It destroyed her. It took everything out of her.”
James Waller, 52
Year convicted: 1983
Sentence: 30 years
Years in prison: 11
A black man raped a twelve-year-old white boy in the boy’s Dallas apartment. The next day, the victim saw Waller walking near the complex and identified him. The manager also identified Waller as having been on the grounds the morning of the attack. In the late eighties, Waller began asking for a DNA test. He was paroled in 1993. His first test finally came in 2001; it was inconclusive, so he filed for further testing. Two days before the testing hearing, his eight-months-pregnant wife, Doris, and their unborn child were killed in a car wreck. The results from that test were ruled favorable to Waller, but the prosecution appealed. More-sophisticated testing in 2006 led to a pardon the following year. He lives in Dallas, for the moment.
“I don’t want nobody to have to go through what I went through for twenty-five years. Most people would say, ‘After you got out, you lived a normal life.’ It’s true. I got me a job, I bought me a home, I bought me a car, I got married, the baby was on the way. We were going to name her Gracee. But nobody knew all the other stuff that was going on in the inside. They didn’t know I was a registered sex offender, seeing a parole officer, and going through this shit. Can’t go to football games, can’t go to basketball games. Can’t go to parks with kids there. Can’t be around nieces and nephews. Can’t date a woman with kids.
“God didn’t forget about me. That’s the main thing. There were times where I forgot about him, but he never forgot about me. And that’s why I’m still here. But I’m not gonna live in Texas no more. I already have my house up for sale. I’m going to move back to Louisiana, work in the field that I have my degree in, counseling. The kind of people I want to counsel: anybody that done gave up on life and feel like they got no reason to live. Anybody that’s going through hell and feel like there’s no way out. Even if they’re having a bad divorce and feel like they got to go out and kill the whole family. Send me the worst people they got, and I can give them a story where they will want to live again.”
Patrick Waller, 38
Year convicted: 1992
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 16
Two black men kidnapped a white couple in the West End of Dallas and took them to a vacant house, where the woman was raped. They also forced another white couple into the house but then fled. All four victims identified Waller, who was on probation for cocaine possession. Waller applied for DNA testing in 2001 but was turned down. He was granted a test in 2007; it excluded him and led to the actual rapist, who, along with his co-kidnapper, confessed. Waller was released in July of this year. He lives in Dallas and plans on going to the University of Texas at Arlington in the spring.
“I’m leaning toward suing, because the compensation the state offers is capped at $500,000. I don’t think that’s worthy of me being gone for sixteen years for something I didn’t do. I don’t think $500,000 can compensate a man for being gone for sixteen years. I don’t think $500,000 can compensate a man for being gone for two years, or a year. You can’t pay a man for being in prison who’s innocent. I’ve lost relatives and close friends. My marriage went downhill. I watched my kids grow up from inside prison. You can’t put a price on that.”
Gregory Wayne Wallis, 49
Year convicted: 1989
Sentence: 50 years
Years in prison: 17
Five months after a white woman was raped in Irving, police circulated a flyer around the local jail that included a description of the rapist—he was white, with a scar on his cheek and a tattoo on his back of a woman with long hair. An inmate in the jail who knew Wallis informed police that Wallis had a similar tattoo. Wallis’s tattoo was on his arm and his scar was on his forehead, but his picture was put in a lineup anyway. The victim identified him. He got a DNA test in 2005, which was inconclusive. He was offered a deal: freedom if he would register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He refused, and in 2006 a more sophisticated test excluded him. The CCA granted his writ of habeas corpus last year. Wallis lives in Lubbock and is suing the City of Irving and various police officers, prosecutors, and investigators.
“When it happens to a person, it scars them for life, man. All the trust goes away. To this day, I don’t trust nobody. I can’t stand crowds. I isolate myself all the time. I’ve had three girlfriends tell me, ‘Quit isolating yourself.’ You don’t understand. You don’t know—after you’ve been done like that, justice ain’t shit. What happened to me, you can’t replace it. My life is ruined, man. I lost my wife, my kid. My son, his head is all messed up now because he didn’t have a dad. We’ve tried to patch it up, but we never got a chance to bond. And he’s so much like me, in terms of character and understanding stuff. He’s twenty-three. He was two and a half when I left.”
Calvin Washington, 53
Year convicted: 1987
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 14
A 54-year-old Waco woman was beaten, raped, and murdered. Washington and a man named Joe Sidney Williams were convicted. There were only two types of evidence against the men: testimony from fellow inmates at the county jail and the report of a later-discredited forensic odontologist, or bite-mark expert. In 2000 DNA tests on the crime-scene semen excluded both men; testing in 2001 pointed to another man as the rapist. Williams had been freed in 1993; Washington was released in 2001. According to his former attorney, Walter Reaves, Washington squandered most of the $374,999 he received as compensation. “He didn’t have any idea what to do when he got that money,” Reaves says. “All of a sudden he had all these new friends helping him spend it. Last I saw, maybe nine months ago, he was cutting yards, doing general labor. He hasn’t had a real, steady job since he got out.” In June the house Washington had bought was put up for sale by the City of Waco for delinquent taxes.
Attempts by TEXAS MONTHLY to reach Washington were unsuccessful.
Mark Webb, deceased
Year convicted: 1987
Sentence: 30 years
Years in prison: 13
A white man raped a white aerobics teacher in her truck in broad daylight as she was leaving a Fort Worth health club. Webb was convicted after the victim ID’d him in court. He was paroled in 1997 but returned to prison in 1999 because he was caught drinking. He got a DNA test in 2001 and was released. He had started a truck-repair business in Fort Worth and was planning on getting married when he died of liver failure, in 2005. He was 42 years old.
James Woodard, 56
Year convicted: 1981
Sentence: Life
Years in prison: 27
A Dallas woman was raped and murdered and her body left along a rural area of the Trinity River. Woodard, an ex-boyfriend of the victim’s, became a suspect after the woman’s stepfather said that Woodard had visited her on the night before her murder at three a.m. This was untrue, but another witness offered what seemed like a corroborating account, saying that at roughly the same time, she had seen—from several hundred feet away—the victim arguing with Woodard. Later, however, police learned that the victim had been seen getting into a car with several men not long before her death. The authorities didn’t look into this story or tell Woodard’s attorneys about it. Woodard came up for parole numerous times but consistently refused to admit guilt, which could have won him early release. He got a DNA test in 2007 and was released in April of this year, becoming the longest-serving wrongly convicted person in Texas. He lives in Euless.
“Since I got out, I’ve been mostly just trying to get myself acclimated back into society. So many things have changed. E-mailing and cell phones and debit cards. I mean, you can imagine twenty-seven years ago. The hardest thing probably was getting my driver’s license, because of my record. They had to go to the archives and retrieve my school records. The only identification I had was my prison identification. The apartment wasn’t as bad as it could have been, mostly because the manager recognized me from 60 Minutes. I haven’t found work yet. As far as skills, I’m just a general laborer. I have a basic education; I can read and write.
“I figured out a long time ago that my being sent to prison wasn’t anything personal. It was just two guys—the prosecutors—looking at their career, trying to do a job. And the jury—they only went along with what the prosecutor said. So I had to get those kinds of thoughts, or any kinds of malevolent thoughts, out of my mind. That’s what destroys a man in prison. You know, just constantly being frustrated and angry by things he can’t change. It’s easier now that I’m out. I mean, at some point you have to be able to let go. Those years—I can never get those back. I can only be thankful that I survived under the conditions that I was forced to live under. I’ve seen many a case where a man just couldn’t take it. And there’s no way to win.”
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If you are unlucky, and all of us are unlucky in the end, you will visit a doctor in the confident expectation that they can fix any illness as a mechanic fixes a car and learn of the vast areas of ignorance on the map of medical science. If you are very unlucky, you will take an autistic child to a doctor and learn that “autism” is a vague and flabby label. There isn’t even agreement on what causes it, let alone on what, if anything, might alleviate or cure it.
Into the gap, between inexplicable suffering and the inability to relieve it, pour the conmen. Last week, Andrew Wakefield, the most contemptible of the charlatans, arrived in Britain to exploit the false hopes and fill the nightmares of his native land.
That he is a fraud has been established beyond reasonable doubt. The General Medical Council struck him off in 2010 after, in a superb example of journalism at its best, Brian Deer showed how Wakefield had manipulated research to make a non-existent link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism.
Not content with lying, Wakefield exploited his voodoo science for financial gain. The money was not the worst of it. The MMR conspiracy theory sent vaccination rates below the level of herd immunity. As unvaccinated children become teenagers, we are yet to see whether they will pay a price in blood for Wakefield’s fraudulence. Given the threat to public health, the personal enrichment and the neglected fact that Wakefield’s malign fantasy has led parents who vaccinated autistic children needlessly blaming themselves, in my eyes he appears to be a criminal.
If you want to know what is wrong with a country, look at the criminals its courts cannot punish. Just as it was impossible to prosecute bankers after the crash of 2008, so it is impossible now to arrest Wakefield. Rob an old lady of her savings and you go to prison. Rob millions of children of protection against preventable illness and you are endorsed by the Trump administration, which has, inevitably, made its support for the MMR con explicit.
The one good thing Andrew Wakefield has done in his worthless life is show that sick societies are like sick people. They, too, face suffering without relief or prospect of a cure. They, too, are open to exploitation by every variety of crank and fanatic. Nowhere more so than in Trump’s America. At a personal level, Trump’s wife, Melania, promises to sue anyone who says their son, Barron, may be autistic. Her threat suggests the couple have feared, however fleetingly, that they might learn of the pain of the parents of autistic children and of autistic people themselves.
Whatever twinge of sympathy I felt, vanished, however, when I saw that at the political level Trump had said that “doctors lied” about vaccination and has given every indication of pursuing the Wakefield conspiracy theory in office. If he does, it will be a disaster for autistic people. In America, as in the UK, they fall over a cliff edge when they move from child to adulthood. So bad are the services, the US does not know how many autistic adults live in its borders.
Hillary Clinton, who actually talked to autistic people, something vaccination conspirators neglect to do, promised a census. She lost. And now, as Steve Silberman, the author of the magnificent Neurotribes tells me, the Trump administration can indulge in junk science, safe in the knowledge that its billionaire friends will never need public assistance to provide for their autistic children.
The “doctors lied” is the first link between MMR and so many other modern manias. Climate change deniers have to maintain that 97% or more of the world’s scientists are lying. It is easier to believe an unbelievable fiction than contemplate the vast and wrenching changes manmade climate change must bring to our lives. Rather than face them, say Trump and the Anglo-Saxon right, we can retreat into a surprisingly comfortable state of paranoid delusion.
Second, and this point needs emphasising when elements on the right claims to be the champions of the working class (and let us see how long that lasts) and elements on the left blame it for Trump’s victory: conspiracy theories always begin with pseudo-intellectuals.
Anyone who has looked at the work of Holocaust, 9/11 or climate change deniers, will see that it is stuffed with footnotes. It was not a tabloid catering for the “left behind” that began the MMR lie, but the learned medical journal, the Lancet. Its editors did not know they were victims of a fraud. But they ought to have seen that Wakefield’s original 1998 paper was “badly written and had no clear statement of its hypothesis or indeed of its conclusions”, as Ben Goldacre, the debunker of scientific fraud, put it.
Last week, Wakefield did not speak at a working men’s club, but at the supposedly reputable Regent’s University in London. To top that, he was invited to the European parliament, not by a neofascist know-nothing, but by an MEP from a Green party, which readers who have not been paying attention may think is filled with decent people.
Third, the MMR scandal rebuts the myth that we are living in a uniquely mendacious era of web-driven “fake news”. Mainstream national newspaper journalists, including here at the Observer, I am afraid and at the BBC, amplified Wakefield’s message in the last decade without making the most basic checks. There can be no “post-truth age” for the autistic, for they never had an age of truth to begin with. To put the disgrace of my trade as mildly as I can, if Wakefield were put on trial, there would be hundreds of journalists alongside him in the dock.
Finally, ask yourself why Andrew Wakefield does not recant, when every study of autism and vaccination has shown his original claim to be false. Asking that is like asking why Donald Trump does not cut his links with climate change deniers or Jeremy Corbyn cut his links with the Socialist Workers party. Wakefield would lose his support base. More to the point, as I suspect he, Trump and Corbyn know, the very fools he has encouraged would throw the accusations of corruption he has thrown at others back at him.
Whether you are dealing with climate change or MMR, the final lesson is this: you cannot rely on charlatans to expose themselves. You have tune up your bullshit detector and do the exposing yourself.
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ALLEGING THAT non-Hindus participate in garbas with the intention to “entice” girls, the Hindu Utsav Samiti (HUS) has said that entry should be restricted to only Hindu men, and their identities should be confirmed through their Aadhaar cards.
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Admitting that this is an attempt to keep Muslim participants away, HUS president Kailash Begwani said: “It’s not easy to make a fake Aadhaar card, unlike other documents like voter identity cards. The moment one furnishes his Aadhaar card, there will be no doubt about his identity.”
“We get several complaints after the festival is over about exploitation of Hindu girls by those belonging to other religions. They befriend Hindu girls during practice sessions, and then entice them during the festival,’’ said Begwani.
The HUS put forward its demand at a peace committee meeting called by the district administration ahead of the festival. The district administration, however, did not give the HUS any guarantee in this regard. Till a few decades ago, the HUS, which has over 6,000 members, used to organise nearly all the big Hindu festivals. While it does not organise garbas, it is still involved in other festivals like Holi and Dussehra.
The samiti also submitted a memorandum demanding that meat and liquor shops should be closed during Ganeshotsava and the Jain community’s Paryushan Parva, and strict action should be taken against those transporting meat illegally.
However, the samiti’s demand to restrict the size of Ganesh idols to nine feet was rejected by festival organisers. The samiti said that organisers who want taller idols should be made to sign bonds, taking full responsibility if something goes wrong during processions. Last year, two boys were electrocuted during the event.
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“We are not criminals to be made to sign a bond. There are many processions other than the one taken out by HUS,’’ said peace committee member and zanki committee president Pramod Nema.
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Dubai: An airport policeman who admitted that he posted a photo of Lionel Messi’s passport on Snapchat could face six months in jail and fined up to Dh500,000.
Barcelona legend Messi had just arrived at Dubai International Airport on December 27 to collect the Global Soccer Award’s best player award when the 26-year-old Emirati policeman, J.J., took a photo of the superstar’s passport and posted it on the social media network.
Prosecutors accused J.J. of abusing the telecommunication system and using his iPhone6 to post the legendary footballer’s photo of his passport and uploading it on social media.
When he appeared before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court, the suspect pleaded guilty and admitted that he was wrong when he posted Messi’s passport details on social media. He then asked for leniency.
Commenting on the expected punishment, advocate Ali Abdullah Al Shamsi said the suspect could face a minimum of six months and/or a fine that varies between Dh150,000 and Dh500,000 according to the Cybercrime Law of 2012.
When questioned by the police, the suspect said he went to the terminal to submit his sick leave when his colleague told him that Messi was about to arrive at the airport’s private jets section.
“I waited for Messi’s arrival to take a photo with him … but his private escorts informed me that the player was tired and would not be able to take a photo. Thereafter I walked to the passport control’s office where I saw Messi’s passport on a desk. I grabbed the passport and opened it to the page that contained Messi’s personal details and took video images with my iPhone via Snapchat,” said the suspect.
Advocate Al Shamsi told Gulf News: “What the suspect did is an act punishable by the Cybercrime Law. His behaviour is deemed a breach of Messi’s privacy because the passport is considered a private possession just like the details mentioned on it. As a private ownership, the passport and the details printed inside it are protected by law just like the protection that the passport’s bearer enjoys. The details on the travel document are shown to law enforcement officials, who are permitted to see those details as part of their job. Therefore what he did is considered a breach of Messi’s privacy.”
The defendant posted the image on Snapchat, according to records, and wrote a comment that read ‘This is Messi here in Dubai … what shall I do now? Burn his passport or let it go! Alas … I will let [it] go’.
According to the Cybercrime Law’s article 41, prosecutors have also requested the court to have the device used in the crime to be confiscated and the images erased.
A ruling will be heard next week.
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Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The prime minister is to make a long-awaited speech on Europe in January
Britain is "perfectly entitled" to ask for a change in its relationship with Europe, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said voters would be offered "real choice" on this at the next election.
But he said being entirely outside the EU would not be "right for Britain".
Mr Cameron is due to make a long-awaited speech on Europe later this month. Many Tory MPs are urging a referendum.
The prime minister said any vote would happen within five years.
Currency considerations
"People should be in no doubt that the Conservatives will be offering at the next election a real choice and a real way of giving consent to that choice," he said.
"What's happening in Europe right now is massive change being driven by the existence of the euro.
Should we look at the arguments about should it be harder for people to come and live in Britain and claim benefits... frankly we should David Cameron
"The countries of the euro, they've got to change to make their currency work - the need to integrate more, they need to make changes to all their systems more."
He continued: "What that means is they are changing the nature of the organisation to which we belong.
"And so we are perfectly entitled, and not just entitled but actually enabled because they need changes to ask for changes ourselves."
As part of a series of EU reforms partially aimed at protecting the euro, the European Central Bank will be directly supervising around 200 of the largest European banks from 2014 - but will have the right to intervene if smaller lenders are in trouble.
With regards to the repatriation of some powers back to Britain, Mr Cameron said the government was already reviewing this.
"As you [EU members] need to make your changes, there are changes that Britain would like to make too."
He said people had said it was never possible to make changes to Britain's relationship with Europe, but he has already done this.
Immigration control
Mr Cameron was asked if the free movement of people inside Europe could be limited in order to give Britain more control of its borders and as part of a renegotiated relationship.
The real fight over Britain has not yet been joined. Europe is waiting to see what David Cameron will say in his 'big speech' later this month
The prime minister said a key reason to be a European Union member were freedoms, such as the movement of services, goods and people and there were already restrictions in place.
"Should we look at the arguments about should it be harder for people to come and live in Britain and claim benefits... frankly we should."
Mr Cameron also highlighted fishing quotas as an area of concern.
He also said he did not think it would be "right for Britain" - or in the "national interest" - to leave the EU entirely, pointing out some 50% of nation's trade was with the EU.
The UK would have "no say over the rules of the market into which we sell" if it left, he added.
In the wide-ranging interview, Mr Cameron made a number of points, including:
He said he was "absolutely determined" to overhaul the deportation system so the radical cleric Abu Qatada and others could be deported from the UK before they appeal
The prime minister also said he was "absolutely clear" Britain would defend the Falkland Islands in the face of mounting pressure from Argentina
He also confirmed he wanted to remain prime minister until 2020
When asked by Andrew Marr if a decision over Europe would have to wait "five years or possibly 10" while negotiations with the EU were completed, Mr Cameron replied: "No, no, that's not going to happen."
'Pretty odd people'
During the interview, Mr Cameron was also asked about his previous description of UK Independence Party members as "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists".
He said there were "some pretty odd people" in the party.
Ukip's leader Nigel Farage later told Sky News the prime minister's comments revealed "how disconnected he is".
He added there was little prospect of any deal with the Conservative Party "while that man leads it," but conceded he would "do a deal with the devil if it got us what we need, which is a free and fair referendum so that we in this country can decide who governs us".
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Recipe for vegan and gluten-free Coconut Matcha Ice Cream Cakes. They are easy to make and such an awesome treat & kid-friendly.
Ever since I’ve made the Chocolate Lovers Cake, I knew the combo of cake basis, ice cream in the middle and chocolate on top (which transformed into a chocolate hard shell) just worked. These vegan & gluten-free Coconut Matcha Ice Cream Cakes are like a mini version of regular ice cream cakes – but way healthier!
Since I’ve received my Coco Jack and have been opening young Thai coconuts like 24/7, I’ve had an enormous amount of young coconut meat. One can only make that much coconut milk, so I was looking for more ways to use the delicious coconut meat in recipes. And these ice cream cakes are the perfect treat.
Actually, these ice cream mini cakes are super easy to make when you have a food processor (for the base) and a high-speed blender (for the ice cream layer). The hardest part is to keep them in the freezer for about 5 hours and not eat them before that :) The chocolate topping comes on the ice cream layer shortly before serving. It will transform into a chocolate hard shell in a few seconds.
Vegan Coconut Matcha Ice Cream Cakes Recipe for vegan and gluten-free Coconut Matcha Ice Cream Cakes. They are easy to make and such a treat & kid-friendly. 5 from 2 votes Print Pin Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 3 Calories: 453 kcal Author: Elephantastic Vegan Ingredients Ingredients for the base 1/3 cup almonds , preferably blanched but I used unblanched and it worked too
1/4 cup shredded coconut , unsweetened
2 teaspoons organic rice syrup
1 teaspoon coconut oil + a bit more for coating the forms Ingredients for the filling & top 1 cup young coconut meat
5 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons organic rice syrup
1/4 teaspoon matcha
1/4 cup shredded coconut , unsweetened
1/3 cup vegan dark chocolate chips or baking chocolate Instructions Coat the ramekin forms* lightly with coconut oil.
Put all the ingredients for the base in a kitchen processor and blend until the mixture starts to form little clumps. Put the crust mixture in the forms and press it down with a spoon.
Fill the coconut meat, water, organic rice syrup, shredded coconut and matcha in a high speed blender** and blend for about 1-2 minutes until completely smooth. Fill the mixture into the ramekins. Place them in the freezer for about 5 hours or overnight.
Once the coconut matcha layer is frozen, heat the chocolate chips or baking chocolate in a double boiler until melted. While the chocolate melts, carefully go around the edges with a knife and let the ice cream cake slide out of the ramekin. Top the ice cream cakes with the melted chocolate and flatten it a bit with the spoon. Let it thaw for about 10 minutes and then dig in :) Notes
**I've used an *The custard cups/ramekin forms I used are 4 x 4 inches.**I've used an Omniblend Estimated Nutrition Info Calories: 453 kcal | Carbohydrates: 46 g | Protein: 7 g | Fat: 29 g | Saturated Fat: 20 g | Sodium: 87 mg | Potassium: 384 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 32 g | Vitamin C: 1.1 % | Calcium: 12.5 % | Iron: 9.9 % Tried this recipe? Mention @elephantasticvegan or tag #elephantasticvegan Rate the recipe! A recipe rating helps other users to figure out if they should try a recipe. Please leave a good rating, if you like the recipe!
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they will help me keep this site up and running!
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With the ceasefire at least partly holding in Yemen, there has been a wellspring of hope among locals that some humanitarian aid will finally be delivered, while what remains of Yemen’s officials abroad work hard to ensure the deliveries are not made.
Yemen’s mission to the UN Security Council, a remnant of the Hadi government that resigned back in January, today warned an Iranian ship trying to deliver humanitarian aid that it doesn’t have permission from “the legitimate government” to do so, and that any military attack on the cargo ship from Saudi ships imposing a blockade will be Iran’s fault.
The threat of Saudi warships attacking the cargo ship isn’t lost on Iran, which says it will provide a naval escort for the ship to Hodeida, near the capital city of Sanaa. A previous attempt by Iran to deliver humanitarian aid to Sanaa by cargo plane was thwarted when Saudi warplanes blew up the airport to prevent them landing.
Yemen is estimated to import around 90% of its food, and since the Saudi war began six weeks ago, commerce has ground to a near halt. Shortages of food, fuel, and medicine are now common throughout major cities.
Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz
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I’m still trying to figure out if I’m a Dying Light person. You may be surprised to learn that I have a neurotic compulsion as relates to some aspect of a game, I’ll pause while you absorb the shock, but if a game has co-op I always wonder if I’m “doin’ it rong” playing it in single player, with neither co nor op. Sometimes I don’t get back to games if I can’t find a partner. It happens.
I played it with Gabe for a little bit, but I don’t think it was for him; we didn’t have a bad time by any means, but the natural inclination of the open world to make you do everything but the specific thing you are trying to do - multiplied by a value that increases with each participant - meant that we spent most of the time hitting a single prostrate zombie and talking about the same kinds of things we would be talking about if we were doing absolutely anything else.
Also, when the zombies didn’t drop any Ascendant Shards, he logged. So that’s probably that.
I mentioned when I got back from PAX South that there were certain trends in play there, ones I’ve watched with delight online and then had a chance to see made flesh. I can’t get into the indie penchant for arena brawlers right now, but that ground is being furiously tilled and occasionally strange obelisks are discovered just below the surface. No, I gotta get into this sports shit. I have told you that I have fraught relationship with actual sports outside ping-pong but I have an endless appetite for simulations of real or imagined sports. And apparently I’m not the only one.
Super Slam Dunk Touchdown is probably the densest knot of sports on record, with more than forty megasports per square inch. This is a game where a soccer goal has a basket on it also, and you build your team from Football Players, Roller Derby Players, Hockey Players and the like, and then a ball from a random sport drops in and you have to make sense of it all. Plus, the people showing off the game wore referee uniforms, which classed up the entire showfloor. I was also drawn into a fateful round of Sportsball on the Wii U, which might just as well be called Super Joust. I say fateful because I thought I was “man” enough to choose a super heavy, high skill bird and I really, really wasn’t. Hopefully obliterating me at my own show was a high point for the brutal and lawless highwaymen on the opposing team.
Iron Galaxy has its cyberthumb in a lot of holo-pies, and next to a machine running Killer Instinct: Season 2 was a fucking buffet of sports interpretations. Gunsport is novel, and not just for making the Sport part a suffix instead of a prefix. The best way to put it, I think, is that it’s team-based dystopian volley-pong. Which is a good thing to be, if there were any doubts.
Capsule Force I love, love, love. It’s possible that this game is Sports Adjacent, and not just in a literal way at the show, but also as an indicator of its position on the Great Diagram. But it has teams fighting over a ball, so I’m leaving it here. In Capsule Force, two teams of two are trying to get all the way to the enemy capsule - imagine that even touching the flag in a CTF match scored you a point, and that’s what we’re talking about here. It don’t know that I’ve ever felt so “hyper” playing a game, because that’s all it takes, one touch, so all the switches of your awareness get flipped - probably to the detriment of your skill. Individual players can shoot each other, or charge for a powerful beam; they can also shield in a kinda Super Smash way. But the main thing at the core of it is the novel MegaMan style playfield: it takes place on several adjacent screens, moving left or right to each team’s capsule. Two tiers of fast platforms can be jumped on to whisk you, one screen at a time, to your destination. So Capsule Force could also be called Laser Train Tug-o-War, and who wouldn’t want that.
The last one in Iron Galaxy’s fucking carnival of amusements is Videoball. There is a lot to distinguish it. But I need to get something vital out of the way first: it is made by Tim Rogers, who is my Satan.
I was drawn to the screen of his game, like a moth, inexorably drawn to that which moths crave above all else. Some moth thing, who knows what it could be. But I began to get the sense early on in my conversation with one of the creators that it was Tim Rogers, just that sorta tingle you get, that “Oh shit, Jesus Christ, this is Tim Fucking Rogers, isn’t it” sorta vibe. He suggested during this conversation that based on my writing, he always sorta thought we’d get along. Because I have a condition that makes me unable to say the good thing, the proper thing, which has made life in the Age Of The Personal Brand an unending nightmare, I said, “Your writing makes me want to fight you in a bar.”
So you might think that this is was an inauspicious pairing. But here’s the thing that makes my Rogers Policy so complex: when it comes to his own games, I love his instincts. If he was just whoever he is and then he was just wrong, I would never feel the thorn jostle in the wound. But he’s got it. Whatever is required to do this thing, this impossible thing, he’s got it.
The other games I have mentioned all leverage pixel art. I love how each has done so, I have no beef with artists. They have all committed to their own take on it. Videoball trades on the double reverse irony so core to its creator, the demon womb Tim Ass Rogers. It has as its thesis that the elemental, one button gameplay on offer would have been all clean vectors, if our forebears could have done so. So there isn’t a pixel to be seen anywhere. It’s all eternal shapes. I can see them now.
The gameplay can take many forms; it reminds me of how you could flip various switches on an old Atari and apply various mods to the rules. Maybe each team has two goals. Maybe there’s terrain. Maybe there’s, like, five different balls. At its root: imagine that every player is one of the triangle ships from Asteroids, except instead of shooting damage, you shoot force. Got it? It’s soccer, played with Asteroids ships. There are four levels of charge on the fire button, which is the only button. The first three are levels of force, and the fourth one actually creates a square you can set up in front of the goal if you want. You could set it up somewhere else, but the goal isn’t a bad place. Now: these interactions very legible, which is vital for something in this continuum. You have to know what’s happening, and it doesn’t take long to get there. You’ll know the “rules” by the end of the first game, and then you’ll want to play with them. For example, touching the ball (or getting hit with it) essentially stuns the player. So the ball is also terrain that can be used against opponents. What I like about sports “games” is that they are functionally speaking wargames. They are about position and tactics. This is a real-time, tactical wargame. Fuck this fucking guy.
So, Tim Rogers. I live every moment of my life in repudiation of his. I don’t want him to be right about anything. But he’s right about this.
(CW)TB out.
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In truth, I’ve been wrestling with this piece for more than a week now. Three times I’ve picked it up and put it down. Sometimes, it’s hard to see the wood for the trees, to be able to pluck the analysis from the swirl of detail and politics. Headspace for thinking is sometimes hard to find.
But two very important thought pieces in Scotland on Sunday today helped crystallise the nub of what I’m about to say. Must-reading for everyone in Scottish politics, frankly: first, Duncan Hamilton sets out how three events this week have shown how Labour’s political influence in Scotland is plummeting still and second, Kenny Farquharson details how the SNP is engaged in a cultural revolution encouraging its supporters and indeed, Scots to embrace their inner Britishness. As an unreconstructed Nat, it makes for discomfiting if thought-provoking reading.
Both articles, to some extent, provide context for my assertion that one of the key independence battlegrounds is in England and specifically, over the NHS bill.
The most important speech in Scottish politics over the last few weeks wasn’t actually made at a party conference but by Depute First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon in a lecture at Glasgow University. Here was a senior SNP figure beginning the process of laying out what independence is for and highlighting key differentials between “there” and “here”. The NHS and its treatment was key, so key, in fact, that it featured in not just her address to the SNP Spring Conference a week later, but in all the major speeches of the weekend.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health asserted that independence was but a vehicle to a fairer Scotland and that the biggest threat to the welfare state – the quintessential British construct – was the current UK Government. “Independence will give Scotland the opportunity to make different decisions and to implement policies designed for its own needs in every area. In welfare as well as health, the economy as well as education. In the past the union would have been seen as not just the creator but also the guarantor of the values and vision of the post-war welfare state. Today, many see that it is the union, under the Westminster government, that poses the biggest threat to these values and that vision.”
Both she and the First Minister laid out in their Spring conference speeches quite deliberately and clearly that the little amount of independence we have currently – an interesting take on the devolution settlement which was largely ignored by the mainstream media – enables Scotland to choose a different path over the NHS. In essence, there will be no privatisation of the NHS in Scotland under the watch of an SNP Government.
Whatever the detail of the NHS bill currently causing such storm and fury south of the border – and it is hard to keep up with the convolution of its measures amidst the spin and counter-spin – we in Scotland are looking from afar at the Conservatives doing what we always suspected them of doing – of dismantling that which we hold dear – the idea of an NHS in public hands, free at the point of need.
For sure, the Liberal Democrat membership tried to stymie their leadership’s complicity in the deal, but they failed. Despite a refusal to back the bill at the party’s UK Spring Conference, their MPs and Lords are holding fast to their commitment (largely) to coalition government and supporting it. Meanwhile, Labour is doing a grand job of leading the charge under Andy Burnham, whom most commentators agree is playing a blinder, but it will come to nought. As Duncan Hamilton points out: “politics is about power, and Labour has none”.
Especially here in Scotland, which enables the SNP to drive a further nail in Labour’s coffin. One of the other interesting themes of the First Minister’s speech in particular, was that only the SNP can protect Scotland’s interests against the worst perfidy of a Tory-led government at Westminster. Whereas Iain Gray tried to make this concept stick during the 2011 Scottish election campaign and failed, the SNP can state it with greater authority. Because the SNP has the power and the backing of the Scottish people to do so.
Hence, the clever tactical focus on measures like the NHS bill which point this reality up and which enable the SNP to make the positive case for independence.
Clearly Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond – and the unseen army of often brilliant party tacticians and strategists – have a nose for these things and have determined to capitalise on the coalition’s woes. The Scottish Government will wring every last drop of political advantage from the situation unfolding south of the border.
Tom Gordon at the Sunday Herald erroneously portrayed the core of the First Minister’s speech to conference as an attempt to pitch the referendum as a personality contest between himself and David Cameron. He’s wrong: the messaging here is much more potent and heady, more complex and far more fundamental than that. It’s about appealing to values held dear, and nothing is held in greater esteem by Scots than the NHS. In any poll, health is always top or nearly so; indeed, clinging to the notion of a universal, entirely public NHS exposes Scots’ innate conservatism (as Alex Massie pointed out).
The Massie one also beat me to the observation that there is an irony inherent in the SNP – the party which wants to change the rules of the political game forever – aiming to do so by changing not very much at all.
But the politics has a purpose. They privatise, we protect. They ignore, we listen. They dismantle, we build. If devo-whatever is Ruth Davidson’s line in the sand, then the NHS could become a symbolic no passeran, one for which the Scottish public might well take to the barricades, or at least to their ballot papers.
The SNP’s instincts on this are spot-on. Claiming to protect the NHS with the little independence we have, and articulating the idea that real independence would deliver the health service we want; laying claim to be the real defender of a tenet of Britishness which is safer if Scotland goes it alone; these are the kind of arguments which will make Scots pause and think.
And persuade many to realise that a yes vote might deliver the change – no change at all, in fact – they wish.
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The design team at Discern has been inspired by Pantone’s color trend prediction for 2016. We love the sugary, fun and fresh colors that are Serenity, Rose Quartz, Buttercup and Green Flash. Not only do these colors make us happy and infuse our inspiration with freshness, they also remind us of desserts - think macaroons and parfaits, cupcakes and mint candies! These pastel tones are not only gender neutral but are also calming and welcoming shades to choose for your home. We were so excited by these sugary sweet shades that our decor team created a set of room renders inspired by these dessert colors, and picked a few of our favorites to turn into looks, based on the Pantone Color Trend 2016. Read on to see how we've put together these looks using trendy furniture, cool wallpapers, modern accessories and some delightful home accents.
Vivid, bright and drool-worthy, these colors make Modern Contemporary living come alive. Imagine living in a home done up in color palettes as exciting and delicious as these; choose the one that you love the most for your own home. BUTTERCUP YELLOW
Think rich, creamy custard and you've got your Buttercup Yellow. This delightfully decadent shade can look sophisticated, be it on your walls or on your furniture.Yellow wallpaper featuring a harlequin pattern adds a warm, sunshiny feeling to a room. A wool rug creates warmth and brings in a soft, plush feel. Like most colours, yellow works best when paired with complementary hues. Here, oak wood extends the summer vibe as does the elegant grey wall panelling. We've incorporated a pair of mirrors to help make the room look larger; it also makes for a great piece of wall art or a backdrop to the brightly accented sofa. The border of the mirror resembles Egyptian collar jewellery and is sure to engage onlookers. The clear table lamps on either end of the sofa are tapered with cotton shades in an off-white hue. The side tables have a delicate, filigree-like appearance - we admire this whimsical design with its strong structure. The replica of the Diamond lounge chair (the original was designed by Harry Bertoia for Knoll) adds sophistication to this bright room. Created out of industrial wire rods as the primary raw material, this chair is airy and sculptural in form.
1. Yellow Micro Pleated Cushion 2. Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair Replica 3. MDF Glass Mirror
GREEN FLASH
The look our design team created for this color is populated with the most trendy accent furniture. This room render has a lot of spunk with a refreshing pop of green; the overall look is well-balanced with the rest of the elements in the living space. It is a harmonized look, accessorised by various materials such as metal, glass and fabric. The overall design uses charcoal and grey as its base colors. The rug with its linear stripes in green and white complements the wallpaper and the oak wood flooring. The grey wall panelling enhances the bursts of color in the room's decor. The round mirror in the shape of a blooming flower looks stunning in a gold and black color combination. The green, amber, and black table lamp has a symmetrical, cotton shade in black. We love the grey padded ply easy chair.
1. Small Ball Cylinder Lamp 2. One Seater Parrot Green Sofa
3. Blooming Flower Mirror
ROSE QUARTZ
The Rose Quartz is a striking yet gentle hue that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. It reminds us of a serene sunset, a flushed cheek, or a budding flower. Rose Quartz helps us appreciate our surroundings during the lighthearted spring and summer months. Polka dots on the wallpaper add a hint of quirk; the playfulness of the print works wonderfully in a contemporary home, but can be beautifully contrasted with looks that are otherwise more traditional as well. If you use Rose Quartz judiciously in your interior space with a modern flair, the result can be very stylish and glamorous.
1. Brynna Single Seater Sofa 2. Pebble Coffee Table Iqrup 3. Orchid Purple Glass Vase
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Copyright by WCMH - All rights reserved
COLUMBUS (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers will consider a proposal that would end the requirement of having a front license plate on your vehicle.
The proposal is headed by Democratic state Rep. Alicia Reece. She says having a front license plate "unfairly subjects citizens to police scrutiny" and leads to "negative interactions with law enforcement."
Rep. Reece also cites increased costs. According to Ohio Department of Public Safety estimates, the front plates cost taxpayers about $1.4 million per year.
Ohio is one of 36 states that require a front license plate. However, none of the states that border Ohio have that requirement.
"Every day that we allow this baseless law to exist is one more day drivers from Kentucky have more rights on our roads than we do," Reece said in a news release. "Not only does this law cost taxpayers more money while creating confusion in border communities, but it only serves as an excuse to pull people over and in the case of Sam DuBose - cost a life."
The House Finance Subcommittee on Transportation will vote tomorrow on whether to include the proposed law change in the final version of the state transportation budget.
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The Irish Times invited Irish speakers abroad to tell us about how they keep their love for the teanga alive in foreign places for Seachtain na Gaeilge. Below is one of the stories we received; another will be published online each day until March 17th.
It was at the time, or so it seemed amongst their friends, an unusual decision on the part of my parents to send me to an Irish-speaking primary school. In Dublin, a city of well over a million, there must only be a few thousand people who use Irish on a daily basis. Fast forward 20 years and there are now at least six people in Berlin who use Irish on a daily basis, and that number is growing.
When I first arrived in the German capital in late 2014 I knew no one. I had a rucksack on my back and vague notions of capitalising on the success story of the German economy and benefiting from the tolerant and inclusive society that supposedly went with it. There was something about Berlin - a culture of openness, of acceptance, of being free to do whatever the bloody hell you wanted as long as you didn’t cause anyone any harm - which was irresistible to me.
Looking for opportunities to meet people when you move to a foreign city on your own is very important, and much to my surprise I found out through the Irish Embassy that there was a fortnightly meeting of Conradh na Gaeilge in a café in the centre of town. One cold, dark November evening after my German language class and another unsuccessful day on the job hunt, I headed off to the meeting, feeling rather doubtful whether it would actually be taking place. At the back of the café I saw a well-dressed man sitting on his own amongst small groups of Germans enjoying after-work drinks. As I approached tentatively he looked up from his phone, “Dia dhuit a mhac” came the long out of mind and immediately disarming Connemara accent, “Tá tú san áit ceart”.
From that moment on I have built Irish into my new life here in Germany. The great advantage of living in a country where a foreign language is spoken is that the idea of multilingualism is already a part of everyday life. All immigrants in Germany have to attempt to deal with the German language on a daily basis, from buying something in a shop, tackling the infamous German bureaucracy, or eventually finding a job through German and integrating fully into society. This leads to people, including Irish people, being more ready to open up to linguistic challenges and face the fact that the dominant language of their own country is just one of an immense variety of languages which can be used to divide up the world around us and to communicate with our fellow human beings.
A minority language like Irish can benefit hugely from this openness to multilingualism. In Ireland it might be considered a bit weird (at least in non-Gaeltacht areas) to be walking down the street chatting away in Irish to a friend, but in Berlin no one bats an eyelid. The historical post-traumatic stress disorder of the Irish people regarding the island’s native language could not be of any less interest to Germans, nor to the millions of immigrants of other nationalities in Germany, many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress of a different and very real kind.
I was not immune from these hang-ups about Irish before I came here. But it is amazing how liberating it is to realise that Irish is just like any other language. It can be learned, practised and used in everyday life if the will exists to do so. One of the main reasons it seems people back home are reluctant to speak it is that they are afraid to sound stupid in front of other English speakers; as if the fact that their Irish is not perfect is such a cause of shame that they are afraid to let others, whose Irish is probably even worse than theirs is, know about it. This national shame and resulting defensive scorn poses a huge obstacle to normalising the use of Irish in daily life in Ireland.
But not so in Germany. Learning language is part of German culture, and that, coupled with the huge influx of people who are learning German, creates a safe environment in which to practice a language, sometimes to fail, and to try again.
Since that winter’s night in 2014 I have made friends with people of various nationalities through the meetings of Conradh na Gaeilge Bheirlín. We have two Germans in our organisation with beautiful Connemara Irish, as well as a native Irish speaker who moved to what was then West Germany over 50 years ago. We now have an active Facebook page and Twitter account and will soon be registered as a charitable organisation under German law. We have a programme of events prepared for a visit from TCD’s An Cumann Gaelach during Seachtain na Gaeilge, and last weekend we attended the Ard-Fheis of Conradh na Gaeilge in Dublin Castle, where had the honour of meeting Uachtarán na hÉireann, Mícheál D Ó hUigínn, and hearing him speak about what he hoped the future had in store for our language.
Things are going from strength to strength for the Irish language in Germany, and as I continue to assimilate more into the German society and way of life, it is nice to know that there is a little part of Ireland in me that will never change; all I have to do is open my mouth and speak.
Kilian McDonagh works in financial services. He is secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge Bheirlín and the Irish language officer of Berlin GAA.
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Democrats are Rightfully Wary of Voter Registration Problems
Reports are widespread that Democratic Party primary voters across the state of Arizona have run into issues with their voter registration, causing long lines and an excessive use of provisional ballots. Two of the last voters at the Maryville polling location in Phoenix were, “forced to use provisional ballots” after waiting until 11:20PM to cast their vote.
Volunteers were handing out snacks, providing refreshments and playing music according to Bernie Sanders supporter Maria Castro of Phoenix. Some members of her own family had been forced to vote by provisional ballot, and she expressed frustration over Secretary Clinton declaring victory long before many people had the ability to cast their ballot.
Polls closed at 7PM in Arizona, however the wait time was upwards of five hours at some polling locations, and some polls were reportedly still processing voters as of the writing of this article.
The issues appear to stem, at least in part, from an issue with the state database not correctly identifying voters as Democrats. According to the ADP communications director Enrique Gutierrez, “We’ve been getting calls all day from lifelong Democrats who have been registered as independents.”
Whether the election would change the result of who “won” Arizona is not important, as that is a horse race argument of little value in the Democratic race. To be sure, with proportional delegates, nearly any significant structural problems with the election could cost a candidate delegates due to small swings in percentages.
What is important is to recognize that this election was a failure. The sheer numbers of problems rival that of the problems head from Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004, however they are glossed over because Arizona was simply one rest stop on the Interstate, and now that it’s over, Arizona is the abandoned stretch of Route 66 in the rear-view mirror.
As someone who became interested in politics as a “disenfranchised voter”, when that phrase was widely known to mean South Florida voters, I empathize heavily with the voters of Arizona who have been criminally mistreated by their state.
While I never got to vote in 2000 thanks to incompetence in the Broward County, FL Elections Division, I hope that the disenfranchised Arizona voters have a chance to try this again. Whether it’s only a re-vote of the non-early vote or a complete re-vote is beyond me. Without doing it right, the results of doing it wrong are tainted.
As such, what happened Tuesday was obviously not the will of the people, and the results from Tuesday’s Primary should be vacated. Arizona’s delegates should not be slated based on those votes.
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Pongal may be around the corner, but there will not be any jallikattu this year – at least not legally. The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Centre's notification from last week that would have permitted the Tamil tradition of bull-taming to be conducted during the festival. The court accepted petitions from several animal rights groups calling for the practice to be banned, and has asked the government to respond to these pleas in four weeks' time. Until the matter is settled, jallikattu has been banned.
The tradition is considered an age-old feature of Tamil tradition, one of the many animal-related practices that tend to go hand in hand with harvest festivals in many parts of the country. Jallikattu itself involves agitated bulls being released into enclosures, surrounded by men, who are expected to somehow attach themselves to the animal for at least a short period of time.
The name of the practice itself comes from jalli (coins) and kattu (package), referring to a bag of coins that was once tied to the horns of the bulls, which the bull-baiters tried to grab. Although these bags are no longer tied to the animals, the practice still involves baiters attempting to grab any part of the animal as it bucks around in the enclosure.
Play
Age-old tradition
Those defending the practice insist it is an age-old tradition that is critical to Indian culture. Some have even attempted to spin the animal rights activists' efforts to stop jallikattu as being part of an overall narrative denying Hindus their traditions, even though bull-baiting is more Tamil than Hindu. Authorities, while seeking to permit the tradition – remember it is an election year in Tamil nadu – also insisted that there would be no "unnecessary" harm caused to the animals.
But the same was also said in 2011, when the Tamil Nadu government sought to permit the practice, later telling the Supreme Court that the authorities took appropriate safeguards to ensure the animals are not treated cruelly.
In 2013, the Animal Welfare Board of India, a statutory body that advises the government on animal rights, submitted three reports based on jallikattu events that took place in Avnlapuram, Palamedu and Alanganallur in Tamil Nadu.
Here are some excerpts from their reports, extracted from the Supreme Court's judgment in 2014 banning the practice.
Ear cutting/mutliation "At least 80% of the bulls observed had their ears cut, with three-fourths of the external ear pinna absent," the report said. Bull owners claimed they did this because it was important for the animals to hear sounds from the back, when in fact, this mutilation doesn't improve a bull's hearing while causing "intense pain and distress".
Fractured tailbones The bull-baiters frequently grab, pull and even bite the tails of the animals, causing dislocated and in some case amputated tails, which are extremely painful conditions.
Jabbing the bulls The report talks about the vadi vassal, a chamber hidden from the public view where bulls are kept before being let out. "Bulls are poked, beaten and deliberately agitated before they are forced into the jallikattu arena, where more than 30 “bull tamers” are waiting," the report said. Implements used included wooden spears, tiny knives, rope-cutting sickles and sticks.
Irritants and liquorThe report cited irritants rubbed into the eyes and noses of the animals to get them agitated before they are released. They are often kept without water and food, and then forced to drink liquids which the report said was "likely liquor."
One report from Palamedu bears quoting:
"Bulls were forcibly beaten, pushed and pulled into the vadi vasal. The reluctant bulls had their tails painfully twisted, broken and bitten. These abusive practices, though common, were particularly rampant in Palamedu. Bulls were hit and poked with wooden sticks. One of the organiser’s sole duty was to force bulls into the vadi vasal by striking and prodding them with a wooden stick. Shockingly, police in uniform blatantly hit and poked the bulls with their wooden lathis instead of stopping the abuse. On the sly, owners forced suspicious liquids, likely alcohol, down the throats of bulls in order to disorient them."
Indeed, many of these reports came in from places where there was plenty of media present and awareness of a particular scrutiny on the treatment, yet the "tale of torture remained the same what it has been for long," one Animal Welfare Board of India officer concluded.
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A Utah bill that will open retailers to fines if they sell M-rated games to children (as long as they advertise beforehand that they won't) has now passed the Utah Senate. The bill made little sense originally, was completely defanged as it passed the House, and the Utah Senate has passed it with a 25-3 vote.
Patricia Vance, the President of the ESRB, passed Ars an open letter to the parents and leaders of Utah that detailed the proposed legislation. "While the intent of this legislation would be to hold retailers accountable for compliance with their stated policies—presumably in that negligible 6 percent of instances where they fail to comply—the unfortunate reality is that it would introduce a liability that will likely force many retailers to seriously consider abandoning their voluntary policies and ratings education programs, undoing years of progress made on behalf of parents and their children."
That's perhaps the most insane thing about this bill: if a retailer has an advertised, strong policy about selling certain games to children, it puts itself at an increased legal risk.
The original bill was amended in a number of ways, adding the ability for a retailer to dodge the fine if an offending employee goes through a training program. If the customer misrepresented his or her age to the retailer? No harm, no foul. To avoid breaking the law, all the retailer has to say is the employee has been retrained, or the buyer lied about his or her age. As it stands, there is nothing in the bill that is enforceable.
What does it mean now that the bill has passed both the House and the Senate? If governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. signs the bill into law... nothing much. If a game is sold to a child that someone feels shouldn't be, it has to be proven that the retailer has an advertised policy saying they won't do such a thing. Then there has to be proof the child didn't lie about their age or show fake ID. Then the employee gets put through training so it doesn't happen again. If all this is proven to have happened again? Look out! Deceptive trade practices have taken place, and there could be fines for the retailer.
The ESA and the ESRB are likely to continue their opposition to the bill, and could challenge it in court on constitutional terms. But the language of the bill is so limp there is really no fear of any action ever being taken on the sale of games. Still, the possibility does exist that Utah will end up writing a big check to the ESA for legal fees if the bill is thrown out, a rather common occurrence when it comes to game legislation.
The ESA has been awarded over $1.7 million in attorneys' fees for fighting bad legislation so far, including $182,349
in Michigan and over
$510,000 in Illinois.
That's nine rulings in seven years. In
Illinois, funds from the public health department, welfare, and
economic department of development were raided to pay the ESA's legal fees. Utah may be next.
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Some of ya’ll mature brothers and sisters will remember D. Gold’s ISO-1 and II Isomerizers from the 70’s, and some of ya’ll young researchers may have cast eyes upon one or at least a picture.
Starting with the ISO-1, here is a picture from a brochure. First concept, direct and utilitarian:
ISO-1 Isomizer
Followed by the ISO-2, which was both functional and elegant in design:
Hee, hee, hee, followed by the Super Flower Tower, actually built and distributed by others, after D Gold stopped marketing his ISO-2.
https://www.superflowertower.com/images/operation-overview-super-flower-tower.pdf
D. Gold says, “Regarding the Super Flower Tower link, I never had anything to do with those folks, and knew nothing of their product until I saw it on e-bay. I suppose that I should have been pissed that they copied the ISO-2 exactly, but I had no plans at the time to market anything, and was happy to see my design back on the market and available for people to use. I guess they figured that the patent had expired or that nobody would care.
I really don’t know if they actually made any machines or not. When I first saw the website a few years back, the machines were listed as “out of stock” when an order is placed, as is the case today. Maybe they just took pictures of an ISO2 and put together the website to test market, and never followed thru with production.”
Meanwhile back at the Pharm, imagine our joy and amazement, when D. Gold announced that he has now whomped up an ISO-3, and presented us’ns with SN-0001 to have our way with.
Clearly an evolved design that has moved from direct and utilitarian, through elegant, to KISS. The sort of thang that happens, when you continue to mull over a concept for half a century or so………………..
ISO-3 Quartermaster
Here's what arrived:
Hee, hee, hee, snicker, snark, snort, here what we used for the first test. Let the fun begin!
The way these puppies work, is that heat in the lower chamber, slow boils off what ever solvent is in the second level container, and the vapors condense against the chilled head, and rainfall back through what ever is in the basket.
If it is plant material in a filter bag, in the basket, it soxhlet extracts, and if it is the 500 ml beaker, it refluxes and collects the alcohol, leaving the concentrate behind in the pot.
That means it can do whole plant extractions start to finish, or be used to recover the ethanol from a QWET extraction, or BHO winterizing.
Something for both the camps looking for full plant extract, and those looking for concentrates to vaporize.
To put thangs in prospective, D Gold has been deeply involved in the medical cannabis movement since the 70’s, and for those interested in where that has taken him, check out:
/d-gold-author-of-cannabis-alchemy-1971-shares-cannabis-extraction-history-unfolding/
Sooo, we decided to get our feet wet with recovering 200 ml of winterized BHO, and began by wiping down all the product contact surfaces with 190 proof ethanol.
We then assembled the unit except for the chilled head, placing the 500 ml beaker in the basket to catch the ethanol reflux. After filtering 200 ml of the solution, we poured into the boiling pot, installed the chilled head, and added water to the bowl.
First of course, we wiped down all contact surfaces with 190 proof to remove any contaminants:
As simple as flipping the switch, and the slick part of this system is that it works at low temperature using a light bulb, and requires little tending. Ever vigilant, at this point we took a break and conducted product quality tests on prior extractions, and then checked on progress about ever eight hours thereafter.
I should note, that the distance the light bulb is from the boiling pot is adjustable, and we ran with factory settings, which aren’t optimum for speed, but set to minimize effect on the product.
We flipped the go switch 11-17 at about 9:45AM and the next morning around 10:00AM, this is what we observed upon removing the chilled head and checking on progress:
Buttoning things back up, we continued to run and checked it at 1:45PM on 11-19, to find this:
Adding more solution and buttoning up once again, we continued running and repeating 200 ml per run, until we processed our quart of ethanol used for winterizing.
Next we will do a QWET recovery, and follow up by soxhleting the spent material for the residual essential oils.
I helped set up and took purdy peeectures, but Carla monitored and refilled it day to day. One of the features that she’s been most enthusiastic about, besides it working slick, is that it doesn’t require moment to moment monitoring.
More of a set aside and go about your other business sort of thing, and perfect for ma and pa size extractions. More from Carla later:
D Gold made two design changes as we test, both of which we incorporated in SN-0001 for the next run.
The first was an upgrade to an inner basket that suspends from its upper lip, vis vis sitting on legs, and the second was to move the light bulb in the base closer to the pot, so as to speed it up during parts of the process that allow it, and control its output using an external dimmer switch.
Carla applauded the first upgrade, but was tongue in cheek about the second. It wasn’t as fast, but when the bulb was at its furthest extreme, you didn’t have to pay as close attention as you do now that you can turn the heat up high enough to burn it if ignored.
We both think it’s a nice upgrade, replete of course with both more opportunity and responsibility!
For those of ya’ll preferring forgiveness to opportunity, you can leave it on lower settings, or disarm this feature altogether, by adjusting the bulb in the base further away from the boiling pot bottom, so that even full on, it doesn’t burn………..
More later, watch this space:
12-24-16
I understand they will start delivery of the ISO-3 shortly after the first of the year. See at:
http://dgoldalchemy.com/
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Auschwitz guard Reinhold Hanning goes on trial in Germany for accessory to over 170,000 murders
Posted
A 94-year-old former guard at Auschwitz is being tried at a German court as an accessory to the murder of at least 170,000 people.
Key points: Nazi guard Reinhold Hanning goes on trial for accessory to 170,000 murders
Prosecutors say Nazi extermination depended on its guards
Former camp inmates will testify in the trial
Reinhold Hanning was 20 years old in 1942 when he started serving as a Waffen SS guard at the death camp in occupied Poland, where more than 1.1 million Jews were killed by the Nazis.
His trial is expected to be one of the last Nazi war crime trials.
There was a heavy police presence around the court in the western town of Detmold as Hanning walked in, wearing glasses and a dark brown tweed jacket and looking at the ground, for a session limited to just two hours due to his age.
Prosecutors said Hanning had joined the Waffen SS, the armed wing of the Nazi party, voluntarily at the age of 18 and fought in eastern Europe during the early stages of World War II before being transferred to Auschwitz in January 1942.
Accused by the prosecutor's office in Dortmund as well as by 38 joint plaintiffs from Hungary, Israel, Canada, Britain, the United States and Germany, Hanning will hear the testimony of former camp inmates in court.
One of them is Erna de Vries, who was deported to Auschwitz along with her mother in 1943, at the age of 23.
Considered a "Jewish crossbreed" as her father was Protestant, she was saved from the gas chamber and transferred to a labour camp.
"I survived, but to this day I don't know exactly how my mother was killed," she said ahead of the trial.
"The last thing she said to me was: 'You will survive and explain what happened to us.'
"I am not hateful but it somehow feels like justice to see this man, who was working there when my mother died, on trial."
Nazi murder machinery needed guards
Germany's Nazi war crimes office in Ludwigsburg found Hanning served as a guard at Auschwitz until at least June 1944.
He admitted to having been a guard, in a statement to the prosecution, but denied involvement in the mass killings, part of the Nazis' "Final Solution" for the extermination of Europe's Jews.
Investigators say he also served at Auschwitz's Birkenau sub-division, where about 90 per cent of more than 1.2 million killings in the camp were carried out in four gas chambers
Prosecutors maintain that the Nazis' machinery of murder hinged on people like Hanning guarding the prisoners, and they accuse him of expediting, or at least facilitating, the slaughter.
A precedent for such an approach was set in 2011 when death camp guard Ivan Demjanjuk was convicted of being an accessory to mass murder.
Last year, 94-year-old Oskar Groening, known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz", was sentenced to four years in prison for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people in Auschwitz.
Three other former death camp workers in their 90s — two men and one woman — are due to go on trial in the next few months.
Because of their age, their hearings, like Hanning's, will be restricted to two hours per day, assuming they are fit to face trial.
But Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff, responsible for war crime investigations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said age should not be an obstacle to prosecution.
"When you think of these cases, don't think of frail, old, sick men and women," he said, "but of young people who devoted their energies to a system that implemented the Final Solution and aimed to obliterate the Jewish people."
Reuters
Topics: world-war-2, courts-and-trials, murder-and-manslaughter, history, germany, poland
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1965 soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi Trio
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a 1965 studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (later credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio). The album was released in December 1965 in the U.S. by Fantasy. It is the soundtrack to the Christmas television special of the same name.
Guaraldi was contacted by television producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary on the comic strip Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although the special went unaired, these selections were released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of "A Boy Named Charlie Brown". Coca-Cola commissioned a Christmas special based on Peanuts in 1965 and Guaraldi returned to score the special.
Guaraldi composed most of the music, though he included versions of traditional carols such as "O Tannenbaum".[1] He recorded some of the score at Whitney Studio in Glendale, California, then re-recorded some of it at Fantasy Records Studios in San Francisco with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in nearby San Rafael. The sessions ran late into the night, with the children rewarded with ice cream afterwards.
Bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli have been credited as performing on the album.[1] It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the National Recording Registry of the Library Congress
On August 19, 2016, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quadruple platinum for sales of four million copies.[2] In November 2014, it was the tenth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era.[3]
Background [ edit ]
By the early 1960s, Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts had become a sensation worldwide.[4] Television producer Lee Mendelson acknowledged the strip's cultural impression and produced a documentary on the subject, titled A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Mendelson, a fan of jazz, heard a song by Vince Guaraldi on the radio not long after completion of his documentary, and contacted the musician to produce music for the special. Guaraldi composed the music for the project, creating an entire piece, "Linus and Lucy", to serve as the theme. Despite the popularity of the strip and acclaim from advertisers, networks were not interested in the special.
By April 1965, Time featured the Peanuts gang on its magazine cover,[4] and plans for an animated half-hour Peanuts Christmas special were commissioned by The Coca-Cola Company. When Coca-Cola commissioned A Charlie Brown Christmas in spring 1965, Guaraldi returned to write the music.[4]
Recording and production [ edit ]
The first instrumentals for the special were recorded by Guaraldi at Glendale, California's Whitney Studio with bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey. Recycling "Linus and Lucy" from the earlier special, Guaraldi completed two new originals, "Skating", and "Christmas Time Is Here". In the weeks preceding the premiere, Mendelson encountered trouble finding a lyricist for Guaraldi's instrumental intro and wrote "Christmas Time Is Here" in "about 15 minutes" on the backside of an envelope.[9]
The special begins and ends with a children's choir from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael performing "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". One of the singers, Candace Hackett Shively, became an elementary school teacher and sent a letter of gratitude to Schulz after he announced his retirement in 2000. In the letter, she recalls recording the choir at Fantasy Studios and going out for ice cream afterwards, while noting that she tells the story to her students every holiday season. The recording sessions were conducted in late autumn 1965 in three sessions over two weeks. They often ran late into the night, resulting in angry parents, some who forbade their children from returning; as a result, numerous new children were present at each session. The children were directed by Barry Mineah, who demanded perfection from the choir. Mendelson and Guaraldi disagreed, wanting "kids to sound like kids"; they used a slightly off-key version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" in the final cut. Children were paid five dollars for their participation. In addition, the children recorded dialogue for the special's final scene in which the crowd of kids shout "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!".
Guaraldi brought in bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli and re-recorded tracks such as "The Christmas Song" and "Greensleeves". The album credited Guaraldi solely, neglecting to mention the other musicians; Guaraldi was notorious for never keeping records of his session players. Nearly three decades later, in an effort to correct the matter, Fantasy surmised that the recordings with Budwig and Bailey were employed in the television special while Marshall and Granelli recorded the album. Despite this, other musicians have claimed to have recorded the special's music: bassists Eugene Firth and Al Obidinski and drummers Paul Distel and Benny Barth. Firth and Distil are noted as performers on a studio-session report Guaraldi filed for the American Federation of Musicians.
Not all the music featured in the holiday special was released on the soundtrack. For example, "Surfin' Snoopy" did not make the cut, but it was released on Charlie Brown Holiday Hits.
Reception [ edit ]
Commercial performance [ edit ]
On August 19, 2016, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album quadruple platinum for sales of four million copies.[2]
A Charlie Brown Christmas first appeared on a Billboard magazine music sales chart on the week of 19 December 1987, when it debuted and peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Christmas Albums sales chart.[14] The album charted on the Billboard Christmas Albums chart every Christmas/holiday season from 1988 through 2003, peaking as high as No. 8 in both 2001 and 2002.[14] The album also charted on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums chart during the Christmas/holiday season every year from 1991 through 2003, peaking as high as No. 6 in 2001.[14]
In November 2014, it was the tenth best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era.[3]
A Charlie Brown Christmas was also the tenth best-selling holiday album of 2011, a year that marked the sixth time since 2001 that the album had ranked among the year's top 10 Christmas albums.[15] It was also the ninth best-selling album of 2013.[16]
Critical reception [ edit ]
Thelonious Monk, Guaraldi showed how a piano, bass and drums can capture a feeling and character in living color, particularly if those feelings are complex, conflicted or even simply too beautiful for words. It's the kind of realization that, even unconsciously, opens the door for later discoveries in Bill Evans Robert Glasper and everything beyond, to say nothing of all the other sounds and ensembles waiting to be heard with jazz at its pulse. Chris Barton of the Los Angeles Times, 2012[17]
Allmusic reviewer Shawn M. Haney called it "joyous and festive meditation for the holiday season"[1] writing, "Guaraldi strings together elegant, enticing arrangements that reflect the spirit and mood of Schulz's work."[1] Dominique Leone at Pitchfork called the songs "small, observant miracles...If there's a muted quality to a lot of this music, it's smiling nonetheless."[18]
The soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas has been considered "one of the most beloved holiday albums recorded."[17] Chris Barton of the Los Angeles Times asserts that the soundtrack introduced jazz to an entirely new generation, having been heard by more individuals than the work of the genre's most influential players, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane.[17] The score influenced dozens of young aspiring musicians, among them David Benoit and George Winston. Haney wrote that the record "introduce[d] contemporary jazz to youngsters with grace, charm, and creativity."[1]
A Charlie Brown Christmas was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007.[15] In 2012 the album was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings.[21][22]
Track listing [ edit ]
Side one
Side two
CD bonus tracks
"Greensleeves" (Traditional) – 5:25 (1988, 2006, 2012 CDs)
"Christmas Is Coming" (Alternate Take 1) (Guaraldi) – 4:37 (2006 CD)
"The Christmas Song" (Alternate Take 3) (Tormé, Wells) – 3:53 (2006 CD)
"Greensleeves" (Alternate Take 6) (Traditional) – 5:05 (2006 CD)
"Christmas Time Is Here" (Alternate Vocal Take) (Guaraldi) – 1:34 (2006 CD)
"Great Pumpkin Waltz" (Guaraldi) – 2:29 (2012 CD)
"Thanksgiving Theme" (Guaraldi) – 2:00 (2012 CD)
Personnel [ edit ]
The Vince Guaraldi Trio
Vince Guaraldi – piano, bandleader, Hammond organ on "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing"
Jerry Granelli – drums
Fred Marshall – double bass
Additional musicians
Colin Bailey – drums on "Greensleeves"
Chuck Bennett – trombone on "Thanksgiving Theme"
Monty Budwig – double bass on "Greensleeves"
Mike Clark – drums on "Thanksgiving Theme"
John Gray – guitar on "Great Pumpkin Waltz"
Tom Harrell – trumpet on "Thanksgiving Theme"
Manny Klein – trumpet on "Great Pumpkin Waltz"
Seward McCain – bass on "Thanksgiving Theme"
Children's chorus for the songs "Christmas Time Is Here", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and when the kids all shout "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" were performed by members of the choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California. Several months before the making of Charlie Brown Christmas this choir was featured on the recording Vince Guaraldi at Grace Cathedral.
Original production
Sol S. Weiss – recording engineer (attributed on the back cover, original album pressing)
Production
Derrick Bang – liner notes [22] [1]
George Horn – mastering (1986, 1988, 2006 reissues)
Adam Munoz – mixing (2012 reissue)
Joe Tarantino – mastering (2012 reissue)
Stephen Hart – mixing (2006 reissue)
Ralph J. Gleason – liner notes (1988 reissue)
Nick Phillips – reissue producer
Joe Tarantino – remastering
Joel Selvin – liner notes (2006 reissue)
Derrick Bang – liner notes (2012 reissue)
Charts and certifications [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources [ edit ]
Bang, Derrick (2012). Vince Guaraldi at the Piano . McFarland. ISBN 978-0786459025.
Mendelson, Lee (2013). A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition . It Books. ISBN 978-0062272140.
Solomon, Charles (2013). The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation. Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-1452110912.
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