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When the men (and women) from Mars land next year—language and life are moving that fast—they will of course command, “Take us to your leader.” Thereafter conversation will be limited if they are modish folk who have adopted all the new words sanctified as acceptable English by the Oxford English Dictionary.
The tsunami of new words has not so far relieved us of the encroaching corruptions of political vocabulary skewered by Orwell seventy years ago. “Emptying words of meaning is an essential step on the road to autocratic rule.” It sounds like an ungood Newspeak principle, but it is fresh from Roger Cohen, the New York Times columnist, commenting in 2017 on the weird events of the Trump presidency. Having scored a surprise Electoral College victory, but not the “landslide” he claimed, the new president obsessed about the size of his inauguration crowds and the conspiracy whereby Hillary Clinton sneaked nearly three million noncitizens into the nation’s voting booths. No doubt the infiltrators of his imagination did all the dirty work in the dead of night, carrying their clichés with them. The president’s acolytes threatened to avenge the media for failing to find the mythical armies of fraudsters, and then promulgated even more mendacities about the media’s determination to suppress news of acts of terrorism. In the president’s mind, that made them “among the most dishonest human beings on earth.”
The enduring story in American ethical culture, adopted over two centuries ago, is how the conscience of six-year-old George Washington would not let him lie to his father about taking a hatchet to a cherry tree. Early in the 2016 presidential election, it could safely be said the candidate destined to be the forty-fifth president was not trying to embellish the moral legend of the first. Within the normal meaning of words, Trump is either a liar or a victim of “truthiness,” as diagnosed by Dr. Colbert. We are certainly in the vortex of what’s come to be called the post-truth society. In 2016 the Oxford Dictionaries announced that “after much discussion, debate and research,” post-truth was the Word of the Year, as an adjective defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Scottie Nell Hughes, the news director of the Tea Party Network, is assiduous in polishing the brass plate on the Ministry of Post and Alt-Truth. She corrects the deviants: “People say facts are facts—they’re not really facts,” she argued on The Diane Rehm Show.
We all have to be made to realize that anything is true if enough people believe it. Some publications seemed not to have received the Alt bulletin. Forbes, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Politico, and NBC didn’t hesitate to pin lie on a falsehood, which, given the number of falsehoods, is understandable. But a falsehood is not necessarily a lie. We have all made statements believing them to be true, only to find they were false. Rather than argue about definitions, Steve Adler, editor in chief of Reuters, the global news agency, responded to the White House attacks with a ringing declaration: Reuters, responsible for reporting the news independently in more than one hundred countries, is bound by the Reuters Trust Principles to report “fairly and honestly by doggedly gathering hard-to-get information—and by remaining impartial.”
The president’s millions of supporters did not care about any of this. David Frum, a former speech writer for Bush 43, reported in The Atlantic (February 2017) that a Trump tweet attacking the University of California was “precisely the opposite of the truth”—but it had become “dogma in Trump world, including Trump-skeptical conservatives.” Most editors recognize the risks in shouting “Lie!” in an empty theater. It is as well to be credible as it is to be clear. If the public buys the line of Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, that media is “the opposition,” everything from that source can be discounted as polluted by bias. To borrow Lenin’s verb, the concept of truth would gradually wither away.
The irony is that in 2016–2017 mainstream news media—on the whole—was more restrained and more precise in its language than the president and his strategist and the rightwing chorus in Fox, Breitbart News, and hate radio. For years they promoted the smear that President Obama was an alien. The editor of the Wall Street Journal, Gerard Baker, said he would identify statements like this as “challengeable” or “questionable” and publish the evidence pro and con, but not identify them as lies because that was to imply “moral intent” and mark the publication as biased. It caused something of a stir in September 2016 when the New York Times appeared with a front-page headline: “Donald Trump Clung to Birther Lie for Years, and Still Isn’t Apologetic.” The executive editor Dean Baquet acknowledged that lie has “powerful implications,” but he was clear what the word meant: “A lie implies that it was done with complete, total knowledge that it was a falsehood.”
We have waited for a new word for lie that throbs with the revulsion the noun and verb once provoked universally. Roget’s Thesaurus gives us a plethora of adjectives: downright lies, shameless lies, monstrous lies, outright lies, filthy lies, barefaced lies, shocking lies, dirty lies, big lies; and in desperation, we can draw from the vocabulary of absurdity: codswallop, bullshit, balderdash. None penetrates to the heart of darkness as Lawrence Douglas’s term meta-lie, for insidious untruths aimed at changing—subverting—the way we think of institutions we rely on for exposing lies, error, and corruptions—media, academia, judiciary. The drip-feed of the poison is the suggestion that the monitors are corrupt, dishonest, and lying—part of the elitist plot against the common man. Douglas, a law professor at Amherst, writing in the Guardian (February 7, 2017), acknowledges a debt to Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), the author of The Origins of Totalitarianism . Roger Berkowitz, the Arendt scholar at Bard College, is eloquently on the same page. The political lies Arendt worried about, he says, are not mere falsehoods. They are political acts in which facts are denied and alternative realities are created. “The political lie opens the door to a politics that not only denies facts but works actively to disempower facts, thus enabling the creation of a coherent albeit fictitious world. The danger inheres in the utter logicality of the fictional narrative. To preserve the fiction, facts that contradict it need to be eliminated.”
Arendt had a weighty ally in the art of political lying:
“My imagination represents before me a certain great man famous for this talent … The lies which he plentifully distributes every minute he speaks, and by an unparalleled generosity forgets and consequently contradicts the next half hour … He never yet considered whether any proposition were true or false but whether it were convenient for the present minute or company to affirm or deny it; so that if you think to refine upon him, by interpreting everything he says, as we do dreams, by the contrary, you are still to seek, and will find yourself equally deceived whether you believe or not: the only remedy is to suppose, that you have heard some inarticulate sounds without any meaning at all.”
(From “The Art of Political Lying” by Jonathan Swift [1667–1745], author of Gulliver’s Travels )
Copyright © 2017 by Harold Evans. Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company.
Harold Evans is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of the Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981. A graduate of Durham University, he has written a number of bestselling histories. He followed the late Alistair Cooke in commentaries on America for the BBC. An American citizen since 1993, he has held positions as editor-in-chief of the Atlantic Monthly Press , founding editor of the prize-winning Conde Nast Traveler ; editorial director of the Atlantic and US News and the New York Daily News ; and president and publisher of Random House. He holds the British Press Awards' Gold Award for Lifetime Achievement of Journalists. In 2001 British journalists voted him the all-time greatest British newspaper editor, and in 2004 he was knighted. Since 2011, he has been editor-at-large for Reuters . |
Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #32: Ultralight Aircraft and Border Drug Smuggling
Marisa Mendoza and Robert J. Bunker
Key Information: Reporter, “Fatal ultralight aircraft crash highlights latest risky tactic for smuggling drugs into U.S.” Daily Mail. 11 March 2009, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161135/Fatal-ultralight-aircraft-crash-highlights-latest-risky-tactic-smuggling-drugs-US.html:
Ultralight crashes in a lettuce field
(Photo: U.S. Border Patrol)
The ultralight aircraft was fitted with a basket for smuggling drugs. It was carrying 141lb of marijuana making it dangerously overweight. The pilot died as a result of the crash.
Key Information: Chris Hawley, “As drug planes get seized, cartels adapt.” AZCentral. 17 March 2010, http://archive.azcentral.com/news/articles/20100316mexico-drug-smugglers-planes.html:
Confiscated planes believed to have been used for drug smuggling in Culiacan, Mexico (Photo: Chris Hawley/The Arizona Republic)
Since 2006, authorities have seized more than 400 drug planes—a fleet bigger than the Mexican air force itself … Smugglers have been adapting their fleets to counter President Felipe Calderon’s 3-year-old crackdown on the drug cartels … Cocaine shipments arrive in Guatemala and are brought into Mexico by land or boat … Small planes then move the drugs northward to avoid the army checkpoints … Drug pilots must land in more-rugged areas because the government has destroyed 2,086 unregistered airfields since 2006. As a result, almost all the seized planes at the Culiacan airport are Cessna 205s, 206s or 210s: single-engine planes that can haul a lot of weight and have high wings ideal for landing on dirt roads or in desert washes … The army has about 100 seized planes at the airport … Many of the aircraft have modified wings so they can take off from short strips, or metal plates attached under the nose to protect the engine from gravel. Some have homemade fuel tanks behind the seats or extra-big tires for landing on rocky terrain … Small planes are used mainly for ferrying drug loads to the Mexican side of the border … smugglers are increasingly transferring shipments to ultralights, simple aircraft made from aluminum tubes and fabric, to actually cross the border. Ultralights are slower and can't carry much fuel, but they are harder to detect on radar than other aircraft and can land and take off on strips of land as short as 100 feet. The United States has pledged millions of dollars to help Mexico better track drug flights as part of the Merida Initiative anti-drug aid package. It is upgrading Mexico’s Cessna Citation chase planes with better sensors, buying four CASA 235 patrol planes for the Mexican Navy and giving 16 helicopters to the Mexican Army and Federal Police.
Key Information: Buggs, “Ultralight Aircraft Now Ferrying Drugs Across U.S.-Mexico Border.” Borderland Beat. 19 May 2011, http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/05/ultralight-aircraft-now-ferrying-drugs.html:
A soldier operates a steel basket beneath a confiscated ultralight aircraft. Smugglers piloting the aircraft would use the basket to drop their contraband without landing
Mexican organized crime groups … are taking to the skies, using ultralight aircraft that resemble motorized hang gliders to drop marijuana bundles in agricultural fields and desert scrub across the Southwest border … What began with a few flights in Arizona in 2008 is now common from Texas to California’s Imperial Valley and, most recently, San Diego, where at least two ultralights suspected of carrying drugs have been detected flying over Interstate 8 … Flying at night with lights out, and zipping back across the border in minutes, ultralight aircraft sightings are rare … Some pilots wear night-vision goggles. Others fly over major roads to orient themselves. Drop zones are illuminated by ground crews using strobe lights or glow sticks. … Ultralights are customized for smuggling purposes. All-terrain wheels are added for bumpy landings. Second seats are ripped out to add fuel capacity. Drugs are loaded onto metal baskets affixed to the bottom of the framing. From 150 to 250 pounds of marijuana are generally carried, depending on the weight of the pilot. Some ultralights are shrouded in black paint, with even the plastic tarp covers for the marijuana blackened for stealth entries … Flying as low as 500 feet, their small frames are hard to distinguish from trucks. Many appear, then disappear from radar screens. Others never appear at all.
Key Information: Robert Beckhusen, “Feds Drop $100 Million to Spot Flying, Homebrew Cocaine Mules.” Wired. 20 August 2012, https://www.wired.com/2012/08/ultralight/:
A drug package is attached to the bottom of this weighted down ultralight aircraft
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is spending $100 million on new sensors that can detect ultralight aircraft. The giant contract … comes as the cartels have been using more of the planes to elude Border Patrol agents … The Air Force has chased them with jets, and the Border Patrol has pursued them with Black Hawk helicopters. Closer to gliders than complete planes; ultralight planes are small, cheap, and their engines are relatively quiet. They move slowly, but are flown low to blend in with the southwest border’s rugged and hilly terrain, which the smugglers use to hide from radar ... The sensors are intended to counter “the high-priority threat presented by small, low-flying aircraft transiting across United States borders.” They should be able to work in hills and mountains, while simultaneously tracking two dozen ultralights from as low as 33 feet above ground level out to a range of 20 kilometers. They need to be built tough to withstand extreme weather conditions and … easily transported across rough terrain. … The ultralights don’t even have to land ... [they] often fly low, and then drop their dope—in packages that can weigh up to 250 pounds—at a pre-planned location for an awaiting pick-up crew. Even if the government detects the aircraft, the pick-up crew on the ground is likely to be long gone by the time Border Patrol agents arrive … Drug prices are hard to estimate, but using figures from the U.S. Department of Health, a 250-pound load of marijuana could be worth more than $400,000. A similar weight in cocaine, could be worth more than $16 million wholesale. That means absent cocaine, the cartels could make more money on marijuana flights in one year—just using ultralight aircraft—than the government will spend on its efforts to stop them.
Key Information: Attila Nagy, “13 Shockingly Creative Ways Drugs Have Crossed the Border.” Gizmodo. 19 March 2013, http://gizmodo.com/5988877/13-shockingly-creative-ways-drugs-have-crossed-the-border:
This ultralight aircraft was carrying 253 pounds of marijuana when it was captured
(Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Key Information: Reporter, “El Centro Sector Border Patrol Seizes Ultralight Aircraft and $500,000 in Drugs.” The Desert Review. 30 August 2013, http://thedesertreview.com/el-centro-sector-border-patrol-seizes-ultra-light-aircraft-and-500000-in-drugs/:
An abandoned ultralight aircraft discovered by El Centro Sector Border Patrol
Border Patrol agents discovered an abandoned ultra-light … [with] packages strapped to the aircraft ... [They] determined that the bundles contained marijuana, weighing 189.4 pounds, with an estimated street value of $151,520, along with 12.7 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $406,400.
Key Information: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), “Ultralight aircraft carrying marijuana crashes in mountains.” Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security. 20 March 2014, https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ultralight-aircraft-carrying-marijuana-crashes-mountains:
An ultralight aircraft carrying 250 pounds of marijuana crashes in the mountains
(Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
A team of federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Border Patrol was immediately dispatched to the [crash] site, located at an elevation of approximately 4,000 feet in a remote area of eastern San Diego County … “From all indications, the pilot in this instance escaped relatively unscathed, but that doesn't diminish the serious danger posed by ultralight smuggling activity in general.”
Key Information: Christopher Woody, “‘El Chapo’ Guzman had more airplanes than the largest airline in Mexico.” Business Insider. 4 May 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/el-chapo-guzman-mexico-drug-trafficking-airplanes-2016-5
This plane was found holding nearly 1,000 pounds of drugs in Honduras in 2010.
A Gulfstream aircraft stuffed with Colombian cocaine crashed in the jungle of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in 2007. There was 3.3 metric tons of cocaine found in the wreckage. (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán ran the largest airborne operation in Mexico. Between 2006 and 2015, Mexican authorities seized … 586 planes and 13 helicopters that the cartel used to ship drugs throughout Mexico and Latin America … The largest legitimate airline in the country, Aeroméxico, has 127 planes. If Guzmán's cartel were a legal business … it would likely be one of the most successful in the country, based on its 4,771 clandestine landing strips … "I went to the military base of the Mexican army in Sinaloa, in Culiacán, and they had more than 100 light aircraft they'd seized from drug traffickers ... At first they had them in the regular airport, and the drug traffickers used to go in and take them back," said journalist Ioan Grillo … The Cessna 206 [was] the most popular version, likely because of its double side doors that allow quick off-loading, kits that allow its gas tank to be expanded, and the plane's ability to take off and land on runways as short as 300 to 400 yards.
Key Information: Geneva Sands and Jack Date, “How Smugglers Attempt to Get Drugs and Other Contraband Over the Border.” ABC News. 21 September 2016, http://abcnews.go.com/US/smugglers-attempt-drugs-contraband-border/story?id=42218894:
An ultralight aircraft was used to smuggle contraband over the border in July 2011
A couple of hundred pounds of marijuana can be placed in a large basket under the piloted craft and flown over the fence to a predesignated point. The pilot then drops the load for a quick pick-up on the north side of the border and returns to Mexico. “This method can be dangerous for those on the ground and also for the pilots if the basket doesn't release cleanly, making the ultralight unstable resulting in a crash. These ultralights are also as noisy as a large lawnmower and can be heard by agents on the ground, giving them notice of the incursion.”
Who: Although a number of cartels may be utilizing ultralight aircraft, seizure locations and authority reports most often attribute the use of this technology to the Sinaloa Cartel.
What: Cartels are supplementing primary smuggling methods such as drugs hidden in vehicles, truck trailers, and train cars at formal border crossing points and using burreros (see tactical note #31) and ramp assisted pickup trucks (see tactical note #29) to carry drug loads over the border at unsecured points with a much faster option—manned aircraft known as ultralights.
When: According to a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s air and marine program, the use of ultralights is a revival of a late 1980s and early 1990s trend (Daily Mail, 2009). Drug smuggling by ultralight aircraft began resurfacing in 2008. There were over 228 known ultralight incursions along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2010 alone (Nagy, 2013). The U.S. modified laws to strengthen criminal penalties for the use of ultralights for drug smuggling and began to heavily invest in ultralight detection technology in 2012.
Where: Ultralight crashes and seizures have occurred primarily in the southwestern Arizona communities of Tucson and San Luis; California’s Imperial Valley, specifically the city of El Centro; and at other points along the San Diego border region.
Why: Ultralight aircraft offer a relatively cheap and fast means of transporting up to 250-pound drug loads over the border with little risk of detection by U.S. Border Patrol.
Analysis: With the tightening of the U.S.-Mexico border airspace, the use of light planes by the cartels for drug smuggling purposes has become an increasingly risky proposition. For this reason, ultralight aircraft, which can fly at a low air ground level (AGL)(less than 50 feet above ground) to avoid U.S. radar tracking systems, have been increasingly utilized by the Mexican cartels for about a decade—in particular, by the Sinaloa Cartel.
Ultralights are small, light weight, fixed-wing aircraft manned by a single pilot. They typically have aluminum framing, triangular-shaped wings, and an “open-truss fuselage that gives off a scant radar signature, especially when flying at treetop-level” (Rotstein, 2009). Essentially using a lawn mower with wings, cartels sustain their lucrative operations by transporting heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana while literally flying under radar. Ultralights can be purchased online or constructed at home from kits. A used ultralight can be purchased for around $5,000 while a new model costs twice that amount (Sands & Date, 2016). For cartels, the price pales in comparison to the profits of a single drug load successfully delivered to the United States market.
Under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, ultralights should weigh under 254 pounds and only carry five gallons of fuel. They do not require a pilot’s license to operate them. With a top speed of 63 miles per hour, ultralights travel slightly slower than cars on a freeway but, unlike cars, they are not confined to roadways (Atherton, 2013). In the United States, it is illegal to fly ultralights at night but smugglers often fly without lights on them, making the chance of detection very low (Sands & Date, 2016). The sound from an ultralight is minimal and often masked by ambient noise (Atherton, 2013), making it easy for them to quickly cross the border, drop drug shipments, and return to Mexico. Border Patrol has tracked hundreds of these flights, but the pilots are rarely caught (ABC News, 2011).
Still, even with modifications, ultralights are a relatively poor means of transporting large quantities of drugs. Their carrying capacity is limited to a jockey-sized pilot and between 100-250 pound loads. This pales in comparison to a Cessna aircraft that can carry nearly a 1,000-pound load and a Gulfstream aircraft that can carry 3 tons (Woody, 2016). They also cannot travel in strong winds (Atherton, 2013) and become unstable if the release function does not produce a clean drug drop (Sands & Date, 2016). Even with these limitations, however, ultralights still pose a viable low cost, low risk smuggling option for cartels.
Due to their frequent use, Congress passed the Ultralight Aircraft Smuggling Prevention Act of 2012 to update its definition of “aircraft” to include ultralights so that the same penalties can be applied to those caught smuggling drugs using them (Feeran, 2012). Further, their potential threat to national security led U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2012 to invest $100 million on new sensors that can detect ultralight aircraft (Beckhusen, 2012).
Significance: Innovative Drug Smuggling; Over the Border; Sinaloa Cartel; Ultralight
References
Kelsey Atherton, “5 Crazy Machines Smugglers Use to Get Drugs Across the Border.” Popular Science. 19 April 2013, http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-04/5-crazy-machines-smugglers-use-get-drugs-across-border/?image=0.
Robert Beckhusen, “Feds Drop $100 Million to Spot Flying, Homebrew Cocaine Mules”. Wired. 20 August 2012, https://www.wired.com/2012/08/ultralight/.
Buggs, “Ultralight Aircraft Now Ferrying Drugs Across U.S.-Mexico Border.” Borderland Beat. 19 May 2011, http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/05/ultralight-aircraft-now-ferrying-drugs.html.
Robert J. Bunker and Marisa Mendoza, “Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #29: Vehicular Ramps Used to Bypass Border Fencing.” Small Wars Journal. 9 March 2017, http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/mexican-cartel-tactical-note-29.
Lee Feeran, “Here’s 100M, Now Catch Those Drug Smuggling Ultralights.” ABC News. 16 August 2012, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/08/heres-100m-now-catch-those-drug-smuggling-ultralights/.
Chris Hawley, “As drug planes get seized, cartels adapt.” AZCentral. 17 March 2010, http://archive.azcentral.com/news/articles/20100316mexico-drug-smugglers-planes.html.
Marisa Mendoza and Robert J. Bunker, “Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #31: Use of Burreros to Scale and Lift Up Border Fencing.” Small Wars Journal. 23 March 2017, http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/mexican-cartel-tactical-note-31.
Attila Nagy, “13 Shockingly Creative Ways Drugs Have Crossed the Border.” Gizmodo. 19 March 2013, http://gizmodo.com/5988877/13-shockingly-creative-ways-drugs-have-crossed-the-border.
Reporter, “El Centro Sector Border Patrol Seizes Ultralight Aircraft and $500,000 in Drugs.” The Desert Review. 30 August 2013, http://thedesertreview.com/el-centro-sector-border-patrol-seizes-ultra-light-aircraft-and-500000-in-drugs/.
Reporter, “Fatal ultralight aircraft crash highlights latest risky tactic for smuggling drugs into U.S.” Daily Mail. 11 March 2009, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161135/Fatal-ultralight-aircraft-crash-highlights-latest-risky-tactic-smuggling-drugs-US.html.
Reporter, “Ultralight Planes Used to Smuggle Drugs Over Mexico-U.S. Border.” ABC News. 30 April 2011, http://abc7.com/archive/8104321/.
Arthur H. Rotstein, “Drug Smugglers Use Ultralight Aircraft To Cross Border.” ABC News. 11 March 2009, http://www.kvia.com/news/drug-smugglers-use-ultralight-aircraft-to-cross-border/53168182.
Geneva Sands and Jack Date, “How Smugglers Attempt to Get Drugs and Other Contraband Over the Border.” ABC News. 21 September 2016, http://abcnews.go.com/US/smugglers-attempt-drugs-contraband-border/story?id=42218894.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), “Ultralight aircraft carrying marijuana crashes in mountains.” Official Website of the Department of Homeland Security. 20 March 2014, https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ultralight-aircraft-carrying-marijuana-crashes-mountains.
Christopher Woody, “‘El Chapo’ Guzman had more airplanes than the largest airline in Mexico.” Business Insider. 4 May 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/el-chapo-guzman-mexico-drug-trafficking-airplanes-2016-5. |
The Armed Forces on Tuesday night appealed to the public to avoid posting information that would only make the situation worse in Marawi City.
“We fervently urge our people to refrain from posting in social media information that would tend to exacerbate the situation. Especially of photos and videos on the movements of our troops and on terrorist propaganda circulating through social media,” said AFP public affairs chief Col. Edgard Arevalo in a statement.
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Residents took to social media to post updates through photos and videos on the firefight between soldiers and terrorist groups that started on Tuesday afternoon.
The soldiers were going after Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, also reportedly leads the Islamic State in Southeast Asia at about 2 p.m. at a house in Barangay Pasak Malutlut but his men and the Maute group fought back.
Three government troops have been killed and 12 wounded from the fighting.
“Follow-up operations are on-going. We cannot reveal other details so as not to compromise operational security,” Arevalo said.
The fighting prompted President Rodrigo Duterte, who was on an official visit to Russia, to declare martial law on the whole of Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Arevalo and Defense Secretary Lorenzana had conflicting statements on the situation in Marawi.
In a press conference from Moscow, Lorenzana said that the armed men took over the Amai Pakpak Hospital and the city hall. Arevalo, however dismissed it as “untrue.”
Arevalo said government troops were not fighting with ISIS members but with a local terrorist group. Lorenzana has acknowledged the armed men as ISIS or IS-inspired.
“The news being circulated by these terrorists and their sympathizers are spurious and are meant to spread lies and disinformation. It is propaganda to attract foreign terrorists’ support and recognition,” Arevalo said.
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He clarified that no foreign terrorist was involved in the fighting.
Arevalo assured the public that the situation in Marawi City has “stabilized” and security forces were in full control of the situation.
“We will continue to provide updates as often as possible with due regard to the security of our operating forces and the conduct of the operations itself,” he said. CBB
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The 'hair' of the broccoli, as my young son calls it, absorbs the tasty sauce and with every bite the deliciousness just oozes into your mouth. The carrots lend a gorgeous pop of colour to the dish while the mushrooms adds to the layered texture of it together with the crunchy broccoli and the slightly mushy carrots. This is a dish that could help with getting your little tyke eating his/her vegetables, if you have a particularly fussy eater, because the oyster sauce masks the 'raw' taste of the vegetables without taking away any of the nutrients. Serve this with a bowl of fluffy steamed rice and I guarantee you will have this platter of stir-fried goodness cleaned out real quick!
Broccoli, Carrot and Mushroom Stirfry
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 head of Broccoli (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 medium Carrot (cut into bite-size pieces)
4 Shiitake Mushrooms (sliced)
3 Garlic cloves (minced)
2 tablespoons of Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of Sugar
1/4 cup Water
2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
Instructions: |
For week one, we’re going to…ARMENIA…
Ar-bloody-menia indeed. We put all 50 countries into a randomiser and that’s the first bloody one it spits out. We know nothing about Armenia! In fact, most of our European knowledge comes from Eurovision – for example, I did know that Armenia did very well last year, and a quick gaze at Wiki reveals they came in fourth. We don’t mind admitting that we love Eurovision – the spectacle, the nonsense, the screaming gay men – and that’s just us in our living room. We’d love to go, but the desire to go to Eurovision is always tempered by a slight hint of embarrassment and the fear of being broadcast in full HD on BBC One wobbling about in the crowd with our bumholes blaring from all the amyl nitrates in the air. Plus, I can’t dance. I really can’t. I was going to come up with a funny euphemism for my dancing but in all honesty, it’s been described as a fat bloke trying to dance – all tilting and grand shifts of weight. Just awful. It’s like my body is sponsored by Mathmos. I’m like the Herald of Free Enterprise leaving dock. Oh I managed to get my euphemisms in after all!
A little tale that made me titter yesterday – my parents have been in The Gambia building schools and granting wishes and introducing the good Gambian folks to the joys of Lambert and his Butler, and it just so happens that my dad’s (Chris) birthday fell when they were over there. My mum arranged for a cake to be made and iced and it was brought out to much fanfare and stifled hilarity – iced on the top of the cake was HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIST. Now my dad HAS had a few nails put through his hand but that’s through lapses of judgement during DIY, not out of Christian malice. Parents did say it was absolutely amazing seeing people with so very little being happy. I’m sure there is a moral lesson in there, but as I’m a bourgeois pig, I don’t see it. Anyway…
Tonight’s recipe is Armenian Bulgar Salad – and I never know how to pronounce bulgar so I always have to whisper it in hushed tones in the supermarket lest people think I’m being tasteless. It’s delicious, like a tomatoey variant on my tabbouleh recipe from a while back, and would do lovely for a lunch. As long as you don’t mind your breath smelling like a hot fart later on.
to make syn free tomato bulgar salad, you’ll need:
ingredients: simple. A tiny drop or two of olive oil, a large chopped red onion, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 1/2tsp of cumin, 1tbsp of chilli sauce, tin of chopped tomatoes, 250g of bulgar wheat and a bit of salt. I also added spring onions because I’m crazy-mad. Parsley for sprinkling.
to make syn free tomato bulgar salad, you should:
recipe: saute the onion until it’s nice and soft. Take your time here. Add the cumin, puree and hot sauce and stir. Add the tomatoes and salt, then stir for three minutes on a simmer. Try the sauce – if it needs a bit more acidity, chuck in some lemon juice. Now take it off the heat, throw in the bulger wheat, stir, add chopped spring onions and then put the lid on. After 30 minutes it’ll have swollen and dried a little – and trust me, it’s bloody delicious. Serve it with chops if you like but it works just as a lunch.
tip: this freezes very well – stick it in a freezer bag portioned out and then take it out when you need it. Or, more realistically, you’ll put it in there and forget about it forever.
extra-easy: well – no, not on its own, but if you served it with a salad of superfree food you’d be alright. Mind it does have tomatoes and onions in there…
Off to bed!
J
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Iran attempted to acquire a technology that could be used for its military nuclear program in violation of its global nuclear deal, the German domestic intelligence service said Friday.
German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said that despite the international agreement, Iran continued its "illegal proliferation-sensitive procurement activities" on a high level.
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However, the U.S. State Department rebuked the German report, calling it a broad assessment of 2015 that fails to distinguish between Iranian activities before and after the nuclear deal was enacted, according to CNN
"We have no information to indicate that Iran has procured any materials in violation of the [nuclear agreement],” State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Kirby added that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found that Iran is fulfilling all of its duties and obligations under the agreement and that the German government agrees with that assessment.
"We understand that Germany shares this view and is not suggesting that Iran has violated its JCPOA commitments,” he said.
"We have no indication that they are violating the deal, and the deal has never been about trust, it's never been about spirit it's never been about how we feel about Iran, it's about them meeting their commitments and they are meeting theirs and we are meeting ours. … This is not about touchy feely," Kirby added.
The Institute for Science and International Security on Thursday issued another report saying Iran attempted to secretly acquire carbon fiber, a key material needed to build a centrifuge.
Moreover, Iran did not notify the international community of its efforts, despite its obligation to be transparent under the 2015 agreement, the report said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel strongly criticized the secret Iranian program Thursday, telling the German parliament that it is "in clear contradiction to the relevant provisions of U.N. Security Council." |
The Colorado Rapids on Monday announced they are picking up contract options of three players while parting ways with eight others ahead of the 2018 season.
Colorado picked up the contract options of defender Eric Miller, defender/midfielder Jared Watts and midfielder Sam Hamilton.
The Rapids declined to pick up options on six players: goalkeeper John Berner, defenders Dennis Castillo and Mekeil Williams, midfielders Joshua Gatt and Mohammed Saeid and forward Alan Gordon.
Saeid and Gatt were acquired in a blockbuster trade that sent captain Sam Cronin and defender Marc Burch to Minnesota in March.
“I think Josh did very well for us in limited game time, I would say,” Rapids sporting director and interim general manager Padraig Smith told The Denver Post earlier this month. “He started a few games, he had a couple of niggling injuries that kept him out. But obviously we were happy with some of his performances and certainly happy with his intensity and his urgency, but I think again it’s a combination of these things. It’s not just any one of these factors.”
Additionally, defender Bobby Burling‘s contract expired. The Monument native played three seasons in Colorado, appearing in 50 games (46 starts) and scoring three goals.
“Bobby’s obviously been here for a number of years and proved to be a valuable leader in our clubhouse,” Smith said. “I think he’s been quite unfortunate with injuries the last couple of years and hasn’t played as much as he would’ve liked or we would’ve liked.”
The Rapids also decided not to exercise an option to buy the contract of midfielder Luis Gil, who was on loan.
Colorado signed new contracts with homegrown midfielder Dillon Serna and striker Caleb Calvert, the team said.
“If you look at what Dillon’s achieved over the years with the Rapids, being a homegrown player, he’s somebody we want to give every opportunity to for him to succeed,” Smith said earlier this month, adding that he felt Serna used 2017 to come back from a season-ending knee injury in 2016.
“I think it’s going to be important for Dillon to get minutes,” Smith said. “He needs to get minutes, whether that’s here, whether that’s on loan with Charlotte. We want to put him in a position to get back on the field, show everyone what he can do.”
With the signings of Serna and Calvert, the Rapids had 15 players under contract heading into the 2018 season. Adding Miller, Watts and Hamilton brings the roster to 18. However, defender Mike da Fonte is expected to spend the remainder of his contract on loan, Rapids spokesman Ryan Madden said.
Additionally, Smith said former interim head coach Steve Cooke will remain with the Rapids as an assistant coach. Smith added that Colorado’s new coach will be able to bring in an assistant of his choosing as well.
Colorado Rapids player status for 2017 roster:
Stefan Aigner – Under contract
Micheal Azira – Under contract
Dominique Badji – Under contract
John Berner – Option declined
Johan Blomberg – Under contract
Nana Boateng – Under contract
Bobby Burling – Out of contract
Caleb Calvert – Under contract
Dennis Castillo – Option declined
Mike da Fonte – Under contract
Kortne Ford – Under contract
Shkëlzen Gashi – Under contract
Joshua Gatt – Option declined
Luis Gil – Loan expired
Alan Gordon – Option declined
Marlon Hairston – Under contract
Sam Hamilton – Option exercised
Tim Howard – Under contract
Zac MacMath – Under contract
Eric Miller – Option exercised
Ricardo Perez – Under contract
Mohammed Saeid – Option declined
Dillon Serna – Under contract
Axel Sjöberg – Under contract
Jared Watts – Option exercised
Mekeil Williams – Option declined
Key 2018 offseason dates
Dec. 10 – Half-day trade window (7 a.m. to 11 a.m.)
Dec. 10 – Blackout period begins until conclusion of Expansion Draft
Dec. 12 – Expansion Draft (12 p.m.)
Dec. 12 – Free Agency begins (1 p.m.)
Dec. 13 – Waiver Draft (1:30 p.m.)
Dec. 15 – Re-Entry Draft Stage 1 (1 p.m.)
Dec. 21 – Re-Entry Draft Stage 2 (12 p.m.) |
“Investigators also seized a document called ‘Put Your Trust in Allah.’ The document referred to the seven gifts someone would receive in the afterlife as a martyr for jihad.”
One might almost get the idea that this had something to do with Islam, if we didn’t have so many learned analysts telling us it wasn’t so.
“Bomb-making materials found at teen terror suspect’s home, court documents say,” by Steve Rukavina, CBC News, February 17, 2017:
Newly released court documents shed light on what raised police suspicions about Sabrine Djermane and El-Mahdi Jamali, the Montrealers who were teenagers when they were charged with several terrorism-related offences in 2015.
The documents show that it was Djermane’s sister who tipped off police and that investigators found materials that could be used to make a homemade bomb at Jamali’s home.
The two former College Maisonneuve students each face four charges:
Attempting to leave Canada to commit a terrorist act.
Possession of an explosive substance.
Facilitating a terrorist act.
Committing an act under the direction of or for the profit of a terrorist organization.
The charges have yet to be tested in court.
Djermane and Jamali, now both 20, have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to face trial before a judge and jury in September.
The new information comes from portions of search warrant documents that were previously subject to a publication ban.
A judge lifted parts of the ban Thursday.
Sister, friend concerned
Djermane’s sister contacted police in April 2015, just a few days before Djermane and Jamali were arrested, telling investigators she was worried her sister had become radicalized.
The sister told police that Djermane had left the family home earlier that month after an argument with her parents over her intention to marry her boyfriend, Jamali.
She said Djermane was living beyond her means, in a condo that cost $1,100 a month.
Investigators also spoke to a friend of Djermane’s, who told them Djermane was behaving like someone who’d been radicalized.
The friend said Djermane rarely went out, spoke often of religion and frequently lied to and manipulated people in her circle.
The friend was also concerned about Djermane’s finances, telling investigators she and Jamali were living together in an expensive apartment and spending money they didn’t have on clothes, a television, a computer and a digital camera.
Dollarama bomb
The documents also list items police found when they searched the apartment the couple was living in, as well as in Jamali’s family home.
They included a notebook with instructions on how to make a bomb using a pressure cooker.
Police also found a Dollarama bag containing a roll of duct tape, two nine-volt batteries, a box of nails, Super Glue and a receipt from Dollarama.
The receipt listed other items, including a clock and wooden matches.
Investigators concluded these items could have been used to make an improvised explosive device.
Jihadist propaganda
Investigators also seized a document called “Put Your Trust in Allah.”
The document referred to the seven gifts someone would receive in the afterlife as a martyr for jihad.
Djermane’s sister told police she had seen Jamali’s Facebook page and that it featured a photo of a jihadist flag and videos inciting people to fight in Syria.
Police examined the Facebook page and found a video apparently showing combatants inside what appeared to be a mosque involved in a gunfight, along with several references to Islamophobic people as traitors.
It also contained several publications about seminars and conferences at the Islamic Community Centre of East Montreal, which is managed by well-known Muslim leader Adil Charkaoui…. |
2/24/2015 – Jeff Sarwer was a classical prodigy, believed by many to be one of the strongest in history. At seven he was giving simultaneous exhibitions, at eight he won the Under Ten world championship. But then he disappeared from the chess scene to take up professional poker. Now, in his late thirties, this former media star, subject of the film "Searching for Bobby Fischer", is going after the GM title.
Former chess prodigy considers new run at grandmaster title
Poker player and former chess prodigy Jeff Sarwer finished third in the Kings of Talinn poker tournament over the weekend but he has a bigger goal in mind these days: grandmaster status in the game that first grabbed his attention when he was still playing with toy dinosaurs. The former prodigy-turned poker pro spoke with PokerListing's Finland's Tuomo Järvelä during his run to the final table and revisiting his first "Mindsport" love is on his mind.
"I think I'm going to test the waters a little bit with chess before I go in and say I'm going to become a grandmaster, but I don't think many people at my age just decide to study chess and become a grandmaster. So if I could do it – and that's a big if – I think that would be very nice. In a way it's perhaps a bit of unfinished business in my mind. I have no aspirations to become the World Chess Champion or something like that. But if I can become a chess grandmaster in my late 30s, when I only had a bit of training as a kid, that would be nice. For myself, as a personal goal."
World Champion at eight
Sarwer's background is an unconventional one. Home-schooled by his father, Sarwer and his sister traveled across North America and the World while his chess talent developed. He learned the game at age four, and by six was granted a lifetime membership in the Manhattan Chess Club in New York.
"I started chess by playing with toy dinosaurs when I was a very young boy," Sarwer said over the weekend, "lining them all up. Then I found chess pieces. A lot of people get into games who are into math. And I got into chess because it was aesthetical. I just loved the way the pieces looked and that made me love the game."
Given a tumultuous family situation which only got more complex, Sarwer was pushed away from chess as he grew older. Now in his late 30s, Sarwer says he's enticed to revisit his first love and take it to the next level.
"Poker's the game where you make money"
Like most games players, Sarwer says, he moved into poker later on in life because that's where the money is. "You could ask so many people who play games. They all move to poker at some point. Whether it's Magic: The Gathering or Starcraft or chess, there's so many cross-overs because poker's the game where you make money." Sarwer earned €16,470 for his third place finish over the weekend.
Jeff Sarwer (born May 14, 1978 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian-Finnish former child chess prodigy whose charismatic personality and chess talent made him a well known media figure. His chess career and his family's unconventional lifestyle were the subjects of many articles and TV shows. Jeff's attacking playing style was often compared to Bobby Fischer, and a tournament game drawn against him by another young chess player, Joshua Waitzkin, was the inspiration for the climax in the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer.
Jeff Sarwer's character was portrayed as Jonathan Poe. In the film's final game, Jonathan declined the offer of a draw and eventually lost. In reality Jeff Sarwer declined the draw offer by Josh Waitzkin, but the game ended in a draw (because of insufficient material) a few moves later. Under tournament tie-breaking rules, Waitzkin was determined to have played stronger opponents during the overall competition and was awarded first place, but they were declared US Primary School co-champions. At the time that the game was played, Jeff was seven and Josh nine years old. Here for posterity is the original game:
[Event "Searching for Bobby Fischer"] [Site "?"] [Date "1986.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Sarwer, Jeff"] [Black "Waitzkin, Josh"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E76"] [PlyCount "126"] [SourceDate "2015.02.24"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. e5 Ne8 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. Bc2 a5 11. O-O b6 12. Be3 Bb7 13. Qd4 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxd4 15. Bxd4 Rd8 16. Bxc5 bxc5 17. Na4 Bxe5 18. fxe5 Rd2 19. Rf2 Rxf2 20. Kxf2 f6 21. e6 Nd6 22. Nxc5 Rc8 23. Nxb7 Nxb7 24. b3 Nc5 25. Re1 Rc6 26. Be4 Ra6 27. Bc2 Rxe6 28. Rxe6 Nxe6 29. Ke3 Kf8 30. Ke4 Ke8 31. g3 Kd7 32. Kd5 f5 33. a3 h6 34. b4 axb4 35. axb4 Nc7+ 36. Kc5 e5 37. Ba4+ Kc8 38. Bc6 e4 39. b5 e3 40. Bf3 Ne6+ 41. Kd5 Ng5 42. Be2 Kc7 43. Ke5 Ne4 44. Kd4 Kd6 45. Kxe3 Kc5 46. g4 Nd6 47. Kf4 g5+ 48. Ke5 fxg4 49. Kf6 g3 50. hxg3 Ne4+ 51. Kg6 Nxg3 52. Bd3 Nh1 53. Kxh6 g4 54. Kg5 g3 55. Be4 Nf2 56. Bd5 Nd1 57. Kf4 Nc3 58. Bc6 Ne2+ 59. Kf3 Nd4+ 60. Kxg3 Nxc6 61. bxc6 Kxc6 62. Kf3 Kc5 63. Ke3 Kxc4 1/2-1/2
Jeff Sarwer won the Under Ten World Youth Chess Championship in Puerto Rico in 1986 representing Canada. When he was eight, he was believed by many to be one of the strongest prodigies in the history of the game. Allen Kaufman, head of the American Chess Foundation, said, "Jeff at nine is stronger than Bobby was at 11." Bruce Pandolfini said, "Of the several thousand kids I've taught, Jeff is certainly the most amazing young player I've ever seen."
Jeff learned the rules of chess at the age of four from his six-year-old sister Julia, and at age of six started to play at the Manhattan Chess Club. Jeff used to entertain large crowds by playing simuls against 40 people every Canada Day from the age of seven on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He also used to show up and play speed chess at Washington Square Park in New York City, where large numbers of people gathered to watch his games.
At the age of seven Jeff's enthusiasm for the game caught the attention of grandmaster Edmar Mednis and he invited him to analyze the 1986 World Championship Match between Kasparov-Karpov on PBS. Jeff and his sister Julia (who was also a world champion for girls under ten) continued to do this for the rematch in 1987 as well. After this Jeff and Julia became well known in media circles and appeared on various talk shows and were the subject of a documentary.
After he disappeared at a very young age, many people thought Jeff would not be seen playing chess again. In September 2007 Jeff resurfaced to the chess scene apparently without training and entered a 30 minute semi-rapid tournament at Malbork castle in Poland. He finished in third place with a score of 7.0/9 in a group of 86 players including four Grandmasters. Since he had no active chess rating, he was given a provisional Elo rating of 2300 but seemed to perform above that level.
In January 2010 Jeff gave a long interview to Chess Life Online detailing his experiences from that tournament and talking about his current life in Europe. In August 2010, Sarwer was profiled in the Sunday Times Magazine talking about his father's methods, his chess career and his reappearance in public. Sarwer says that if he decided to make chess a priority, he would do so to become a grandmaster. "It would require at least two years of dedicated hardcore study and practice," he said, "especially in regards to opening preparation” for him to achieve that goal.
Source: Pokerlistings, Wikipedia |
"Hollywood is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher up you get the whiter it gets," Sharpton stated.
Al Sharpton lit into Hollywood Thursday morning after this year's Oscar nominations were released and not a single African-American was up for one of the 20 available slots in the four acting categories.
This marks the second year with this result; the protest hashtag last year was #OscarsSoWhite.
Before that, 2011 was the last time all of the acting contenders were white and then again in 1998.
Sharpton criticized the industry for having a "fraudulent image of progressive and liberal politics and policies" and compared success in Tinseltown to climbing the Rocky Mountains.
“Hollywood is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher up you get the whiter it gets. And this year’s Academy Awards will be yet another Rocky Mountain Oscars. Yet again, deserving black actors and directors were ignored by the Academy — which reinforces the fact that there are few if any blacks with real power in Hollywood," Sharpton said in a statement.
He added: "Being left out of awards consideration is about more than just recognition for a job well done; winning an Oscar has long-lasting cultural and economic impacts."
The Academy has recently made a concerted effort to diversify its membership, inviting 322 new members over the summer including Selma star David Oyelowo, British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who appears in Concussion, and Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray.
Awards-caliber performances by black actors and films focused on African-American stories included Compton, Beasts of No Nation, Will Smith in Concussion, Michael B. Jordan in Creed, Idris Elba in Beasts and Samuel L. Jackson in The Hateful Eight.
Last year, David Oyelowo, who was praised for his role as the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, was one of the most notable snubs.
All white Oscar nominations are another example of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Like the Rocky Mts. The higher u climb the whiter. — Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) January 14, 2016
Hollywood has a fraudulent image of progressive and liberal politics and policies. We must take direct action to correct this. Talk is cheap — Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) January 14, 2016
Gregg Kilday contributed to this report. |
The World Cup-winning coach is adamant the signs are positive for his side despite another unconvincing display against Ukraine
Vicente del Bosque is confident Spain are not far from returning to the standard which saw them dominate international football.
The European champions sealed a narrow 1-0 win over Ukraine thanks to a goal from Alvaro Morata on Friday but struggled for spells against a stubborn visiting side.
La Roja produced a dismal defence of their World Cup crown in 2014 and question marks remain over their chances of defending the European title they have won twice in a row.
But Del Bosque insists his evolving side are getting close to the kind of form they showed between 2008 and 2012 as he prepares to face Netherlands in Tuesday's friendly.
"It's the logical reaction after what happened at the World Cup," he was quoted as saying by AS. "Before, we were blessed, and now everyone fixes on everything bad rather than good.
"Everything seems bad, but it isn't. We're doing some good things, and some very good things. Spain are not far from what they were.
"We got a vital victory [against Ukraine]. We didn't concede and we were able to stop two good players in [Andriy] Yarmolenko and [Yevhen] Konoplyanka.
"The affection from the fans will recover with wins and good performances. We are the champions of Europe and we want to be in France to defend the title.
"[Tuesday] will be a tough game. The fans will expect something, but we will be able to compete with those fans.
"We all know Spain suffer when we don't have the ball, it's no secret. New people have come in, we are adjusting. Once we improve our attacking game we'll notice a positive change." |
Brendan Rodgers has vowed to analyse how his Liverpool players 'managed' the game during the closing exchanges of their disappointing 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The Reds had looked to be in a commanding position having raced to a three-goal lead in the crucial Barclays Premier League encounter at Selhurst Park.
Joe Allen's first league goal for the club - a header from Steven Gerrard's pin-point cross - broke the deadlock, before quick-fire second-half strikes from Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez made it 3-0.
However, the home side battled back into contention during a frantic 12 minutes at the finish to clinch a point. Damien Delaney's deflected effort handed Palace hope before two from Dwight Gayle completed the comeback.
Afterwards, Rodgers, like the Liverpool players out on the pitch and the supporters in the stands, was visibly crestfallen as he lamented the manner in which his team let three points slip from their grasp.
However, the Northern Irishman also cut a determined figure as he promised his side would learn from their shortcomings, in order to ensure there will be no repeat of such events going forward.
"We gave away the full three points having played so well," Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com from the tunnel following the final whistle in the capital. "But if you defend like that, you're going to concede goals and that was the disappointment.
"We got the three goals and we could have had more, but it's not good enough, the management of the game in those 12 minutes. And that's something going forward that we will need to look at, because you can't do it.
"That's 99 goals we've scored this season, so to come here and be 3-0 up and concede three goals, as a coach, that's what you have to look at. The players gave everything, as they do. But we just didn't defend well enough.
"It's an area that we know we need to be better at. We've improved a lot in many aspects of our game and that will be an area I'm sure we'll look at - and nobody more so than myself."
Watch the video here » |
Comcast sues Vermont over the state's insistence that it actually provide decent internet
Comcast enjoys an effective monopoly over internet service in Vermont and it's about to get an 11-year extension to its permit to use billions of dollars' worth of public rights of way in the state, and in return, the state has asked Comcast to roll out at least 550 miles of new cable for "under-served" Vermonters over the 11 years.
The company isn't having any of it. Despite earning $21 billion/quarter and despite its emphatic belief (backed by aggressive lobbying) that only Comcast -- and not states or towns -- should be allowed to provide internet access to remote areas, the company has sued the State of Vermont, arguing that being told to provide the internet service it has a near-monopoly on violates its First Amendment rights.
In a working, competitive market, Comcast wouldn't need to be prodded and cajoled by the state to actually upgrade and expand its network. But there's simply no organic market pressure forcing Comcast's hand because the U.S. telecom market is painfully, obviously broken. As a result, there has been a growing push to explore more creative public/private partnerships to help bring connectivity to long-neglected areas. But Comcast consistently supports laws hamstringing those efforts too, allowing Comcast to have its cake (not deploy broadband) and eat it too (erecting regulatory barriers preventing others from doing so either).
Comcast Sues Vermont, Insists Having To Expand Broadband Violates Its First Amendment Rights
[Karl Bode/Techdirt]
(Image: Chensiyuan, CC-BY-SA) |
When my dear mother was suffering, I wished she could have swapped her ALS for cancer.
I’m sure she wished so too.
She never said as much and hardly ever complained, but those of us around her thought about it. And we knew how she felt.
I want to be clear that I’m not downplaying cancer in any way. I am simply putting Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis into proper perspective.
Cancer is a ghastly, horrid demon with the sharpest of teeth and burning tentacles that grip your throat and threaten to tear you apart. Cancer may take you slowly, or in a flash. It may drag you for miles over broken glass and acid. It may cause you unimaginable pain. But it will let you fight back.
Cancer may take away just about everything you’ve got, but it probably won’t completely take away your hope. Not until the very end.
And, thanks to much-needed funding and research, cancer is a much weaker demon today than it was even a decade ago when my mother was battling ALS.
On the other hand, ALS has so far been an unknown and underfunded disease. This sort of thing is not exactly party conversation, to be sure. But now, for the first time maybe ever, there is a large and worldwide audience reading articles like this one.
This is why the Ice Bucket Challenge is important. It is raising funds. It is raising awareness. And it is bringing precious hope to people who have none at all.
Better the demon you know and understand
My mother had known cancer and survived it where her brother and sister hadn’t before. She had witnessed the suffering in the family and experienced it firsthand too. Those unfortunate events did nothing to prepare her — or us — for her disease.
ALS means your muscles stop working because your neurons — the cells that control voluntary muscle activity — slowly die. Your muscles gradually become useless, and they waste away from not being used.
The simplest of tasks become uphill struggles. Then, they become Everests. Before long, they are impossible. Walking, talking, eating, breathing — indeed, any kind of motion except for moving your eyes eventually becomes a superpower you once had and now crave with all your heart.
At the same time, your intellect is completely unaffected. Also unaffected is your ability to feel discomfort and pain. Seconds feel like eternities. You spend your last years watching and waiting, powerless, contemplating the full horror of what is and what will soon be.
You have no hope of escape from your chrysalis-like prison.
And then you die.
Sit on your armchair for an hour without moving at all — not even to scratch your itchy nose or change the TV channel — and you will have the very slightest idea of ALS. Spend today in bed, communicating with just a text-to-speech app, and the extreme frustration and isolation ALS patients suffer — despite the most valiant efforts of their loved ones — might then start to sink in. Tomorrow, you will have to use nothing but your eyes to tell your caregivers what you want them to do for you.
The worst thing about ALS, apart from the complete and utter helplessness and hopelessness — there is no cure and precious little treatment — is the fact that few people even knew about it until the Ice Bucket Challenge went viral.
Many doctors are still grossly ill-informed.
Another horror of ALS, apart from the creeping paralysis, is the lack of understanding and compassion that typically go with it.
Ignorance is hell
When my mother started having trouble walking in 2002, her neurologist made her walk the line in his clinic like the cops do when they suspect you’re driving drunk. After she got up from the inevitable fall, he told her she was feeling depressed because I was moving abroad at the time.
“Go home and take your mind off things,” he said. “Maybe take up knitting.”
In the end, she diagnosed herself online. Cold, heartless pixels foretold her gradual descent into torment and eventual death.
ALS affects relatively few people and is not profitable for pharmaceutical companies to research. It doesn’t matter that the disease can strike anyone without warning and devastates patients and caregivers alike. It doesn’t matter that you have the same chance of getting it as I or my mother — hers apparently wasn’t the more-terrifying sort that runs in families and affects one generation after another.
All that matters to the medical research industry is the potential for profit, and so there has been little done to study ALS so far. Even government funding is next to nothing because of budget cuts.
This is why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is not a waste of anything.
What is the price of hope for the hopeless?
The awareness and hope the Ice Bucket Challenge is bringing are worth every last drop of water and every joule of electricity used to turn that water into ice. If you really want to save water, perhaps skip washing your car. Or flush the toilet less often today. If you want to save energy, turn off the heating or air conditioning for a bit. There’s your precious, hope-giving ice bucket.
Let teenagers have their fun, and celebrities and politicians their five minutes in the spotlight. That’s fine too. The result means a lot to the forgotten few.
All that matters — to anyone who has had the misfortune to brush with ALS — is more awareness, more funding, more research, and a glimmer of hope in a desert of torment where there has been almost none of those things so far.
Hopefully, one day, chrysalises will turn into butterflies.
So pour ice water or scorn as you will. That is your choice to make.
Now, it will be a better-informed one. |
Tribal leaders in Iraq’s beleaguered Anbar Province have declared that the Islamic State (IS) militant group is a “common enemy,” Iraqi news sources have reported.
Tribesmen from Fallujah, Ramadi, and the Upper Euphrates region gathered on January 13 for a conference in the provincial capital Ramadi, which has been under heavy assault by Islamic State gunmen for months.
Also attending the conference -- titled “Islamic State has no place among us” -- were government and military officials.
The first day of the conference focused on uniting the efforts of Anbar tribes against the Islamic State group, “so that they can crush IS and retake cities under its control,” Anbar tribal council vice chairman Sheikh Mohammad al-Fahdawi told Iraq’s Al-Shorfa news.
Al-Fahdawi said that on the second day of the conference, on January 14, the Islamic State group would be declared “the common enemy of all tribes.”
The message of unity against Islamic State militants came ahead of comments by Anbar council member Jassim al-Halbusi, who said on January 14 that the local Anbar government and tribes would not prevent any Iraqi forces, regardless of their regional or sectarian origins, from entering Anbar to combat the Islamic State group.
Al-Halbusi said that the “terrorism of the Islamic State group” had boosted the unity of the tribes of Iraq’s Anbar, Diyala and Salahuddin provinces and that Islamic State militants had “united all the Iraqi people to confront this terrorist threat.”
The Anbar council member said that the Iraqi security forces, tribal fighters and the Popular Mobilization militia (Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi) would defeat the Islamic State group and allow those Iraqis who have been displaced to return home.
The pledges of unity in the face of the Islamic State threat also came amid ongoing fierce clashes throughout Anbar Province.
Al-Shafaaq news cited a source in the Fallujah Teaching Hospital on January 14 as saying that 22 people had been killed or wounded in shelling on residential neighborhoods in Fallujah city.
Fallujah, which is 70 kilometers west of Baghdad, fell to Islamic State militants in January, 2014 when Iraqi government forces lost control of the city.
According to Al-Shafaaq, Islamic State militants are positioned mainly in civilian areas in the city “for purposes of camouflage,” a fact that has led to a high civilian casualty count as Iraqi Army forces regularly shell parts of the city to target IS militants.
An RFE/RL correspondent in Iraq reported on January 13 that indiscriminate exchanges of mortar fire between IS gunmen in Fallujah and Iraqi security forces outside the city had led to an increased casualty count. The correspondent cited a source in the Fallujah General Hospital as saying that 13 residents, including three women and three children, had been killed and at least 17 wounded as a result of the clashes.
Fighting also continued in the provincial capital, Ramadi, with intensified clashes in the southern and western areas of the town. Iraqi security sources told an RFE/RL Iraqi Service correspondent that three Islamic State snipers had been killed in the Hawz neighborhood.
-- Joanna Paraszczuk |
Pavlov and his platoon was tasked with the thankless job of retaking the building after the Nazis had seized it. To get a snapshot of what their mindset was like heading in, it's helpful to know that the assignment was considered an extremely dangerous one by the Soviet Army, and that the Soviet Army's slogan at the time was "die for Russia."
Somehow, the slogan failed to raise morale.
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Doing the quick math, Pavlov realized his only chance was to throw his whole platoon into the meat grinder, and hope that the speed with which they passed through left at least a few alive. He lost all but four men in the assault, but eventually his plan worked and they took the building. Had they known they were dealing with a man who considered four people surviving a success, the Nazis probably would have realized that they were in for some serious shit. Having barely enough survivors to outfit a respectable zombie movie, Pavlov could only station one soldier to each floor. However, the drop-dead gorgeous line of sight it offered was enough for them to unleash a mountain of unholy hell against all Fascist comers.
The last face many Nazis ever saw.
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The building was subjected to relentless fire--as were the civilians huddled in its basement--but Pavlov's unit held out long enough to be reinforced by a still-tiny 25 men. Not a wizard, but it was all they needed. His men were given machine guns, rifles, mortars, barbed-wire, anti-tank mines, some body armor and a PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle which Pavlov personally used to snipe a dozen tanks from the rooftop. They basically used what little equipment they had to convert the apartment into a goddamn anti-Nazi death machine that could annihilate whatever came at it from a kilometer in every direction.
As long as everyone conserved their ammo and manned their posts, the only real danger posed to the building came from flamethrowers. Fortunately, with legendary snipers like 19-year-old Anatoly Chekhov on the top floor, this usually resulted in a Viking funeral for the Nazis. |
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- It was four days in a season that at times has felt four years long. But amid the festivities of All-Star weekend in Houston last month, Dwight Howard says he found time to make some very important changes.
"I'm a big thinker," Howard said during a wide-ranging, candid interview after the Los Angeles Lakers practiced Saturday afternoon. "So I just stayed in the hotel and thought about the first half of the season and how I could do better for our team.
"And I just told myself, 'I'm going to commit myself to being better for the second half of the season.' "
That meant cutting sugar completely out of his diet so he could get into the kind of shape he needed to be in to be the Lakers' defensive anchor and run coach Mike D'Antoni's pick-and-roll sets.
That meant acknowledging that he was trying to be somebody he wasn't the first half of the season.
And, yes, it meant admitting to himself that playing alongside the hard-driving Kobe Bryant was something that he needed both personally and professionally.
"It's going to make me a better man and a better player from watching Kobe," Howard said.
Playing in Los Angeles, for a franchise with expectations as high as the Lakers, is "a lot different," Howard said.
"Besides just the expectations," he said. "In games, I mess up and there's somebody in the crowd saying something and I'm ready to snap at 'em. That's not what we're supposed to do.
"But you look at a guy like Kobe and he doesn't care about nothing but going out there and playing hard. That's a lesson a lot of us have to learn -- especially young guys."
Howard said he and Bryant always have had a good relationship, but it's deepened this season, particularly since the All-Star break.
"I told him [Bryant]: 'I'm afraid to miss. When I get out there, I don't want to miss, and I end up missing.' And he was like: 'You know what? Shoot 1,000 jumpshots a day. You're going to miss a lot of those shots. But that's OK. Because you're teaching yourself it's OK to miss.'
"Now I see it. He gets out there and he might miss a couple 3s, but then he'll make nine in a row. You see that and it just kind of gives you more inspiration."
Howard and Bryant are coming off their best two games as Lakers, with the latter becoming the first Laker since Jerry West in 1970 to post back-to-back 40-point, 10-assist games in wins against New Orleans and Toronto, respectively. Howard has dominated defensively while averaging 22 points, 14 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.
In nine games since the All-Star break, Howard is averaging 15.4 points, 14.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game. Moreover, his energy and attitude seem markedly different. |
14 Democrats join Republicans in repealing ranked-choice voting referendum
In a special session of the Maine Legislature on Monday, lawmakers passed a bill to delay and eventually repeal the ranked-choice voting reform legislation passed with a majority of a statewide vote less than a year ago.
“It is truly a sad day in the Maine Legislature,” said Democratic Senator Mike Carpenter of Aroostook County. “I cannot understand why so many lawmakers saw fit to abandon any chance of finding a bipartisan solution that addressed those concerns while still respecting the will of the voters by implementing as much of the ranked-choice voting law as we could.”
Two Democrats, Senators Dawn Hill of York County and Bill Diamond of Cumberland County, cast the deciding votes in favor of the delay-and-repeal bill in the Senate, with Republican Tom Saviello of Franklin County voting against undoing the referendum.
In the House, a bill to bring the law into compliance with an opinion by the state Supreme Court by limiting it to primary and federal contests initially passed, but after the Senate backed repeal fourteen Democrats joined every Republican in voting to undo the law.
Democratic representatives Robert Duchesne of Hudson, Michelle Dunphy of Old Town, Ryan Fectau of Biddeford, Gay Grant of Gardiner, Louis Luchini of Ellsworth, John Martin of Eagle Lake, Roland Martin of Sinclair, David McCrea of Fort Fairfield, Teresa Pierce of Falmouth, Heather Sanborn of Portland, Stephen Stanley of Medway and Ralph Tucker of Brunswick voted with all Republicans present on the measure to recede and concur with the Senate, which passed 73 to 65. All independents present voted against repeal.
“The amended version of LD 1646 also sets in motion a process that is likely to result in the automatic repeal of the entire RCV law in 2021. These attacks on the citizen-initiated law effectively dismiss the people’s voice as expressed less than a year ago,” said League of Women Voters of Maine President Jill Ward and Maine Citizens for Clean Elections Board Chair John Brautigam in a joint statement. “We urge our lawmakers to take whatever steps may be available to them to reverse this decision, and preserve and protect the citizen-approved law.”
The repeal comes after three other referendums passed last November, to raise the minimum wage, legalize marijuana and tax high income earners to fund education, were all modified or undone by the legislature earlier this year.
Democratic candidates for governor were quick to criticize the votes.
“I know that there are good people in the Legislature trying to do the best they can, but what happened with Ranked Choice Voting is a good example of why we need new leadership,” said former state senator Jim Boyle. “Mainers are frustrated. Over and over they have told the politicians that they want solutions: Ranked Choice Voting, expanded access to health care, increased education funding. And over and over politicians have failed to deliver.”
Diane Russell, who played a role in the ranked-choice voting ballot campaign, promised they would begin planning for a “people’s veto” initiative to stop the repeal bill.
Democratic leadership in the House and Senate sounded different notes on the severity of the result.
“Time and again this year, majorities in the Legislature have treated referendum results not as mandates from the public, but as mere suggestions that could be ignored. To the voters of Maine, all I can say is I’m sorry. And all I can promise is that my own will to fight for your voice, and your votes, is not cowed by this defeat — If anything, it is strengthened,” said Senate Democratic Leader Troy Jackson.
“Today’s bill keeps in place important portions of the referendum. And I personally hope that in the coming years, a future legislature and a new governor will implement ranked choice voting in a manner that fully complies with the constitution. Until that day, Democrats vow to continue to fight to pass a constitutional amendment and finally give Mainers the electoral reform they want,” said Democratic Speaker of the House Sara Gideon. |
heha Profile Blog Joined November 2010 Australia 416 Posts Last Edited: 2012-01-18 13:17:18 #1
Does anyone know anything about this? Search thread only reveals a small mention about it in the Moon joins Fnatic thread, if this isn't enough for an OP I'm sorry please close >.<
Edit: From Page 3
On January 18 2012 21:33 iNViCiOUZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
brassmonkeyoe: Why did you leave MVP, Guineapig?
Broadcaster sc2guineapig: i
» have
» interview
» korea
» um
from his stream chat 2 mins ago
from his stream chat 2 mins ago
On January 18 2012 21:48 iNViCiOUZ wrote:
Show nested quote +
brassmonkeyoe: do you plan on joining a foreigner team Guineapig?
Broadcaster sc2guineapig: don't know, i just finding team now
... ...
From Boss on Page 4
MVP_Guineapig has changed his name to SC2_Guineapig, and just confirmed on his stream that he left the team.Does anyone know anything about this? Search thread only reveals a small mention about it in the Moon joins Fnatic thread, if this isn't enough for an OP I'm sorry please close >. On January 18 2012 22:06 FXOpen wrote:
Koreans told me "Guinea pig leave cos he want to go USA".
Random for life! phoneheha
PaPoolee Profile Blog Joined August 2010 United Arab Emirates 659 Posts #2 Wow whats up with all these pros leaving their teams O.O
Grampz Profile Joined November 2010 Andorra 2112 Posts #3 awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, hope a good team picks him up. so much potential
Firesilver Profile Joined December 2010 United Kingdom 1173 Posts #4 Wow, lots of teams loosing players at the moment, best of luck to Guineapig though! Caster at IMBA.tv -- www.twitter.com/IMBAFiresilver -- www.youtube.com/FiresilverTV
QxGRockEr Profile Joined July 2011 United States 191 Posts #5 this guy is goooooooooooooooooooooooood! LighTeSports
Terrakin Profile Blog Joined December 2009 United States 1395 Posts #6 On January 18 2012 18:59 PaPoolee wrote:
Wow whats up with all these pros leaving their teams O.O
a lot of the reason is because they think foreign teams will want them, I do not know for this case of course a lot of the reason is because they think foreign teams will want them, I do not know for this case of course Fame was like a drug. But what was even more like a drug were the drugs.
ChriS-X Profile Joined June 2011 Malaysia 1130 Posts #7 nooooooooooo
heha Profile Blog Joined November 2010 Australia 416 Posts #8 Not sure, on his stream right now, will ask him and see if he's willing to answer after this game
Random for life! phoneheha
zhurai Profile Blog Joined September 2010 United States 5645 Posts #9 he keeps on changing his race too o.O
P -> R -> P -> (R?) -> T -> P
.............. Twitter: @zhurai | Site: http://zhurai.com
Ruscour Profile Blog Joined April 2011 5116 Posts #10 Nooooo GuineaPig, I love you so much, please find another good team ^^
imPermanenCe Profile Joined July 2011 Netherlands 592 Posts #11 I don't hope he's also attracted by foreigner fame, lol. Micro at its best is like an elegant dance between two people trying to achieve a similar end.
heha Profile Blog Joined November 2010 Australia 416 Posts #12 He's back to random <3 Random for life! phoneheha
bokchoi Profile Blog Joined March 2010 Korea (South) 7381 Posts #13 In the Korean reports it said that GuineaPig left because he wants to join a foreign team...
Azera Profile Blog Joined December 2010 3796 Posts #14 Koreans leaving Korean teams to pursue the newly coined "foreigner dream" in e-Sports?
You guys heard it here first. Check out some great music made by TLers - http://bit.ly/QXYhdb , by intrigue. http://bit.ly/RTjpOR , by ohsea.toc.
RuMCaKe Profile Blog Joined November 2010 United States 557 Posts #15 I'll go out on a limb and provide my two cents on why these guys are leaving these teams. As everyone knows, the Koreans are generally more skilled. These players that know they are quite good hear about other foreign players, whom they feel are on the same level as, or better than getting large salaries. They turn around and think to themselves, if player x can get xxxxx number of dollars a year, I deserve xxxxx number of dollars as well and can get it from a foreign team easily. There is a few problems with this. One, there is very few teams that have the money to offer what they are seeking, and when a smaller team does, they basically shaft the rest of their players because every penny they have goes to one player. Another problem is that the foreign players that get great salaries, get paid because there some of the few foreign players that can compete and beat top Korean talent. In my opinion, I think for us foreign players its more exciting to see a foreigner player beating top Korean players than Korean players beating Koreans. In turn, making the foreigner very valuable for their marketability. This is just my opinion. I hope he finds a team soon, he is very talented. twitter.com/RuMCaKeS
snowhell Profile Joined December 2011 United States 57 Posts #16
this is what i call "Korean Manifest Destiny"
MrMercuG Profile Joined March 2011 Netherlands 2021 Posts #17 Wow, another one, someone needs to tell the Korean pros that they will be better players when on Korean teams
joofro92 Profile Joined July 2011 United States 106 Posts #18 Sad to see him leave. Hope he finds a new team soon. One of my favorite random playersSad to see him leave. Hope he finds a new team soon.
Thylacine Profile Joined August 2011 Sweden 882 Posts #19 Whats happening??? The world WILL end in 2012 if this continues....stay in your teams ffs -.- What you're looking at could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare. It isn't. It's the beginning. Introducing Mr. John Valentine, air traveler. His destination: the Twilight Zone...
Sumahi Profile Blog Joined January 2012 Guam 5604 Posts #20 At least it's not another TSL player leaving. Coach Lee can breathe a sigh of relief for a few moments. Startale <3, ST_July <3, HongUn <3, Savior <3, Gretorp <3, Nada <3, Rainbow <3, Ret <3, Squirtle <3, Bomber <3
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Alex (left) and Jonathan
Alex’s Vision
Alex was in a loft in Boston where a colleague of Timothy Leary had given a group of 15-20 people, most of them quite inexperienced, LSD. Alex took a double dose. The social environment of Alex’s trip was extremely chaotic–some people were laughing uncontrollably, some were vomiting, some were groping other people, and there was no one who was managing the chaos. Alex began to have an out-of-body experience, and found himself hovering above the weirdness of what was going on in the loft. On some different plane he saw deities drinking from a pool of “electric milk” a “vast lake of timpani,” of “vibrating energy.” Alex described the vision as follows:
“I had a vision of the group soul of humanity as a perfectly circular pool of intense living light. All around the rim of the milky pool were a complex variety of sexual rites, a metaphor for all social interaction. Translucent Hindu deities swooped over the group taking the excessive energy of the shimmering pool and passing through the group as ecstasy and pain. I saw that the reason we were all brought together was to provide a psychic energy feast for the Gods and Goddesses. I saw my heart as the axis of karmic, earthly, and universal energies, transected by and uniting the polarities of male/female, birth/death, good/evil, and love/hate. To maintain a balance of forces we all fed both Deities and Demons.”
This visionary experience eventually became the masterpiece: Demons and Deities Drinking from the Milky Pool.
( This painting is published in Sacred Mirrors, which is filled with extraordinary images and you can order it through alexgrey.com, Amazon, etc.)
A Vision of the Top of the Food Chain
The demons and deities were feeding from a pool of “vibratory energetic milk” created from human activities of all kinds, though Alex used sexual coupling to represent human activities in general. I suggested that that the couplings were visual shorthand of human energetic transactions of all kinds and Alex responded enthusiastically to that description. Apparently, the deities were drinking from a vibratory pool of the energetic metabolism of the species so that through the pool they were drawing energy from the entire species.
A reductive way of describing Alex’s vision is to say that it represents the very top of the food chain. The painting, however, is much more than that; it is a revelation of the human form transcending the food chain. Transcendence does not mean removing or floating above something. What you transcend is still present, and the transcendent state includes that which is transcended while new vistas of awareness are added. Alex’s paintings are “forbidden seeing” –revelations of what is hidden but that the species desperately needs to see. Conventionally we see ourselves as the top of the food chain, but Demons and Deities… reveals this as a delusion convenient to those who harvest our energy. Another realization about this painting is that it is a classic illustration of the alchemical principle of “as above, so below.” We see the same range, if more polarized, of darkness and light amongst the deities at the cardinal points of the mandala as we do in the human couplings that form the perimeter. And there was also a similar dark/light range in the chaotic loft where some people were acting out dark compulsions while Alex was receiving this transcendent vision.
Sexual Chi as Food Source
Alex’s artistic decision to represent all human activities by a range of sexual couplings was no random choice. Sexual chi is a potent energetic food that can be harvested by human parasites and predators and possibly other types of parasites and predators. Orgasms can be viewed as energetic flowers blossoming in the collective human energy field. The couplings are arranged in a kind of circular spectrum from loving couplings to atavistic, sadistic-looking couplings. Benevolent entities appear to be feeding off the energy of the loving couplings and demonic entities, one of which looks like a devouring vagina, are feeding off of the degraded (sex as a metaphor for power) couplings. Orgasms, which are energetic eruptions into, and interpenetrations with, the collective human field, vary from the ecstatic unions of loving soulmates to the sadistic ejaculations of rapists. The couplings that Alex depicts in this image can be viewed as a circular spectrum of these possibilities oriented to the cardinal points of a mandala where there are also associated deities.
A Carnival of Lost Souls
The background of Alex’s vision is also interesting and instructive. He was in a chaotic boundary-dissolving experience with a group of people who were predominantly strangers. Socially dense environments of strangers and substances mixing together are likely to default to lowest-common-denominator factors of social parasitism/sexual predation/chaotic acting out of fragmented personalities-what I sometimes call a carnival of lost souls. Everything depends on who are the particular people in a group that is having a boundary-dissolving experience or ritual. Naïve people frequently forget this. Such people think the ritual is what matters and take all comers, but this can be a disaster! Generally, I think it unwise to have boundary- dissolving experiences (such as sex and/or hallucinogenic trips) with people you don’t know and wouldn’t trust with your life, because you are trusting your life with them. There are, of course, exceptions to everything and a visionary as great as Alex Grey was able to rise above the experience and receive a powerful vision about human energy and the entities that harvest it. (Though I have a feeling he wouldn’t choose to be in another such chaotic situation.) Otherwise, I caution people about doing things such as going to a rave with a sketchy vibe redolent of prowling sexual agendas (in other words, almost any rave) and opening themselves to the toxic energy by taking a boundary-dissolving substance. Unless you want to internalize a carnival of lost souls it is probably unwise to blow yourself wide open in an setting of trance-inducing music/lighting and stoned people, many of them on the prowl for parasitic sexual encounters.
An Ancient Gnostic Text on Parasitic Abduction
The power of this image is that it shows those who harvest our energy, and yet at the center of the image is the human empowerment that occurs as we awaken to the food chain. The ancient Gnostics had similar visions and called the harvesting deities the “Archons” (see: A Gnostic View of Mind Parasites). Also, notice how closely the scenario described below parallels a modern alien abduction experience.
(The following ancient Gnostic text is excerpted from the superb metahistory.org website. Here’s the link to the full article.)
From The First Apocalypse of James (NHC V, 3), a revelation dialogue in which an unnamed teacher (the “Lord” or “Master”) confers secret knowledge upon a Gnostic named James:
The Master said: James, behold, I shall reveal to you the path of your redemption. Whenever you are seized and you undergo death-pangs (mortal fear), a multitude of Archons may turn on you, thinking they can capture you. And in particular, three of them will seize you, those who pose as toll collectors. Not only do they demand toll, but they take away souls by theft.
Now, when you come under their power, one of them who is the overseer will say to you: “Who are you, and where are you from?”
You are then to say to him, “I am a child of humanity and I am from the Source.”
He will then say to you, “What sort of child are you, and to what Source do you belong?”
You are to say to him, “I am from the pre-existent Source, and I am the offspring of the Source.”
Then he will say to you, “Why were you sent out from the Source?”
Then you are to say to him, “I came from the Pre-existent One so that I might behold those of my kind and those who are alien.”
And he will say to you, “What are these alien beings?”
You are to say to him: “They are not entirely alien, for they are from the Fallen Sophia (Achamoth), the female divinity who produced them when she brought the human race down from the Source, the realm of the Pre-Existent One. So they are not entirely alien, but they are our kin. They are indeed so because she who is their matrix, Sophia Achamoth, is from the Source. At the same time they are alien because Sophia did not combine with her like in the Source (her divine male counterpart), when she produced them.”
When he also says to you, “Where will you go now?”
You are to say to him, “To the place when I came, the Source, there shall I return.” And if you respond in this manner, you will escape their attacks.
(NHC V, 3. 33 – 34: 1- 25. Translation from NHLE 1990, pp. 265-6 and Kurt Rudolf, Gnosis, p. 174-5.)
What I find amazing is that Alex, in creating this painting, has followed the instructions of the unnamed Gnostic teacher to perfection. The image shows that which is human and alien. It also shows that man is from the source and at the center. This is the secret of our transcendence of the food chain according to the Gnostics. The Archons are masters of deception who manipulate by encouraging us to give away our power to external saviors and authorities. We become like the living dead when they succeed, like Tolkien’s Ring Wraiths–withered, obsessed beings forever craving but unable to reach “The Precious,” which could take the form of an object or person of desire, or a fanatic ideology/fundamentalist religion that enslaves us to its version of salvation. When the deceivers succeed we get, for example, possessed suicide bombers hungry for death and their seventy-two virgins in paradise. The way out of this deceptive matrix is the recognition that we are of the source, of the source of nourishment. An incompleteness is revealed in the Archons because they must depend on us for their derivative nourishment. Clearly Alex was brought out from the source to behold such things and share with us his revelations.
A way out of the bondage of deception is the path of wholeness that is our birthright. The principle of androgyny, the inner alchemical marriage of yin and yang, masculine and feminine, releases us from an enslaved relation to the matrix. I have written about this in Casting Precious into the Cracks of Doom–Androgyny, Alchemy, Evolution and the One Ring
Two Other Related Alex Grey Paintings
Two of Alex’s paintings in his book Transfigurations depict what seem to me a mind parasite attack and the human condition of bondage and mind parasite insertion. In the painting entitled Despair we see a figure with his head down being attacked by small entities equipped with stingers and insectile parts while inside the mouth of some larger deity. The points of attack seem to correspond to chakras. In Self-Hate/Endarkenment we see humans held in shackles and an entity appears to be stinging the figure in the foreground in his third eye. To me it seems as if it is inserting its mind or will into this human victim.
Addendum:
After I wrote the above, on August 14 of 2006, Alex joined me for thirty minutes of a three hour interview with George Noory of Coast-to-Coast AM. After he recounted the LSD experience I asked Alex if he thought that the parasitic beings had influenced the chaotic behavior he witnessed in the loft.
Alex replied:
“At one point I did feel that this entire thing has been orchestrated by these beings, that our coming together was not an accident… When we feel influenced to do certain things, or intuitively guided to do certain things- many times we may seek guidance from a higher realm-In the same way one can be vulnerable to the influence from beings from a lower realm.”
Alex then described another mind parasite experience he had under the influence of LSD:
“I remember one time being on one of the most harrowing LSD adventures I ever had. I felt like I was a flapper in the wheel of fortune and every realm of being and dimension was one of these slots that the little flapper was open to. And in one such dimension that was flying by I saw this really strange insect-like creature lunge out at me. After I came back from this trip, and for days afterward, I was really feeling out of sorts and very energetically drained. And I realized that this thing had jumped out and was probably still embedded in my aura. So I did a whole cleansing to draw all the energy back into the heart and then expand it out from the heart to banish this being.” |
It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.
-Henry Ford
The accumulation and structure of finance capital
Before we start, we must note that the process accumulation of industrial and financial capital differs in each case. Industrial capital’s accumulation can be captured by the synthetic circuit M – C – M+MΔ, where M is money, C is commodity, M+ΔM the initial sum of money plus a profit. Financial capital operates differently: here we have no commodity mediating between our initial capital and the revenue of ventures. Here, accumulation is produced by employing money in financial markets with the objective of producing a bigger quantity of money in very little time. In this case, our circuit becomes M – M+ΔM.
Financial enterprises
The ways in which financial enterprises present themselves is manifold.
On the one hand, we have big companies, predominantly in the bank and insurance sectors, which are able to control hundreds of other companies, a clear example of finance capital in the classical definition Hilferding used: “capital at the disposition of the banks which is used by the industrialists”. An entire network of these control most of the global economy, as pointed out in another article too. Examples of these are bank holding companies, investment banks, etc.
On the other hand, we have institutional investors, such as pension funds, hedge funds, common investment funds, etc. These investors are one of the largest components of the global economy today, commanding more than 60 trillion dollars, and their importance is shown by the fact their investment strategies influence (and in other cases, determine) both corporations, banks and states. They control more than half of the stock markets.
Financial markets
Financial markets can themselves be subdivided in regulated finance and shadow finance. Regulated finance is the one we’re all familiar with: credit and stocks. Despite commanding great sums, it represents a small part of global finance, as shadow finance is the dominant activity in this sector of the economy, commanding over hundreds of trillions of dollars. In the realm of shadow banking operate thousands of companies constituted by banks with the objective of throwing off-balance sheet assets that should be instead included, and mediators, who sell complex obligations to institutional investors and public agencies. Shadow and regulated banking are linked to each other by daily exchanges of money and assets.
A substantial amount is deposited in banks. To give some numbers, it is estimated that pension funds worldwide hold over 20 trillion dollars in assets, according to Morgan Stanley, and every day they buy and sell hundreds of thousands of obligations and shares emitted by the financial system. It is impossible for financial and industrial corporations alike to ignore the demands of institutional investors. At the same time, hedge funds buy shares and entire companies with money lent by banks in quantities that surpass many times the actual capital owned by these funds. Interests leveled on these loans. By 2007, value of global financial assets was 194 trillion dollars, equal to 343 percent of the global GDP, and it’s predicted that by 2020 they will reach 317 trillion dollars. Over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, the ones exchanged directly between privates and outside of the stock market, went from 92 in 1997 to 683 trillion dollars in 2007, 1260% of the global GDP in 2007. The many kinds of debt securities and their numbers are usually aggregated in single collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).
Derivatives
Derivatives spring etymologically from “derivation”, which means the value of the derivative comes from that of a represented entity, which is a commodity. A derivative is a contract in which one part agrees to sell commodities, and the other to buy them, at a given future time at an agreed price. Derivatives provide to both parties confidence that the price for the commodity will not change in time, so naturally they are favored types of financial instruments.
With the rise of neoliberalism and the abolition of the gold standard in the 70s, derivatives underwent qualitative changes, becoming highly speculative instruments. Hand in hand came their rapid increase in numbers, making them one of the main reasons for the recent instabilities in the financial system as a whole. The qualitative change of derivatives from instruments of guaranteeing an exchange to instruments of speculation happened with the outspread of the underlyings of derivatives to many and various forms, such as interest rates, the value of money, stock market indexes, prices of commodities, etc.
In 2007, Citygroup’s derivatives were 24 times their assets, Bank of America’s were 20 times their assets, Goldman Sachs’ derivatives were 250 times the value of their assets (they became 330 times the value of their assets in 2009). These securities change hands all the time, from the original issuer to banks to institutional investors to public agencies etc., each of which, at some point, draw a profit from these exchanges. At the end of the chain, the total profit generated is times the original value of the physical commodities the derivatives represented.
An important type of derivative is the credit default swap (CDS), certificates that protect creditors from the risk of insolvency, making them de facto a form of insurance. During the 2008 crisis, 57 trillion dollars worth of CDSs were issued: the global economy employed a year’s global GDP to save itself from collapse.
Economic tendencies of finance capital?
1 – While industrial capital mainly draws its finances from its own profits and credit, finance capital operates and accumulates inside its own borders.
2 – Financial capital’s profits come less and less from loans to productive capital. In the US, the assets created through loans to commercial or industrial activities of the 18 largest banks went from 20.6% of total assets in 1992 to 10.8% in 2008. At the same time, off-balance sheet activities have been constantly increasing, going from 7% of total assets in 1980 to 44% in 2007.
3 – The concentration and centralization of capital happen in finances too. In 2007, the number of banks was 7,000, half of what they were in 1992, and the assets of the largest 18 were 60% of all American assets. Out of 30,000 pension funds globally, the largest 300 controlled 60% of all the capital (12 trillions of 17.5 trillions). The 10 largest financial institutions of the world controlled half of the world’s capital accumulated in investment funds (13 trillion of 26 trillion).
4 – The rise of institutional investors pushed banks to create their own networks of investment funds. Hence, today the largest Euroamerican banks control hundreds of investment funds.
5 – The pressure from institutional investors forces large enterprises, of which the institutional investors control shares, requires rates of profit usually 4 or 5 times higher than GDP growth (often around 15%). This creates a tendential diversion of productive capital’s profit from investment, research and development, wages, etc. to financial investments, contributing to the general stagnation we see in Transatlantic (European and American) imperialist economies.
6 – Finance capital gives rise to speculation and arbitrage (80% of around 120 trillion dollars annually exchanges in the stock market are entirely speculative). We hence see a rise in merchant practices in finances, having investors buy securities at a low price and selling them at a higher price.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill banning almost 160 specific military-style assault weapons Thursday after a heated exchange between senators about the scope of the Second Amendment.
The Democratic-controlled panel approved the bill on a party-line vote of 10 to eight -- all Democrats voted yes, all Republicans voted no.
In addition to banning various rifles, shotguns and parts, the bill would limit the size of ammunition clips to 10 rounds.
The committee's vote Thursday capped a week of debate and the passage of four Democratic-backed proposals to limit gun violence in America, all introduced in the wake of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. that left 20 elementary school children dead -- and occurred three months ago Thursday.
In addition to the assault weapons ban, the committee approved a bill making the practice of illegally purchasing firearms for someone else a federal crime for the first time, and measures to expand the nation’s gun background check system and a Justice Department program that funds school security plans.
With the committee's work completed, debate over gun control now shifts to the full Senate, where the chamber's divide between liberal, urban-state Democrats and Republicans and moderate Democrats weary of infringing on the rights of gun owners makes passage of the four proposals more difficult.
Despite the odds, Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) told reporters Thursday, "I wanted to get these four bills to the floor."
The bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), admitted the bill's likely defeat: “The road is uphill. I fully understand that.”
But Feinstein, who climbed the political ranks after the assassination of two San Francisco City Hall colleagues, said she remains determined to ban the weapons, because, “I cannot get out of my mind trying to find the pulse in someone and putting my fingers in a bullet hole.”
During the hearing, Feinstein locked into an emotional and heated exchange with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who raised concerns about how the bill might chip away at constitutional protections for gun owners.
Cruz, a lawyer by training and the former solicitor general of Texas, began his comments during the hearing by reviewing the historic origins of the Bill of Rights and then argued that potential restrictions placed on firearms would be like placing restrictions on the First Amendment right to free speech and assembly, or the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Speaking directly to Feinstein, Cruz asked: "Would she deem it consistent with the Bill of Rights for Congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing to the Second Amendment, in the context of the First or Fourth Amendment?"
Visibly angry, Feinstein shot back.
“I’m not a sixth grader," she said. "I’m not a lawyer, but after 20 years I’ve been up close and personal with the Constitution. I have great respect for it."
"It’s fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution, I appreciate it," she continued, staring at Cruz, who glared back at her. "Just know that I’ve been here a long time, I’ve passed a number of bills, I’ve studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well-educated and I thank you for the lecture. Incidentally, this [bill] does not prohibit -- you use the word prohibit -- it exempts 2,271 weapons. Isn’t that enough for the people of the United States? Do they need a bazooka? Do they need other high-powered weapons that other people use in close combat? I don’t think so. So I come from a different place than you do."
As Feinstein spoke, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and other Democrats also stared at Cruz, nodding in agreement with her. She apologized to Cruz for her heated response as the hearing concluded: "You sort of got my dander up," she said.
Cruz said that he respected Feinstein's work on the issue, but said that the Senate's deliberations on gun control "should be driven by facts and the data and by the Constitution, not by passion."
He later told reporters that "it's unfortunate that a question about the constitution provokes such a strenuous response."
Before approving the bill, the committee rejected along party lines four amendments from Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) that would have permitted exceptions to the assault weapons ban for residents of counties along the U.S.-Mexican border, residents of rural counties and victims of domestic or sexual violence.
Feinstein said the amendments were a "way to create a nip and a tuck" on her proposed ban.
Follow Ed O'Keefe on Twitter: @edatpost |
In numerous studies, diversity — both inherent (e.g., race, gender) and acquired (experience, cultural background) — is associated with business success. For example, a 2009 analysis of 506 companies found that firms with more racial or gender diversity had more sales revenue, more customers, and greater profits. A 2016 analysis of more than 20,000 firms in 91 countries found that companies with more female executives were more profitable. In a 2011 study management teams exhibiting a wider range of educational and work backgrounds produced more-innovative products. These are mere correlations, but laboratory experiments have also shown the direct effect of diversity on team performance. In a 2006 study of mock juries, for example, when black people were added to the jury, white jurors processed the case facts more carefully and deliberated more effectively.
Under increasing scrutiny, and mindful of the benefits of diversity on the bottom line, many companies are trying to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce. Success has so far been marginal. With so much at stake, why aren’t these companies making more headway? One reason could be that, despite the evidence about their results, homogenous teams just feel more effective. In addition, people believe that diverse teams breed greater conflict than they actually do. Bringing these biases to light may enable ways to combat them.
Homogenous Teams Feel Easier — but Easy Is Bad for Performance
A revealing 2009 study of fraternity and sorority members published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin offers a remarkable window into the workings of diverse and homogenous teams. Fraternity and sorority membership conveys a powerful group identity, much like political or religious affiliation, and consequently can create a strong sense of similarity (or dissimilarity) with others. In the experiment, teams were asked to solve a murder mystery. First, students were individually given 20 minutes to study the clues and pinpoint the likely suspect. Next, they were placed into teams of three with fellow members from the same Greek house and given 20 minutes to discuss the case together and provide a joint answer. Five minutes into the discussion, however, they were joined by a fourth team member, someone from either their own house or another one.
After collectively naming their suspect, members individually rated aspects of the discussion. More diverse groups — those joined by someone from outside their own fraternity or sorority — judged the team interactions to be less effective than did groups joined by insiders. They were also less confident in their final decisions.
Intuitively, this makes sense: On a homogenous team, people readily understand each other and collaboration flows smoothly, giving the sensation of progress. Dealing with outsiders causes friction, which feels counterproductive.
But in this case their judgments were starkly wrong. Among groups where all three original members didn’t already know the correct answer, adding an outsider versus an insider actually doubled their chance of arriving at the correct solution, from 29% to 60%. The work felt harder, but the outcomes were better.
In fact, working on diverse teams produces better outcomes precisely because it’s harder.
This idea goes against many people’s intuitions. There’s a common bias that psychologists call the fluency heuristic: We prefer information that is processed more easily, or fluently, judging it to be truer or more beautiful. The effect partially explains that we gain greater appreciation of songs or paintings when they become familiar because they’re more easily processed. The fluency heuristic leads many people to study incorrectly; they often simply reread the material. The information becomes more familiar without much effort, and so they feel that they’re learning. But in a 2011 study students performed better on a test after studying the text once and then trying to recall as much as they could, a strenuous task, than they did by repeatedly going over the text, even though they predicted that rereading was the key to learning. Similarly, confronting opinions you disagree with might not seem like the quickest path to getting things done, but working in groups can be like studying (or exercising): no pain, no gain.
Diversity Can Increase Conflict, but Not as Much as You Think
There’s another bias at play here, too: A 2015 paper in Organization Science, summarized in this HBR article, suggests that people overestimate the amount of conflict that actually exists on diverse teams. In one study MBA students were asked to imagine that they were comanaging several four-person teams of interns, and that one team had asked for additional resources. They saw photos of the members, depicting four white men, four black men, or two of each. They then read a transcript of a discussion among the group and rated the team on various factors. Teams of four white men and four black men were seen as having equal levels of relationship conflict, but the diverse teams were seen as having more relationship conflict than the homogeneous teams, even though everyone had read the same transcript. Further, this perception of greater conflict made the participants less likely to provide the additional resources the mixed group had requested.
This type of unconscious bias can clearly have a significant impact not only on hiring but also on the ways in which leaders create teams and encourage collaboration. Without realizing it, they may be reluctant to add diversity to a team or to assign colleagues with different backgrounds to work together, in response to an (overblown) fear of the tension and difficulty that could ensue.
Capitalizing on Diversity Means Highlighting — Not Hiding from — Differences
It’s critical to note that simply making a team more diverse is not necessarily enough to see the benefits. Diverse teams must find ways to work together productively, and often the best ways of working may seem counterintuitive.
For example, research suggests that when people with different perspectives are brought together, people may seek to gloss over those differences in the interest of group harmony — when, in fact, differences should actually be taken seriously and highlighted. In a 2012 study teams of three were tasked with generating a creative business plan for a theater. On some teams, members were assigned distinct roles (Artistic, Event, and Finance Manager), thus increasing diversity of viewpoints. These teams came up with better ideas than homogeneous teams — but only if they’d been explicitly told to try to take the perspectives of their teammates. They had to face up to their differences in order to benefit from them.
Another way to take advantage of differing viewpoints is to highlight the value of multiculturalism. One 2009 study looked at support for multiculturalism versus colorblindness in nearly 4,000 employees in 18 work units at a large U.S. health care firm. The more that workers agreed that “employees should recognize and celebrate racial and ethnic differences” and the more they disagreed that “employees should downplay their racial and ethnic differences,” the more that minorities in those units reported feeling engaged in their work. In another 2009 study, pairs of students, one white and one Aboriginal Canadian, were teamed up for a conversation. Prefacing the meeting with a message supporting multiculturalism (versus no message) made the meeting more positive, while a message endorsing colorblindness led whites to turn negative toward their minority partners.
Of course, diversity is not always a panacea, and it can at times produce corrosive conflict. When that happens, it is often because team members are bringing different values, rather than different ideas, to the table. It’s difficult to overcome differences in values, no matter how well-intentioned colleagues may be. In addition, diversity’s benefits are rarely obtained without a strong sense of team and organizational inclusion. Only when people feel welcome and respected will the team be able to benefit from their unique perspective and experience.
The research presented here suggests that diversity initiatives may not be successful until we do more to address the way diversity is perceived. When leaders see it first and foremost as a social obligation that makes things difficult and slows progress, they will likely make decisions that undermine the organization’s diversity goals. They may also, at least unconsciously, try to downplay the substance of existing diversity on their teams. If, however, leaders can recognize that the debate and unfamiliarity that come with diversity is an important catalyst for creativity and deep thinking, they will invite it and celebrate it. And very likely, the organization — and everyone in it — will reap the rewards. |
Access to land is one of the key obstacles in our path towards true sustainability, and without a radical shift in land policies, a moneyless society will remain what it is today – a philosophical one.
But if you do want to become communally-sufficient and moneyless, you'll first need access to a piece of land. While this is not a problem in the Hammersmith of William Morris's News from Nowhere or Thomas More's Utopia, within today's society it usually means the land needs to be bought, even if just as a one-off payment to free a piece of enslaved land from the wage economy. But there are exceptions.
In the 1950s, Vinoba Bhave set up a huge movement called Bhoodan (meaning land-gift) in India, to which ordinary landowners donated 5m acres – an area the size of Wales – to be put back into common ownership so that peasants could live and farm on it. While western culture makes such a movement unlikely, it's never impossible. For example, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Landshare project matches those who have land but need help with it with those who can help but have no access to land. And it's growing rapidly.
So it is obviously difficult, if not impossible, to currently talk about building a home for free. There are huge issues concerning planning permission and council tax. For planning, campaigner Simon Fairlie's Chapter 7 has tons of great free advice, and eco building organisations such as Lammas are a huge source of inspiration. For council tax, work activists such as John Harris and Lawful Rebellion provide a fascinating resource to draw on. Council tax is effectively a tax on being alive – many countries, such as Ireland, use other more equitable systems.
Next, you can then think about building your own low-impact dwelling. Theoretically, this can be done for free using human labour and local materials – like the old thatch, stone and wood cottages of pre-industrialised times – or by utilising the masses of stuff we've already produced. Here is a short selection of the many options open to you, some of which can be built without costing any money:
Earthships: The brainchild of Michael Reynolds, these are a type of passive solar home, made from recycled and natural local materials. Earthships can be self-sufficient in food, water and energy. They incorporate fantastic design – glass bottles are even used to create stunning lighting effects – making them visually beautiful to boot.
Underground houses: Subterranean homes maximise space in small areas, the excavated materials can be used in the building and they are wind-, fire- and earthquake-resistant. One of the greatest benefits of underground homes is their energy efficiency, as the mass of soil or rock (the geothermal mass) surrounding the house stores heat and insulates the house, keeping it warm in winter and cool in the summer.
Roundhouses: Circular houses, with a frame of wooden posts covered by wattle-and-daub or cordwood panels finished with cob. Their conical roofs are usually either thatched or have a reciprocal frame green roof.
Straw bale homes: Houses built using straw bales to form the walls of the building. In the UK, the bales can be made of wheat, rye or oat straw. They are also naturally well insulated.
Of course, doing all this completely for free is fairly unrealistic today. But even if you choose the relatively upmarket Earthship on a few acres, it at least means you will only have to spend a fraction of your time in the money economy paying the bank back money.
Ultimately, I believe it is a fundamental human right for every person to have the opportunity to live without money if that is their belief, as stated under Article 9: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion of The European Convention on Human Rights. That's why I will soon be campaigning with the Freeconomy Community for the right to live moneyless, allowing people to choose to pay their taxes and National insurance contributions from tithes and labour, or whatever alternative legal tender the government decides to offer. Watch this space.
• Mark Boyle is the founder of the Freeconomy Community and has lived moneyless for the last 19 months. His book, The Moneyless Man, is out now, published by Oneworld – sales from the book will go to a charitable trust for the Freeconomy Community. This is the last in the Guardian's Moneyless Man series |
The New World Disorder is a Reptilian Disorder designed to destroy what ENKI has created from the Appa Beast with the Divine Anunnaki Mothers and with the Clay of the Earth.
The Reptiles call Humanity Beasts because you comprise of Carbon Atoms,6 Neutrons, 6 Electrons , 6 Protons , 666, the Atomic structure of the Beast , the Adamu,a Carbon Based Life Form.
A Worker & Builder Group of the Creator.
You are Marvalous Builders and Highly Creative.
Humans are Carbon Based Lifeforms, while the Reptilians are Copper based.
Sure Reptilians are stronger and live longer than Humans but they too are far from perfect, they have shortfalls, they lack Empathy, they lack compassion, they lack Passion, they lack Free will because they are slaves to their own hierarchy, they lack Love and are very heartless Beings and only know Domination and percieve Compassion as a Weakness and a Joke.
They will never evolve to Higher Levels of Existence because they do not have what the Falcon Masters have, the Gift of the Akhu (The Divine Feather).
Humanity on the other hand has been designed to be Unlimited in their Potential, Yes Unlimited , created by the Ultimate GENESIS Sciences of the Heavens.
The Reptilian Vaccines will never alter the DNA of Adamu, the Reptilian Mind Control will never overcome DESTINY.
Hear these words for these words are Eternal, Eternal.
The CENTRAL BANKING SYSTEM is a REPTILIAN SYSTEM, The Dredds ( Jamaica ) call it the Babylon System, Correct it is an Ancient System, a System not only being used here on Earth but on other Planets in other Star Systems.
The CENTRAL BANKING SYSTEM is EXTRATERRESTRIAL and it is a PRIVATE ORGANIZATION that Holds Governments & Kings to Account.
The CENTRAL BANKS fund Wars , they fund Heroes & Enemies alike, yes they Fund$$$ both sides.
No Nation can go to WAR without Funding$$$ from these CENTRAL BANKS.
Governments that over extend their Budgets because of reckless Spending $$$ , can Increase TAXES from the Beast, but when they are Bankrupt they will go to the CENTRAL BANKS for LOANS and to SECURE these LOANS with the EXTRATERRESTRIALS they hold the Nations Sovereignty and the Lives of all Humans / Adamu as collateral which is Treason.
Humans must hold their respective Governments to Account for Transparency & Accountability.
When Brave Kings say no to the Extraterrestrial Central Banks these Reptilian Bankers will Fund $$$ a Kings Enemy to OVERTHROW a NATION that DEFIES the will of the EXTRATERRESTRIAL CENTRAL BANKS.
Like IRAQ , LIBYA , SYRIA , IRAN ETC.
Mercenary Groups like the Taliban , Alqeada, ISIS is nothing more than a Creation of these Alien backed Central Banks.
Using Terror to take away Liberties from Humanity.
Sending Cells to Shopping Malls (like in Africa recently) to Murder Innocent Civilians to provoke a response of Surrender from Humanity, meanwhile make the Police stand down while these Mercenaries Butcher Men , Women & Children.
Certain Cowardly Government are complicit with this Infamy.
They use the Media to Decieve the Masses into Submission.
The News Media has alot of Blood in it's hands also.
Yes the Non-Terrestrial Officers (Extraterrestrials) hide in Plain site, among Adamu,they look like Humans but are not from Planet Earth.
Now this is why Adamu always thinks about Money$$$ , because it is Money $$$ that Controls the Lives of Billions of People.It truly is Social Engineering at it's best, creating Ignorance & Indifference among the Children of the Son (Adam).
You think about Money because it is this that makes you assume your Survival.
The Founding Fathers of the United States knew that the Greatest Enemy to Freedom was not a Standing Army at their Doors but a Banker setting shop in their Nation.
Yes it is the Bankers that are the REAL THREAT TO THE PEOPLE OF THE PLANET.
Bankers Print Money out of Nothing and charge Interest %%%% on Loans, thus Enslaving Adamu and Nations.
An Alien Banker once said " Give me control of a Nation's Money and I care not who makes it's Laws".
Once a Private Organization has control of a Nations Money this Organization can Bribe it's way to Global Domination and the Enslavement & Murder of Untold Millions of People.
These People Funded Hitler and his Third Reich, but even Hitler who was Brainwashed by a Rebel Pleadian Group called the Giza Intelligence regarding the Master Race , knew that he too was a Pawn for the Reptiles.
When he finally woke up he lost the War to take the Planet for Germany. He set up his cousin in the Bunker and lived the rest of his Life in South America up to the ripe age of 83.
And at this time being 2014 , these Reptiles have control but they will lose their Control because the Children of the Son are waking up to these Reptilian Tyrants.
Starseeds are the Majority, the Children being Born at this time are Starseed, this is why the Reptilian Vaccine Program has been increased to literally destroy the DNA of these Star Souls who are coming through the Womb of Earth Mothers to lift up the Vibration of this Planet.
Say no to Abortion and Protect the Children & Eldery for the Reptilian System is killing them.
But we the Ancient Ones will see to it that these So called Satanists fail in their efforts to destroy what EA has created.
They do not serve the True Brotherhood of the SNAKE. But serve different Masters, Reptilian Overlords that kicked out the Annunaki, they serve the Orion Group.
The Alien Greys run the United Nations and Dictate Global policy.
Lies like Global Warming & Climate Change which they themselves are creating with Chemtrail Aerosol Spraying with Planes.
So I ask the People of Earth , do you want to become Robots?, or do you want to be Free Beings able to Chart your own Destiny.
PASSION , DESTINY & FREE WILL , FOREVER & EVER.
A FRIEND. |
THE owners of a shop linked to legal highs which was shut by police this month have opened a new store in Aberdeen city centre.
Harminasion on George Street was the first outlet in Scotland to be closed down by police after receiving an antisocial behaviour closure order, granted by the city’s sheriff court.
But the Evening Express can today reveal the owners of the George Street store have opened up a new shop under the same name.
The business still maintains it is selling “research chemicals” despite concerns from members of the public that it is selling legal highs.
Harminasion has opened another shop on King Street, across from the city’s Arts Centre at the former Jurgita Hair and Beauty store.
One of the partners in the business Scott Allan today said more shops will continue to open in the city if his store on King Street closes down.
He said: “If the police want to shut us down again, they can go and start their investigation to get us an ASBO but we will open somewhere else because we are entitled to.
“I don’t know why the police are picking on us.
“They still have two to three months before they can do anything to us and by that time the George Street shop will be open again.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We’re aware of the new premises and are monitoring the situation.” |
Story highlights The FBI director said the investigation was carried out without giving Clinton special treatment
"You can call us wrong, but don't call us weasels," James Comey said
(CNN) FBI Director James Comey's agents aren't weasels, he told lawmakers Wednesday.
Comey was defending his agency's actions regarding a federal probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The investigation drew criticism from Republicans for not recommending charges against the Democratic presidential nominee.
"You can call us wrong, but don't call us weasels," he told the House Judiciary Committee. "We are not weasels, we are honest people and we did this in that way."
He added that the investigation was carried out without giving Clinton special treatment, with the bureau adhering to strict policies while conducting the probe.
Read More |
With time running out on his first 100 days in office and no success yet on the Obamacare repeal he promised, President Trump seems eager to turn attention to one of his favorite topics: Tax cuts.
On Twitter this weekend, he promised "Big TAX REFORM AND TAX REDUCTION will be announced next Wednesday."
Of course, big tax cuts can create big deficits unless other measures are taken to offset the revenue loss.
This apparently will not be a problem with Trump's plan. "The tax plan will pay for itself with economic growth," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a White House press briefing Monday.
Mnuchin noted that the administration's goal is to achieve "sustained growth of 3% or higher" through its mix of economic and tax policies.
The White House will rely on what policy wonks call "dynamic scoring" to deliver the good news. A score is an analysis of a proposal's budgetary cost and how it would affect different income groups. How much revenue will it bring in? Who benefits the most? And, in the case of dynamic scoring, how much will it boost, or hurt, economic growth?
Dynamic scoring assumes tax cuts generate growth. And that growth, in turn, will generate more revenue. Conventional scoring, by contrast, assumes people's behavior changes in response to tax cuts but doesn't factor in how that change affects the size of the economy, explained Mark Mazur, director of the Tax Policy Center.
But the White House may be disappointed when third-party experts analyze Trump's proposal. That's because they're likely to conclude it will add to the nation's debt unless there are other revenue raising measures in the plan.
Related: Tax reform decoded: What you need to know
No one disagrees with the Trump administration's basic premise that tax cuts can stimulate growth. But they will disagree about how much growth will result, and therefore how much of the plan's revenue loss will be offset.
"This idea that [Trump's plan] can be paid for even mostly by growth doesn't equate with any economic analysis or theory. [It's] fantasy math," said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Putting a finer point on it, "if they want to assume 3% to 4% growth, the plan may pay for itself on paper. But it won't pay for itself in reality," Goldwein said.
Of course, Goldwein isn't the official fiscal scorekeeper for the bills Congress votes on. That's the job of the Congressional Budget Office.
Related: Why tax reform and tax cuts are not the same thing
So where does the CBO stand on the issue: Can tax cuts pay for themselves?
"No, the evidence is that tax cuts do not pay for themselves," CBO director Keith Hall said in response to that question back in the summer of 2015. Hall was chosen by Republicans to head up the respected, nonpartisan agency.
At best, tax cuts pay for a fraction of their cost, Goldwein said, citing CBO estimates.
How big of a fraction may differ depending on the dynamic model used.
The Treasury Department has macroeconomic models that might be used for dynamic scoring, said Mazur, a former assistant secretary for tax policy at Treasury. The Joint Committee on Taxation has a few models, which the CBO will use; and the Tax Foundation and Tax Policy Center each have their own models.
They will all differ somewhat on variables such as how the tax cuts will affect hours worked and capital investment, and how much higher deficits will curb economic growth, according to Alan Cole, an economist at the Tax Foundation.
But whatever their differences, the outside groups are unlikely to echo what the White House wants to hear: that massive tax cuts can pay for themselves. |
Have you had any of these thoughts about members of Generation Y, the Millennials? If you have, it’s time to stop and adopt a new mindset. They’re a highly educated, innovative force that has swept through the workplace and now influences every level of their organizations. If you’re not actively recruiting, developing and working to retain Gen Y professionals, you’re losing competitive edge.
Businessweek’s Matthew Philips recently reported, “According to U.S. Census data, there are more people in their twenties (44.5 million) than in their thirties (41 million), forties (41.7 million), or fifties (43.8 million).” These professionals are very much a part of your firm’s present – and future.
What steps can you take to groom Millennials into your next generation of leaders?
Managing Millennials
Start by learning what makes them tick. For most Millennials, their core desires are like those of every other generational group – a job that they enjoy and is a source of pride, a manager they respect and can learn from, fair compensation, and the ability to balance their professional and personal lives.
At the same time, there are unique attributes common among members of this generation. For one, they frequently crave feedback. You can tap into this need and foster passion and commitment from these employees by helping them answer:
• Where am I going in my career? • What’s important to my company? • How does my role help the company reach its objectives? • How can my company and my manager help me reach my goals?
Ongoing communication is key. Be positive, but also genuine, providing constructive criticism as needed. Don’t wait for formal performance review periods, however. Provide your feedback in real time.
Keep in mind that communication flow should be two-way. Millennials want to level the hierarchy and have a voice. Work together to target initiatives these employees feel are a fit for their skills and goals, and, when possible, assign them to leadership positions on project teams. Similarly, collaborate on identifying educational opportunities that can help them build their expertise and learn from different perspectives.
Critically, make sure your technology and financial systems are up to date. The ability to work with the latest tech tools can help influence Gen Y accounting and finance professionals when deciding whether to join and stay with your organization. If you don’t continuously upgrade your systems, you risk experiencing a talent outflow instead of an inflow. Remember, this generation grew up with computer technology and is deeply ingrained with social media. Millennials understand the power of technology and recognize if you’re not current, you’re behind.
Grooming Gen Y Leaders
Give potential leaders you identify not just the chance to lead a project team but also the opportunity to manage key initiatives. This should go beyond just overseeing the day-to-day aspects of a project and also include setting strategy and making decisions.
Fortunately for businesses, a strong desire for continuous learning is another defining characteristic of this demographic. Provide formal and informal training opportunities, focusing on the technical skills Millennials need to advance along with key nontechnical attributes, particularly leadership and communication.
As they progress, incorporate those with the most potential into your succession plans. But don’t stop there. Once you’ve selected succession candidates, sit down to explain the opportunity and why you chose them. Your feedback can help them recognize their strengths and focus on improving any shortcomings, putting them on the path to develop the attributes you seek in your organization’s leaders. Identify specific steps they need to take to advance and partner on tactics for reaching each milestone.
All up-and-coming leaders need mentors. Decide whether you will serve in this role and for which individuals or if you’ll ask a willing senior manager to take on this responsibility. As with employee development, the advisor should help them build both their technical and nontechnical skills. A key area of focus should be managing, including offering guidance on how to motivate people with differing personalities and preferences.
Also consider reverse-mentoring arrangements, where Gen Y staff can mentor more experienced colleagues. For example, a financial analyst could show your chief accounting officer the ropes with new social media platforms or other emerging technologies. This arrangement shows employees you value their expertise and provides them another opportunity to hone their leadership skills.
Focus on team-building, too, including by bringing together workers of all generations. Give your future leaders a chance to network and build rapport with contacts throughout the organization. There’s a lot they can learn about the business from colleagues with diverse backgrounds, work styles and responsibilities.
Much has been written about the Millennial generation. They have unique perspectives and characteristics – just like any workforce demographic – and they are a talented, driven group eager to contribute to an employer they respect and feel is a fit for their career objectives. By understanding their chief workplace concerns, you can help them reach their goals and, at the same time, build the pipeline of leaders for your business.
Paul McDonald is senior executive director with Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm. Over the course of his 30-year career with the company, he has spoken extensively on employment and management issues based on his work with thousands of companies and job seekers. McDonald hosted a panel discussion on Gen Y at the 2014 FEI Summit. |
Motorola is done with their big 2015 product launch event, but I can tell that there is some confusion surrounding all of the products, particularly those that are coming to the US. Let’s see if we can’t help explain the situation here.
As a recap, Motorola announced the Moto X Style, Moto X Play, and Moto G (3rd gen). They also at the same time announced the Moto X Pure Edition, but part of that conversation happened off-air, directly to press and not to you, our dear reader.
So here is the deal. The Moto X Style and Moto X Pure Edition are the same phone. The Moto X Pure Edition is the version that is coming to the US and will be sold unlocked for $399 through Motorola’s site, Amazon, and Best Buy. The Moto X Style is the international variant. If you are comparing specs for the two and see missing LTE bands from one to the next, it’s probably because one is the international variant (Style) and the other is for the US (Pure Edition). Make sense? Again, they are the same phone just with confusingly different names.
EDIT: Someone in the press keeps spreading false information about the Pure Edition being a 100% stock Android experience that lacks Motorola’s suite of software. That is 100% incorrect. I played with the Pure Edition today for 40 minutes and it contains all of the Moto software you know, like Voice, Display, Actions, and Assist. Like last year’s Moto X (2nd Gen) “Pure Edition,” this is simply the name of the unlocked US model. Trust me, all of the software you actually like from Motorola is still there.
Also, the Moto X Play is not coming to the US at this time. That’s really all Motorola would tell us about it.
The Moto G (3rd gen) is available all over the place in a number of countries, including the US, starting at $179.
Finally, the image below shows you that the Moto X for the US is indeed just called the Moto X Pure Edition and carries a model number of XT1575. Because we might go insane without a “3rd gen” or year attached to it, we may start referring to it as the Moto X Pure Edition (2015). Or you could call it the Moto X Pure Edition (3rd gen). Whatever works for you. |
A Trenton man is accused of kissing a minor Tuesday in Burlington City.
Isiah Cason, 20, made a first appearance by video monitor Wednesday at the Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly before Superior Court Judge Terrence R. Cook, who set his bail at $20,000, with a 10 percent option.
City officers were dispatched to the area of Kennedy Park on Wood Street at 6:14 p.m. on a report of a suspicious vehicle.
Police said they found two individuals in a vehicle who acknowledged that they were kissing each other. Officers discovered that Cason was 20 years old and that the female was 15.
No other inappropriate conduct occurred before officers arrived, police said.
The juvenile�s parents were notified and responded to the scene, where the girl was released to their custody.
Cason was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
As a condition of his bail, he cannot have contact with the victim.
Cason has no criminal history, according to Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor Adam Elias.
He was being held at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly as of Wednesday evening.
Sean Patrick Murphy: 609-871-8068; email: [email protected]; Twitter: @SMurphyBCT |
Vandals infiltrated an outdoor animal pen at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences in Mount Greenwood on two nights last week, chucking eggs at unsuspecting baby goats and leashing their mother with a nylon rope, principal William Hook said.
None of the goats suffered injuries in the yolky onslaughts, which occurred some time after 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights behind 3857 W. 111th St., Hook said.
He said he noticed a couple empty egg cartons, splattered eggs and broken shells behind to the chicken coop that abuts the goats' 3-foot-high pen on Thursday morning, but thought little of it.
Then late that evening, Hook received an automated call that the school's alarm had been tripped. Police responded and found that the door to the school's barn, which can be accessed from inside the pen, had been breached some time between 10:58 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., Officer Michelle Tannehill, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman said.
Nothing was taken, but when workers arrived the next morning they found more evidence of egging. This time, the goats, including some of the approximately 5-week-old kids, had been pelted with eggs and a rope had been tied around the mother goat Lucy's neck like a leash. Hook believes the rope was likely taken from inside the facility's animal science barn, which the trespassers breached by pulling hard on the door's handle.
"I don't know why, what joy someone would get from that," said Hook, who believes that the same person or group of people is responsible for both egging incidents. "What's the point? I don't understand the point of doing something like that."
While he said farm staff sometimes finds empty beer cans strewn near the pens by people who gather there late at night to drink covertly, the school has never had issues with trespassers terrorizing the animals.
The barn's door was reinforced Monday so it can no longer be pulled open with a hard tug, but at this point Hook doesn't plan on enhancing any other security measures like installing security cameras, hiring guards to work later or bringing the goats inside overnight.
"I'd rather spend money on improving programs and opportunities for students rather than trying to ward off vandals," he said. "I'm hoping that this is the end of it."
The school hasn't had any vandalism since Thursday night, but Hook said that if the problem persists, and especially if vandals attempt to harm any of the animals, they will be forced to make changes.
"I assume it's going to stop," he said. "Obviously, if it doesn't stop, we'll have to take the next step. Or if something were to happen more serious we'd look to handle it as well."
Police have not made any arrests in connection with the egging incidents, Tannehill said.
[email protected]
@ZakKoeske |
On first seeing the bounty displayed in our supermarkets, the émigrés either froze at the endless array of choices in front of them, or they wildly loaded their carts, because they assumed the shelves would be empty the next day. This was back in the 1980s, when a wave of expatriates fled the Soviet Union for the United States. Many of them had host families to help them acclimate to American life, and it was from some of the hosts that I heard about these first encounters with America’s commercial abundance.
These émigrés could only understand what they saw within the context of their current belief system in central planning. Many may have initially thought that the United States had unbelievably effective five-year plans. What else could explain so much plenty? They were dumbfounded when told that no government official directed where a supermarket should open, what it should stock, from whom it should buy goods, or the hours it should be open.
“Whether you can observe a thing or not depends on the theory which you use.” —Albert Einstein
In the Soviet Union, when food ended up on the kitchen table, it was the result of command and control. Given their experience, the idea that order could emerge without central planning seemed unfathomable.
Consider this thought experiment. It is 1980 in Moscow. At a planning bureau meeting, someone says, “Comrades, we need less planning, not more. If we give up controls and establish property rights, the free market will stock our markets with plenty at prices cheaper than we could imagine. We just have to get out of the way.”
Imagine the replies if others engaged him in thoughtful discourse: “Comrade, you propose a fantasy. Who would order the farmers what to plant and how much to plant? Who would arrange for food pickers?” (Food often rotted in Soviet fields for lack of pickers.) “Who would arrange for transportation? And then our problems are just beginning. Who would arrange for distribution? How would we know how much bread and sausage to make?”
The only possible response would have been this: “We don’t need to answer those questions. The free-market system will generate answers to all of those questions without any input from us. Further, in a free market, decisions will be updated continuously, according to what our country needs at the moment.”
Of course, this is a fantasy. In the Soviet Union, the stubborn problem of food shortages was created by a belief that control was needed; they had no ability to look at food scarcity from outside the belief system that was creating the problem. If effort produced little results, more effort, more planning, control, manipulation, and coercion seemed to be needed. They may have reasoned that better data, better interpretations of the data, better transmission of orders, and more compliance with orders would improve food distribution.
Einstein pointedly described the impossibility of trying to solve intractable problems within our current belief system: “The world we have made, as a result of the level of thinking we have done so far, creates problems we cannot solve at the same level at which we created them.”
Of course, in the United States, we have not escaped the all-too-human error that Einstein described. For example, much has been written about problems in our public school system. Proposed solutions remain firmly within the realm of commonly accepted beliefs, taking familiar forms of spending more money or ensuring the delivery of a common-core curriculum.
Inside the current belief system, proposals to break the monopoly by increasing choices are met with the same resistance that a proposal to break state-sponsored food distribution was met with in the former Soviet Union.
What beliefs do we have about the source of order that cause us to rely so heavily on planning and controlling?
In his essay “Cosmos and Taxis” in volume 1 of Law Legislation and Liberty, F.A. Hayek points us in a direction that we may not have considered. Order, Hayek explains, can be a spontaneous phenomenon beyond the control of anyone or any group of people.
What beliefs do we have about the source of order that cause us to rely so heavily on planning and controlling?
Order, generated in a marketplace that no one controls, produces abundance. Looking into our own market baskets, we cannot know and do not need to know all of the farmers and food specialists whose cooperation contributes to our meals. Spontaneous order has a “degree of complexity,” Hayek instructs, that “is not limited to what the human mind can master.”
Just as importantly, spontaneous orders do not emerge to serve any one purpose. In Hayek’s words, spontaneous order supports “our successful pursuit of a great variety of different purposes.” Each of us is free to enjoy our own favorite entree, paleo to vegan, and the marketplace will provide us the ingredients needed to make those choices.
Believing in the possibility of spontaneous order provides a lens that is essential if we are going to interpret that which is beyond the power of our mind to fully comprehend. Einstein famously said, “Whether you can observe a thing or not depends on the theory which you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed.”
Do we believe in something bigger than the limits of our own mind and thinking?
Most of us are comfortable with the tangible — that which we can see and manipulate. To be comfortable with economic freedom, we need to understand that solutions to our problems emerge from the spontaneous cooperation of many individuals making their independent decisions but having no knowledge of the network of exchanges of which they are a small part.
Those with no understanding of spontaneous order often become what Hayek in “Cosmos and Taxis” called “indignant reformers” who complain about “the chaos of economic affairs.”
What best guides human cooperation to best satisfy human needs? In the Soviet Union, there was no mechanism available other than the heavy hand of the state. “Indignant reformers” in our own country are marching us down that same path. Believing in spontaneous order is the other path. All the evidence you need to make the best choice is on your kitchen table.
Find a Portuguese translation of this article here. |
"The Ingraham Angle" also dominates both MSNBC and CNN in total viewers
The Fox News debut of “The Ingraham Angle” yielded big returns Monday, with the first ratings numbers from Nielsen giving host Laura Ingraham a commanding lead over her rivals at CNN and MSNBC.
The new 10 p.m. ET show drew 3.27 million viewers overall, with 622,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 year-old demographic.
In what could be a bit of troubling news however, last night’s data showed MSNBC coming in a close second among the key demo. “Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” took in 612,000 viewers there, and placed a more-distant second overall with roughly 2.6 million total viewers.
Also Read: Cable News Ratings: Sean Hannity Beats Rachel Maddow in 1st Month of Head-to-Head Competition
“CNN Tonight” had 1.34 million total viewers, with 511,000 between ages 25 and 54.
Though she’s been a frequent guest on the network, it’s Ingraham’s first time in the driver’s seat of her own show on Fox News Channel.
As is the host’s custom, Ingraham’s inaugural episode is already drawing some of the web’s ire over an interview with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Also Read: Former Clinton Campaign Head John Podesta Calls Out Trump: 'I'm the Victim of a Big Lie'
As the two discussed Civil War history, the former Marine general dropped a bit of revisionism that set the Internet ablaze.
“Robert E. Lee was an honorable man. He was a man that gave up his country to fight for his state, which 150 years ago was more important than country,” Kelly told Ingraham. “It was always loyalty to state first in those days. Now it’s different today.”
Also Read: Sean Hannity Rips Ex-House Speaker John Boehner: 'I'm Sorry You Are Bitter And u Failed!'
He offered further reflections on the causes of the Civil War that draw widespread criticism online.
“The lack of an ability to compromise led to the Civil War and men and women of good faith on both sides made their stand where their conscience had them make their stand,” he added. |
Syrian government troops and militia put up fierce resistance on Sunday to an ISIS assault on one of the jewels of the country's heritage, ancient Palmyra.
The fighting caused the death of nearly 300 people, a monitor said, according to AFP.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground, said the toll comprised 123 soldiers and loyalist militiamen, 115 ISIS fighters and 57 civilians.
It said dozens of the civilians had been executed.
The Britain-based watchdog reported heavy artillery exchanges in the west of the town, close to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site.
But there were no immediate reports of damage to the ancient city's colonnaded street or its 1st and 2nd century temples.
ISIS was bringing up reinforcements from its stronghold in the Euphrates Valley to the east after sustaining heavy losses in its advance on the oasis town northeast of Damascus, provincial governor Talal Barazi told AFP.
The town's peacetime population of 70,000 has been swamped by an influx of civilians fleeing the ISIS advance.
"We are taking all necessary precautions, and we are working on securing humanitarian aid quickly in fear of mass fleeing from the city," Barazi said.
Syrian antiquities chief Mamoun Abdulkarim voiced extreme concern for the ancient site and its adjacent museum, in light of the destruction wreaked by ISIS on pre-Islamic sites like Nimrud and Hatra in neighboring Iraq.
"I am living in a state of terror," Abdulkarim told AFP, adding that ISIS "will blow everything up. They will destroy everything."
Last Update: Sunday, 17 May 2015 KSA 17:51 - GMT 14:51 |
PARENTHOOD – “The Pontiac” Episode 522 – Pictured: (l-r) Ray Romano as Hank, Mae Whitman as Amber, Lauren Graham as Sarah – (Photo by: Colleen Hayes/NBC) Photo: Colleen Hayes/NBC
The sixth and final season of Parenthood premieres September 25, and by the sound of it, fans have an interesting one to look forward to. According to showrunner Jason Katims, the new season will center around one larger narrative that affects everyone in the family. “One of the things I wanted to do for the season was to find one larger story that influences everybody on the show,” he explained at Sunday’s TCA press tour. “The story is going to be introduced in the first episode and play throughout the season. It’s a huge new challenge for the family and one that we didn’t see before … In this case, I feel like I want to to do something that starts at the beginning of the season, by the way there will be as many story lines going on as usual, but this will be something that tracks us throughout the year.” It’s not clear yet what this plot line will entail, but we suggest stocking up on tissues preemptively. |
I would like to start by saying my name is Tera. I am a Transgender MTF person who owns an ever growing gaming YouTube Channel. Through my adventures of being on Transgender YouTube Gamer I have definitely experienced the brunt of the gender-based society in which we live in. People can be cruel, people can be ignorant, yet often times people are just trying to understand something they have never experienced themselves. An I have been finding that it is up to me to educate people, to give them the chance to understand. While gaming is the primary focus of my YouTube Channel, I often get comments related to me being a transgender gamer.
Taking a step back, I will tell you about myself. I am 20 years old and I am in a wonderful "lesbian relationship" with my fiance. I have been on hormones for about a year and half now and hardly resemble the "boy" that I used to portray myself to be. One thing that most people find weird about my transition is the neglect to try and change my voice. I enjoy having a boyish/androgynous sounding voice even if for most others that may be off-putting (which I find funny). While being transgender does consume a large portion of my life I have a ton of interest. One very important interest to me is that of gaming. I have been gaming on YouTube for around 2 months now. I have played video games since I was pushed out into this wonderful world (wonderful world because I like to be optimistic). Gaming to me is more than just a hobby, it saved my life. In my youth I had constant struggles trying to figure out who I really was, having a different body than the one I should of been born with even brought me to the edge of suicide. An the only thing that saved me was video games. It was my escape from the cage in which I was born within. An for that reason I look at video games within a different lighting than most others do. In addition, I am also in college studying psychology. In the future I hope to become a gender and sex therapist to aid others like myself in the LGBTQ community. I find that one thing transgender individuals lack is proper psycho-therapeutic care.
I don't really know what else to say about myself. If anything I am an extremely open individual so don't be afraid to ask me any questions.
For those that want to know my YouTube channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TerafiedGaming
P.S. This is a post that I made from reddit, I am going starting a text-based series detailing my experiences as a Transgamer! |
In separate conventions over recent weeks, the NAACP, the nation’s oldest black civil rights organization, and the Movement for Black Lives, a network of Black Lives Matter organizers, passed resolutions criticizing charter schools and calling for a moratorium on their growth. Charters were faulted by the groups for supposedly draining money from traditional public schools and allegedly fueling segregation. The NAACP measure, which still must be ratified by the board before becoming official, went so far as to liken the expansion of charters to “predatory lending practices” that put low-income communities at risk.
This is insane, and it confirms my thinking that the NAACP is out of touch with the reality that many African-Americans live, as the Wall Street Journal reported:
Some 28% of charter-school students are black, which is almost double the figure for traditional public schools. A report last year from Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes found that across 41 urban areas black students in charters gained on average 36 extra days in math learning a year and 26 in reading while Hispanic students gained 22 in math and six in reading. Black students in poverty notched 59 more days in math. This is the definition of “advancement.”
The NAACP didn’t bother to ask black parents what they think: a 2013 poll of black voters in four southern states by the Black Alliance for Educational Options found that at least 85% agreed that “government should provide parents with as many choices as possible.” No fewer than half in every state supported charter schools. Another sign of support is the hundreds of thousands of black students nationwide who sign up for lotteries for a seat at a charter.
So what's going on? Why would the nation's oldest civil rights group deny African-American children a real opportunity to succeed?
My guess is that most of these NAACP leaders send their kids to private schools anyway. In other words, what do they care?
More importantly, the Democratic Party is owned by the public-sector unions. It's good for the party on election day, but it does not do minority parents any good when they try to educate their kids.
P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. |
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Tottenham are open to the idea of having singing sections at their new stadium.
Spurs could incorporate designated areas for singing to help the atmosphere at their new 56,000-seat arena, which they plan to move to in time for the 2018/19 season.
The minutes of the Tottenham board’s latest meeting with members of The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, which was held this week, said: “THST raised the question of singing areas in the new stadium. THFC were in favour of this.”
The minutes, which were published on the Trust’s website, also say Spurs are open to introducing safe standing at their new ground if stadium laws change.
“THFC again confirmed they had no issues with standing areas in the new stadium and would be very willing to build that in should legislation change,” it reads.
Ratings: Tottenham players on international duty 9 show all Ratings: Tottenham players on international duty 1/9 Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria) Played in his country’s 4-1 win over Oman in Doha on Monday. Although he didn't get himself on the scoresheet he did put in the type of performance that has seen him become a regular feature in Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham midfield. (7) 2/9 Vlad Chiriches (Romania) Featured in the narrow 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands. He did well when called upon, especially in the later stages of the match when he put in a saving tackle to dispossess Joan Edmundsson a one-on-one opportunity against Costel Pantilimon. (7) 3/9 Ben Davies (Wales) The defender held a back three that included him, Ashley Williams and James Collins together effectively as Wales beat Israel 3-0. (6) 4/9 Christian Eriksen (Denmark) The playmaker admitted that it was "really special" to make his 50th appearance for Denmark in the 3-2 win over the USA. Eriksen was made captain for the occasion. He also played in the 2-0 defeat to France although he failed to make a difference in the 83 minutes he was on the pitch. (6) 5/9 Harry Kane (England) A remarkable start to life as a senior England international. It took him just 79 seconds to score when he came on as a second half substitute in the 4-0 win over Lithuania at Wembley. And despite being knocked off the ball a few times by Giorgio Chiellini in the 1-1 draw against Italy, he did link up rather well with Wayne Rooney in attack. (8) getty 6/9 Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) The defender played the entire 180 of minutes of both games as Belgium recorded victories over Cyprus and Israel to go top of Group B in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. Just as he has been for the majority of the season for Tottenham, Vertonghen looked assured in both games and was a key part of Belgium keeping clean sheets in both games. (8) 7/9 DeAndre Yedlin (USA) He came on as a second half substitute in the 3-2 defeat against Denmark and the 1-1 draw to Switzerland. The 21-year-old defender failed to make a huge impact on the match. (6) 8/9 Ryan Mason (England) Ryan Mason came on for the remaining 16 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Italy. Roy Hodgson said afterwards that the midfielder's introduction, coupled with Andros Townsend's, turned the game in England's favour. (7) 9/9 Andros Townsend (England) Although he has struggled to break into Mauricio Pochettino's squad at Tottenham this season, Townsend is still valued by Roy Hodgson and England. His right-footed effort that levelled the match against Italy in Turin was a fantastic strike. However, it's difficult to fully assess his performance over the international break because he only played 20 minutes out of a possible 180. (7) 1/9 Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria) Played in his country’s 4-1 win over Oman in Doha on Monday. Although he didn't get himself on the scoresheet he did put in the type of performance that has seen him become a regular feature in Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham midfield. (7) 2/9 Vlad Chiriches (Romania) Featured in the narrow 1-0 win over the Faroe Islands. He did well when called upon, especially in the later stages of the match when he put in a saving tackle to dispossess Joan Edmundsson a one-on-one opportunity against Costel Pantilimon. (7) 3/9 Ben Davies (Wales) The defender held a back three that included him, Ashley Williams and James Collins together effectively as Wales beat Israel 3-0. (6) 4/9 Christian Eriksen (Denmark) The playmaker admitted that it was "really special" to make his 50th appearance for Denmark in the 3-2 win over the USA. Eriksen was made captain for the occasion. He also played in the 2-0 defeat to France although he failed to make a difference in the 83 minutes he was on the pitch. (6) 5/9 Harry Kane (England) A remarkable start to life as a senior England international. It took him just 79 seconds to score when he came on as a second half substitute in the 4-0 win over Lithuania at Wembley. And despite being knocked off the ball a few times by Giorgio Chiellini in the 1-1 draw against Italy, he did link up rather well with Wayne Rooney in attack. (8) getty 6/9 Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) The defender played the entire 180 of minutes of both games as Belgium recorded victories over Cyprus and Israel to go top of Group B in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. Just as he has been for the majority of the season for Tottenham, Vertonghen looked assured in both games and was a key part of Belgium keeping clean sheets in both games. (8) 7/9 DeAndre Yedlin (USA) He came on as a second half substitute in the 3-2 defeat against Denmark and the 1-1 draw to Switzerland. The 21-year-old defender failed to make a huge impact on the match. (6) 8/9 Ryan Mason (England) Ryan Mason came on for the remaining 16 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Italy. Roy Hodgson said afterwards that the midfielder's introduction, coupled with Andros Townsend's, turned the game in England's favour. (7) 9/9 Andros Townsend (England) Although he has struggled to break into Mauricio Pochettino's squad at Tottenham this season, Townsend is still valued by Roy Hodgson and England. His right-footed effort that levelled the match against Italy in Turin was a fantastic strike. However, it's difficult to fully assess his performance over the international break because he only played 20 minutes out of a possible 180. (7)
“THST asked if THFC would be prepared, as 17/20 Premier League clubs had now spoken in support of safe standing, to instigate discussions at Premier League shareholder level to get the clubs to push more firmly for the change in legislation required to introduce safe standing.
“THFC said they were happy to be supportive but mindful that they were still in midst of new stadium build/safety discussions with the Council.” |
The only thing the Pac-12 has to fear in the new era of the College Football Playoff is itself. Oh, and other conferences gaming the infant system.
Whatever negative perceptions formerly were held about the Pac-12 -- finesse, pass-first, defense-optional league with half-full stadiums -- are mostly dead. Though there always will be trolling mouth-breathers with tired insults, Pac-12 folks now can show up to the verbal brawl with facts and numbers and game scores and commence to deliver a dose of frenzied verbal MMA that leaves said trolls whimpering for mercy.
OK, perhaps that's going overboard. But the Pac-12 deserves credit for two things: (1) Its rating as the nation's No. 2 conference (2) Making things tougher on itself than any other conference.
The overwhelming national consensus is the Pac-12 ranks second to the SEC. As ESPN Stats & Information noted in January, "Overall, the Pac-12 finished with six teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and five teams ranked in the top 10 of ESPN's Football Power Index. As a result of its strength in the computers, the Pac-12 was the clear No. 2 conference in the Power Rankings."
The Pac-12's $3 billion broadcasting deal with ESPN and Fox has been followed by an influx of big-name coaches like Arizona's Rich Rodriguez. Crystal LoGiudice/USA TODAY Sports
It wasn't just ESPN. Jeff Sagarin ranked the Pac-12 No. 2 in 2013. Phil Steele ranked the Pac-12 the No. 2 conference in 2012 and 2013, and also projected it as No. 2 in 2014. Athlon Sports did the same. In fact, if there is a conference rating system that ranked the Pac-12 anything different in 2013 and projects a lower rating this fall, we haven't seen it.
Another vote in the Pac-12's favor comes from an unquestionably unbiased -- cough, cough -- constituency: Pac-12 coaches.
"[The SEC] should claim themselves as the best league in the country because they've earned it," Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said. "But to go through the Pac-12 and win a national championship may be the most difficult thing to do because of our schedule."
Ah, that's the worrisome rub. No other conference rides the scheduling tricycle like the Pac-12: 1. Challenging nonconference slate; 2. Nine-game conference schedule; 3. Conference championship game.
While some conferences have improved their nonconference scheduling, they don't play nine conference games. The Big 12 does play nine conference games, but it doesn't play a championship game. Pac-12 coaches aren't shy about noting that a conference team, in almost all cases, will have to play at least 11 quality games -- one tough nonconference foe, nine conference games and the Pac-12 title game -- to earn a spot in the CFP. No other conference can claim that.
There is a big reason the other conferences can't: They don't want to.
"Fair or unfair, whatever the words you want to use, we play a nine-game schedule and a conference championship game and other conferences don't on purpose," Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. "There is obviously a reason for that."
That's the big issue for the Pac-12 heading into the season. There is no longer a worry about respect or the perception of the Pac-12. Rather, it's about how unscathed a conference champ can hope to be against such a demanding schedule, and whether the committee will stick to its stated insistence that strength of schedule will be paramount. When a conference plays eight of the nation's 13 toughest schedules, as the Pac-12 did in 2013, the challenge to go unbeaten or even to lose just one game is far greater.
Of course, this issue won't be solved today, or even in the next couple months. The ultimate answers will be delivered in January when four semifinalists are picked and seeded.
So then, how did the Pac-12 gain ground in the perception battle -- one that has the conference starting with six teams ranked in the preseason USA Today coaches poll, including three in the top 11 with two others receiving votes?
The easy answer: money. The $3 billion broadcasting deal with ESPN and Fox was a game-changer. That money has flowed into facilities improvements and more aggressive investments in coaching -- head coaches and assistants. A concomitant influx of A-list coaches, most notably Mike Leach, Rich Rodriguez, Todd Graham, Jim Mora and Chris Petersen, has boosted the conference's Q-rating. Those coaches also have been able to hire and -- critically -- retain key assistants with competitive salaries, such as Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell ($700,000), UCLA offensive line coach Adrian Klemm ($650,000), Washington State defensive line coach Joe Salave'a ($275,000) and USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox (north of the $800,000 he made at Washington), among others.
No team has had a better, and perhaps more unfortunate, seat while watching the Pac-12 improve than Utah. The Utes joined the conference in 2011 as a program that had posted two unbeaten seasons and won two BCS bowl games as a member of the respected Mountain West Conference. Though they went a solid 4-5 in conference play in 2011, they slipped to 3-6 in 2012 and 2-7 in 2013, with lineups that might have been better than the 2011 squad.
Oregon's Marcus Mariota is part of an impressive group of returning QBs in the Pac-12 this season. AP Photo/Eric Gay
"The thing that has been very apparent with the Pac-12 in 2011 when we entered, is the Pac-12 now is far superior from top to bottom," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "The progress this conference has made in the last few years is phenomenal."
What separates the Pac-12 this season -- and could make it a legitimate threat for the No. 1 conference -- is behind center. Not only does the conference welcome back 10 starting quarterbacks, a majority of those are NFL prospects.
"I've never seen anything like this," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "You have multiple guys that you could say could be the No. 1 pick overall in the draft. You have multiple guys in the conference that could be All-Americans and lead the nation in quarterback rating or lead the nation in passing."
The most notable quarterbacks are Oregon's Marcus Mariota and UCLA's Brett Hundley, Heisman Trophy candidates blinking brightly on NFL radars who lead teams favored to win their respective divisions. Hundley will get an early showcase game against Texas, and Mariota and the Ducks play host to Michigan State, the Big Ten favorite, in Week 2. And the Ducks and Bruins could meet each other twice this season.
But they also must contend with Arizona State's Taylor Kelly, Oregon State's Sean Mannion, USC's Cody Kessler, Stanford's Kevin Hogan, Washington State's Connor Halliday, Utah's Travis Wilson, California's Jared Goff and Colorado's Sefo Liufau, each capable of posting a spectacular individual performance that could spawn an upset.
The Pac-12 is plenty hyped heading into the 2014 season. There is no perception problem. There might, however, end up being a reality problem. If the Pac-12 champion ends up with two losses, and the selection committee has a handful of Power Five conference teams with one or fewer defeats, the Pac-12 could get a respectful tip of the cap but end up out of luck in the inaugural College Football Playoff. |
A better ext4
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Last week's Kernel Page may have been filesystem-heavy, but there was still a big omission, in the form of ext4. But ext4, being the successor to ext3, may well be the filesystem many of us are using a few years from now. Things have been relatively quiet on that front - at least, outside of the relevant mailing lists - but the ext4 developers have not been idle. Some of their work has now come to the surface with Ted Ts'o's posting of the ext4 merge plans for 2.6.25.
One of the changes going into ext4 is a lifting of the longstanding 4KB block size limit. That does not mean that just any block size works, though, and this feature will benefit fewer people than one might think, for one specific reason: the block size must still be no larger than the page size on the host system. So those of us running x86 systems with 4KB pages will be stuck with 4KB blocks still. And, on any system, the maximum block size is now 64KB.
One amusing effect of this change is that the size of a directory entry can now be as large as 64KB as well. But the field which holds the size of directory entries is only 16 bits wide. So a special hack has been employed to recognize 64KB directory entries and keep everything consistent.
Some internal variables have overflow problems as well. Block numbers are stored as a signed, 32-bit quantity, and so are block group numbers. That limits the maximum size of a filesystem to a mere 256PB. In 2.6.25, these values will become unsigned long variables, eliminating that intolerably low limit. Through some trickery, the inode field which stores the number of blocks associated with a file will be expanded to 48 bits, raising the maximum size of an individual file to just under 248 512-byte blocks.
The work does not stop there, though: another patch redefines that field to mean the number of filesystem blocks (instead of 512-byte sectors) used by the file. This is a change which has to be handled carefully, since it is an on-disk format change which could create trouble for people with existing ext4 filesystems. Everybody who is using ext4 should certainly be doing so with the knowledge that it's a development filesystem and is only suitable for storing files which are not valuable for more than about 30 minutes - Rawhide OpenOffice.org updates, say. But it still would be nice to not trash every existing ext4 filesystem out there. So the i_blocks field will continue, by default, to hold the number of 512-byte blocks. But, if that field exceeds 32 bits and forces the use of 48-bit numbers, it is thereafter interpreted as filesystem blocks. Since no existing filesystems are yet using 48-bit numbers, this approach successfully avoids breaking them.
Journal checksums are another feature arriving for 2.6.25. If the system crashes, the journal is used to recover any transactions which were committed, but which did not actually make it to disk. It sure would be nice to know that the journal, as stored in the filesystem, is intact before using it to make changes elsewhere. The checksum enables the filesystem to ensure that the journal is good and avoid (further) corrupting the filesystem if it is not. An interesting side benefit is that the checksum loosens the constraints on how the journal is written to disk, since an incompletely-written journal will now be detected; that should help to improve filesystem performance slightly.
Note that full data checksumming is still not on the agenda for ext4. But checksumming the journal is a good (if small) step in the right direction.
Another change is a VFS API change, in that it turns the i_version field of the inode structure into an unsigned, 64-bit value on all architectures. This version number is incremented when the file is changed, and it's stored (split into two fields) in the on-disk inode. 64-bit version numbers are required by NFSv4, which uses them to provide the dreaded "stale file handle" error when things change.
There is a new ioctl() ( EXT4_IOC_MIGRATE ) which can be used to explicitly request that the on-disk inode for a file be converted to the ext4 format.
The ext4 filesystem is extent-based, and has been for some time. "Extent-based" means that it tracks block allocations by extents (first block, number of blocks) rather than storing pointers to each individual block, as is done in ext3. There are a number of performance benefits to doing things this way, especially for larger files. Those benefits disappear, though, if a file's blocks cannot be grouped into the smallest number of extents possible.
One technique which greatly helps in optimizing block allocations for files is to allocate them in relatively large groups, rather than individually. In 2.6.25, ext4 will contain the multi-block allocator, which does exactly that. One might think that allocating a few blocks at a time would not be that big of a change, but the multi-block allocator is by far the most complex patch in the set. A lot of effort and heuristics go into deciding how many blocks to allocate, finding the optimal set of blocks, tracking the allocation, recovering blocks which end up never being used, ensuring that an application cannot read pre-allocated (but unwritten) blocks in search of leaked secrets, etc. It is quite a bit of code, but it is worth the trouble; multi-block allocation will be enabled by default in 2.6.25.
As noted above, a number of these patches force changes to the on-disk data structure. According to Ted, though, these should be the last on-disk changes for ext4. There are some features which still will not have been merged when 2.6.25 comes around - delayed allocation and online defragmentation among them - but they should not require format changes. So ext4 is getting closer to the point where it is considered ready for production use. |
WINDMILLS BY THE OCEAN is the title of a recently unearthed recording from August 2003, the sole output of Boston natives Mike Davis, Dave Dunbar, Brooke Gillespie, Bryant Clifford Meyer and Thos Niles.
Since the project’s beginning and end, the creators have continued on in such bands as 27, ANODYNE, ISIS, and RED SPAROWES, but the relevancy of this intense recording can be most appreciated now, three years after it’s conception.
The variety and depth to this (mostly) instrumental music documentation reaches far beyond those of any mere side-project, and the heavy-music genres are in dire need of something this refreshing.
These rock-based songs incorporate so many elements of “drone” the group could almost reside next to their celestial forefathers SUNN and EARTH, except with more melody… and drums. However, the usage of keyboard and electronic elements alongside several guitars make the album more comparable to SIGUR ROS than BLACK SABBATH, but without compromising any of the heavy metal elements the members have become most-known for.
The additional usage of improvisation and mild repetition allows the listener to relax into a slow headbang across five songs that each surpass the six-minute mark. But what makes this album most impressive is the triumphant, anthemic feel to it, especially considering the group never even made it to the live setting.
With stark imagery and layout by Sera Timms (BLACK MATH HORSEMAN), an important period of musical evolution is captured here and Robotic Empire is proud to present it to you. |
Dragon's Dogma
Capcom
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Our previous price:You save:6.20 (38%) Manufacturer Capcom Compatible With PlayStation 3™ (PS3™) Version Works on all systems sold worldwide, a correct regional account may be required for online features. Works on all systems sold worldwide, a correct regional account may be required for online features. 1-5d Usually ships within 1-5 days Price US$ 9.99 add to cart or save for later
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Dragon's Dogma
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features Highly Stylised Action Combat The creators of this game were responsible for the action hits – Resident Evil™ 4 and Devil May Cry™ 4
Fight With Ability The soul of combat comes down to how the game is played, where you strike the enemy, and how you react to their attacks
Accessible Depth Bringing an unprecedented level of depth to the action genre, every decision has an effect on gameplay in an intuitive way that does not require micromanagement. The weight of your weapon, the material of your armour – even the length of your legs – plays a role in how you fight your battles, but does not interrupt the flow of the action
Epic Adventure Dragon’s Dogma is built from the ground up as an action experience for consoles with a continuous, epic storyline that stands alone in style, scope and substance
Open World Utilising Capcom’s proprietary MT Framework engine and the groundbreaking graphical styles and lighting effects used in Resident Evil™ 5 and Lost Planet™ 2, Dragon’s Dogma expands the environment to create a vast, richly detailed world, ripe for exploration
A Rich Population In addition to interacting with hundreds of fully voiced NPCs, you’ll be able to fight a large variety of creatures, from goblins to griffins and dragons. Each enemy requires a different strategy and provides a unique experience
First-Print comes with Resident Evil 6 demo version download code - only until stock lasts!
description Dragon’s Dogma™ is an exciting new franchise which redefines the action genre from the team that produced some of Capcom’s greatest action games. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world. Alongside your party of three, you set out to track down and destroy a mysterious dragon.Your teammates fight independently of you, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from you and your actions. Dragon’s Dogma offers a near endless opportunity to help develop partner characters to fight alongside you. With an epic story and incredible action, Dragon’s Dogma is set to be one of Capcom’s newest hit franchises.
further info Official Release Date May 22, 2012 Genre Action RPG Version US ESRB Mature
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language. PAX-Code PAX0003332799 Catalog No. BLUS-30720 Item Code 0013388340460 |
In an interview that aired on PBS’s Frontline, an associate director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, said that “for a long time, there have been newspaper stories and covers of magazines that talked about ‘The end of antibiotics, question mark?’ Well, now I would say you can change the title to ‘The end of antibiotics, period.'”
“We’re in the post-antibiotic era,” he continued. “There are patients for whom we have no therapy, and we are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can’t.”
As an example, Dr. Srinivasan discussed the spread of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which recently made headlines when word spread that three players from the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers were battling it. The options for treating it have always been limited, but until the past decade, MRSA infections were rarely seen outside of health-care facilities.
But about a decade ago, Dr. Srinivasan began to see “outbreaks in schools [and] health clubs. And what most of these people were getting was something very different from what we saw in hospitals.”
“In hospitals, when you see MRSA infections, you oftentimes see that in patients who have a catheter in their blood, and that creates an opportunity for MRSA to get into their bloodstream,” he continued. “In the community, it was causing a very different type of infection. It was causing a lot of very, very serious and painful infections of the skin, which was completely different from what we would see in health care.”
Because such infections can’t be treated with conventional antibiotic therapies, doctors have begun to “reach back into the archives” and use older antibiotics. “We’re using a lot of colistin,” Dr. Srinivasan said. “And we’re using more of it every year. It’s very toxic. We don’t like to use it. It damages the kidneys. But we’re forced to use it in a lot of instances.”
The entire Frontline report, “Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria,” can be viewed here.
[Image via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] |
Mike Segar / Reuters Donald Trump says he won't talk about the birther issue anymore.
Years after the issue was debunked, Donald Trump still refuses to back away from the birther conspiracy he helped fuel.
“I don’t talk about it,” Trump told NBC’s Ali Vitali on Monday.
Trump re: Obama's birth place: "I don't talk about it."
Has that ever absolved any other politician from past statements? — Ali Vitali (@alivitali) September 5, 2016
In 2011, Trump embraced the “birther” conspiracy theory that claims President Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States.
Obama, who had previously released his “short-form” birth certificate, made his “long-form” birth certificate available following criticism from Trump and others. In addition, two Honolulu newspapers printed birth announcements at the time, proving his status as an American citizen.
Despite this evidence, the GOP presidential nominee never backed away from the movement nor denounced it. Trump even claimed “an extremely credible source” told him the birth certificate was “a fraud,” but failed to offer any evidence or disclose the source.
Last month, former Trump campaign manager and current CNN Trump surrogate Corey Lewandowski reignited the issue, suggesting that Obama’s Harvard transcripts might show he was not born in the United States.
“The question was ‘did he get in as a U.S. citizen, or was he brought in to Harvard University as a citizen who wasn’t from this country?’” Lewandowski asked.
Obama has chosen to approach the issue with humor, and mocked Trump’s obsession with his birthplace.
“This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya,” Obama quipped on “The Tonight Show” in 2012. “We had constant run-ins on the soccer field. He wasn’t very good and resented it... When we finally moved to America, I thought it would be over.” |
Critics of higher education love to suggest that we professors are living it up. But I'm not. I have less than $100 in my checking account. I've been ignoring a recurring robo-call from a company trying to collect a $50 payment that is overdue. The gutters on my house are falling off. My electric bill is late, and I can't drive my car because the check-engine light is on.
Oh, and I received tenure this past spring. I'm not kidding. And no, I don't have a fat savings account, and no, I am not irresponsible with money.
My salary is average for someone of my rank, discipline, and college size. If you're a college professor, people assume that if you don't have a healthy bank account, you must be a closet gambler or have some other hidden addiction. But my financial predicament is a result of bootstrapping my way into academe, and the harsh reality of leaping from rural Arkansas to a professor's job in upstate New York with no financial support system along the way. Indeed, it was not a leap at all but a long, slow, humiliating slog.
I am a single parent, which explains some of the financial struggle. In the rural South, where I grew up, having children before 25 is the norm. So when I found myself pregnant and alone at 23, I decided to keep the baby, and returned to graduate school a few pounds heavier in the fall. I completed my master's program through sheer willpower, had my son, and immediately entered a Ph.D. program.
I am aware that, in that situation, most people would simply find a stable job close to home. I was unwilling to relinquish a dream I'd had since the age of 10. So I refused to listen to the voices—some of them quite real and very loud—telling me that in order to be a "good parent," I should understand my limitations and give up on academe. That is the first obstacle those of us wishing to overcome our lower-income background must face. Many people will tell us we simply cannot have what we want because of who we are, because of where we come from. And the humiliations that came with carrying an illegitimate baby in graduate school? I don't know where to begin.
There are the countless hours I spent in offices applying for social services: food stamps; Section 8 housing assistance; WIC (food for mothers and young children); Medicaid; heat assistance. There is the professor who told me to leave a teaching assistants' meeting to which I brought my 4-year-old: "And take that with you," he said, pointing to my son.
Every single purchase was impossible. I could pay for child care or books, but not both. Every bill that was paid meant another was not. Even generous scholarships don't take into account seven hundred dollars a month for child care. And yet I felt ashamed for every dollar I borrowed and every bill I couldn't pay.
When I graduated and began teaching, things improved—a little. Now making about $30,000 a year, I began paying back my student loans. But when my car broke down I couldn't replace it, and had to bike to the grocery store. Our rental house was small, pest-infested, and drafty. Every month we would eat peanut butter and macaroni and cheese as we waited for the next paycheck.
I sensed that it was uncouth to talk about late bills and shut-off notices at work. My academic peers weren't living recklessly, but they did have nice apartments, clean furniture, and simple luxuries like new clothes, compared with my thrift-store clothing. Most friends were now buying homes with assistance from their parents. My own parents distanced themselves from me, reading my academic ambitions as a judgment of their frugal lives, by then based on one office manager's salary. Needless to say, there could be only the barest support from home when I had a financial problem. Not only did they have no money to offer me, but they already saw me as living an affluent life with my books, college-owned computers, and work-related travel.
Here's what happens when you are living close to the financial edge as a single parent in academe: You need to attend an academic conference to interview for a job, as your current position is a one-year temporary position for someone on sabbatical. So you have to buy a plane ticket. Sure, you'll be reimbursed from the college's travel allowance for about 80 percent of the trip. But how will you buy that plane ticket in the first place, in order to be reimbursed a month or two later? Credit card? I'm afraid not. That was closed out last year because you couldn't pay for it while you worked as an adjunct for $15,000 a year.
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Well, ask your parents for a loan. Weren't you listening? OK then, ask a colleague to help you. I could, but that violates all standards of friendship, especially the one where you aren't supposed to tell anyone affiliated with your job that you don't have enough money to go on an interview. And your nonacademic friends? They don't have any money, either. So why not ask the college for an advance? Because it doesn't give advances. And you have just violated the unspoken standard that stipulates you should never reveal your financial struggle if you are in academe.
So here's what I did, and I am not proud of it. I phoned a guy I had been dating who had recently been exposed as a cheater; he had no fewer than three other girlfriends while we were together and had lied repeatedly to my face. I knew he had air miles. Lots of them. So I asked him to help me. He did.
Fast forward 10 years. My son is now 17, and I have just received tenure at a fine college. Although things are much better, I'm still paying back student loans and I am nowhere near "safe" financially speaking. My colleagues are lovely, but I can tell how different my story is from the typical experience. When we go out to dinner, I become anxious, knowing that with so little in my checking account, I must order a cheap entree. When everyone orders bottles of wine and appetizers and then decides to split the bill evenly, my heart sinks. Either I must tell them I cannot afford to contribute to all that, or I must risk having my debit card rejected in front of them.
A few months ago, my car broke down and wiped out the meager savings I had earned by teaching over winter break. A large heating bill left me juggling expenses until this past summer, when I took on four extra jobs to rebuild my savings. I took work advising new students, teaching a summer-school course, prepping a new course, and doing online development for another course.
At the same time, I was finishing up my first book. However, the people at my publisher who were responsible for issuing the tiny book advance I was supposed to receive were slow about sending that money. So now I was once again depleted of cash, staving off creditors, and amassing late fees. Should I have e-mailed my publisher a third time to complain that I had not yet received the book advance?
Such things are embarrassing. They suggest that I am irresponsible somehow, when the simple fact is that some of us just don't have as much as others. We didn't have parents who paid our way through graduate school or gave us money for a down payment on a house, and we got kicked around financially in other ways. No matter the cause, those of us who don't have money in reserve have an awkward and humiliating place in academe.
This ought to be a victory story: Small-town smart girl becomes a tenured college professor. And I am very proud of my achievements.
But let's be honest here. The system doesn't easily support those wishing to improve their lives, especially those raising children in the process. I'd like to think that we still live in a country where dreams come true, where education is open to all who are capable and hardworking. But what I had to do was almost impossibly difficult, and the degree of shame and cognitive dissonance I carry around is palpable.
Without food stamps, housing assistance, subsidized student loans, and Medicaid, there is no way I could have made it through graduate school. Today all of those programs are under threat. To kill those supports is to kill the dream entirely for some people, and to be another voice telling smart young women to just give up and accept the limitations their backgrounds imposed upon them.
If that happens, the only people able to make it into academe will be those with a privileged financial background, whose families can step in when life challenges them. But even existing social supports will not allow full entry into the ivory tower. If you start behind, you'll stay behind, no matter how hard you work.
Tenure won't protect you from heating bills, car repairs, or the fact that you can't buy milk until tomorrow when you get paid. It won't protect you from bill collectors who don't give a damn that you can't pay them now because you haven't yet received your first royalty check. Shh. Don't tell anyone. |
Fulfilling a contract signed in 2007, Russia has supplied Bastion coastal missile systems with Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria under a contract signed in 2007, a diplomatic source in Moscow has told Russian media.
Objecting to Western fears that the defensive weapons system will fall into the hands of terrorist groups, a diplomatic source says that Moscow has fulfilled its obligations as laid out in the five-year-old contract.
"The Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles have been supplied as part of Bastion mobile coastal missile systems," the source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Interfax.
However, delivery of the weapons systems is just the first part of the process, and now “more time is needed to complete Syrian personnel training," the source said, adding that the missile system will “enable Syria to protect its entire coast from a possible seaborne attack."
Damascus is expecting to receive at least two Bastion systems with 36 Yakhont missiles per each system.
According to unofficial estimates, the contract carries a $300 million price tag.
The announcement comes as a Russian naval group, led by the nuclear aircraft-carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is en route to the Syrian port of Tartus.
Russian military officials rejected suggestions that the naval visit has any connection with the present turmoil gripping the Arab republic, saying the visit was planned a year ago. In addition to Syria, the aircraft carrier and its escort ships will pull into port at the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Genoa in Italy and Cyprus, says the former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko.
Speaking on the missile delivery to Syria, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters earlier this year that Russia intended to fulfill the 2007 contract.
"We are going to supply Yakhonts to Syria. We are going to fulfill the contract," he said.
The defense minister says Russia, unlike the US and Israel, is confident the technology will not fall into the hands of terrorist organizations.
"The United States and Israel are asking us not to supply Yakhonts to Syria, but we do not share their fears that these weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists," Serdyukov said.
"Russia strictly specifies the terms of weapons supply and maintenance and properly formalizes end-user certificates. And they [the Syrian side] undertake commitments," he explained.
The Yakhont 3M55E supersonic anti-ship cruise missile is capable of hitting targets at ranges of up to 300 km and carrying a warhead weighing more than 200 kg and can combat single surface ships or groups of ships under heavy fire and electronic counteraction.
The completion of the deal comes at a time of increasing political uncertainty for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is struggling to maintain his grip on power in the face of a nine-month conflict with anti-government protesters.
With the situation in Syria appearing to be teetering on civil war, many observers fear another “Libyan-scenario” will occur complete with another NATO military operation.
Russia roundly criticized the NATO’s handling of the Libyan crisis, saying the military alliance overstepped their UN-mandated obligations to protect innocent civilians and worked aggressively on the side of the rebels to depose former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Gaddafi is believed to have been summarily executed just moments after being captured by rebel militia on Oct. 11, 2001 in his hometown of Sirte.
Robert Bridge, RT |
KOCHI: The police, probing the sensational murder of Dalit law student Jisha (30), have revealed the face of the accused Ameerul Islam, 23, an Assam native. The police brought Ameerul to judicial first class magistrate court, Perumbavoor, at 3.45 pm on Thursday on completion of his custody period.A native of Nagaon district in Assam, Ameerul had been working as a construction labourer in Perumbavoor, a satellite city of Kochi with largest concentration of migrant workers in the state.He had mutilated private parts of the woman after murdering her. There were 38 minor and major injuries on the body of the victim. After committing the ghastly act on April 28, Ameerul had left for Assam on the next day. He had spent 28 days at his home in Nagaon before moving to Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu from where the police nabbed him on June 16. |
On Sunday evening, someone hijacked the Hacking Team account on Twitter and used it to announce that the company known for developing hacking tools was itself a victim of a devastating hack.
Note: This story is a follow-up to the previous Hacking Team story. You should read both if you want to see things from the beginning. Also, a curated slideshow of contracts and other visuals is also available.
The hackers released a 400GB Torrent file with internal documents, source code, and email communications to the public at large. As researchers started to examine the leaked documents, the story developed and the public got its first real look into the inner workings of an exploit development firm.
Hacking Team is an Italian company that sells intrusion and surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies. However, their business has earned them a black mark from privacy and human rights organizations, as the company has been accused of selling tools and services to nations known for violent oppression.
Reporters Without Borders has listed the company on its Enemies of the Internet index due largely to Hacking Teams' business practices and their primary surveillance tool Da Vinci.
Sunday evening, documents circulating online, and documents shared by @SynAckPwn with Salted Hash, have linked Hacking Team to Egypt, Lebanon, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
The link to Sudan is especially newsworthy as the company previously stated they've never done business with the nation. There is a UN arms embargo on the Sudan, which is covered by EU and UK law. If they were doing business with the Sudanese government, Hacking Team could be in hot water.
In 2014, a Citizen Lab report revealed evidence that Hacking Team's RCS (Remote Control System) was being used by the Sudanese government, something the Italian company flat-out denied.
However, on Sunday a contract with Sudan, valued at 480,000 Euro, and dated July 2, 2012, was published as part of the 400GB cache. In addition, a maintenance list named Sudan as a customer, but one that was "not officially supported." Interestingly, Russia has the same designation.
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Along with Russia and Sudan, there were other customers exposed by the breach including:
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Chile, Colombia Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, United States Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Australia, Cyprus, Czech Republic Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Poland, Spain Switzerland, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE
Newly published documents from the cache include invoices for services with Italian law enforcement, Oman, South Korea, UAE, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Lebanon, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Egypt, and Vietnam. The total value of the invoices is €4,324,350 Euro.
The hack went without comment for several hours, until members of Hacking Team woke on Monday morning. One of the company's staffers, Christian Pozzi, offered several comments on the breach, despite his statement that he couldn't comment.
"We are awake. The people responsible for this will be arrested. We are working with the police at the moment," Pozzi wrote.
"Don't believe everything you see. Most of what the attackers are claiming is simply not true...The attackers are spreading a lot of lies about our company that is simply not true. The torrent contains a virus..."
Pozzi took to Twitter to repeat the same message for the most part, the key points being that Hacking Team is working with law enforcement on this matter, that the massive torrent file has malware in it (it doesn't), customers are being notified, and that his company has done nothing illegal:
"... We simply provide custom software solutions tailored to our customers needs..."
[Pozzi either deleted or disabled his Twitter account. An archive is available here.]
It's also worth noting that he threatened security researchers with jail for discussing his poorly selected passwords, which were leaked as part of the 400GB cache. Additional details on that, including examples of the poorly crafted passwords that were exposed, can be found in the previous Hacking Team story.
One new update is that a list of VPN logins was discovered in the cache, and like the other leaked VPN details, Hacking Team has assigned customers access to accounts in the U.S. and Europe, depending on their location. However, all of those accounts are burned, so they're of little value.
The Hacking Team hack is a developing story. Salted Hash will follow it, and provide updates as needed. Stay tuned.
Update 1: As this post was being added to the CMS, Christian Pozzi's Twitter account was hacked. It looks as if the hackers who targeted Hacking Team have started to go after the staff too. However, Pozzi's Twitter details, along with other social media accounts were part of the leaked Firefox password store.
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Update 2: Readers have asked about additional countries under maintenance contract. The list below was leaked along with the rest of the Hacking Team cache on Sunday.
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Update 3: Sources have told Motherboard that Hacking Team has emailed all of their customers and urged them to stop using their Remote Control System (RCS), sold under the name Galileo. The source also states the company hasn't been able to regain access to their email systems. |
The Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official resident cat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 10 Downing Street. Only four cats, Humphrey, Sybil, Larry and Freya, have been given the title officially;[1][2][not in citation given] other cats were given this title affectionately, usually by the British press. There has been a resident Treasury or Downing Street cat employed as a mouser and pet since the reign of Henry VIII,[3] when Cardinal Wolsey, who assumed office in 1515, placed his cat by his side while acting in his judicial capacity as Lord Chancellor.[4]
History [ edit ]
Official records released into the public domain on 4 January 2005 as part of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 only date back to 3 June 1929,[5][6] when A.E. Banham at the Treasury authorised the Office Keeper "to spend 1d a day from petty cash towards the maintenance of an efficient cat".[7] In April 1932, the weekly allowance was increased to 1s 6d. By the twenty-first century, the mouser was costing £100 per annum.[8] The cats do not necessarily belong to the Prime Minister in residence and it is rare for the Chief Mouser's term of office to coincide with that of a Prime Minister.[9] The cat with the longest known tenure at Downing Street is Wilberforce, who served for thirteen years under Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, and Margaret Thatcher.
The post has been held by Larry, since 2011.[1] The departure of the previous incumbent, Sybil, was in January 2009. Sybil, who began her tenure on 11 September 2007, was the first mouser for ten years following the retirement of her predecessor Humphrey in 1997. Sybil was owned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, who lived in 10 Downing Street while the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, lived in the larger 11 Downing Street.[10][11] It was reported that Sybil did not settle in London, and returned to Scotland to live with a friend of the Darlings.[12] Sybil died on 27 July 2009.[13][14]
In January 2011, rats were seen in Downing Street, "scurrying across the steps of Number 10 Downing Street for the second time during a TV news report," according to ITN.[15] There being no incumbent Chief Mouser at that time, the Prime Minister's spokesman said there were "no plans" for a cat to be brought in to tackle the problem;[16] however, the following day, newspapers reported that the spokesman had said there was a "pro-cat faction" within Downing Street, leading to speculation that a replacement might indeed be brought in to deal with the problem.[16] On 14 February 2011, it was reported that a cat called "Larry" had been brought in to address the problem.[17] The London Evening Standard reported that the cat had been selected by David Cameron and his family, from those at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.[17]
In September 2012, it was reported that Prime Minister David Cameron had sacked Larry from the post of Chief Mouser, in favour of Chancellor George Osborne's tabby cat, Freya, as the new Chief Mouser to patrol Numbers 10, 11, and 12. Some sources described the new arrangement as a "job share" to avoid any hurt feelings.[18] Chief Mousers in the past have overlapped, or been phased in – though the position can and has remained vacant for extended periods of time. Larry is the only Chief Mouser listed on the official web site for Number 10.[1] In November 2014 Freya was exiled from Downing Street leaving Larry as the Chief Mouser.[19]
Partisanship study involving the Chief Mouser [ edit ]
Robert Ford, a political scientist at the University of Manchester, reported on a YouGov survey on partisan reactions to the Downing Street cats. Participants in the survey were shown a picture of Humphrey, the Chief Mouser appointed by Margaret Thatcher, and told that he was either Thatcher's cat or Tony Blair's cat. Affinity for the cat divided along partisan lines: Conservative voters liked the cat far more when they were told he was Thatcher's and Labour voters liked the cat far more when they were told he was Blair's. Ford concludes that partisanship shapes reactions to everything a politician does, however trivial, similar to the halo effect (and a reverse "forked tail effect") observed by psychologists.[20]
List of Chief Mouser cats [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
The Jewish Community of Resistencia, Argentina
Julio Mazo
Author of the Historia de los Ashkenazim de Resistencia. Pp. 239. Resistencia: Ibera Editions, 1987. Julio Mazo contributed this article to Beit Hatfutsot website.
The city of Resistencia is located in the Chaco Province in northeastern Argentina, close to the country’s borders with Paraguay and Brazil. Resistencia was founded in 1878 by Italian immigrants who were soon followed by Spanish, Bulgarian, Czech, Yugoslav and other European immigrants, who gradually settled the province. The development of the timber industry at the end of the 19th century and the growth of cotton plantations in the early 20th century attracted an additional work force from other areas in Argentina as well as from neighboring Paraguay, seasonally enlarging the local population. This development brought about an increase in the economic importance of the region and encouraged more workers, businessmen and farmers to settle in the Chaco province, and particularly in Resistencia. The intense economic activity and the many business opportunities it generated were among the reasons why Jewish settlement to Resistencia began as early as the turn of the 19th century. During the 1930s and the 1940s, the city served as an entry gate to Argentina for Jewish refugees from Europe and during the 1970s as an exit point for Jews escaping the dictatorial regime in Argentina.
Early Jewish settlement in Resistencia
About fifty Spanish-speaking Jewish families originating from Tetuan (then in Spanish Morocco) and persuaded by the prospects of economic growth arrived in the forests of the Chaco province in 1905. Most of the new arrivals were active as laborers and merchants; a few years later the majority moved to Resistencia where they established the basis for the Jewish community in the city. Jews coming from Turkey, chiefly from Izmir (Smyrna) and others who had previously settled in a number of villages in the Province of Corrientes followed these first Jewish settlers. By 1910 the number of Jews in Resistencia consisted of about one hundred families. They were joined by a few groups of settlers coming from the Jewish colonies in the provinces of Entre Rios and Santa Fe, who had been disillusioned by the JCA experience.
It was only after the WWI that Jews from Eastern Europe started settling in significant numbers in Resistencia. The economic hardships and political upheavals that followed WWI in Europe were a sharp contrast to the economic development of Argentina, and served as an important stimulus for Jewish immigration. The number of Jewish immigrants increased even more during the years when anti-Semitism was on the rise in Poland and indeed, in the early 1930s, there were some one hundred Jewish families from Eastern Europe living in Resistencia. The largest group of Jewish immigrants came from the Polish region of Volhynia (the towns of Berezno, Rowno and Ratno) (now in the Ukraine), but there were also immigrants from Warsaw, Byelorussia (Minsk), and in smaller numbers, from Galicia, Romania and Bessarabia (now in the Republic of Moldova). Many Jews from Eastern Europe succeeded in bringing their families from Poland during the late 1930’s.
Jewish Population in Resistencia
Year Jewish Population in Resistencia Percentage of Total City Population
1910 400 4.77
1930 870 3.48
1939 1,100 2.62
1986 1,087 0.65
2002 800 0.29
Commerce continued to be the main occupational activity of the Jewish population of Resistencia; many new immigrants worked as peddlers and others managed to open small shops. There were also several Jewish professionals, especially lawyers and physicians, while international companies active in the region employed several immigrants as clerks.
Asociación Israelita Latina Merced Y Verdad (Jewish Latin Association Chesed Ve-Emet), the first Jewish community in Resistencia was established by Sephardi Jews in 1912. Even earlier, the local Sephardi community employed a chacham to teach their children, especially in preparation for Bar Mitzvah; the chacham was also in charge of conducting the prayer service. The community purchased a cemetery and built the Community Social Center Chesed Ve-Emet. The local Ashkenazi Jews who did not yet have their own community, were admitted into the Sephardi community; they prayed together and were able to use the cemetery etc., but according to the statutes of the community, Ashkenazi Jews were not eligible to serve in positions of leadership in the community.
The Ashkenazim only started praying separately after 1928, when their numbers increased. A cheder was established for less than ten students, and in the 1930s, a Jewish-Yiddish school was established, which changed its name to the I. L. Peretz Hebrew School in 1945. A Gmilut-Chasadim association was founded in 1931 with the aim of assisting the newly-arrived immigrants. In 1936, the Ashkenazim founded the community Asociación Israelita de Beneficencia de Resistencia (The Jewish Charity Association of Resistencia). In addition to new immigrants, Zionists and Orthodox alike, the association also included Argentinean-born Jews. Until the 1960s, the Ashkenazi community functioned as a typical Eastern European Kehila. The community was led by Bernardo Goransky in its first years and was later led by the energetic personality of Salomon Kohan for more than ten years. In 1937, the community acquired a separate cemetery and the grounds on which the Community Center was later built; since its inauguration in 1943, the Community Center has served as the main location for religious activities, social festivities and private functions.
By 1940, there were about 700 Ashkenazi Jews and nearly 400 Sephardi Jews living in Resistencia.
Occupations
Until the 1960s, most Sephardi Jews were active in commerce, owning small food shops or serving as lottery agents. Several managed some of the most important shops in the city center, especially A la Ciudad de Roma, a famous bazaar owned by the Bentolila family and a wholesale food company owned by Simon Strugo. In the early days, the Ashkenazi Jews made a living primarily as peddlers. However, by the 1950s this occupation had disappeared and most of the Ashkenazi Jews in the community owned textile, furniture and food shops, while a handful became lawyers, physicians, chemists and there were even five farmers. By the early 1960s, Jews owned the vast majority of stores in Resistencia: special mention should be made of Casa Aides – an electric appliances shop founded in 1936 by Julio Aides, one of the first Jewish settlers in the city, and the Amarilla-Group, active in farming, gas distribution, the timber industry and car and truck agencies under the management of Herman Miedvietzky. In addition, some fifty Jews owned shops in the villages near Resistencia, but lived in the city since their children attended the local Jewish school. Most of the shops were closed for the main Jewish holidays.
Educational and cultural activities
Yiddish was a common language among the Jews of Eastern European origin and until the 1960s could be heard daily in the city center. The young immigrants established a local Yiddish amateur theater company; a library was active between 1929 and its closure in the late 1950s. There were also many cultural and social events attended by members of both Jewish communities.
During the period between 1949-2000 approximately 110 to 130 students attended the Hebrew School, representing more than 95% of all Jewish children in Resistencia. In 1949 Hebrew became the main language of instruction while Yiddish eventually ceased to be the common language in the early 1960s. The Gmilut Chasadim association, which later turned into a Credit Cooperative and became the Banco Israelita del Chaco (Jewish Bank of Chaco) in 1955, supported the school budget. The bank, which had many branches in the province, was managed by members of both communities and was sold to private investors from Buenos Aires in 1966.
The observant Jews in the community kept the Shabbat and until the 1980s, usually hired a chazzan (cantor) to conduct prayers for the High Holidays according to Orthodox tradition. They were also in charge of the local Hevra Kadisha (funeral association).
Ashkenazi Jews in Resistencia traditionally celebrated two Seder nights, with the number of participants and the time it took to read the Haggadah turning into a virtual competition among the local families. In the early 1950s, the Ashkenazi Community Center, with the participation of many Sephardi Jews and Mapai (Zionist-Socialist) party supporters organized a third, non-religious Seder during which they read a non-traditional Haggadah with Israeli political and cultural content. Since the 1970s, the Hebrew School has organized a Third Seder for families who do not celebrate the Seder at home.
Other community cultural activities include annual commemorations of T. Herzl, H. N. Bialik and Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Commemoration Day). On Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), students from the Hebrew School and their parents march together with Israeli flags from the Community Center to the City’s Central Square where they also pay homage to the Argentinean national hero General San Martin.
Zionist activity was very intensive in Resistencia and there were many Zionist youth centers. In 1942 a branch of the Keren Kayemet Le’Israel (Israel National Fund) was established. It conducted several fund-raising campaigns for the benefit of war refugees and later for several Israeli institutions. WIZO had two branches (Sephardi and Ashkenazi), and was followed by the establishment of Young WIZO centers. They endorsed Zionist activities, assisted the Hebrew School, organized the annual Purim Ball, and have been instrumental in organizing collective Bat-Mitzvah celebrations since the 1960’s.
Jewish political and intellectual personalities from Buenos Aires and Israel frequently visited the community for political or fund raising purposes. In addition, the ICUF (The Communist Jewish Movement) held an annual conference and occasionally organized a tour of the famous Yiddish theater company of Buenos Aires. In 1949, following the establishment of the State of Israel and the ideological enthusiasm generated by it, youth organizations such as Dror (which continued its activities until the 1990s), Hashomer Hatsair, and Betar (which had the least supporters) were founded in Resistencia. Many former youth movement members later made Aliya to Israel.
Already from its commencement in the 1930s, the Asociación Israelita de Beneficencia de Resistencia was influenced by different ideologies. There were tense political disputes between followers of the various Zionist movements, with members of Hashomer Hatsair playing a dominant role. Along with members identified with Mapai, Hashomer Hatsair represented the vast majority of the community. The Communists gradually lost ground in favor of the Zionists, especially after the passionate disputes caused by the Stalinist trials against many Jewish personalities in Moscow and Prague in early 1952.
Later developments
The 1960s saw many changes in the life of the Jewish community in Resistencia, first and foremost in the social composition – the passing away of the community founders, many of them first generation immigrants, migration to other Argentinean cities or to Israel and influx to Resistencia of Jewish families from the small towns of the Chaco province as well as from other parts of Argentina. The occupational patterns also changed – a growing number of Jews became active as professionals, mainly as lawyers, chemists and physicians, and there was a decline in the number of those engaged in commercial activity. The percentage of mixed marriages became significant and reached almost 70% in 2000. These changes brought about shifts in prevalent attitudes towards the community, Zionism and immigration to Israel, and also towards the traditional Jewish way of life. As a result, there was a significant decline in the activities of the community in the 1980s; there was no shochet and the Hevra Kadisha ceased to function. Moreover, in view of the fact that many Jews chose to be buried in private cemeteries because of the economic crisis and their diminished identification with Judaism, the community’s income from the burial fees, one of its main sources of revenue, dropped considerably during the 1990s. Not all Jewish families celebrated the Seder, as was also reflected in a plummet in the consumption of matzos: for a more or less stable Jewish population matzo consumption dropped from a peak of 3,150 kg in 1954 to only 525 kg in 1982. As of the 1980s the community hired young cantors from the Conservative movement, and also engaged several rabbis as spiritual leaders, but their endeavors were not particularly successful. In addition, many Jewish-owned shops remained open during the Jewish holidays, perhaps the most visible example of the change in the attitude to traditional Judaism.
In 1966, the second Jewish generation in Resistencia founded its own Country Club with a swimming pool, a football field, a basketball court and a tennis court. The Country Club enhanced the collaboration between the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews of Resistencia, which had its origins in the joint management of the Cooperative-Bank. In the 1990s, due to their diminishing numbers, more Sephardi Jews became members of the Ashkenazi community, thus accelerating the process of the merge between the two communities.
Today the two communities pray together during the High Holidays; Rosh Hashanah is celebrated at the Sephardi Center while Yom Kippur services are held in the hall of the Community Center, where they move the Aron Hakodesh and hire a Conservative cantor. They organize the yearly Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremonies, as well as the community Purim party and collective celebrations for Bat-Mitzvah ceremonies. The difficult economic crisis in Argentina affected the Jewish community of Resistencia during 2001-2002; subsequently there were fewer cultural activities and nearly one hundred people received material assistance from the community. In early 2003 all Jewish organizations joined forces and decided to hire a “community leader” to assist with the spiritual and cultural Jewish life of the community.
Prominent Jews from Resistencia
Several members of Resistencia’s Jewish community have distinguished themselves during the twentieth century, especially as members of the Argentinean National Parliament and in the Provincial Parliament and Government of Chaco Province. They have figured prominently as judges in the local courts; as deans and professors at the National University of the North-East; as writers; as directors of the Bank of Chaco – the regional bank, and as directors of various commercial companies and cultural, sports and professional organizations.
Special mention should be made of Dr. Rita Waismann, a biochemist who attained international fame as a result of her groundbreaking research on leprosy; Julio Kesselman, judge, Minister of Economy, and dean and professor of the local university; Moises Glombovsky, writer and member of many cultural institutions; Moises Leon Penchansky, lawyer and leader of a political party; Miriam Curletti Wajsefeld, a distinguished writer and professor and member of the National Parliament of Argentina; Samuel Hadass, who immigrated to Israel and served as Israel’s ambassador to Spain in the 1980s and the first Israeli ambassador to the Vatican in the early 1990’s. |
I generally like one question at a time, but this was so… bizzare that it needs more attention.
From a reader:
This weekend, Father was having a series of talks during his Masses which spanned about fifteen minutes, and so he was late for one at another Church. The parish sister started the Mass with the full (including greeting) introductory rites and Liturgy of the Word. Father arrived at the offertory and then Mass continued as normal. This is a common, though not weekly, practice. [?!?] 1) Is it still Mass? 2) Does it satisfy the obligation of the faithful (and myself) to attend Sunday Mass? 3) Is Our Lord still rendered present in the Blessed Sacrament? 4) If so, does this mean priests can just walk around saying the words of consecration with the right intention and confect the Sacrament?
Just when you think it can’t get stranger. If this happens often, I would inform the diocesan bishop and/or the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome.
1. It does not seem to be a Mass. Mass is the entirety of the ceremony.
Could we hack away and say, “If the priest simply forgot the sign of the cross at the beginning would it still be a Mass? If he forgot the sign of the cross AND the penitential rite, would it still be a Mass?” Sure, it would be. In the case above, however, it’s clear that what happened was not a Mass.
2. It would not fulfill anyone’s obligation (including the priest’s obligation to offer Mass – if there was a stipend accepted, or if this was a pro populo Mass). The faithful who attended this inadvertently would not be culpable for not fulfilling their obligation. Objectively however, this did not fulfill their obligation.
3. Yes, Our Lord is present in the Sacrament confected.
However.. and this is a big however….
The priest, however, is guilty of a major crime, a crime so bad that canon law uses the Latin word “nefas“, rarely encountered in the law (canon 927).
It is absolutely forbidden to consecrate one matter without the other or even both outside the Eucharistic celebration.
4. Possibly, though to do so would be an abuse so great that one one could call into question either Father’s sanity (were he totally insane, the sacrament would probably not be confected) or his real intention to do what the Church intends.
Reason #675663 for Summorum Pontificum. |
On Saturday, Israel’s army seemed poised to launch a ground assault into the Gaza Strip after four days of war with Hamas, as flatbed trucks hauled armored vehicles around southern Israel and thousands of reservist call-ups donned rumpled uniforms en route to training bases.
The call-ups, whose numbers could be expanded to 75,000, make de-escalation more difficult because the move raises expectations in Israel for a ground assault and shortens the window of decision for the final order to deploy the soldiers.
The veteran soldiers are considered the army's backbone, and several thousand were served notice on Friday, getting emergency draft notices in the middle of the Israeli weekend.
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"We are going to do what needs to be done, We’ll show them that no one is better than Israel,’’ said Yaniv, a 36-year-old medical officer with a paunch and an M-16 slung over his shoulder.
As he ordered a cappuccino at a gas station rest stop, he declined to ponder whether the operation would succeed in snuffing out rocket fire from Hamas militants.
"I’m not a general. We are going to finish this off and bring quiet" to southern Israel, he said.
Focus on air attacks
So far, Israel has been focusing on air attacks in the conflict, but a ground invasion is expected to put added pressure on Hamas, just as in 2009.
In the past four days, Israeli aircraft have carried out 1,000 strikes on Hamas and militant targets with precision munitions, leaving 37 Palestinians dead, nearly half of them civilians. Meanwhile, Hamas and affiliated militant groups continue to launch rockets, raising the prospect of a ground assault.
"As in every air operation, there are limitations," said Brig. Gen. Eden Attias, who said the rocket fire was expected. "We didn’t anticipate to wipe out the long- and medium-range rocket fire in a few days. It will require more effort."
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said Saturday that he saw "some indications" of the potential for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, though he offered no guarantees.
Resigned to ground offensive
Many of the Israeli reservists said they were resigned to joining a ground offensive even though they could not articulate a clear goal beyond the government’s purpose of snuffing out rocket fire and hurting Hamas’s strategic assists.
"Nobody likes to go to war," said Guy, reservist, also 36, from Tel Aviv, who left behind a wife and three children. Though the stated purpose of the operation is to "deter" rocket attacks, he said the fighting will end only when "there is peace."
In their late 20s and 30s, most of the reservists are veterans of decade of Israel's major mlitary operations: Gaza in 2009, Lebanon in 2006, and the West Bank in 2002. Their willingness to enlist is seen as a barometer of social solidarity and patriotism, but they have been known to criticize operations gone awry.
"I'm excited, but I'm also shaking,'' said Orel, a 24-year-old combat engineer from the northern Israel town of Nahariya. "I do this out of love for my country. I have friends in southern Israel and it's not logical that they have to hear sirens all the time.''
The reservists are in a holding pattern, waiting to see whether there will be an invasion or whether they will be able to go home. The military only has a short time to hold tens of thousands of men away from job and family.
"The army keeps on telling soldiers: tomorrow, tomorrow. Meahwhile, we’re making serious preparations," said Itzik, a reservist from the southern Israel town of Ashdod who said he expected to be ordered in. "I think it's going to be larger than you think."
The highways of southern Israel were mostly deserted on Saturday, thanks to the weekend and the rocket fire, but there was a pronounced presence of military and police forces on the roads.
The military erected roadblocks on southern Israeli highways, creating closed zones in an effort to keep a fog around the army's movements.
A 20-something soldier, who fought in the last Gaza war and was taking a break from duty in Ashdod, said he doesn't think it's a good idea to go into Gaza on the ground. Why? "Because soldiers will die."
In the parking lot outside one army base, buses full of soldiers wound their way through supply trucks and reservists parting from friends. As a Palestinian rocket was intercepted by an Israeli defensive missile, Lior, an infantry soldier from southern Israel, said he still held out hope for a cease-fire that would avoid deaths. But if the rocket fire doesn’t end, a ground offensive is inevitable. "We’ll have no choice," he said.
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Christa Case Bryant contributed to this report.
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How police could soon be able to turn cars off remotely 'at the flick of a switch' under secret new EU plans
Secretive committee agreed to develop 'remote stopping' device by 2020
Device 'to be fitted to all cars' and allow police to shut off fuel and ignition
Critics slam 'draconian' decision by 'unaccountable secretive clique'
'Draconian': EU plans to allow police to shut off any car at will using a device fitted as standard has been criticised today
A secretive EU body has agreed to develop a device to be fitted to all cars allowing police to cut off any engine at will, it emerged today.
Leaked paperwork has revealed the 'remote stopping' technology could be activated by a switch in a control room, shutting off the fuel and cutting the ignition.
The device, which could be imposed within a decade, would also allow police to track a vehicle's movements as well as immobilise it.
The plans were immediately labelled as 'draconian' by critics, who questioned whether the Government would be liable if remote kill-switches caused collisions.
According to The Daily Telegraph a group of senior EU officials, including several Home Office mandarins, have signed off the proposal at a secret meeting in Brussels.
'Cars on the run can be dangerous for citizens,' the document reportedly says.
'Criminal offenders will take risks to escape after a crime. In most cases the police are unable to chase the criminal due to a lack of efficient means to stop the vehicle safely.
'The project will work on a technological solution that can be a "build in standard" for all cars that enter the European market.'
The European Network of Law Enforcement Technologies (Enlets) has proposed a timetable to ensure the technology is fully developed by 2020.
It was described as a 'key objective', and would allow officers to end dangerous high speed chases.
The network is an offshoot of the EU's influential Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security, also known as Cosi.
EU policy: A body has agreed to develop a 'remote stopping' device allowing police control rooms to shut off cars it believes could be used for crime
MPs have reacted with fury about the 'incredible' and 'draconian' proposal.
Some have said that at high speed using this system could be more dangerous than a chase.
Tory MP for Clacton Douglas Carswell said: 'The price we pay for surrendering our democratic sovereignty is that we are governed by an unaccountable secretive clique.'
Fellow Conservative David Davis added: 'I would be fascinated to know what the state's liability will be if they put these devices in all vehicles and one went off by accident whilst a car was doing 70mph on a motorway with a truck behind it resulting in loss of life.'
UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: 'This is an incredible power grab by the EU. It is appalling they are even thinking of it.
'The EU is opposed to a free society, and wants surveillance and control, not only of countries’ economies and laws but as this move shows, even down to the power to stop a person’s car'. |
Mobile company Three Ireland recently put out an campaign to advertise their data plan. When many people pointed out that the line “It turned out he was a she” was incredibly transphobic, Three Ireland tweeted the following to several Twitter users:
We’re sorry for any offence this caused, it was not our intention. This is part of a wider ad campaign. The wider campaign gives examples of when you can often miss the best bits of TV/films while you’re streaming. We hope this explains the concept and shows that no offence was intended at all
They also pointed out that another ad in the campaign read “Sorry Vodafone customers, Ireland Scored the winning try after you’d used all your data.”
Although Three Ireland tweeted several of these apologies, it’s not a very good one. Providing the context and intention behind the campaign doesn’t suddenly make it alright since it still defends an offensive joke. “He was a she” reads like someone’s gender identity is a joke, and perpetuates the idea that transgender people are liars or objects of ridicule to those seeing the ad, with or without the context of the wider campaign. And the fact that you’re likely referencing a movie that was in and of itself problematic and transphobic in your campaign doesn’t make it better. Sorry, but intent doesn’t matter and it doesn’t make you less accountable. Three Ireland eventually made the decision to take down the ad.
@TENI_Tweets Hi, we reviewed the feedback and decided this ad will be removed, It wasn’t our intention to cause offence, again we apologise. — Three Ireland Online (@ThreeCare) July 15, 2015
Many news articles have observed that Three’s gross ads came out the same time as the Gender Recognition Bill, which legally recognizes adults by their preferred gender has passed. Maybe Three’s marketing team should have put some more thought into this by paying attention to the news. So, on a brighter note, yay for the Gender Recognition Bill! (via email tip)
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By Sam Smith | 8.12.2015 | 9:20 a.m.
Derrick Rose may not be going to the Olympics next year, but he may be getting closer to reaching his own olympus, the place where he once ruled in the NBA.
“He looks like the old Derrick to me,” said Rob McClanaghan, Rose’s trainer, at the USA Basketball camp in Las Vegas. “Now having that full year (back playing), a good playoff run, everything, the mental stuff is back, too. I think everything has come together this summer more than last summer. He’s had momentum going into the summer unlike last year. Mentally, physically, he looks very good. There’s no reason he’s not going to have a good season.
“I worked out Derrick and Russell (Westbrook) together,” McClanaghan said Tuesday. “It’s amazing how competitive those guys are in workouts. Unlike many guys in this league, those guys together push each other. It was like getting back to predraft ’08. Like Russell said (of Rose), everything is back to where it used to be. Derrick’s timing is back and mentally he’s in a very good place.”
That’s good news for the NBA given the hardships for one of its great young stars and the 2011 league MVP. But even better news for Bulls fans, who are hoping to see the Rose of 2010 until the 2012 playoffs, the Rose who became one of the dominant figures in basketball and gave rise to realistic chances of the Bulls competing for a championship.
Those hopes and dreams were ripped away with Rose’s ACL tear in the first game of the 2012 playoffs. Since then it’s been a frustrating fix stitched full of stunted hopes, false starts and faltering finishes as the narrative regarding Rose was less how he played but whether he could play. Rose had to listen to three years of ‘Good morning’ becoming, “How do you feel?” But with a solid two playoff rounds after his minor meniscus surgery last season, the attention has shifted from the state of his health to the quality of his game.
All indications from McClanaghan, who also trains Westbrook, were that the two went explosive first step for explosive first step with no one backing down. Any Rose, Bulls and NBA fan will accept Rose being able to match Westbrook’s acceleration.
“Russell came in and worked with him,” noted McClanaghan. “The first really consistent (dual workouts) in a while and it was really good.”
Rose was expected to be at this USA camp that begins the selection process for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Rose has won gold medals with the 2010 and 2014 USA Basketball World Cup teams, though never an Olympic medal. But Rose after substantial consideration, according to associates, decided to skip the three-day camp, even with it’s non contact curriculum, to concentrate on his training and health. McClanaghan, who had clients like Westbrook at the camp, left Rose to his regimen back in Los Angeles. Rose also is leaving next week for a sponsor trip to China and apparently prefers the more serious efforts on his own with his precious training time.
USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said Tuesday he understood any player having other considerations. But Colangelo issued his own edict that attendance at this camp was mandatory—if also symbolic in support of the program—for consideration in 2016.
“I’m really happy for him,” Colangelo said about Rose. “I’ve been disappointed in his injuries that prevented him from staying at a level that everyone had anticipated and he certainly wanted to be at. It was great to have him last summer in the World Cup. I look at it this way: All we can do is invite the guys; they have to make their own decisions based on their own circumstances. If they have contract issues or health issues or personal issues they have to deal with and don’t want to commit, that’s fine. I just wish him the best. That was his call (not to come); I accept that.
“I made it mandatory for anyone who wanted to be involved going forward they had to be here,” said Colangelo. “I have to stand by what I said.
“That’s equity (Rose has in participation with USA Basketball since 2007),” noted Colangelo. “That’s a big part of what we believe in. But when you look around and see 34 players here, they all have equity for the most part. They all have their own circumstances. They all knew that part of the process was to be here. Damian Lillard was another who chose not to be here. That’s fine; we can live with the fact people make decisions. The good news is we are not dependent at this point on any one or two players who might not come. There’s enough depth as evidenced by what you see here that we are going to compete.”
Of course, LeBron James and Paul George are making just token appearances for a few hours and with several other players not participating in the practices, which are just shooting drills, or Thursday scrimmage. Still, for now it’s the Colangelo Rules. Colangelo rules.
But Rose seems satisfied enough, said McClanaghan, returning to his previous form. McClanaghan said for the first time in four years Rose has returned to workouts five days a week without restrictions and is showing the confidence and flair in his game that has been mostly sidelined the last three to four years.
It’s been an almost unprecedented rise and fall for Rose from league phenomenon to forgotten. Rose played in 51 games last season, but that was more than the three previous seasons combined. This after Rose missed a total of six games his first three years in the NBA. Rose averaged 17.7 points and 4.9 assists in the 2014-15 regular season. But then in the playoffs, Rose raised those averages to 20.3 points and 6.5 assists while playing in all 12 playoff games (he’d played in one playoff game since 2011) while averaging 37.8 minutes per game in the playoffs with no physical setbacks. That’s apparently continued into his workouts in Los Angeles.
“It’s almost like it feels good because it’s back to the way it used to be,” said McClanaghan of working with Rose. “Going every day, five days a week. Getting in and getting back to what we did the first four years in the league. Feels good, actually, to do that and have a routine, talk trash and have fun. Not answer questions (about health). You know Derrick. He wants to come in and work, talk a little trash and work out and leave. It’s been fun for everybody to get back in that routine of the first four years.
“Pull up, jump shot, floater, his finishes, finishing at the rim; that’s a big thing he wanted to work on,” said McClanaghan of Rose’s off season priorities. “He wasn’t finishing like he wanted to. Change of speed stuff, getting back to that rhythm. We’re not going long, but we are going hard; very efficient workouts, a lot of reps.
“He’s coming along very well on (his shooting),” McClanaghan added. “It’s more getting that rhythm, a consistent summer. There was talk (of coming to Las Vegas). Right now he just wants to stay healthy and just be consistent with the workouts.
“The last few years have been sporadic, all the injuries,” noted McClanaghan. “Now he came out early July and will be there until (late) September. There have been restrictions (the last few years), limitations: ‘Let’s go two days a week,’ ‘let’s go 40 minutes.’ Now it’s, ‘Let’s go, let’s just work.’ It’s good to get back to the old days.”
The Bulls can only hope. |
For the language, see Shuar language
A Shuar man in traditional dress
The Shuar are an indigenous people of Ecuador and Peru. They are members of the Jivaroan peoples, who are Amazonian tribes living at the headwaters of the Marañón River.
Name [ edit ]
Shuar, in the Shuar language, means "people."[1] The people who speak the Shuar language live in tropical rainforest between the upper mountains of the Andes, and the tropical rainforests and savannas of the Amazonian lowlands, in Ecuador extending to Peru. Shuar live in various places — thus, the muraiya (hill) shuar are people who live in the foothills of the Andes; the achu (swamp-palm) shuar (or Achuar) are people who live in the wetter lowlands east of the Andes (Ecuador and Peru).
Shuar refer to Spanish-speakers as apach, and to non-Spanish/non-Shuar speakers as inkis. Europeans and European Americans used to refer to Shuar as jívaros or jíbaros; this word probably derives from the 16th century Spanish spelling of "shuar" (see Gnerre 1973), but has taken other meanings including "savage"; outside of Ecuador, Jibaro has come to mean "rustic". The Shuar are popularly depicted in a wide variety of travelogue and adventure literature because of Western fascination with their former practice of shrinking human heads (tsantsa).
From the time of first contact with Europeans in the 16th century, to the formation of the Shuar Federation in the 1950s and 1960s, Shuar were semi-nomadic and lived in separate households dispersed in the rainforest, linked by the loosest of kin and political ties, and lacking corporate kin-groups or centralized or institutionalized political leadership.[2]
The center of Shuar life was a relatively autonomous household consisting of a husband, his wives (usually two), unmarried sons, and daughters. Upon marriage sons would leave their natal household, and sons-in-law would move in (see matrilocal residence). Men hunted and wove clothes; women gardened. Both men and women were involved in feuding warfare with other groups. In 1527, the Shuar defeated an incursion by the Inca armies of Huayna Capac.[2]
When Shuar first made contact with Spaniards in the 16th century, they entered into peaceful trade relations. They violently resisted taxation, and drove Spaniards away in 1599.
Colonization and missionization in the 20th century have led Shuar to reorganize themselves into nucleated settlements called centros. Centros initially facilitated evangelization by Catholic missionaries but also became a means to defend Shuar land claims against those of non-indigenous settlers. In 1964 representatives of Shuar centros formed a political Federation to represent their interests to the state, non-governmental organizations, and transnational corporations.
Tsantsa, the shrunken heads [ edit ]
Tsantsa or shrunken head in the Pitt Rivers Museum.
In the 19th century muraiya Shuar became famous among Europeans and Euro-Americans for their elaborate process of shrinking the heads of slain Achuar. Although non-Shuar characterized these shrunken heads (tsantsa) as trophies of warfare, Shuar insisted that they were not interested in the heads themselves and did not value them as trophies. Instead, they sought the muisak, or soul of the victim, which was contained in and by the shrunken head. Shuar men believed that control of the muisak would enable them to control their wives' and daughters' labor.[3][4]
Since women cultivated manioc and made chicha (manioc beer), which together provided the bulk of calories and carbohydrates in the Shuar diet, women's labor was crucial to Shuar biological and social life. In the late 19th century and early 20th century Europeans and Euro-Americans began trading manufactured goods, including shotguns, asking in return for shrunken heads. The result was an increase in local warfare, including head hunting, that has contributed to the perception of the Shuar as violent.[3][4] In 1961 Edmundo Bielawski made the only footage showing what appears to be their head-shrinking process.
Adulthood rituals [ edit ]
Tunic in toucan feather MHNT
Prior to missionization in the 1940s and 1950s Shuar culture functioned to organize and promote a warrior society. Boys of about eight years would be taken by their fathers or uncles on a three- to five-day journey to a nearby waterfall, during which time the boy would drink only tobacco water. At some point the child would be given maikua (Datura arborea, Solanaceae), in the hope that he would then see momentary visions, or arútam. These visions were produced by a wakaní or ancestral spirit.
If the boy were brave enough he could touch the arútam, and acquire the arútam wakaní. This would make the boy very strong, and possession of several arútam wakaní would make the boy invincible. Shuar, however, believed that they could easily lose their arútam wakaní, and thus repeated this ritual several times.
A Shuar warrior who had lived to kill many people was called a kakáram. Shuar believed that if a person in possession of an arútam wakaní died a peaceful death, they would give birth to a new wakaní; if someone in possession of an arútam wakaní were killed, they would give birth to a muísak.
Illness and shamanism [ edit ]
Shuar generally do not believe in natural death, although they recognize that certain epidemics such as measles and scarlet fever are diseases introduced through contact with Europeans or Euro-Americans. They fought primarily with spears and shotguns, but—like many other groups in the region—also believed that they could be killed by tsentsak, invisible darts.
Any unexplained death was attributed to such tsentsak. Although tsentsak are animate, they do not act on their own. Shamans (in Shuar, "Uwishin") are people who possess and control tsentsak. To possess tsentsak they must purchase them from other shamans; Shuar believe that the most powerful shamans are Quichua-speakers, who live to the north and east.
To control tsentsak Shuar must ingest natem (Banisteriopsis caapi). Many Shuar believe that illness is caused when someone hires a shaman to shoot tsentsak into the body of an enemy. This attack occurs in secret and few if any shamans admit to doing this. If someone takes ill they may go to a shaman for diagnosis and treatment.
They have many plants that they use for common everyday illnesses. Most people know these plants and how to prepare and use them. Occasionally, an older woman will be asked for advice or help especially with fertility control, childbirth and new infants. "Piripiri" (Cyperus species) are used for a variety of ailments.
Shuar and the Ecuadorian State [ edit ]
The discovery of oil in the upper Amazon has motivated Ecuadorian and Peruvian interest in the region. In the 20th century Ecuadorian Shuar and Peruvian groups like the Achuar have had significantly different histories.
There are at least 40,000 Shuar, 5,000 Achuars and 700 Shiwiars in Ecuador.
At the end of the 19th century Catholic Jesuits re-established missions among the Shuar, and poor and landless Euro-Ecuadorians from the highlands (colonos) began to settle among Shuar. Shuar entered into peaceful trade relations, exchanged land for manufactured goods, and began sending their children to mission boarding schools to learn Spanish. In 1935 the Ecuadorian government created a Shuar reserve, in part to regulate Euro-Ecuadorian access to land, and gave Salesian (Catholic) missionaries charge over the reserve.
Missionaries were largely successful in the acculturation process, teaching Shuar Spanish, converting Shuar to Christianity, encouraging the Shuar to abandon warfare and the production of shrunken heads, encouraging Shuar to abandon the puberty rites through which Shuar acquired an arútam wakaní, and encouraging Shuar to participate in the market economy. They were largely but not completely successful in encouraging Shuar to abandon polygyny for monogamy. They were relatively unsuccessful in discouraging the practice of shamanism.
By the 1950s Shuar had lost a considerable amount of land to settlers. At this time they abandoned their semi-nomadic and dispersed settlement pattern and began to form nucleated settlements of five to thirty families, called centros (Spanish for "centers"). These centros facilitated missionary access to Shuar. They also provided a basis for Shuar petitions to the Ecuadorian government for land; in return Shuar promised to clear rainforest to convert to pasture, and the government provided loans for Shuar to purchase cattle which they would raise for market.
In the 1960s Salesian missionaries encouraged leaders of the centros to meet and form a new organization. In 1964 they formed the Federación Interprovincial de Centros Shuar-Achuar ("Interprovincial Federation of Shuar and Achuar Centros"; many Achuar live in Ecuador, although most live in Peru). The Federation is democratic and hierarchically organized, most of its leaders are salaried by the Ecuadorian state.
In 1969 the Federation signed an accord with the Ecuadorian government in which the Federation assumed administrative jurisdiction over the Shuar reserve. The Federation assumed the duties of educating children, administering civil registration and land-tenure, and promoting cattle-production and other programs meant to further incorporate Shuar into the market economy. Since that time the Federation has splintered into several groups, including a separate Achuar Federation, although the various groups maintain cordial relations.
Thanks to the work of the Federation Shuar identity is very strong. Most Shuar also identify strongly to the Ecuadorian nation-state and have entered Ecuadorian electoral politics. Many Shuar also serve in the Ecuadorian Army, and the Army has appropriated the perception of Shuar as "fierce warriors", forming elite "Iwia" units of Shuar soldiers (although all commissioned officers are non-Shuar). These units distinguished themselves in the 1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador and Peru.
In the last few years, conflict emerged as result of mining projects in the provinces of Morona Santiago and Zamora Chinchipe[5]
In popular culture [ edit ]
In James Rollins' novel Amazonia , Dr. Favre's Shuar mistress, Tshui, is described as a "witch" who concocts poisons, brews psychoactive tea, and maintains a large collection of shrunken heads. Her process of shrinking one such trophy, which she wears around her neck, is described in great detail.
, Dr. Favre's Shuar mistress, Tshui, is described as a "witch" who concocts poisons, brews psychoactive tea, and maintains a large collection of shrunken heads. Her process of shrinking one such trophy, which she wears around her neck, is described in great detail. Luis Sepúlveda's novel "The Old Man Who Read Love Stories" written in 1989, explores the Shuar people and their culture/traditions/beliefs as the main character is adopted/befriended by their people. The author was close friends with a Shuar union leader and build aspects of the story around the stories he told him about his way of life.
In the film Back from Eternity (1956) the Shuar (called Jivaros in film) attack the stranded crew in an unnamed South American country
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ] |
Fedora is a big project, and it’s hard to follow it all. This series highlights interesting happenings in five different areas every week. It isn’t comprehensive news coverage — just quick summaries with links to each. Here are the five things for June 10th, 2014:
New FPL Board Meeting
We held the first public Fedora Project Board meeting of my new tenure as Fedora Project Leader yesterday, as an informal town-hall discussion. You can read the summary or full log. We’ll be holding these every two weeks. Usually, we’ll have an agenda based on decisions to be made or (as suggested in this discussion, actually) with representatives from different parts of the project talking about their area of Fedora. But when we don’t have a pre-planned schedule, we’ll do open floor like this for whatever people want to talk about. (In this week’s case, it’s largely this: Fedora QA could use your help!)
Rawhide Mass Rebuild
Periodically, we do a “mass rebuild” of all of the packages in Rawhide, our development branch. This makes sure that all of the software uses the latest compilers and build macros. This is mostly an automated process, but sometimes some software does not rebuild successfully. If that software doesn’t get updated by its maintainers, and no one picks it up, it will eventually be dropped from the distribution. Fedora Release Engineer Dennis Gilmore posted a Fedora 21 Mass rebuild update, including a link to the packages which need work. If any of these are yours, please fix. Or if there’s something that you’re interested in that isn’t rebuilding, considerer helping by becoming a co-maintainer. (If you’re curious, the standard operating procedure followed for these rebuilds is available on the Fedora wiki at Mass Rebuild SOP.)
Fedora Workstation and Firewalld
In April, there was a large discussion over a proposal to drop the firewall by default from Fedora Workstaion. The basic argument was that the the current state of application integration with the firewall service FirewallD isn’t adequate to provide a good user experience, and that the security benefits aren’t really meaningful in actual practice. Others disagreed, and ultimately, Workstation designers and FirewallD developers met to figure out a solution. Developer Bastien Nocera summarizes the resulting plan, which includes additional automated testing, a new firewall zone, and adding network awareness to GNOME’s “sharing” controls.
Fedora contributor and ARM hacker Peter Robinson provides an aarch64 (arm64) on Fedora 21 update. Current ARM support in Fedora is 32-bit, and focused mostly on low-cost consumer devices. The new 64-bit “aarch64” architecture promises an exciting future of low-cost, energy-efficient, high-density servers — the “hyperscale” datacenter. Peter says that progress is going nicely, with some porting work remaining particularly around support of newer langages like Go and server-side Javascript, but an overall status of “looking awesome”.
DNF Proposed for Fedora 22 (and user survey)
DNF is an experimental package manager, similar to the current Yum. It’s largely a drop-in replacement, promising faster dependency-solving and (more critically) a new explicitly-defined API designed to make it easier to develop higher-level software like GUI tools an plugins. There was a great article in January on Linux Weekly News about a previous long discussion on DNF, and that’s recommended reading if you missed it before. But also, the DNF developers are asking for user feedback on Yum features missing in DNF, so please do register your feedback about what is important to you. And there is a feature proposal, not for the upcoming Fedora 21, but for next year’s Fedora 22, to replace the current Yum with DNF (possibly as “yum 4”).
Bonus Item! RHEL 7 and Fedora
You may have noticed that a new version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux was released — RHEL 7. Former Fedora Project Leader Robyn Bergeron has a great blog post about the process by which Fedora serves as the upstream for RHEL, and the history of some features of RHEL 7 in particular: Fedora, Red Hat, RHEL 7, & Open Source. (Or: How RHEL 7 is literally “Beefy.”) |
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Michelle O'Neill says 'blonde' was not meant as a compliment
Michelle O'Neill has said she does not accept that comments calling her a "blonde" were meant as a compliment.
Arlene Foster used the word to describe Sinn Féin's northern leader during a word-association game in an interview with the Sunday Independent,.
Speaking to BBC's Inside Politics, Mrs O'Neill said the DUP leader's comments were "totally unbefitting of a leader".
She said Mrs Foster "knew rightly" that her words were sexist, as she referred to that in her original interview.
She said her daughter Saoirse did not check with her first before criticising Mrs Foster over social media.
Image copyright @SK_ONeill twitter Image caption Mrs O'Neill's daughter labelled the 'blonde' comments as 'disgraceful'
Mrs O'Neill said her daughter is "a political activist in her own right" who felt "very aggrieved" by the comments.
'Outrage'
Despite the strength of Sinn Féin's response to the "blonde" comment, Mrs O'Neill said no-one should conclude that she can not have a working relationship with Mrs Foster in the future.
On Thursday, the DUP leader told the BBC's The View programme that Sinn Féin's insistence they cannot share power with her until she is cleared of responsibility for the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme scandal is "an absolute outrage".
Image copyright PACEMAKER Image caption Michelle O'Neill said there were "ways and means" for the DUP to put forward someone who can go into an Executive
Mrs O'Neill told Inside Politics that her party's position remains unchanged and if the DUP wants to go back into the executive "there are ways and means for them to put forward someone who can go into an Executive" but there must also be progress on other issues in the talks.
Asked if she would continue to insist the DUP nominee should be someone other than Arlene Foster even after a deal is achieved on issues like the Irish language and legacy, Mrs O'Neill said: "yes I have said that consistently."
She added that "the DUP can find a mechanism to deal with the issue".
Mrs O'Neill denied putting issues like the Irish language and legacy ahead of those people worried that the lack of an Executive might negatively impact on health care.
The former health minister insisted she shares people's concerns and remains committed to restoring devolution.
'Careful with language'
She defended Sinn Féin's abstentionist approach, claiming that local anti-Brexit MPs who have taken their seats in Westminister been ineffective.
She argued that even the SNP, which had 54 MPs in the last parliament, have "not been able to impact on the Tory government".
Mrs O'Neill also said a Sinn Féin councillor who called People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll a "Brit" was "right to withdraw the comment".
The comment referred to Mr Carroll's willingness to take a seat at Westminster.
She said all her members should be very careful in their language.
The People Before Profit (PBP) MLA has said he is not looking for an apology from the councillor.
Alternative socialist voices
Speaking to the BBC's Inside Politics, Mr Carroll said there is nothing wrong with being British but the comment was not about his nationality but intended as an insult.
He said that if Sinn Féin is really committed to a respect agenda it should not be engaging in such comments.
He rejected the argument that an isolated MP from Northern Ireland can make little difference taking a seat in the House of Commons
Instead, he believes it is important that alternative socialist voices are heard inside Westminster.
Mr Carroll also denied that backing the UK's exit from the European Union (EU) was a strategic error.
He claimed his party's position on the EU had been misrepresented by Sinn Féin.
Mr Carroll said PBP is opposed to the "Tory vision of Brexit" and in favour of a "different kind of Europe with open borders and solidarity between people". |
The Toronto MTB Fest is a GO! See you at 11am June 16th!
GROUP RIDES:
LOBLAWS BBQ AND CUSTOMER APPRECIATION:
‘DONNIE DRAG’ HILL RACE:
SKILLS CAMP:
GREAT PRIZES:
‘THE DON’ T-SHIRTS FOR SALE:
LOCATION
INFORMATION AND UPDATES
PARTNERS
BOTTOM LINE
Saturday, June 16th, TORBA and friends are proud to bring back the Toronto MTB Fest for a second year. Our first year’s Fest was a great one, and this year we have something even better. So come on out and celebrate our sport, our city – and getting dirty! Festivities include:Once again we will have expert-led group rides sending out packs of riders, partnered with the Wild Betty’s and Lapdogs Cycling Club. The trails are fresh off a recent trail day and ready to ride!Last year we had a simple BBQ. This year, we are stepping it up to partner with the Redway Loblaws Customer Appreciation Day for an extra special Fest offering. You get an awesome BBQ along with a whole whack of fun events for the whole family! Expect great food, lots of fun kid’s activities, kids Cannondale bike raffle, and a great atmosphere – all to benefit a local charity!That’s right, we are running a hill climb event straight up Redway Road from the far end base of the water plant to the top of the hill! The event will be run ‘eliminator’ style with a bracket system... you’ll be lined up elbow to elbow with a group of your rivals, with only the top half of your heat moving on. Any bike is allowed, but we will vary your starting line to equalize the playing field. Want to be top seed? Get out there with your GPS device and the top times recorded on this STRAVA(tm) segment ( http://www.strava.com/segments/redway-loblaws-hill-671342 ) will be given a seed value. Entry WILL BE FREE (with optional donation), and you are encouraged to wear your best gender-bending drag outfit, but keep it PG-13! Etch your name on the inaugural Donnie Drag trophy for eternal glory… or at least until next year.We are bringing in a variety of technical wood features to the parking lot. Kid-friendly and adult-petrifying options will be available. There will be prizing doled out for displays of awesome.Lots of sponsor prizing and swag will be available! We have goods from event sponsors such as Cycle Solutions and the Carrot Common to pass out and draw in raffles! Come out and show your spirit, tell us a story about your ride, or wow us with feats of cycling… and you shall be rewarded!By popular demand, we will be selling our ‘The DON’ T-shirts in a limited supply. Come early while supplies last!The Fest is held at the Redway Loblaws right at the heart of the Don trails – 11 Redway Road www.mtbfest.com is your go-to resource for event information, updates and all the details (hint: it links directly to our Facebook event page).The Toronto MTB Fest is proud to be partnered with the following key supporters:The City of TorontoRedway Loblaw`sCycle SolutionsThe Wild Betty`sLapdog Cycling ClubDuke`s CycleRiding Feels GoodThe Carrot CommonIMBASacred RidesSirBikeaLot RacingIt's going to be a great Fest! See you ALL on the day of!The Toronto MTB Fest is run by the Toronto Offroad Biking Association. Check out our website• Sign up for our email list via our website• Join our Facebook group or like our Facebook page• Twitter account coming! Be sure to follow us on the launch!TORBA (Toronto Offroad Bicycling Association) |
Story highlights Alex Conant is Marco Rubio's presidential campaign communications director
He said Rubio's primary rival Gov. John Kasich is the best positioned to beat Donald Trump in Ohio
(CNN) Marco Rubio's communications director said Friday that GOP primary rival Gov. John Kasich is the best candidate for Republicans who want to defeat Donald Trump in the governor's home state of Ohio.
"If you are a Republican primary voter in Ohio and you want to defeat Donald Trump, your best chance in Ohio is John Kasich," Alex Conant told CNN's "At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan," adding Rubio was the best candidate to beat Trump in Florida.
When asked specifically if he was telling Rubio supporters in Ohio to vote for Kasich, Conant responded, "Yeah, my answer is John Kasich is the one candidate in Ohio that can beat Donald Trump. That's stating the obvious. So ... if you're a Republican primary voter in Ohio, and you don't want Donald Trump to be the nominee, John Kasich is your best bet."
While not entirely surprising, Conant's comments show that efforts to stop Trump, which had been relatively muted during Thursday's CNN debate, had not completely evaporated. Asked for comment, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told CNN, "(Rubio) is losing badly in Ohio and Florida. What else can he say?"
Rubio gave a slightly less forward message after Conant's comments when he was asked about them at event in Naples.
Read More |
About 100 parents rallied at Queen's Park on Monday to protest against provincial government changes to autism treatment.
The Ontario government has decided to stop funding a specific kind of autism therapy for children aged five and older as it works out the details of a new program. The changes have upset hundreds of parents of autistic children across the province.
"We've been putting up 'Wanted' posters for Liberal MPPs across the province because what they are doing to children at age five is just about criminal," Bruce McIntosh, president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, a grassroots advocacy organization, told the crowd.
"We've been going out to their ridings and protesting and they don't care for that very much because they call the cops on us."
In April, the Liberal government announced a new Ontario Autism Program with $333 million in funding, but changes include limiting Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) to children between two and four. The new program is set to roll out in 2018.
Under the new policy, families with children five and older on the IBI wait list will get $8,000 to pay for treatment as they are cut off the wait list. An estimated 2,200 children have been kicked off the wait list because of their age.
McIntosh said the coalition plans to keep on protesting until the province listens to its concerns.
He said police were called after Melanie Palaypayon, a mother of an autistic child, allegedly called Mississauga-Streetsville MPP Bob Delaney about the changes, and they were called Sunday when coalition members went to the Liberal nomination meeting in Scarborough-Rouge River to raise the issue. Delaney has apologized for the incident involving Palaypayon.
"They don't like us because we're proving that what they're saying is not correct. They are wrong. It's a bad move. The science doesn't justify it. It's the wrong thing to do. We are making them uncomfortable."
McIntosh said the coalition has been protesting for more than a month. He said the coalition will inject the issue in the Scarborough-Rouge River byelection campaign.
"Parents of children with autism need support immediately," Sharon Gabison, secretary-treasurer of the coalition, said after the protest.
"We want all children in Ontario with autism who need intervention to get it at the intensity they require. We want something in place for children right now.
"Many of these parents cannot wait a week. They need help now."
Tracy MacCharles, Ontario children and youth services minister, said the government is committed to its new autism program. But she said the provincial is open to making changes to help families with the transition to a new program.
"There's absolute room, in the conversations that are happening now, in terms of what the new program will look like," MacCharles said.
"I know there's some families who have some significant concerns. We're hearing that some families want more choice going forward." |
Dead hungry: Mother-to-be develops bizarre cravings for roadkill
Alison Brierley is a professional taxidermist
' It's more gamey than other meat and I love the taste'
She even serves it at dinner parties
As a professional artist and taxidermist Alison Brierley is used to handling roadkill.
But now rather than making jewellery from the hides of dead animals she finds, since becoming pregnant Ms Brierley has found a new use for the animals.
Ms Brierley , from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has developed strong cravings for roadkill meat.
Unusual entrées: Pregnant Alison Brierley sits at her dinner table alongside Japanese Gyoto dubbed Feral Fusion after it was made with roadkill due to her cravings
She said: ‘Usually I eat really healthily but now I'm pregnant I get strong cravings for roadkill.
‘It's more gamey than other meat and I love the taste.
‘I also don't have to feel guilty about eating it because I know it's had a completely free range and natural life.
‘Because I'm pregnant I've been extra careful when handling the carcasses and I always wear gloves. I don't want to risk any infections that could hurt the baby.’
Ms Brierley , 42, and her partner Marcus Speer, 44, are thrilled to be having a baby boy, which is due in February.
Unusual cravings: The professional artist and taxidermist has been craving roadkill since becoming pregnant (pictured here picking up dinner from a road in Yorkshire)
Cooking up a storm: Alison in her kitchen in Harrogate creating the Japanese Gyoto made from road kill
Although the nomadic couple have eaten roadkill before, and admitted to trying venison on a recent trip to America, Ms Brierley says that her extreme cravings have only been brought on by the pregnancy.
She said: ‘I'm craving junk food which is really unlike me and I am eating a lot more roadkill and red meat in general.
‘It's probably because I need all the natural iron I can get at the moment, what with all these extra red blood cells I am making.’
Ms Brierley revealed how she has even started hosting regular roadkill dinner parties, which she says are thoroughly enjoyed by her friends.
She said: ‘They trust me and they know I'm a good cook so I think they love it.
‘I get the best meat from friends who ring me up to tell me about a kill they've spotted on their way to work.
Eating for two: Alison says she needs all the natural iron she can get at the moment, because of the extra red blood cells she's making while pregnant
‘The best road round here is the A61 to Ripon, it's definitely the most fruitful.
‘But most of my foraging is opportunistic and I don't go out looking for carcasses.
‘The first time I picked something up was when I drove past a perfectly good pheasant.
‘I stopped and I thought 'I'm going to eat this'.
‘I took it home and marinated it in olive oil for four days before I made a kind of Kentucky fried pheasant dish.
‘I've also tried hare, deer, pigeon, rabbit, owls and partridges, but pheasant is still the staple because it's so common.
‘I would like to try fox and badger but they're never in good enough condition to eat; although I have used them for my artwork.’
Despite their controversial lifestyle choice Ms Brierley and Mr Speer believe that their way of life is better for the environment.
‘One of the big reasons for being public about this is that I want to raise awareness about where food actually comes from’, said Alison. |
Are intelligence agencies trying to sneak down your digital chimney this Christmas?
Twitter is now warning users if their accounts are being targeted by government hacking attempts.
Several users have reported receiving notices from Twitter revealing attacks on their accounts, as reported by the Telegraph.
According to the report, a number of the users allegedly targeted work in the cybersecurity field.
It’s not clear which countries were responsible for the attacks, but the report notes China, Russia, North Korea, and America as likely suspects.
One Canadian non-profit organisation dedicated to “privacy, security, and the freedom of speech” posted the notice to its Twitter page:
https://twitter.com/statuses/675443513367007232
Twitter’s move mirrors a new approach taken by Facebook earlier this year.
In October, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network pledged to notify users if their accounts were targeted by an attacker suspected of working on behalf of a nation-state.
Here’s what the Facebook notification looks like:
“While we have always taken steps to secure accounts that we believe to have been compromised, we decided to show this additional warning if we have a strong suspicion that an attack could be government-sponsored,” wrote Alex Stamos, Facebook’s Chief Security Officer, at the time.
He added: “We do this because these types of attacks tend to be more advanced and dangerous than others, and we strongly encourage affected people to take the actions necessary to secure all of their online accounts.”
It’s also worth noting that Google has been offering a similar service since 2012. |
Diminishing the principle of state sovereignty is fraught with the destruction of the world order and a full-scale war, even with the use of nuclear weapons, warns Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
“We have seen many examples of infringements on sovereignty in the recent years. Just remember military operations against foreign countries in violation of UN resolutions, statements that this or that regime has lost legitimacy – by the way, from the point of view of a foreign state rather than the people in question – as well as introduction of sanctions bypassing international organizations,” Medvedev stated at the International Legal Forum in St. Petersburg.
He specifically stressed that United Nations, although not perfect, is the only tool in the settlement of conflicts for the international community.
“We have no other platform, even though some may not like it. It is the UN Charter that calls for respecting the supremacy of law and sovereignty of states,” Medvedev pointed out.
He went on to say that hasty military operations usually end up with radicals coming to power.
The premier added that those issues, including the situation around Syria and nuclear security, will be discussed at the G8 summit in Camp David on May 18-19. |
The Art and Science of Descending
There are many ways to ride faster uphill. The marginal gains industry supplies everything from lightweight helmets and shoes all the way to the frontier of eating disorders as cyclists, mindful of their power/weight ratio become dominated by the denominator of this crucial ratio.
But the search for every watt and gram seems one-sided, the effort to go uphill fast exceeds all thought about what to do once the mountain pass has been scaled and the descent awaits.
It would take too long to think of all the aids to climbing fast from lightweight helmets with extra cooling to ceramic ball bearings and more. Now tell me how many products you can buy to descend faster? Sure there’s aero equipment to help at high speed but this is often sold for riding on the flat. Where are the aftermarket brake pads for heat, the glue that promises not to get sticky, the high grip tires or more? I’m less interested in buying speed but the example shows how the market doesn’t supply this still vital area with many goods.
Thinking aloud
We’ve all seen the image of a rider tucking low on a descent. Apparently wind tunnel work says getting off the saddle and sitting on the top tube is the most aero way. You might even remember Matej Mohorič on his way to the U-23 world championship win pedalling whilst sat on the top tube. But try this and it’s uncomfortable, unstable. What if you could press a button or flick a lever and the seatpost could go down? This is what MTB riders used to do with quick-release cams for the seat tube collar. It’s a bit Rube Goldberg but imagine a spring inside the tube to return the seatpost to the correct height.
Practice makes perfect
But enough wallet-emptying consumerism. Descending is an art but like all arts, a skill most can acquire with work even if they won’t become mountain Mozarts and downhilling Da Vincis. The problem comes in practice, you can visit the mountains but even the longest descents are over quickly and then it takes time to climb back up a again. It’s the equivalent of trying to master a tricky movement in a Rachmaninoff piano concerto – only instead of doing the one movement again and again until it’s nailed, the cyclist must do a whole concert before being able to return to the part they struggled with. What’s needed is regular repetition, to repeat a corner again and again but this is impractical because it would mean cornering, stopping, riding back up and then repeating and by now the feeling of repetition is lost. Perhaps a rider needs some kind of test track on a wide slope so they can practice cornering the way a skier crosses a slope, turns and then repeats?
Practice makes perfect but easier said than done, probing the limits of tyre grip can easily mean leaning over one degree too far, getting scraped to bits and then becoming fearful of injury. Perhaps protective clothing is an idea but we quickly leave the realm of what riders currently do and start exploring a range of unusual ways.
Alternatively something like the image above from Michelin’s tests could be of use. It might look strange but learning just how far the bike can be leaned over can help. After all you might think you know your cornering limits but how many times have you done a “save” or seen it on TV: You go into a corner and it’s tighter than expected or there’s something on the road itself, maybe even a cat runs out in front of you and the bike can be made to take a much tighter line than feels comfortable. Is this the actual limit of rubber rather than what passes for edgy on a hairpin bend?
Often the limits are mental rather than adhesive. Frenchman Thibaut Pinot has struggled this year with descending and it wasn’t because his tyres are any less grippy. He’s at Alpe D’Huez this week… but not for riding uphill. Instead he’s been racing a car on ice in the Trophée Andros. The idea is to get used to speed. Each rider has their thing, some fear injury, for some it’s the fear of failure itself.
Some will always struggle. A light and lanky rider has a higher centre of gravity because their torso is higher off the road meaning the body because a large lever and the G-forces of cornering are increased the longer the lever. Plus this lever is not rigid so the more a taller rider tries to crank it over, the more they risk wobbling.
But all the more reason to work at it. A long descent means sitting uncomfortably for long periods broken by hard sprints out of corners. Just being able to carry 2-3km/h more out of a bend means a big saving on the sprints. Nobody would think of sprinting out of a hairpin bend on the way up a mountain but it becomes essential for some on the way down. And it’s not just for the Alps, take two seconds per bend on the Poggio and Milan-Sanremo can be yours.
Tactics
Of course descending can be neglected because it’s not always fatal to the chances of winning. It’s the “summit finish” that’s crucial and there’s often time to regroup after a descent. But that still means wasted watts out of every hairpin bend or, worse, a longer chase on the valley roads which ultimately has a price to be paid on the final climb.
Ex-MTB riders
Do mountain bikers make good descenders? It’s often said but there’s little real evidence, in fact many MTB riders are very good uphill too. Where I think we see the difference is when things go wrong. An experienced off-road rider will not panic when the rear wheel locks up and the back end comes around.
Conclusion
Being able to go up a mountain fast is essential to winning many races. But less attention, whether sports science or consumer products, gets paid to the descent.
Science and shopping can be skipped as cornering at speed is an art, a skill to be worked. But often descending woes come from somewhere else, including the mind. A prior crash, a memory of a lost race or the fear of failure makes some nervous and this prevents rational, technical abilities.
So for now most get by with a mountain training camp, a key stage reconnaissance… and a prayer. |
Oops, they did it again. Made yet another show on India with a foreign host.
Few things guarantee as much fun as watching an American or British TV host visit India and host a show or an episode on India. The gems that emerge are truly spectacular. Whether it’s Oprah Winfrey behaving like she’s discovered the missing link when she sees people eating with their hands in India. Or Keith Floyd cooking the most bizarre versions of pao bhaji and tandoori chicken, while standing on the side of the street, sweating buckets into the pan.
To more recently, Kiran Jethwa claiming that something called Vimto is the local drink of choice in Kolkata—there is much to love about India through the eyes of the foreigner.
This time around, Chelsea Handler, who hosts the weekly show Chelsea, has an India episode. And it doesn’t disappoint. Called Dear India, the episode hit all the right spots.
The show starts with a dinner party at which Handler is being introduced to India. The only two Indians who have been consistently living in India and may know about current-day India are Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat.
The others at the table are America-returned Shaana Levy, her husband Uraaz and actress Frieda Pinto. All of whom tell Handler that they don’t eat street food and raw foods and as Shaana says, “If you can’t peel it, then don’t eat it." Khamba and Bhat thankfully save Indian face and roll their eyes at the fact that the other brown people at the table are behaving like they’re foreigners.
We soon move from the dinner table to Handler sitting across none other than the chef who shall be king, Vikas Khanna. Who declares that “60 to 70% of India is vegetarian". Sadly, this is incorrect information. A nationwide survey conducted by the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner disproves this. “According to the sample registration system (SRS) baseline survey 2014 released by the registrar general of India, 71% of Indians over the age of 15 are non-vegetarian. The percentage of non-vegetarians across the country however has dropped from 75 percent in 2004". If only our non-resident Indian food expert would have read up a little bit before sharing his insights. More amusingly, the smell of chillis in what looks like Crawford Market makes Khanna start coughing. What a delicate darling. How does he survive in a hot kitchen?
We are then informed by him that paan is “one of the most important part of Indian cultures". Forget the murder of the English language, I would strongly advise Khanna to step out of Maharashtra and New Delhi and visit other regions of India—where they wouldn’t know a paan or a betel leaf if it hit them on the head.
If Khanna’s misinformation wasn’t bad enough, Chelsea then meets a saffron-robed and golden locked baba or shaman as he calls himself. Who is one of our foreign imports. He’s a Jewish man from Beverly Hills and his name is Baba Rampuri. Really. He’s been living in India since 1971 and said he’d been “elevated and become a seated member of the council of elders", which is why he is sitting on a “cushion" or what we call an “asana" in the normal world. We then get a Beverly Hills-version of Hinduism and are told that for thousands of centuries all people have wanted is a “charm or a blessing". And that’s what Baba Rampuri gives them.
And then just when you think you’ve escaped the dinner party from hell, we are back in that Mumbai apartment where we—and Chelsea’s audiences—are still learning about India. But something bizarre, yet positive, happens. It’s as if the production assistant has handed them a fact sheet. Because Uraaz, whose house it is, starts reeling off statistics about how many teenaged girls there are in India, how they deal with menstruation, how there are no toilets and women defecate in the open, women’s safety statistics. Even Tanmay and Khamba, while spooning pulao into their mouths, seem stunned into silence. It’s the way you react when you see the apes speak for the first time in Planet Of The Apes. Awe-inspiring, but scary.
And then after being informed that India is one of the most dangerous places for women, “actress and activist" Mallika Sherawat makes an appearance. I’m telling you, this is the stuff dreams are made of. For some reason, Sherawat looks gleeful while telling Handler that every 20 minutes a woman is raped in India. Even Handler looks confused by Sherawat’s smile. As was I. Maybe she was just happy she remembered the statistics. Who knows?
The episode was obviously shot during the time when the sets of Padmavati were vandalised, because Tanmay mentions it as taking place a couple of days before the dinner. And then, wait for it, we have Shilpa Shetty in her magnificent home. It’s as if the producers found every Indian who has made a name for themselves abroad and contacted them to be part of the episode. Shetty tells us that she “really believes that to be famous, it has to be predestined". More memorably, Shetty can’t believe there’s a fly in her house. She can’t even identify the insect, till Handler tells her it’s a fly! These things can’t be scripted. Handler looks stunned by all that Shetty says, as any right-thinking person should.
There’s one guest on the show who’s hilarious and genuinely so. Jyoti Vadehra is a Delhi-ite, whose family wedding Handler attends. Vadehra is bitchy, sarcastic, self-deprecating, laughs and talks about her own marriage and mocks Handler’s opinion of puritanical India by saying with a straight face that “no one in India has sex. We don’t". It’s a good moment. She’s the closest to modern and real India that Handler gets.
If India isn’t already bizarre, Chelsea’s show will definitely make you wonder what we are smoking. For people who hate poverty tourism, I think this episode is just up your alley. According to this episode, we are rich, and steeped in Bollywood and spirituality—and thankfully some of us seem to have a sense of humour. The poor people are only there in the distance, to make for a colourful frame. I don’t blame Chelsea for the strange motley crew of “Indians" on her show. That’s the fault of her local talent manager. But I do thank her for not disappointing me. Gurus, arranged marriage, Bollywood, spicy food, strange experts, no poverty and tons of misinformation. This episode had it all in shovelfuls.
You can watch Chelsea: Dear India on Netflix. |
Ex-NFL Player Aaron Hernandez Found Hanged In Prison Cell
Enlarge this image toggle caption Stephan Savoia/AP Stephan Savoia/AP
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found hanged in his prison cell early Wednesday.
"Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window," Christopher M. Fallon of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a statement obtained by NPR member station WBUR. "Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items."
Hernandez was found by corrections officers in his single cell in general population at about 3:05 a.m., Fallon said. After the officers attempted lifesaving techniques, he was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m.
Massachusetts State Police are investigating, Fallon added.
Hernandez was serving a life sentence without parole at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., for killing Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of his fiancee's sister, in 2013. A jury unanimously convicted him of first-degree murder in 2015, as The Two-Way reported.
Last Friday, Hernandez was acquitted of separate murder charges in the 2012 killing of two men, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, outside a Boston nightclub. But the jury found him guilty of illegal weapons possession and sentenced him to four to five years in prison.
ESPN described Hernandez's emotional reaction on Friday:
"The former tight end for the New England Patriots wept quietly as the verdicts were read in Boston. A few moments later, he looked back at his fiancée and nodded somberly as relatives of the victims sobbed loudly. A defense attorney hugged him."
He died the same day that President Trump is hosting the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at an event at the White House.
"Team spokesman Stacey James said the Patriots were aware of the reports of Aaron's death but didn't anticipate the club commenting Wednesday," according to The Associated Press. |
Anticipating a Republican presidential bid by Scott Walker, the two-term governor of Wisconsin, both The New York Times Magazine and The Washington Monthly recently published lengthy articles about him. (The Times feature, which is in the magazine this weekend, was published online Friday.) Both articles focus on Walker’s successful battles with labor. As they should: If he runs for president, his record of union-busting will be at the very center of his campaign.
Walker’s first labor fight came in 2011, when he pushed through a bill that stripped the state’s public employee unions (firefighters and police officers excepted) of most of their collective-bargaining rights. It also forced the unions to make higher pension and health care contributions. There was a huge outcry, with union members and activists storming the Statehouse, and Democratic legislators fleeing the capital to prevent a quorum. But Walker not only got the bill passed, he then survived a recall election spearheaded by the labor unions. The fight over Act 10 — as the law was called — is the focus of The Washington Monthly article, written by Donald F. Kettl, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.
Having crippled the public sector unions, Walker more recently put the hurt on the state’s private-sector unions, signing legislation that made Wisconsin a right-to-work state, meaning that unions could not force employees to join a union or to pay dues. That bill became law in March; it is the focus of Dan Kaufman’s article in The Times Magazine.
As the two magazine articles make clear, there was no pressing need for either law. At the time he proposed Act 10, Walker claimed that busting the public employees’ unions was necessary because Wisconsin was facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit, and that the deficit couldn’t be closed, as he told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday,” “with the current collective bargaining laws in the state.” |
Update:: We recently released a live migration tool for MongoDB Atlas called mongomirror . Learn more about mongomirror on our documentation. : We recently released a live migration tool for MongoDB Atlas called
MongoDB Atlas brings the ability for you as the end user to no longer concern yourself with the day to day aspects of system administration of your MongoDB Cluster. Like many databases, Atlas exists to ensure your data is always available with little overhead to your organization.
On day one you may be concerned on how to import your existing data and take a test drive of Atlas. There are numerous ways to copy your data over from one MongoDB service to another, today we’ll focus on a simple export and import using mongodump and mongorestore .
mongodump
The mongodump binary is a utility for creating a binary export of the contents of a database. mongodump can export data from either mongod or mongos instances.
Exporting your data from mongodump can be done with a command that exports the data to the system you run the command on.
In today’s case let’s think we are working with a standalone we’ve been testing on our local laptop for a while.
MongoDB shell version: 3.2.7 connecting to: test > show databases local 0.000GB test 0.070GB > show collections testData
We’re going to export the test database that contains our testData collection. My local computer has enough disk space to handle this export, but when working with large datasets you may want to concern yourself with available disk.
bash-3.2$ df -h Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity iused ifree %iused Mounted on /dev/disk1 465Gi 96Gi 369Gi 21% 25216209 96623405 21% /
Indeed we have the space, so let’s go ahead and export this database:
bash-3.2$ mongodump -d test 2016-06-13T10:43:52.147-0400 writing test.testData to 2016-06-13T10:43:55.147-0400 [##########..............] test.testData 1326267/2900790 (45.7%) 2016-06-13T10:43:58.147-0400 [######################..] test.testData 2666589/2900790 (91.9%) 2016-06-13T10:43:58.670-0400 [########################] test.testData 2900790/2900790 (100.0%) 2016-06-13T10:43:58.670-0400 done dumping test.testData (2900790 documents)
We are now left with two files which contain both the binary document data in BSON format along with a json file containing metadata about your collection:
bash-3.2$ cd dump/test/ bash-3.2$ ls -al total 186976 drwxr-xr-x 4 jaygordon staff 136 Jun 13 10:43 . drwxr-xr-x 3 jaygordon staff 102 Jun 13 10:43 .. -rw-r--r-- 1 jaygordon staff 95726070 Jun 13 10:43 testData.bson -rw-r--r-- 1 jaygordon staff 85 Jun 13 10:43 testData.metadata.json
bash-3.2$ cat dump/test/testData.metadata.json {"options":{},"indexes":[{"v":1,"key":{"_id":1},"name":"_id_","ns":"test.testData"}]}
Important note: Since MongoDB Atlas will be managing your users for you from here on in, make sure to remove any files called system.users.bson and system.users.metadata.bson to prevent any issues with your import.
mongorestore
The mongorestore program writes data from a binary database dump created by mongodump to a MongoDB instance.
With mongorestore we should only need to create our Atlas cluster and then ensure we are whitelisted to connect. Here’s a quick one line command to confirm what IP you are currently using (including DCHP/NAT networks) according to the rest of the world. (Below IP is just an example)
bash-3.2$ curl icanhazip.com 1.2.3.4
Now we know our IP, we can add it into our collection of IPs we use for our cluster, go to the Security tab and “ADD IP ADDRESS:”
Now let’s validate we can connect to our Atlas Cluster from the laptop containing our export. Go to your Atlas Custer deployment page and find your connection string:
Click on Connect:
We have our info, let’s see if it works:
bash-3.2$ mongo mongodb://cluster0-shard-00-00-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-01-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-02-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017/admin?replicaSet=Cluster0-shard-0 --ssl --username jay --password MongoDB shell version: 3.2.7 Enter password: connecting to: mongodb://cluster0-shard-00-00-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-01-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-02-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017/admin?replicaSet=Cluster0-shard-0 2016-06-13T11:34:53.235-0400 I NETWORK [thread1] Starting new replica set monitor for Cluster0-shard-0/cluster0-shard-00-00-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-01-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-02-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017 2016-06-13T11:34:53.235-0400 I NETWORK [ReplicaSetMonitorWatcher] starting Cluster0-shard-0:PRIMARY>
Great, we are ready to import into Atlas!
Let’s make sure we have a user ready for the admin database:
We’ll modify our connection string so our restore command should look something like this (note, the --host option has a different format than before):
bash-3.2$ mongorestore --ssl --host Cluster0-shard-0/cluster0-shard-00-00-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-01-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017,cluster0-shard-00-02-cbei2.mongodb.net:27017 --authenticationDatabase admin --dir=dump/test -u jay --password $PASSWORD 2016-06-13T11:46:00.071-0400 building a list of collections to restore from dump/test dir 2016-06-13T11:46:00.081-0400 reading metadata for test.testData from dump/test/testData.metadata.json 2016-06-13T11:46:00.099-0400 restoring test.testData from dump/test/testData.bson
The restore will continue till it gets to 100% and notify you when it’s done:
2016-06-13T11:48:36.073-0400 [#######################.] test.testData 88.3 MB/91.3 MB (96.8%) 2016-06-13T11:48:39.075-0400 [#######################.] test.testData 90.3 MB/91.3 MB (98.9%) 2016-06-13T11:48:40.701-0400 [########################] test.testData 91.3 MB/91.3 MB (100.0%) 2016-06-13T11:48:40.701-0400 restoring indexes for collection test.testData from metadata 2016-06-13T11:48:40.710-0400 finished restoring test.testData (2900790 documents) 2016-06-13T11:48:40.710-0400 done
Great, let’s log into Atlas and verify our data made it into our cluster:
Cluster0-shard-0:PRIMARY> use test switched to db test Cluster0-shard-0:PRIMARY> show databases admin 0.000GB local 0.098GB test 0.070GB
Now you’re ready to start using your application along with MongoDB Atlas! Start building something GIANT today!
Jay Gordon is a Technical Account Manager with MongoDB and is available via our chat to discuss MongoDB Cloud Products at https://cloud.mongodb.com. |
D.C. is launching a fight with Congress over statehood this year. And this week, the cause had 29 seconds on prime time.
[The District is about to declare its independence — from Congress]
Actor Jonathan Banks — a D.C. native of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” fame — appeared in a pro-D.C. statehood ad that aired during a commercial break of Monday’s season finale of “Better Call Saul.”
“I was born in Washington, D.C., in the 1940s. I remember cast iron horse troughs, riding the street cars, watching the Senators play at the old Griffith Stadium,” Banks says in the ad. “A lot’s changed since then, but sadly one thing hasn’t. D.C. residents do not have equal rights. That’s why I support statehood.”
In the short spot, Banks is standing alongside D.C. shadow Sen. Paul Strauss, an elected official who lobbies for D.C. statehood and recruits celebrities for the cause.
Actors Evan Handler, Alexis Carra and Gabourey Sidibe have appeared in pro-statehood ads in the past as part of the “51 Stars” statehood project.
This most recent commercial with Banks aired only in the Washington region. Strauss said it also ran on an Iowa public television station ahead of the state’s caucuses this year. The District’s shadow delegation has been using funds from the New Columbia Statehood Commission to produce and purchase time to air the ads.
This has been a big year for the fight for statehood. The District will not ask the federal government for permission this year to spend its own money — an act that Congress warns is in violation of the law.
“As the District prepares to rededicate itself to the statehood fight, we are making sure we are working both within and outside the District for support,” Strauss said. “You are going to see unprecedented effort.”
Next up in Strauss’s celebrity recruitment?
Boxer Jesse Vargas — the first athlete to appear in an ad, Strauss said. That ad is in post production and will likely air in Nevada.
Read more:
Support for D.C. statehood at record high
In the name of statehood, D.C. joins obscure international group
D.C. mayor calls for citywide vote to make nation’s capital the 51st state |
Understanding the psychology of powerlessness can help leaders of social movements rally the troops. | Reuters/Vincent West
When do people voice opposition to social systems that disadvantage them, and when do they, paradoxically, support them? Recent research suggests that feelings of powerfulness play a critical role in whether people take on these systems of oppression. When people feel powerful, they are more likely to express opposition to the status quo, but feelings of powerlessness can lead those same individuals to support systems that disadvantage them.
A recent paper by Stanford GSB professor Robb Willer and a team of other social scientists finds that the likelihood that people will oppose these forces depends on their feelings of personal empowerment. Those who feel powerful, for example, no matter what their social and economic status, are more likely to criticize social conditions as unfair. But people who feel powerless are more likely to support the existing order, even if it hurts them, the research finds.
“It creates a great deal of dissonance to think ‘I’m disadvantaged in this situation and it’s totally unfair that I am,’” says Willer, who conducted the research with several professors, including the paper’s lead author, Jojanneke van der Toorn, a professor of psychology at Leiden University, in the Netherlands. “People tend to reduce dissonance they feel, so they convince themselves that their situation is legitimate and acceptable. If you don’t feel like you can change your circumstances, rationalizing them may feel like the only thing to do.”
This does not mean that everyone who is in a less powerful position supports the forces and institutions that repress them. The research focused only on how people react to the feeling of powerlessness. Indeed, the research suggests that less powerful people who nonetheless feel powerful will be more likely to oppose their circumstances.
In one experiment, for example, the researchers temporarily put one group in a low-power frame of mind by asking them to write about a time when they felt powerless. The other group was prompted to put themselves in a high-power mental state.
If you don’t feel like you can change your circumstances, rationalizing them may feel like the only thing to do. Robb Willer
Then, the researchers presented participants with statistics about inequality, such as the fact that the richest 1 percent of Americans own as much as the combined wealth of the bottom 90 percent, or that working women in the U.S. earn 17 percent less than their male counterparts do. Participants were asked to read two possible explanations of the inequality, one of which blamed the system, while the other emphasized the role of the victim.
The participants who had been placed in a low power mental state were more likely than high-power participants to choose the explanation that legitimatized the status quo, such as framing gender wage inequality through a woman’s choice to leave the workforce.
The researchers found similar results in other studies, including one study of U.S. workers. Those workers who expressed the greatest financial dependence on their supervisors were the most likely to describe their manager as fair and to agree with statements like, “I am fairly paid at work.”
The sense of dependency is precisely what propels those who feel powerless to see the status quo as legitimate. “The logic behind this,” van der Toorn explains, “is that people who feel powerless want to feel that the world makes sense and that their disadvantage is not unfair. Therefore, they legitimate the inequality that they don’t benefit from.”
This effect can explain why many protest movements have a hard time gaining traction, why members of disadvantaged groups might endorse politicians who do not advocate for their interests, and even why some people stay in abusive relationships. Not only do many people who feel helpless avoid changes that could help them, but they profess that things are actually pretty good already.
“This may be one reason why dictators work not only to seize power, but also to make citizens feel powerless,” Willer says. “Where people feel powerless, they are less likely to resist.”
None of that is to say that the obstacles to standing up to powerful forces are merely psychological or that victims are to blame. Willer stresses that a sober assessment of the potential negative consequences of confronting those of higher rank is probably first and foremost in people’s minds when they calculate whether they should rock the boat.
Understanding the psychology of powerlessness can help leaders of social movements rally the troops. “You often see leaders of protest movements trying to empower people to move them to action,” Willer notes. Consider Cesar Chávez’s “Sí se puede,” echoed by Barack Obama’s “Yes, we can” — both slogans were meant to inspire an attitude of empowerment. Leaders, Willer says, must convince others that the status quo “is not the only way that things could be, and that if they act together, they can be successful.”
There’s a lesson here for business managers, too. Since people who feel powerless have many reasons to avoid conflict, the onus is on those in power to make sure they are treating people with fairness and respect — and for managers to find ways to get a true picture of their own strengths and weaknesses through the eyes of their workers. Managers would be better off, Willer says, “to empower employees in order to get accurate feedback on employees’ working conditions and compensation.”
Robb Willer is an associate professor of organizational behavior by courtesy at Stanford Graduate School of Business and an associate professor of sociology at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences.
“A Sense of Powerlessness Fosters System Justification: Implications for the Legitimation of Authority, Hierarchy, and Government”was published in the February 2015 issue of Political Psychology. |
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Scientists say they are a step closer to growing fully functioning replacement kidneys, after promising results in animals.
Getting the urine out has been a problem for earlier prototypes, causing them to balloon under the pressure.
The Japanese team got round this by growing extra plumbing for the kidney to stop the backlog, PNAS reports.
Although still years off human trials, the work helps guide the way towards making organs for people, say experts.
In the UK, more than 6,000 people are waiting for a kidney - but because of a shortage of donors, fewer than 3,000 transplants are carried out each year.
More than 350 people die a year, almost one a day, waiting for a transplant.
Growing new kidneys using human stem cells could solve this problem.
Image copyright SPL Image caption Stem cells are immature cells that can develop into different types of tissue
Dr Takashi Yokoo and colleagues at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo have previously used a stem cell method to grow kidneys, but encountered the ballooning problem.
So this time, they set about growing a drainage tube for the kidney, along with a bladder to collect and store the urine.
They used rats as the incubators for the growing embryonic tissue.
When they connected up this new plumbing to the animal's existing bladder, the system worked.
Urine passed from the transplanted kidney into the transplanted bladder and then into the rat bladder.
And the transplant was still working well when they checked again eight weeks later.
They then repeated the procedure on a much larger mammal - a pig - and achieved the same results.
This offers the possibility for plumbing any future lab-grown kidneys, a need that has not previously been addressed, say experts.
Prof Chris Mason, an expert in stem cells and regenerative medicine at University College London, said: "This is an interesting step forward. The science looks strong and they have good data in animals.
"But that's not to say this will work in humans. We are still years off that. It's very much mechanistic. It moves us closer to understanding how the plumbing might work.
"At least with kidneys, we can dialyse patients for a while so there would be time to grow kidneys if that becomes possible."
Other scientists have looked at rejuvenating old organs that would not normally be suitable for transplanting. Prof Harald Ott and colleagues have been testing out a method that washes away the tissue from dead organs to leave a scaffold that can be repopulated with healthy new cells.
They have built kidneys, hearts and lungs in this way.
Prof Ott says using a scaffold is a good short cut, rather than having to grow whole structures from scratch. |
Federal prosecutors want to present evidence that a former FBI agent who testified on behalf of James “Whitey” Bulger repeatedly lied about recovering the gun that killed Martin Luther King Jr. in the agent’s upcoming perjury trial.
Robert Fitzpatrick, 76, was charged in April with several counts of obstruction of justice and perjury. He was the first witness who testified for the defense in Bulger’s 2013 racketeering trial, telling jurors that Bulger wasn’t an informant.
“Bulger was looking for a witness to corroborate his absurd claim that he was not an FBI informant,” prosecutors wrote in a motion filed Monday. “The defendant was just the man for the job.”
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Prosecutors say Fitzpatrick lied about several key points during his testimony. Fitzpatrick said that Bulger said he wasn’t an informant. He said he was given a special assignment in the Boston FBI office, and that he left the FBI because of retaliation. He claimed to have personally arrested a major Boston mob boss, in addition to being the first to find the rifle that killed King.
At one point during his cross examination, prosecutor Brian Kelly asked Fitzpatrick: “It’s fair to say that you’re a man who likes to make up stories?”
His testimony also touched on other, stranger points, including his attempt to see into Bulger’s soul.
Fitzpatrick’s attorney did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Fitzpatrick told jurors of his involvement in the MLK assassination this way: “I found the rifle when I was at the scene. I was the first FBI agent at the scene, and I found a rifle coming down the stairs, having just missed James Earl Ray, the shooter.”
Federal prosecutors said Fitzpatrick’s fibbing on the MLK case was “designed to enhance his credibility with the Bulger jury … [and] his credibility as a former FBI agent was central to Bulger’s core defense strategy of proving FBI corruption and government misconduct.”
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Prosecutors want to enter into trial historical records surrounding the assassination, including police scanner transcripts, FBI reports, court records and others. They also want to present experts of Fitzpatrick’s own book—Betrayal, Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought To Bring Him Down—and interviews he did about the book and his FBI career.
They want to admit testimony of the curator at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, and a statement by one of the lead prosecutors who worked the case against King’s killer, James Earl Ray.
Fitzpatrick’s trial is set to begin June 17. |
LONDON (Reuters) - The tattoo of the future may be good for your health rather than just your image.
A woman has her back tattooed at the International London Tattoo Convention, October 5, 2007. The tattoo of the future may be good for your health rather than just your image. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico
German scientists said on Thursday that work on mice showed that tattooing was a more effective way to deliver a new generation of experimental DNA vaccines than standard injections into muscle.
Using fragments of DNA to stimulate an immune response is seen as a promising way of making better vaccines for everything from flu to cancer. Until now, however, the concept has been hampered by its low efficiency.
“Delivery of DNA via tattooing could be a way for a more widespread commercial application of DNA vaccines,” said Martin Mueller of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg.
There are currently no approved DNA vaccines on the market but several drug companies are conducting clinical trials and investing in the technology.
Pfizer Inc, the world’s biggest drugmaker, placed a sizeable bet on DNA vaccines in October 2006 when it bought British pioneer PowderMed.
Mueller and his colleagues tested tattooing by vaccinating mice with a protein fragment of human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. No ink was used, so the tattoo left no permanent mark.
They found three doses of DNA vaccine given by tattooing produced at least 16 times higher antibody levels than three intramuscular injections.
The far stronger response reflects the fact that giving a tattoo with a vibrating needle causes a wound and inflammation. As a result, the tattoo — measuring around 1 centimeter square — is more painful but more efficient than a normal injection.
“This is probably what makes it work better than normal injections because the tissue is damaged and this affects the immune cells, which then look out for antigens,” Mueller said in a telephone interview.
His team’s research was published in the online open access journal Genetic Vaccines and Therapy.
Tattoo vaccines are unlikely to be for everyone. But they could be valuable for delivering certain therapeutic vaccines to fight cancer or other serious conditions, where some pain is acceptable, Mueller said.
Therapeutic, as opposed to prophylactic, vaccines are being developed to treat disease, rather than just prevent it.
Mueller said tattooing could also have a role to play in routine vaccination of cattle. |
They're in SO much trouble: Low-flying Brazilian air force pilots shatter every window of the country's Supreme Court
Two Brazilian air force pilots could be collared by the long arm of the law after making a low-altitude supersonic fly pass which shattered every window of Brazil's Supreme Court.
If they know what's good for them, it might be a good idea to keep flying and put as much distance between them and the angry lawyers inside the blown-out building
Swooping low over the structure housing the Supremo Tribunal Federal in Brasilia, the two French-made Mirage 2000 jets generated a massive shockwave - destroying the building's glass facade.
Scroll down for video
Investigation: A Brazilian Mirage 2000 jet was flying over the courthouse as its windows broke
The war planes had been taking part in the ceremony of exchange of the national flag at the Praça dos Três Poderes, at the Esplanada dos Ministerios.
No one was injured in the incident, but the shockwave was so powerful nearly every window in the court building was destroyed and a few in the Congressional buildings beyond.
Indeed, in videos of the incident, members of the crowds watching the ceremony can be heard whooping and hollering at the impressive aeronautic display.
Impressive to everyone but the legal eagles inside the building.
The two French-made Mirage 2000 jets generated a massive shockwave - destroying the building's glass facade
Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, chief of the Centre for Social Communication of the Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB), said military authorities had investigated the incident and would reimburse any cost.
Made by French arms company Dassault, Mirage 2000s are known for their fantastic straight line speed, reaching just over twice the speed of sound.
The French-made Mirage 2000, this one from the Brazilian Air Force, can reach just over twice the speed of sound
However, the single-engined warplanes are also notorious for their enormous turning circles - a manoeuvrability issue at high speed that could have played a part in yesterday's incident.
After all, if the pilots had time to see what was coming up ahead of them, they would have had little chance to do anything about it.
The FAB operate 12 of the planes, which have been out of production since 2007. |
From the 1950s onward, Asian countries that legalized and then promoted abortion did so with vocal, deep-pocketed American support. Digging into the archives of groups like the Rockefeller Foundation and the International Planned Parenthood Federation , Hvistendahl depicts an unlikely alliance between Republican cold warriors worried that population growth would fuel the spread of Communism and left-wing scientists and activists who believed that abortion was necessary for both “the needs of women” and “the future prosperity — or maybe survival — of mankind,” as the Planned Parenthood federation’s medical director put it in 1976.
For many of these antipopulation campaigners, sex selection was a feature rather than a bug, since a society with fewer girls was guaranteed to reproduce itself at lower rates.
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Hvistendahl’s book is filled with unsettling scenes, from abandoned female fetuses littering an Indian hospital to the signs in Chinese villages at the height of the one-child policy’s enforcement. (“You can beat it out! You can make it fall out! You can abort it! But you cannot give birth to it!”) The most disturbing passages, though, are the ones that depict self-consciously progressive Westerners persuading themselves that fewer girls might be exactly what the teeming societies of the third world needed.
Over all, “ Unnatural Selection ” reads like a great historical detective story, and it’s written with the sense of moral urgency that usually accompanies the revelation of some enormous crime.
But what kind of crime? This is the question that haunts Hvistendahl’s book, and the broader debate over the vanished 160 million.
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The scale of that number evokes the genocidal horrors of the 20th century. But notwithstanding the depredations of the Chinese politburo, most of the abortions were (and continue to be) uncoerced. The American establishment helped create the problem, but now it’s metastasizing on its own: the population-control movement is a shadow of its former self, yet sex selection has spread inexorably with access to abortion, and sex ratios are out of balance from Central Asia to the Balkans to Asian-American communities in the United States .
This places many Western liberals, Hvistendahl included, in a distinctly uncomfortable position. Their own premises insist that the unborn aren’t human beings yet, and that the right to an abortion is nearly absolute. A self-proclaimed agnostic about when life begins, Hvistendahl insists that she hasn’t written “a book about death and killing.” But this leaves her struggling to define a victim for the crime that she’s uncovered.
It’s society at large, she argues, citing evidence that gender-imbalanced countries tend to be violent and unstable. It’s the women in those countries, she adds, pointing out that skewed sex ratios are associated with increased prostitution and sex trafficking.
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These are important points. But the sense of outrage that pervades her story seems to have been inspired by the missing girls themselves, not the consequences of their absence.
Here the anti-abortion side has it easier. We can say outright what’s implied on every page of “Unnatural Selection,” even if the author can’t quite bring herself around.
The tragedy of the world’s 160 million missing girls isn’t that they’re “missing.” The tragedy is that they’re dead. |
The state of Washington may soon follow Oregon and California and allow a third gender option on birth certificates. The proposal would let people change their gender from male or female to the non-binary designation of “X.”
Currently, people born in Washington can petition to change the gender on their birth certificate from male to female or female to male. But there isn’t an option to choose no gender.
That may soon change. Christie Spice with the Washington Department of Health said that’s because society is changing.
“And more people are identifying as a gender other than a male or female and there’s growing demand for non-binary sex designations on all identity documents, including birth certificates,” Spice said.
Under the proposed change, adults could request an “X” designation on their birth certificates. Children could also make the change with the consent of their parents and with a doctor’s note.
The Washington Department of Health will hold a public hearing Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Tumwater on this proposed rule change. Online comments will be accepted until 5 p.m. Tuesday as well.
The Department of Health has already received about 1,000 written comments both in support and against the change. The new rule could go into effect early next year.
A new Oregon law allowing an “X” designation on birth certificates takes effect on January 1, 2018. In June, Oregon became the first state in the nation to allow a third gender option for driver licenses and state identification cards.
A spokeswoman for Washington’s Department of Licensing said the agency is in the early stages of considering whether it can offer a gender neutral designation on state ID cards. |
Organize the Forest
The Side Panel Control Deck's realistic front loader control stick gives you the sensation of true control over heavy machinery. Now you can easily engage tree harvesters, cranes, chainsaws, chippers, trailers, and more. What better way to take advantage of Forestry – the game's new economic branch?
Top-Notch Crane Control
The loader stick controls vertical, horizontal, and twist axes, while a mode switch on top of the stick doubles those commands giving you six axes to operate. Even better still, a button right next to the mode switch coincides with an oversized button that's also within easy reach. Program both buttons to easily change/open/close your attachments. For example, control your crane's base with the stick, press a button to switch to moving the crane arm with the stick, and then press another button to open and close the crane claw. All while keeping your hand on the control stick. You can even add a secondary Side Panel Control Deck and gain even more control by using two sticks!
Cruise the Farm
Put your vehicle on autopilot to make life on the homestead even simpler. Use the built-in dial to speed up your tractor or slow down your bulldozer. Once your pace is set, you're free to concentrate on more important tasks like deciding on who you're going to invite to the County Fair. |
Twitter; Screenshot by Zack Whittaker/CNET
British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined Twitter, following in the footsteps of dozens of other global leaders.
Verified account holder @David_Cameron joined the microblogging site on Saturday, a day before his Conservative political party starts its annual conference in Birmingham, U.K.
During the weekend, the prime minister amassed more than 88,000 followers at the time of writing on his newly-created personal account.
Twitter U.K. announced the joining of the country's leader on its blog, noting that his signing up makes him the 370th member of the U.K. Parliament on the site -- or more than half of Britain's elected representatives.
In his inaugural tweet, Cameron said: "I promise there won't be 'too many tweets...'," referencing a comment he made on U.K. radio three years earlier that resulted in heavy criticism.
In 2009, then-leader of the opposition Cameron was forced to apologize after commenting: "The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it -- too many twits might make a t**t," in an interview live on-air during the early morning breakfast show.
At the time, Twitter had an estimated 32 million users, according to a Wall Street Journal report months before the radio interview. By comparison, the microblogging site hit the 100 million user mark only a year later.
Within minutes of posting his first tweet, Cameron came face-to-face with the British public in the seemingly virtual comfort of cyberspace, which responded with some messages of support but also barraged with strong criticism.
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott noted in a tweet: "So of the 12 people @david_cameron is following, 100 percent are Tory politicians #diverse," while political satirist, writer and producer Simon Blackwell said that he: "Heard that @David_Cameron is definitely real, but the man running the country is a parody account."
Meanwhile, comedian Josie Long pulled no punches by tweeting the prime minster: "I'm sorry to have to let you know like this, but everybody really dislikes you and disagrees with what you're up to."
The prime minister still has a way to go before his popularity on the microblogging site matches his political allies and opponents alike. Current leader of the opposition @Ed_Miliband has 165,000 followers, whereas close political ally U.S. President @BarackObama has 20.6 million followers, the sixth most popular Twitter account on the network by follower count.
Parody account @Queen_UK, posing as the British monarch, has more than 947,000 followers -- a figure that represents more followers than the top 10 British politicians on Twitter combined.
Don't worry, Mr. Cameron. It's still early days yet. |
Illustration for TIME by David Cowles
courtesy: Hasbro, Nintendo, Tiger Electronics, Toy Island, Viz, Warner Bros., Wizards of the Coast
(4 of 4)
The Pikachu crisis stirred a huge amount of attention and publicity, but the wrong kind. At that time, Tajiri's GameFreak and Kubo's publishing company were negotiating with skeptical executives at Nintendo America about introducing Pokemon to the U.S. CARTOON MONSTER ATTACKS KIDS was the first headline Americans read about Pokemon. It was not a good omen. There were others, however.
"Quite honestly, role-playing games, particularly for the Game Boy system, were never popular in the U.S.," says Gail Tilden, vice president of product acquisition and development at Nintendo of America. "We had a real concern that the role-playing nature of the game would be a hard sell for us." "The negotiations were not easy," says Kubo, who calls Tilden "the Dragon Mother of Nintendo." He explains, "She is a mother, and at first she didn't understand when we said Pokemon is good for children. In the end, though, it was good for us that a mother was in charge." Tilden says the seizures caused by the show concerned her, but "we knew it was isolated to that one episode." She adds, "It did not deter us from being excited. We were committed to taking a run at it."
Thus in the U.S., Nintendo had all the Pokemon pieces to play with--a fully extended product line of games, toys, comic books and cards to appeal to boys and girls from ages 4 to 15. Says Tilden: "We decided to make an all-out effort to repeat the phenomenon in the Western world." An additional part of the strategy, says Kubo, was to hide its "Japan-ness." Nintendo of America and its Japanese partners brought in Al Kahn, who developed the Cabbage Patch doll, to help with toy merchandising. "There's a little bit of magic in what Nintendo does," says Sussane Daniels, president of entertainment at the WB. "We wouldn't interfere with their methods. God bless them." But Nintendo did ask for changes to be made to the original Japanese show (which now has 130 episodes). "We tried not to have violence or sexual discrimination or religious scenes in the U.S.," says Kubo. Some graphic scenes involving punching were taken out. The names of the characters and monsters were Westernized: Satoshi became Ash, and Shigeru became Gary. And the Pokemon were given cleverly descriptive names. For example, of the three more popular Pokemon, Hitokage, a salamander with a ball of fire on its tail, became Charmander; Fushigidane, a dinosaur with a green garlic bulb on its back, became Bulbasaur; and Zenigame, a turtle who squirts water, became Squirtle. Others winked at familiar pop images: the martial-arts Pokemon Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee are tributes to Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
And once again, the Pokemon swept a nation. "We've never seen anything like it," says Tilden. The products plugged into every kiddie angle: toys appeal to younger kids, who then move on to the cards and graduate to the various levels of video games. The TV show propagandizes each new creature with a tutorial called "Who's that Pokemon?" Most of the Pokemon growl their names repeatedly ("Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle"), so the children learn who's who quickly. The craze is also Gen Y Web-friendly: the most popular website for kids 12 years and younger is . It's all Pokemon, all the time. At least until the next craze.
Yet collecting Pokemon and pitting them against one another is not a new kind of quest, simply one tweaked with technology. In Asia, fathers and grandfathers still tell of growing up in the midst of World War II, of nights of not knowing what to do with yourself except sneak into the tall grass of the countryside to catch crickets, then take them home, cupped in your hand, to raise in the dark of matchboxes, training the insects for fights with the crickets of other boys who have been on the same nocturnal hunt. The more experience each cricket has had, the better a fighter it becomes--the tiny surrogate for the boy unable to fight in the war going on all around him. Pokemon is that kind of game. Except that there are many kinds of crickets, and all are potentially friendly monsters with fabulous powers. And nobody dies. |
The Edmonton Eskimos have signed international running back Nic Grigsby and extended the contract of national safety Cauchy Muamba.
A two year CFL veteran, Grigsby signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2014. In his CFL debut, the five-foot-11, 195-pound running back recorded 122 yards on 21 carries. He went on to amass 162 carries for 744 yards and eight touchdowns, as well as 55 receptions for 444 yards and one touchdown in 14 games before his release.
The following week, he signed with Hamilton where he would add another 30 carries for 146 yards and three catches for 29 yards with the Tiger-Cats that season.
During the 102nd Grey Cup game, he recorded 115 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. He also recorded one catch for 22 yards.
Prior to the CFL, Grigsby signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL's Miami Dolphins. He also spent time with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In four seasons (2007-10) at the University of Arizona, he recorded 572 carries for 2,957 yards and 28 touchdowns, and 85 receptions for 508 yards and three touchdowns in 45 games.
Muamba recorded 25 defensive tackles, two quarterback sacks and three interceptions this season.
Since signing with Edmonton as a free agent on Aug. 21, 2014, Muamba recorded 31 defensive tackles, two quarterback sacks and four interceptions in 23 games.
Originally selected by the BC Lions in the fifth round of the 2010 CFL Draft, the native of Kinshasa, Congo amassed 124 defensive tackles, 23 special teams tackles, three quarterback sacks and nine interceptions. |
Authorities with San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit service are refusing to release surveillance videos of several crimes because doing so “would create a high level of racially insensitive commentary toward the district.”
Over the last three months, there have been at least three robberies on BART trains, but footage of those crimes won’t see the light of day, if officials with the transportation service get their way, KPIX-TV reported.
Debora Allen, a member of the BART board of directors, said she was told that releasing the video surveillance “would create a racial bias in the riders against minorities on the trains.”
Allen, unsatisfied with what she had been told, emailed BART assistant general manager Kerry Hamill about the issue, writing: “I don’t understand what role the color of one’s skin plays in this issue [of whether to divulge information]. Can you explain?”
Hamill replied: “If we were to regularly feed the news media video of crimes on our system that involve minority suspects, particularly when they are minors, we would certainly face questions as to why we were sensationalizing relatively minor crimes and perpetuating false stereotypes in the process.”
And according to BART spokesman Taylor Huckaby, state law protecting “juvenile police records” bars them from releasing the surveillance footage. He added that blurring out the faces of the minors would only lead people to pointlessly watch the videos.
Hamill agreed, saying the media’s “real interest in the videos of youth phone-snatching incidents isn’t the desire for transparency but rather the pursuit of ratings,” referring to video of a phone theft on June 30. “They know that video of these events will drive clicks to their websites and viewers to their programs because people are motivated by fear.”
Hamill defended BART’s position by citing the 2009 death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man who was fatally shot by a BART police officer responding to a brawl that broke out at Fruitvale Station on New Year’s Day. At the time, footage of the incident was shared online.
Allen, for her part, still wants surveillance video of the recent crimes to be released.
“I think people are genuinely concerned — they are fearful about the stories that have come out about the recent attacks, the assaults, the thefts,” she said. “What is the priority of BART? Is the safety of the passenger — of all passengers — is that a lesser priority than the race bias issue?” |
Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today the acquisition of Maltese international striker Etienne Barbara to the club’s Major League Soccer Roster, pending receipt of his international transfer certificate. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Whitecaps FC striker Etienne Barbara
- Made 30 international appearances for Malta since his first cap in August 2004
- Won the NASL Golden Ball and was named the NASL MVP last year with Carolina RailHawks
- Scored 28 goals and added 10 assists during his two seasons in Carolina
“Etienne is an aggressive, powerful player that is determined to succeed,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie. “He brings versatility to our line-up both as a wide midfielder or a striker.”
Barbara, 29, played the last two seasons with North American Soccer League (NASL) club Carolina RailHawks under Rennie. Last season, the native of Pietà, Malta, led the RailHawks to the 2011 NASL regular season championship with 20 goals and eight assists in 27 appearances. For his efforts, Barbara won the NASL Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer, was selected to the NASL Best XI, and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
"I am delighted and honoured to become a member of Whitecaps FC," said Barbara. "I would like to thank my coaches, staff, and teammates for the faith and positive support they have shown in me. I am looking forward to getting back on the pitch and contributing to my new club. I have heard many great things about the passionate fans in Vancouver, so I look forward to seeing them and playing for them at BC Place."
During his first season with Carolina in 2010, Barbara scored eight goals and added two assists in 27 appearances, as the RailHawks claimed the NASL Conference title in the United States Soccer Federation Division-2 Professional League. Barbara concluded his RailHawks career with eight club records.
Prior to his time with Carolina, the 6-foot-0, 190-pound forward spent much of his professional career in the Maltese Premier League. During 10 seasons in his native country, Barbara scored 73 goals in 224 appearances.
A Maltese international, Barbara has scored three goals in 30 total appearances for his country. This included Malta’s qualifying campaigns for the 2004 UEFA European Championship and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Vancouver acquired Barbara’s MLS rights from Canadian rivals Montreal Impact in exchange for Mexican defender Gienir Garcia, who was selected second overall in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft by Whitecaps FC on January 17, 2012.
Etienne Barbara
Position: Striker
Height: 6-00
Weight: 190
Born: June 10, 1982, in Pietà, Malta
Hometown: Pietà, Malta
Citizenship: Malta
Last Club: Carolina RailHawks (North American Soccer League)
Acquired: From Montreal Impact in exchange for the second overall pick in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft (DF Gienir Garcia) on January 17, 2012
Whitecaps FC 2012 Major League Soccer season tickets start at $329, plus applicable tax and a $10 processing fee per order. To secure a seat and for additional information about Whitecaps FC MLS season tickets, including loge seats and suites, call 604.669.9283 or visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets. |
Google Adsense publishers including myself got a nice bit of surprise on opening the dashboard today. The countries listed in the Adsense dashboard were changed into Planets and Moons. This is the list from where the publisher knows readers in which countries click the ads and helps them to make reader friendly posts.
However on clicking the View planets hyperlink, the publishers were brought back on to Earth and showed the real countries. This is not the only prank pulled up by Google. On clicking the help section of the dashboard, Google was giving a recipe of ' How to make AWESOME guacamole!'
For the uninitiated, Guacamole is an avocado-based dip that originated with the Aztecs in Mexico. In addition to its use in modern Mexican cuisine it has also become part of American cuisine as a dip, condiment and salad ingredient. |
NEW JERSEY –
There are 40,000 students at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and in the heart of the campus one stands out what is probably the biggest Chabad House in the world, which offers its services to more than 4,000 Jewish students and guests arriving at the university.
The hub of Jewish campus life, the Chabad center caters to students' religious needs and offers them meals and accommodation.
Chabad Extreme Have you put on tefillin in Antarctica yet? Tali Farkash Armed with a camera, phylacteries and 'Tanya' book, Meir Alfasi searches for Jews in most remote places on earth. Everywhere he goes – Bolivia, Saudi Arabia and even Iran – he finds Jews to grant a mitzvah Have you put on tefillin in Antarctica yet?
Rabbi Yossi Carlebach, who was sent to the picturesque city of New Brunswick by the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, heads the huge and unique Chabad House to this very day. He still remembers how he started off in a room he rented on the fourth floor of the Student Center.
"Only in 1981 we rented the first building, with the rabbi's persistent encouragement," Rabbi Carlebach recalls. "Our great development was in 1994, when a student died of an overdose in one of the buildings located on the main street, and in an unusual move the university decided to sell the building – which belonged to some fraternity – and the rest is history."
Dinner with Paul McCartney
One of the Chabad House's biggest fans is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie , who was surprised to discover another famous fan at a Chabad fundraiser.
"I went to a Hanukkah celebration at the Hyatt in New Brunswick for the Chabad House," Christie recalls. "I have worked with the rabbis at the Chabad House a lot over time, when I was US attorney and now since I've been governor. They do wonderful things down there, it's a great organization.
"And I said to my staff, 'So what's the deal in there?' And Frank says, 'Governor, you're not going to believe who's in there… Paul McCartney .' I go, 'Come on, Paul McCartney is at the Chabad House fundraiser, in New Brunswick, on a Tuesday night, at 7:30?' And I say, 'Yeah, yeah, Frank, right.' So I walk in and I take a bunch of pictures with the rabbis, I get walked up to the stage. I sit on the stage and I look out and right there, at table 2, is Paul McCartney!"
Rutgers student Talia Friedman says she was ashamed of her Jewishness until she arrived at the Chabad House. "Here I became proud of being Jewish. The Chabad emissaries walk around with beards and an authentic Jewish appearance, so I have nothing to be ashamed of either," she says.
Apart from the feeling of pride, Talia adds, there is also the assimilation issue: "The Chabad House is an excellent place for meeting other Jews for friendly relations."
"The job of the emissaries here is to show them that Judaism is alive, and that Hasidism is alive. It gives them a sense of life which they cannot get anywhere else." |
JANUARY 9th, 2016, 4pm-10pm
JACO PASTORIUS PARK (ADJACENT TO FUNKY BUDDHA BREWERY)
MUSIC BY:
THE RESOLVERS * PARKER URBAN BAND * HOLEY MISS MOLEY
TICKETS ON SALE NOVEMBER 23rd at 10am
$30 GENERAL ADMISSION (includes 1 bottle) SOLD OUT
$75 FULL BOTTLE ACCESS (includes GA and 4 bottles)
$130 VIP ADMISSION (3pm access, 1 hour rare beer sampling, commemorative glass, 4 bottles) SOLD OUT
UPDATED HANDOUT & TAP TIMES!
It's back! Funky Buddha's most sought after annual release, Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, returns in bottles on January 9, 2016!
Maple Bacon Coffee Porter Day will be an epic celebration and continued enhancement of Funky Buddha's annual street festival. This year's fest will take place in spacious Jaco Pastorius Park in Oakland Park, Florida and be limited to 4000 attendees. All ticketed attendees are guaranteed bottles of the once-a-year release of Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, which are picked up upon exit from the festival grounds. There's no need to wait in line for bottles or purchase them on site - just come out enjoy nearly 100 unique beers on draft throughout the day, live music by Brotherly Love Productions, field games, the best food trucks in South Florida plus Craft Food Counter & Kitchen, and so much more! Fort Lauderdale's biggest and baddest beer event is back!
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE STARTING NOVEMBER 23rd at 10am
Click here for the complete MBCP DAY 2016 FAQ
Why tickets this year? Read on
Acclaim for Maple Bacon Coffee Porter
Number 1 Ranked Porter in the World - RateBeer.com
Maple Bacon Coffee Beer Huge Hit in South Florida - CBS 12
98 out of 100 - BeerAdvocate.com
100 out of 100 - RateBeer.com
Six Beers That Blew Our Minds at the Great American Beer Fesitval - SeriousEats.com
The Best Beer at the Great American Beer Festival - EmptyGrowler.com
10 of the Weirdest Beers Ever Brewed - MentalFloss.com
Maple Bacon Coffee Porter Bottle Release Day Schedule
Date: Saturday, January 9, 2016
Festival hours: 4pm to 10pm (3pm VIP admission)
Bottle pickup (on exit from grounds, no admission after 7pm): 7pm to 10pm
Ticket Sales:
Tickets on sale November 23rd at 10am via IMG Tickets
GA + 1 bottle: $30 SOLD OUT
GA + 4 bottles: $75
VIP Admission (includes 4 bottles, 3pm entry, commemorative glass, and 1 hour all-inclusive rare beer sampling held from 3 to 4pm): $130 SOLD OUT
*All ticket sales are final. No rainchecks or refunds will be given. Attendees must be present to receive bottles. One ticket per attendee, one attendee per ticket. Max 4 tickets per transaction. No admission after 7pm. No reentry. Adults aged 21 and over only.
Beer Sales:
All beers = 1 beer ticket
1 beer ticket = $6, available on site throughout the event
Beer tickets are good for day of event only.
Sorry - no outside alcohol will be permitted in the festival grounds.
Tap List:
Funky Draughts
Check back for updates - list last updated 1/4/16
FBB "Tiki" Passionfruit Mojito Crusher
FBB 2014 entitALEd
FBB 42 Truths
FBB Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Mango Tripel
FBB Apricot Floridian
FBB Barrel-Aged French Toast Double Brown
FBB Barrel-Aged Raspberry Nikolai
FBB Blueberry Cobbler Ale
FBB Bonita Applebum Apple Pie Brown Ale
FBB Buddha Gimlet
FBB Butch's Breakfast
FBB Cookies and Cream
FBB Crusher Session IPA
FBB Daywalker Ginger Hop Gun IPA
FBB Doc Brown Ale
FBB Fake Empire
FBB Fire in the Hole
FBB Floridian Hefeweizen
FBB Fuhgeddaboudit
FBB Gypsy Tactics
FBB Hop Gun IPA
FBB Imperial Chocwork Orange Porter
FBB Jeff's Scotch Ale
FBB Keylime Pie Berlinerweiss
FBB Last Snow Coconut & Coffee Porter
FBB Lemon Meringue Ale
FBB Lil' Nicky
FBB Lychee Berlinerweiss
FBB Maple Bacon Coffee Porter
FBB Mexican Coffee
FBB Neapolitan Porter
FBB Nib Slip
FBB Nib Smuggler Chocolate Milk Porter
FBB Nikolai Vorlauf
FBB No Crusts
FBB On Top Blonde
FBB OP Porter
FBB Passionfruit Hop Gun IPA
FBB Pineapple Blonde Ale
FBB Pineapple Sriracha Hop Gun IPA
FBB Raspberry Berlinerweiss
FBB Raspberry Floridian
FBB Red IPA
FBB Rice Crispy Treat Ale
FBB Rum Barrel-Aged Hurricane Imperial Ale
FBB Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Pina Colada
FBB Rye Whiskey Kona Snowed In
FBB Sex Panther Black IPA
FBB Small Axe Big IPA
FBB Snowed In - Imperial Last Snow
FBB Strawberry Jalapeno Wheat Wine
FBB Strawberry Shortcake Wheat Wine
FBB Sweet Potato Casserole
FBB The Love Below
FBB Thunder in Paradise
FBB Tripel Lindy Belgian Tripel
FBB Undefeated Saison
FBB You Didn't Hear?
Guest Draughts
Check back for updates - list last updated 1/4/16
3 Daughters 4 Redemption Barrel-Aged Quad
3 Daughters Awake Coffee Blonde Ale
5 Rabbits Chinga tu Pelo
5 Rabbits El Bizzaron
7eventh Sun Flying Buffalo
7eventh Sun Sebastian's A Saint Sunwhere
Aardwolf Barrel-Aged El Mariachi
Aardwolf San Marco Sour
Aardwolf The Dude White Russian IRS
Angry Chair Dragon Birdz
Angry Chair German Chocolate Coffee Cupcake
Austin Beer Works Fire Eagle
Austin Beer Works Sputnik Coffee Oatmeal RIS
Bangin' Banjo's Gosegetter
Bangin' Banjo's Overcast Shadow RIS
Barley Mow Dark Track
Barrel of Monks Owen
Barrel of Monks Rum Barrel Quandrum
Bells Dry Hopped Lappel du' Vide
Bells Expedition Stout
Boulevard/CCB Collaboration #5
Cigar City Cider Blind Man
Cigar City Cider Rambunctous
Cigar City Hard Cider
Cigar City Hunahpu '13
Cigar City Hunahpu '15
Cigar City Raspberry Grove
Cigar City Rum Barrel-Aged Dark Woods
Cigar City Vanilla Maduro
Copperpoint Big Hoppa
Copperpoint Coxness Monster
Copperpoint Grapefruit Saison
Crooked Can Bourbon Imperial Stout
Dogfish Head Brewing Higher Math
Due South Peanut Butter Pepper Imperial Caramel Cream Ale
Founders Backwoods Bastard
Green Bench Les Grisettes
Green Bench Maximo Milk Stout 1/2
Intuition Underdark Imperial Stout
Intuition/Funky Buddha Collab Trappist Speedball Belgian Quad
J Wakefield Harbinger Imp Hazelnut Coffee Stout
J Wakefield Power Up Peach
MIA Man O' War DBL IPA
MIA Old Ale Aged in Pinot Noir Barrels
Naples Beach Funky Farmer Farmhouse IPA
Naples Beach Waylon Belgian Dubbel
Native Morning Express Coffee Stout
Native Wit R Melon Wheat
Ommegang Oak-Aged Gnommegang
Ommegang Rosetta
Playalinda Whoa Imperial Session IPA
Proof Cinnamon Chocolate Creature's in The Dark
Proof Raspberry Kissing Giants (Gose)
Rivertown Kriek
Rivertown Ojos Negros
Saint Arnold 20th Anniversary Ale Barley Wine 1/2
Saint Arnold Bishop Barrel 9
Saltwater Confused in the Morning
Saltwater Rum Barrel-Aged Coconut Mayday
Sierra Nevada Barrel Full of Hops
Sierra Nevada Bock, Stock, and Barrel
Tequesta Black Magic NITRO
Tequesta Pomegrante Berlinerweisse
The Bruery Cinnamonk
Tomoka Apple Tart Ale
Tomoka Peter The Great Russian Imp Stout
Wicked Weed La Bonte
Wicked Weed Medora
Wynwood French Oak Wynwood Fox
Wynwood Hazelnut Cup of Jose
VIP Hour Beer Sampling
VIP sampling hour will include 2oz festival-style pours of a number of limited, timed tapping, and other releases, all available at 3pm prior to when the general public is admitted. VIP entrants will receive these pours in a commemorative glass with lanyard. There will be no beer tickets required during this hour. At 4pm the general public will be admitted and all sampling will conclude.
Check back for updates - list last updated 1/4/16
FBB "Tiki" Passionfruit Mojito Crusher
FBB 2015 Maple Bacon Coffee Porter
FBB 2015 Morning Wood
FBB 42 Truths
FBB Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged Mango Tripel
FBB Barrel-Aged French Toast Double Brown
FBB Barrel-Aged Raspberry Nikolai Vorlauf IRS
FBB Bonita Applebum Apple Pie Brown Ale
FBB Buddha Gimlet
FBB Butch's Breakfast
FBB Crusher Session IPA
FBB Daywalker Ginger Hop Gun IPA
FBB Doc Brown Ale
FBB Floridian Hefeweizen
FBB Fuhgeddaboudit Red Ale
FBB Hop Gun IPA
FBB Maple Bacon Coffee Porter
FBB Mexican Coffee
FBB Neapolitan Porter
FBB Nib Slip
FBB Nib Smuggler Chocolate Milk Porter
FBB Nikolai Vorlauf
FBB OP Porter
FBB Raspberry Floridian
FBB Rum Barrel-Aged Hurricane Imperial Ale
FBB Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Pina Colada
FBB Small Axe Big IPA
FBB Snowed In - Imperial Last Snow
FBB Strawberry Jalapeno Wheat Wine
FBB Sweet Potato Casserole
FBB The Love Below
FBB Tripel Lindy Belgian Tripel
FBB Undefeated Saison
FBB You Didn't Hear?
Intuition/Funky Buddha CollabTrappist Speedball Belgian Quad
Saint Arnold 20th Anniversary Ale Barley Wine
Music:
4:30-5:45 – Band 1 - Holey Miss Moley
6:30-7:45 – Band 2 - Parker Urban Band
8:30-10pm – Band 3 - THE RESOLVERS
production by
BROTHERLY LOVE PRODUCTIONS
Food Vendors:
Craft Food Counter & Kitchen
Spring In, Roll Out
Sidecar Kitchen
Wholesome Rollers
Chaco's Chinese Tacos
Rolling Chefs
Waffle Pops
EVENT SCHEDULE
2pm - VIP pre-admission (you will be scanned and admitted to a wait area prior to 3pm)
3pm VIP admission
3:15pm GA/Full Bottle pre-admission (you will be scanned and admitted to a wait area prior to 4pm)
4pm GA start
4:30pm Holey Miss Moley on the main stage
6:30pm Parker Urban Band on the main stage
7pm Timed beer releases!
7pm Bottle distribution starts (bottles received on exit from fest, no reentry following)
8:30pm The Resolvers on the main stage
9:30pm Last Call
10pm Festival ends
FAQs
Q: How many bottles of MBCP can I buy?
A: This year you will not have to worry about purchasing bottles of Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. Simply buy a ticket to the event - tickets are either $30 and include 1 bottle, or $75 and include 4 bottles. VIP admission tickets also include 4 bottles. Bottles will be distributed after 7pm on upon exit from the event - no reentry or admission after 7pm!
Q: How much will MBCP cost?
A: All bottles are included in the ticket price. Additional bottles are not available at this time.
Q: Will there be day of ticket sales?
A: At this time, all ticket sales will be done in advance. Tickets go on sale on November 23rd at 10am via IMG Tickets.
Q: Can I bring bottles to share?
A: Outside alcohol, food, or drink will not be permitted inside the festival grounds. Unfortunately we do not have liquor license access extending into adjacent parking lots - so should you choose to bottle share in lots nearby you do so at your own risk. We are currently working on an option for a Friday night bottle share for out of towners and will announce more information soon.
Some people have asked about tailgating. The best spot for this will be in the east parking lot running “behind” our building. You may bring a tent, etc. but it cannot take up a parking spot – it must go behind your car. Please don’t impede traffic as well. No cooking devices (stoves, grills, etc.) will be permitted.
Q: Can I bring my kids?
A: Admission to the festival grounds is for adults age 21 and over only.
Q: Can I bring blankets, coolers, chairs, or tables?
A: No, unfortunately no outside blankets, coolers, chairs, or tables will be permitted in the festival grounds.
Q: Can I bring my dogs/monkeys/parakeets?
A: We're sorry, but animals are not permitted in the festival grounds.
Q: What beers will be on draft? Do we need tickets to purchase beers?
A: See the tap list above. Tickets will be required to purchase all beers. $6 = one ticket = one beer. Pour sizes may vary. We will take cash or credit for ticket sales. Tickets are good for January 9, 2016 only. All sales are final.
Q: Will your tap room be open during the event?
A: Our tap room and brewery will be closed on January 9, 2016. We will be open on January 8th and 10th however, and are planning some special events and tappings for those days as well. More info to come soon!
Q: Will food be available?
A: Yes. Craft Food Counter & Kitchen will be on site serving yummy grub, as well as a collection of South Florida's best food trucks.
Q: If I need to leave early, can I get my bottle in advance?
A: Bottle distribution will not begin until 8pm, so please plan accordingly and plan to spend at least a few hours at the festival.
Q: Will growlers be available for purchase?
A: No - growlers will not be for sale on January 9. However we will have custom MBCP Day glassware, shirts, and more available for sale in the festival grounds.
Q: Is there a good place to stay if I'm coming from out of town?
A: Yes, check out the offers below:
Marriott Hollywood Beachis running a $199 block room rate for all MBCP Day attendees! The rate is a savings of $130 off the normal room rate of $329 - plus each guest will receive a $20 UBER credit for staying!
Book your stay at the Marriott Hollywood Beach now
Q: Where can we park?
A: We strongly recommend that attendees carpool or ride share to the festival!
You may park in the following lots. Parking will cost $5 unless otherwise noted
-The public lot directly south of the main tap room entrance. (no fee)
-Either of the grass fields across Dixie Highway
-The east lot that runs behind the brewery
-VIP parking will be located adjacent to Jaco Pastorius Park at the Urban Farming Institute and will cost $10
Please do not park on our neighbor's lawns or in front of their driveways, or in front of businesses down the plaza along Dixie Highway. Our neighbors may tow!
Q: Are there any public transportation options to the festival?
A: Yes! UBER is the official ride sharing program of MBCP Day 2016. UBER will be running a promotion for attendees that would like a safe ride to and from the event, and we encourage use. New users will receive $20 off their first ride on sign up.
Are you from Tampa, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, or Miami and looking for a way to the fest? Check out these options from our partnering brewery tour buses!
Miami Brew Bus - Running from CocoWalk to the festival
Tampa Bay Brew Bus - Running from Cigar City Brewing to the festival
Jacksonville Brew Bus - Running from Veteran's United Craft Brewery to the festival
Southwest Florida Brewery Tours - Running from Ft. Myers to the festival |
And so on to the final day of the concatenative Factor language. I actually found today a bit more straightforward than day 2. I felt more like I was working with functions and was worrying less about where items were on the stack. I completed most of the exercises but again ran out of time before completing the last one.
Exercises
Easy execrises
Define a constuctor for cart-item that accepts a price and returns a cart item with a default name and quantity.
Well, this was certainly easy enough. : <price-cart-item> ( p -- cart-item ) "Default" swap 1 cart-item boa ; I also implemented an unit test for this { 1.50 } [ 1.50 <price-cart-item> price>> ] unit-test
Write a word that discounts the price of a cart item by a percentage that is given as a parameter.
I originally wrote a version that used the exact spec, but I eventually settled on an implementation that lets you pass an higher order function to calculate the discount in basically the same way as the shipping and taxes calculations work, but for an item rather than a checkout. ! ten percent off everything : tenpercent-off ( price -- discounted-price ) 0.9 * ; ! 25 percent off everything : twentyfivepercent-off ( price -- discounted-price ) 0.75 * ; ! work out discount on a cart-item : discount-item ( cart-item discount-calc -- cart-item ) [ dup price>> ] dip call to-price >>price ; inline
And here are the unit tests { T{ cart-item f "test" 9.0 1 } } [ sample-item [ tenpercent-off ] discount-item ] unit-test { T{ cart-item f "test" 7.50 1 } } [ sample-item [ twentyfivepercent-off ] discount-item ] unit-test
Medium exercises
Write words that define different tax rates and a new shipping scheme.
For this, I just did the standard UK VAT rate of 20% and a modified per-item shipping rate. ! works UK VAT out taxes on a base price : uk-vat ( price -- taxes ) uk-vat-rate * ; ! ! UK shipping : uk-per-item ( item-count -- shipping ) uk-per-item-shipping * uk-base-shipping + ;
Assemble the tax rates and shipping scheme into a new checkout processing pipeline.
Factor really shines here, the impleentation is trivial. I just write ! ! testing the UK pipeline : uk-checkout ( checkout -- checkout ) [ uk-vat ] taxes [ uk-per-item ] shipping total ;
Write a unit test to verify that your new tax rates and shipping scheme work correctly.
{ T{ checkout f 3 60.97 12.19 5.09 78.25 } } [ <sample-cart> <checkout> uk-checkout ] unit-test
Hard exercises
Make changes to the code so that prices are adjusted in a way that eliminates rounding errors and makes the unit tests pass.
I wasn’t too sure why this was an hard exercise, perhaps I was missing something. I just made a function that takes a float don to 2 decimal places like this ! ! convert a number to 2 decimal places : to-price ( float -- price ) 100 * round 100 / ;
Now, every time I set a price, I push it through this function to have it rounded down to 2 decimal places. For example in cart-item-price ! price of a single line (#items X price) : cart-item-price ( cart-item -- price ) [ price>> ] [ quantity>> ] bi * to-price ;
Enhance the number guessing game that you wrote on Day 2 so that it uses a graphical user interface instead of the commmand-line console.
I ran out of time before I could solve this one. I struggled to find any good examples of how to do GUIs in factor. Though the documentation is comprehensive, it isn’t as in-depth as I would like.
Conclusion
Factor turned my brain inside out a little. The back to front syntax is actually not as crazy as you might think — it is really just the same as using pipes in bash.
However, juggling with the stack seems to me problematic. It isn’t that it is so hard to do. It is just that the juggling interfered with thinking about the problem in hand for me. Now, that might get easier when one s more familiar with the language, but I would rather focus on what it was I was trying to say than on the mechanics of exactly how I was articulating it.
In his wrap up, Fred Daoud says of Factor
Like many non-mainstream languages, Factor has a relatively small community of users … It's also worth noting that the name Factor does not make it any easier to search the web for answers.
Amen to that. It is a massive faff to find documentation online for the language.
For programmers like me who spend a lot of time programming with our communal exocortex, this is a big problem ™.
That said Factor’s minimal syntax and simple model of computation makes it fun to learn and to play with and, as Daoud points out, it has a whole raft of vocabularies that will help you build just about any conceivable real world application. |
Game of Thrones is back on the air and like a Frey at a wedding party, we feel like dancing in celebration of these tidings. However, it is also only being doled out week to week, leaving us hanging in suspense about who killed Joffrey in the interim.
That is why we at Den of Geek thought it’d be a fun time to take one last look at the series for the time being and consider the real history of Game of Thrones. Woah, don’t think we’ve all gone crazy! Some around here may be brushing up on their High Valyrian, but we all realize this is just a little slice of high fantasy and nihilistic realpolitik. The kind of fairy tale only Kissinger could find happy.
Still, there is a lot of fun Middle Age History wrapped around this story of dragons and Whitewalkers. Because for every element author George R.R. Martin may have borrowed from Tolkien, there were countless more derived from a true medieval world that was decidedly less chivalrous than other fantasy writers would have you believe. One in which things like the Red Wedding would merely indicate that it’s Tuesday.
So, shake off those post-Purple Wedding celebration blues and join us for a fun, brief (for history) look at some of the influences at play in this whacky game.
SPECIAL NOTE: There will be a few references to events in books not yet published in the series, BUT they will be only in select paragraphs helpfully marked by ***SPOILERS***and ***END SPOILERS***. Avoid said paragraphs if you wish to remain spoiler-free. Thank you.
THE WAR OF THE ROSES / WAR OF THE FIVE KINGS |
Fruit flies are among the best model organisms to study the biology of aging; however, their aging is most commonly assessed by lifespan, and there is a need to develop measures of changes in neural and sensory processing in aging flies. To determine whether the ability to locate food by olfaction can be used as a biomarker of aging, we compared food‐finding latency (FFL) in young and old flies using a food‐containing trap constructed from a microfuge tube and micropipette tip (Woodard et al., 1989). To examine FFL, we conducted the trap assay on young (5–10 day) and old (35–40 day posteclosion) Canton S (CS) males (see Supporting Information). To increase food search motivation (Root et al., 2011; Farhadian et al., 2012), flies were prestarved overnight (14 h) before the test. We hypothesized that functional senescence in old flies could be associated with a decreased ability to find food. Contrary to this prediction, old CS flies entered food traps in a significantly shorter time than young (Fig. 1A). Likewise, old white1118 (w) flies showed significantly shorter FFL compared to young (Fig. 1B).
Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Old flies show decreased food‐finding latency (FFL). (A, B) A significantly higher proportion of old CS (A) and w (B) flies entered food traps during the first 10 h of testing. (C) Young CS flies fasted for 25 h prior to the trap experiment show significantly decreased FFL compared to young flies fasted for 14 h, but similar FFL to old flies fasted for 14 h. Bars in A–C represent average (± SEM) percentage of flies in food trap (N = 6 food traps per condition with 20–25 flies in each trap). (D) Starvation resistance is significantly lower in old CS flies (median survival = 24 h) compared to young (median survival = 48 h); N = 75 flies per condition, survival curves analyzed by log‐rank test. (E) Old CS flies have significantly lower fat levels prior to starvation and significantly reduced fat levels after 14 h of starvation. Bars show average (± SEM) TG levels based on N = 5 samples. (F) Average (± SEM) locomotor activity measured 16–18 h after onset of starvation was not significantly different in old and young flies (N = 7 for young, N = 11 for old). Data in A–C and E–F were analyzed by two‐way ANOVA corrected for multiple comparisons with Bonferroni post‐test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001.
This reduced FFL could be caused by many factors such as an increased state of hunger in old relative to young flies. To test this, we monitored the number of flies entering food traps in young CS flies starved for 14 h or 25 h along with old flies starved for 14 h. Young flies starved for 25 h had significantly shorter FFL than young flies starved for 14 h (Fig. 1C, and Supporting Movie). There was no significant difference in FFL between young flies starved for 25 h and old flies starved for 14 h, suggesting that reduced FFL is related to nutritional state. We further confirmed this by testing starvation resistance of young and old CS flies. Under complete food deprivation, median survival time was significantly shorter in old flies (24 h) than in young (48 h) (Fig. 1D), which suggests that old flies have lower energy stores. To test this, we measured triglyceride (TG) levels as a function of starvation time. Steady‐state TG levels were significantly lower in old than in young fed CS flies (Fig. 1E), as previously suggested (Katewa et al., 2012). TG levels were reduced during fasting, and comparable levels were found between young flies starved for 25 h and old flies starved for 14 h (Fig. 1E). These data are consistent with the difference in mean survival under starvation between young and old flies (Fig. 1D) and suggest that decreased FFL in old flies is correlated with decreased fat stores.
It has been reported that food shortage increases locomotor activity in young flies and this may facilitate foraging behavior (Lee & Park, 2004; Katewa et al., 2012). We measured the amount of locomotor activity in young and old CS flies under food deprivation during the time when significant difference is observed in trap entries. Total activity counts were not significantly different (Fig. 1F), suggesting that shorter FFL in old flies is not caused by higher overall locomotor activity. However, this conclusion is tentative as the activity measures were made on single flies in Trikinetics tubes while FFL was measured in a round arena containing 25 flies.
Food location behavior in young food‐deprived flies is modulated by reduced insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) that enhances olfactory processing of food‐related odors in specific olfactory neurons (Root et al., 2011). It is also known that fat cells of starved flies suppress the release of the insulin‐like peptide from the brain causing systemic IIS reduction in flies (Geminard et al., 2009). Therefore, we asked whether old flies show more robust food search behavior due to lower IIS. If such was the case, young flies with reduced IIS should enter food traps faster than controls. To test this prediction, we measured FFL in mutants in the gene chico, which encodes the insulin receptor substrate protein. We used heterozygous chico1/+ flies, which were shown to have normal size and extended lifespan (Clancy et al., 2001). Remarkably, young chico1/+ flies starved for 14 h showed significantly shorter FFL than w controls (Fig. 2A), and this was even true in old chico1/+ flies (Figure S1A). To dissect the role of fat reserves versus IIS in modulating FFL, we measured TG levels in young chico1/+ and controls starved for 14 h. Interestingly, TG levels were significantly higher in chico1/+ flies (Fig. 2B), and these mutants also showed significantly higher starvation resistance compared to controls (Fig. 2C). These data are consistent with previous reports linking reduced IIS with an increase in both TG and starvation resistance in flies (Haselton et al., 2010). Shorter FFL in young chico1/+ flies does not appear to be caused by increased locomotor activity, as average activity counts were similar between chico1/+ and w1118 controls (Fig. 2D), although, again, the assay environments were different. Together, these data suggest that accelerated food finding in old flies is not controlled directly by reduced fat reserves, but rather indirectly, via lowered insulin signaling. In support of this link, we also determined that FFL was significantly extended in old flies with increased IIS via RU‐induced neuronal expression of constitutively active insulin receptor (InRCA) in adult flies (Figure S1B). Previous studies showed that the modulation of insulin signaling in olfactory receptor neurons affects odor‐driven food search behavior in young flies (Root et al., 2011). Our data suggest that lower fat reserves in old flies may shorten FFL in aging flies via reduced insulin signaling, which may sensitize olfaction pathways to food‐related odors. While our data suggest that insulin signaling is involved, it is not yet clear whether shortened FFL in old flies is mediated by reduced insulin signaling or whether nutritional state and insulin signaling affect FFL through parallel pathways.
Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Reduced insulin signaling leads to decreased FFL in young flies despite their increased fat stores. (A) Young chico1/+ flies enter traps significantly sooner than w control flies of the same age. Bars represent average (± SEM) based on N = 6 food traps per genotype. (B) Fat levels measured after 14 h of starvation are significantly higher in young chico1/+ flies than in controls of the same age (N = 3, data analyzed by unpaired t‐test). (C) Young chico1/+ flies survived significantly longer under starvation than w. N = 75 flies for each genotype, survival curves analyzed by log‐rank test. (D) Average locomotor activity measured 20–23 h after onset of starvation was not significantly different between young chico1/+ and w control flies (N = 23 for chico1/+, N = 13 for w). Data in A and D were analyzed by two‐way ANOVA corrected for multiple comparisons with Bonferroni post‐test; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. The chico1mutants obtained from Bloomington Drosophila Stock Center (# 10738) were backcrossed to w1118 flies for 6 generations and tested as heterozygotes along with w1118 background control.
In summary, we show here that the physiological systems facilitating the location of a food source are fully functional in old flies. While aging in flies has been linked to impaired memory and reduced avoidance of adverse odors (Tonoki & Davis, 2012), neuronal substrates and processes necessary for survival‐aiding behaviors are preserved in old flies and can be recruited upon a loss of nutritional homeostasis. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit widened in December to its highest level in four months, the U.S. government said on Friday in a report that also showed the annual trade gap expanded nearly 33 percent in 2010 as imports from China hit record levels.
A container ship at the port of Los Angeles in a file photo. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
The December trade deficit grew nearly 6 percent to $40.6 billion, just slightly higher than a consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts, as the average price for imported oil leapt to its highest level since October 2008.
“Technically it would be a minor drag on GDP (gross domestic product), but I see it more as a sign of stronger consumer health. There is a lot pent-up demand out there and I feel consumers will feel more comfortable in unleashing that demand,” said Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.
Overall imports of goods and services were also their highest since October 2008, in a sign consumers and businesses are spending more as the U.S. economy picks up steam.
“As consumers feel more confident and supported by income growth from an improving labor market situation, we could see more auto imports. We could be in a moderate widening trend in the next few months,” Dye added.
Exports of goods and services were the highest since July 2008, the month that they hit their peak before beginning a precipitous drop caused by the global financial crisis.
U.S. markets had little reaction to the report, as traders focused on new proposals from the Obama administration to wind-down government-controlled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae FNMA.OB and Freddie Mac FMCC.OB.
U.S. goods exports to China grew to a record $10.1 billion in December and also were a record $91.9 billion for the year.
But that strong finish was swamped by record U.S. imports from China of $364.9 billion for the entire year, which pushed the closely watched trade gap with that country to a record $273.1 billion.
Rising oil prices also helped widen the U.S. trade deficit in 2010. The average price for imported oil jumped to $74.66 per barrel, from $56.93 in 2009.
Imports of consumer goods and foods, feeds and beverages also set records in 2010.
Overall, U.S. imports of goods and services grew 19.7 percent in 2010 to $2.33 trillion dollars.
U.S. exports grew 16.6 percent to $1.83 trillion, a pace that if maintained would allow the United States to reach President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling exports by 2013.
U.S. exports of services, industrial supplies, consumer goods and petroleum all set records.
The strong services performance pushed the U.S. trade surplus for services to a record $148.7 billion in 2010. |
Dwight Howard appeared at the podium, that big, goofy smile of his plastered on his face. He was beaming from ear-to-ear with a look that said excitement, anticipation, and most of all, relief. Yes, Howard was clearly grateful that this entire ordeal is behind him. After months and months, he can finally put this chapter in the rear view, and get away from all the problems that have plagued his life since last December.
You know, all of those problems he created.
Howard told reporters at his introductory press conference as a Los Angeles Laker that he was just glad everything was over and that he could “breathe” again. Which is convenient, since he literally choked the life out of the Orlando Magic franchise. Howard refused to talk about the team that he started his NBA career with in 2004, saying that it was “Laker Day” and refusing to comment on the situation in Orlando, beyond thanking the fans and the city there (as it burns in embers behind him) and this one quote:
“It was a very tough situation for everyone to let go.”
You can say that again.
Howard spoke to the situation with the media, and how his public image had taken such a hit in recent days/months/eons due to his constant trade demands and a never-ending series of leaks from his camp spelling out his feelings for the franchise, even after willingly opting-in to another year with the team. Howard said he “forgave” the media, including Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, which is just incredibly benevolent of him.
Howard spoke of the past four months he’s spent rehabbing from back surgery in L.A., and mentioned that he has not started running yet, nor will he “rush” his return, an ominous line that has to send shivers down the back of Lakers fans. But most estimates say that Howard should be fully healthy by the time training camp starts.
Howard also mentioned that that time in L.A. is in part what made him feel that this was “home.” So just to be clear here, he felt more at home in a hotel he’d been staying at in Beverly Hills for four months than the community he’d lived in since 2004. Got it.
Howard provided his prototypical comic relief when he did a pretty spot-on Kobe impression of the phone call shared between the two Friday night, which Bryant confirmed earlier in the day prior to Team USA’s win over Argentina. He joked and laughed and seemed at ease. And why shouldn’t he? He got everything he wanted, and now gets to be the hero to millions.
The All-Star center repeatedly made mention to his Superman moniker, and briefly touched on the “mistakes” he’d made throughout this process. “I’m going to do better,” the big man said before leaving the podium with his new Lakers No.12 jersey. Just in time for Orlando fans. |
Burning Man is flipping weird. The annual pilgrimage draws tens of thousands of attendees to the middle of an inhospitable desert where they enjoy a week of delusional mayhem, often in a haze of physical and spiritual intoxication (not to mention the dust clouds that frequently cover the sky). In this wild dimension where fantasy and reality collide, it’s not uncommon to see giant moving sculptures and “art-cars,” often spouting flames and exhibiting all kinds of mechanical wizardry.
To compound the madness, contraptions featuring mechanical devices from bygone eras are also added to the mix, none of which are quite so magical as a nomadic 19th-century structure called the Neverwas Haul. Equal parts locomotive engine, steamship, and Victorian house, the Neverwas Haul is home to the “Travelling Academy of UnNatural Science.” This mythical voyager’s club is helmed by Master and Commander Shannon O’Hare, a.k.a. Major Catastrophe. Originally constructed at the aptly named Shipyard Studio in Berkeley, California, the Neverwas Haul debuted in 2006 and has since become a staple on the Burning Man scene.
“Even though we have ray guns and amazing flying machines, we wear top hats and wool jackets.”
Measuring 24 feet long by 12 feet wide, the Neverwas Haul is built directly onto a fifth-wheel travel trailer, making it relatively easy to tow from its home in the San Francisco Bay Area out to Black Rock City, Nevada, and back. Once out on the desert lake bed, which locals call the “playa,” the Neverwas Haul roams freely, a steampunk masterpiece brought to life with a diesel engine and a wooden ship’s wheel.
For those new to steampunk culture, it originates in the emerging science-fiction of the late 19th century, when ideas about the future were colored by the innovations of the Industrial Revolution, including steam-powered engines and mass-produced mechanical parts. Think books like “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” or “The Time Machine.” The genre was more recently revived in the late 1980s by writers like K.W. Jeter, who combined anachronistic technologies and settings to create haunting sci-fi visions.
Like their steampunk predecessors, O’Hare and his band of explorers imagine the Neverwas Haul adrift in a world where archaic inventions can be used to travel the outer reaches of space and darkest depths of the seas. In the midst of a major renovation prior to this year’s Burning Man adventure (August 27th to September 3rd), O’Hare gave us the scoop on his vehicle’s miraculous birth and its journey into the future.
Collectors Weekly: What was the inspiration for the Neverwas Haul?
O’Hare: Our first project was a 40-foot tall, all-wood Victorian clock tower, which brought together a great group of people—tinkerers, fabricators, machinists, and woodworkers. At that time, in 2005, there was no steampunk scene at Burning Man.
“If we hit 7 miles per hour, we’re going too fast.”
We were wondering what to do next, and I was reading “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson, which is actually a cyberpunk book. There’s a reference in the book to the virtual world, where you are not bound by the laws of physics. Stephenson gives this example of a three-story Victorian house on tank treads, and says you could go 80 miles per hour because you’re not bound by the laws of physics. And I thought, well, we’re not bound by the laws of physics at Burning Man, so why don’t we build a three-story Victorian House on tank treads? Then I drew a picture of the original concept.
The Neverwas Haul is a true “haul” derived from the Irish gypsy vardos or wheeled caravans: The idea is that gypsy women in this steampunk world built these steam-powered vardos because their husbands had sold off all their horses and mules in exchange for drink. The invention became so popular that the aristocrats or gentry wanted to have them too, and the Neverwas is one of these more elaborate, upper-class vehicles.
The Neverwas is the ultimate haul, and technically has four different levels: an engine room level, a command deck level, a lounge level and an observation deck level. “The Travelling Academy of UnNatural Science” is a group of explorers and scientists that uses the Haul as their exploratory vehicle. The club building itself actually goes out and explores, and its mission is to circumnavigate the earth, without the use of a zeppelin. We don’t stay in the Neverwas, because it’s really meant as a clubhouse and art piece rather than a camper.
Everything we do is in the steampunk genre, basically Victorian science fiction, which Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are credited with creating. So this is the style, the Victorian style set in a fantastic future as envisioned by people of the 1800s. Even though we have ray guns and amazing flying machines, we wear top hats and wool jackets and everything’s made out of brass. Whenever we’re motoring on the playa, I command that my crew dress appropriately. My personal costume is a 1927 ship’s coat made for the U.S. Navy, which I bought when I was 25.
Collectors Weekly: How did you construct the Neverwas?
O’Hare: Well, we quickly found out that transporting tank treads to the playa, though we could easily get them for free, was essentially impossible. So I changed the design to be constructed on a fifth-wheel travel trailer, which has turned out to be immensely practical. Once the Haul is packed down for traveling, it is the legal highway height and width, so I can pull it behind my pickup truck.
We built the Neverwas from scratch, or from “obtanium,” our word for repurposed or recycled: that which you can obtain. Our studio in Vallejo, California, is called “Obtainium Works,” and people bring us all kinds of treasures, which is fantastic. The materials are industrial detritus and objects that simply fall into our grasp. If something really old and valuable is donated, it’s usually by mistake.
We are currently doing restoration on the Neverwas, replacing wood and elements that have broken and worn out. We’re really not altering the design and, in fact, people won’t be able to tell she’s changed at all. Right now we’re focusing on the Neverwas, but members of our crew also have their own art projects, like “The Chairway to Heaven,” which is an elevated sofa, quite a beautiful piece. And we’re constantly building new art-cars.”
Collectors Weekly: How is the Neverwas Haul powered?
O’Hare: Though it appears to be a steam-powered vehicle, that’s actually just “hot air.” We originally installed a boiler to create steam, but it never worked very well, and out on the playa the steam disappeared so quickly it was purely academic. No one seems to notice that we don’t have billowing puffs of smoke or anything like that. And truthfully, when a steam engine is running perfectly well, you shouldn’t see anything coming out the smokestack.
The original engine was a single-cylinder agricultural diesel engine which ran a hydraulic pump that drives a wheel motor mounted on the front steering assembly, which pulls the whole Haul along. The big iron wheels on the side are just outriggers that help balance us out. And it does actually steer with the big ship’s wheel.
Collectors Weekly: And how fast does it go?
O’Hare: If we hit 7 miles per hour, we’re going too fast.
Collectors Weekly: What other sorts of projects has the Neverwas Haul prompted?
O’Hare: We built a steam-powered carriage, a four-person pedal powered vehicle called the “Parlor Car,” and we made a small replica of a San Francisco cable car called the “LB&O Trolley.” We also have a giant teapot which we use for parades in Vallejo. And built into the tower of the Neverwas is a Camera Obscura, which projects whatever’s outside onto a screen inside.
My favorite part of the whole project is people’s reactions. After people see the Neverwas and what we’ve done, they often go out and build their own fantasy and their own dream. That is the biggest reward, to see people go out and create their own amazing things. After seeing the Neverwas, a fellow artist named Sean Orlando built the “Steampunk Tree House,” and then went on to construct a Gothic rocket, which is on display in San Francisco near the Ferry Building. It’s a classic sci-fi rocket ship, as well as an absolutely amazing art piece. They also built a Nautilus submarine as a commissioned artwork.
Collectors Weekly: How does the steampunk lifestyle fit into Burning Man?
O’Hare: At first I thought there would be a backlash against us, since we’re dressing as these Victorian explorers and essentially bringing colonialism to the Burning Man savages. I thought people would reject that element from contaminating the purity of this Burning Man spirit of freedom and non-monetary this, that, and the other. Instead it was just the opposite: they embraced it and loved it. If you look at Burning Man projects today, a number of them have embraced the steampunk genre.
In some ways steampunk has since become synonymous with Burning Man, as much as furries and raves. It’s simply become another Burning Man character type—someone who’s walking around with a pith helmet and goggles is as common as someone wearing a flame-painted cowboy hat and furry chaps, and nothing else.
Our crew, of course, is always well-clothed, though our ladies do seem to have a penchant for wearing corsets and frilly, negligible blouses. But that’s a fashion choice they make themselves.
Collectors Weekly: And the aviator-style goggles?
O’Hare: The goggles have become connected with steampunk culture, but we were always wearing goggles, since you need them on the playa to protect your eyes from the dust storms. And of course when doing machining and welding, we also normally wear goggles. With the steampunk style, the goggles are integral to the engineer, motorman, aviator look. It’s a look derived from flying or driving a vehicle that has no windshield.
Collectors Weekly: Where else can we see the Neverwas Haul?
O’Hare: Here in Vallejo we do the annual Mad Hatter Parade [an art-car festival happening on December 1st], but before that, on Saturday, September 29th, we’re also hosting the very first Kinetic Obtainium Cup, a human-powered sculpture race on Mare Island. It will be a mobile-art race, much like the Kinetic Grand Championship in Arcata.
(To learn more about the Neverwas Haul, visit the website. Thanks to Andy Pischalnikoff, Christopher Michel, aviatorfox, and mr science for their photographs.) |
What is VITABattery?
I never liked the idea that the PS VITA never displayed your current battery status as a percentage. They never gave us an option to at at least use it a feature that can be turned on or off either. Fear not, as I have decided to release a simple light weight plugin packed with a nifty little feature that lets you do just that. This ‘nifty little feature’ simply displays the battery status in time (hours and mins remaining).
Change-log:
Now compatible with Adrenaline.
Allows other controls to be used whilst the plugin’s display is on.
Instructions:
Then press (Select + Up) to view your battery percentage, or (Select + Right) to view your battery life time. You can use either (Select + Down) or (Select + Left) to close either of the displays.
Download:
https://github.com/joel16/VITABattery/releases |
Updated at 9:05 p.m.: Revised to include that SMU has updated its campus expression policy by removing language about "harmful or triggering messages." An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the university had ruled the 9/11 memorial must move because it could be triggering to students. The university's policy requires all displays to move to the new site.
Southern Methodist University officials revised a policy Tuesday that aimed to protect students from "harmful or triggering" messages after a dispute erupted over an annual 9/11 installation that students had planned for the heart of campus.
Nearly 3,000 flags have been placed on Southern Methodist University's Dallas Hall Lawn every year since 2010, but the group responsible for the display, Young Americans for Freedom, was recently told it must be moved.
University officials told Grant Wolf, who leads SMU's Young Americans chapter, that the display can be placed only on Morrison-McGinnis Park, a less-prominent campus location informally known as MoMac Park.
In a policy posted in July, SMU stated: "The University respects the right of all members of the SMU community to express their opinions. The University also respects the right of all members of the community to avoid messages that are triggering, harmful or harassing. It is the policy of the University to protect the exercise of these rights."
The university revised the policy Tuesday.
"SMU respects the rights of all campus community members to express their opinions, as well as their right to be free from coercion and harassment. The policy has been further updated to better reflect this balance and to remove the poor wording regarding triggering or harmful messages," it said in a written statement. |
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos said Monday that quarterback Austin Allen had a good week of practice after riding himself hard after the 28-7 loss to TCU.
"Took us a couple days to get him out of the tank," Enos said. "He takes things very personally and wants to play very well. The hardest part was getting him out of the tank, but once we got him out, he's been good and he's had a good week of prep.
"He's throwing the ball well and has some good energy and good enthusiasm. I know he's champing at the bit to play again."
Enos, as well, said he also needed a couple of days to get over the loss to TCU in which the Razorbacks had 267 total yards and went 0 for 2 in red-zone scoring after driving to the Horned Frogs' 5 and 2s
"It takes me time to get out of the tank too," Enos said. "My wife and kids are in charge of that. They got me out.
"When you have a bye week, you feel like you can sulk a little longer. I don't know why, but the 24-hour rule isn't in effect."
Allen completed 9 of 23 passes for 138 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions against TCU.
"He was just upset about how he played and how we played," Enos said. "He knows we're better than that. He didn't like the way he played.
"My job is to get him moving on to the next game. We certainly have done that. He's had a really, really good last couple of days in particular in preparation and the way he's throwing the ball. His feet look good. Accuracy, everything, is looking really good."
Back to basics
Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said the Razorbacks used last week's open date to work on improving their fundamentals and techniques.
"Early in the season you've got a chance to make great strides every week," Rhoads said. "With an open week as early as we are, you've got a chance to go back and focus on the fundamentals.
"That's exactly what we did. We were not pleased with how we tackled, so we spent time tackling as a full defensive unit on Wednesday and Thursday when we dressed out in full pads."
Rhoads said he liked the players' enthusiasm in practice.
"I'm excited how our guys came back to work ... both from an energy level and how they went out and executed," he said. "They were a team that was excited to get back to work."
Tube talk
Arkansas' next home game against New Mexico State will be an 11 a.m. kickoff at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Sept. 30, the conference office announced on Monday.
The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Arkansas leads the series against New Mexico State by a 5-0 count.
Jersey juice
The Razorbacks wore their Cowboys-themed uniforms for Sunday's practice. The jerseys, unveiled on Sunday afternoon on social media, are a nod to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the former Razorback who has donated generously to his alma mater. Arkansas will wear the uniforms for the first time in Saturday's game at the Cowboys' AT&T Stadium.
"The kids saw the uniforms for the first time and really enjoyed it," Bielema said. "We practiced in them [Sunday] -- now we'll put those away until game day -- just to make sure everything fit and was all put together in all the right places.
"So to honor Jerry Jones is another great reason to be a part of that celebration this year with him in the [Pro Football] Hall of Fame."
Kicker update
Connor Limpert is listed as Arkansas' No. 1 kicker with Blake Mazza as the second-teamer, but Bret Bielema said the competition will continue to determine who handles field goals and extra points against Texas A&M.
Either Limpert or Mazza will replace Cole Hedlund after he missed field goals from 23 and 20 yards against TCU.
"We still have Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, obviously, and then Thursday to see exactly where they are," Bielema said.
Limpert and Mazza, both walk-ons, are "almost in a dead heat" for the No. 1 job, Bielema said.
Limpert has a slight edge, Bielema said, because he has played in a game. Limpert, a sophomore, is in his second season handling kickoffs. Mazza is a true freshman."
Aggie series
Arkansas leads the all-time series with Texas A&M 41-29-3. The Razorbacks' longest winning streak in the series is nine games, from 1958-1966. The Aggies' longest winning streak is six games (1938-1943), a mark they can tie with a victory on Saturday.
Arkansas leads the series in games played in Fayetteville (12-7-2), Little Rock (9-3) and College Station, Texas (17-14-1), but the Aggies hold a 4-3 edge in games played in Arlington, Texas, the site of Saturday's Southwest Classic.
Martin improving
Bret Bielema said receiver Brandon Martin, who didn't play last week after being limited in training camp due to a back injury, should practice this week.
Martin did some running Sunday, Bielema said, and when that went well he joined the team in the middle of practice.
"He's a guy we're excited about," Bielema said.
Martin, the No. 1-rated junior college receiver last season, will work this week with a second group of receivers behind the top rotation of Jared Cornelius, Jonathan Nance, Jordan Jones and Deon Stewart.
Enos: Trying to score TDs
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Offensive coordinator Dan Enos said having an inexperienced kicker won't affect his play calling against Texas A&M. He said Cole Hedlund's chip shot misses against TCU didn't cause him to alter what he called, either.
"I'm going to stay in my lane there a little bit because that's not my area," Enos said. "I've got my own problems. ... Obviously, we're trying to score touchdowns.
"We got that third and goal at the 2 and we didn't convert and kicked. Then on the other third-down play we had it in the red zone, we couldn't get a guy open. I thought there was some defensive holding. Obviously the refs didn't agree with us."
O-line entrenched
Bret Bielema said offensive tackle Brian Wallace has had "his best couple of weeks" of practice, and Jake Raulerson, who can play all the line spots, did well against TCU when Arkansas used an unbalanced line on several snaps.
That being said, the coaches aren't planning any changes in the starting lineup.
True freshman Ty Clary, who started the first two games at right guard, has been solid, Bielema said.
"I know everybody gets concerned when you're starting a true freshman, but Ty has not been a concern for us and has played fairly well ... not any mistakes or mental breakdowns or physical breakdowns. Just a very talented player who deserves the opportunity he's getting."
Arkansas' starting line along with Clary has been right tackle Johnny Gibson, center Frank Ragnow, left guard Hjalte Froholdt and left tackle Colton Jackson.
Sports on 09/19/2017 |
Chancellor George Osborne appears to be fast losing the support and confidence of British business as the body representing 100,000 UK firms accuses ministers of a mixture of indecision, equivocation and political short-termism that is choking off economic recovery.
The outspoken attack from the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, John Longworth, is a severe blow to the chancellor, who faces fresh pressure on Wednesday when official figures are expected to show that the UK's GDP contracted for a third successive quarter between April and June.
Writing in today's Observer, Longworth is savage in his criticism, accusing ministers of making announcements that lack substance and of using "political calculation", rather than economic need, as the driver of policy-making.
His comments, just two weeks after the head of the CBI, John Cridland, tore into ministers for failing to do more to boost infrastructure, show that the traditional close relations between the Tory party and the business community are under intense strain as the economy remains in recession.
Longworth argues that ministers often lecture businesses about taking more risks. But he says it is ministers who must do more to create the climate for investment.
He calls for a new business bank to be established, like those that exist in Germany and the US, to support "bona fide growth companies". "Politicians seem to believe that businesses must be willing and ready to 'strain every sinew', without doing the same themselves," he writes. They should also show greater "statesmanship" and courage to take controversial decisions, such as on the need to expand airport capacity in the south-east. Earlier this month the coalition delayed a consultation on the issue.
"As we noted when the aviation policy paper was announced, businesses are tired of indecision and equivocation. They are tired of political short-termism, electoral calculation, and the privileging of presentation over substance," Longworth writes. "Without sustained, long-term action from government to create a stable business environment here at home, the risk appetite among many businesspeople will remain muted."
Before Wednesday's GDP figures are announced, Howard Archer, of consultancy IHS Global Insight, said he expected a 0.3% fall, and warned that the economy would remain weak for the rest of the year. "We expect UK GDP to be essentially flat overall in 2012, and there is a very real and increasing danger that the economy will contract marginally," he said.
This week Labour leader Ed Miliband will seek to put himself at the head of new efforts in the EU to boost youth employment when he will be the first senior British politician to meet French president François Hollande at the Elysée Palace on Tuesday. A Labour source said: "We now need to work together to have a coordinated plan for jobs and growth. We cannot allow the future of the European continent to sit idle because of the failure to deliver the jobs young people need."
In the UK, weak growth has undermined the coalition's attempt to bring the deficit under control. The latest official public finance data, released on Friday, showed that the shortfall from April to June was almost £7bn larger than in the same period last year, excluding one-off quirks such as the transfer of assets from the Royal Mail pension fund. Analysts said that made it increasingly likely Osborne would miss his deficit target for the current financial year.
Pierre Williams, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, echoed Longworth's frustration. "It's the number one concern of small businesses that they're not getting the loans that they need," he said. "We're encouraged by the fact that the government has recognised the problem; but we have not been so encouraged by the schemes they've introduced to rectify it, because they simply haven't worked."
The latest Bank of England data shows that lending to businesses has continued to decline, despite a blizzard of initiatives from the Treasury.
Many analysts believe this is as much because of a collapse of business confidence against the background of the continuing crisis in the eurozone, rather than the banks' unwillingness to lend. Joe Cox, of the Compass campaign group, said: "Businesses are sitting on billions of pounds of savings because they don't trust that the demand is there to make it worth them investing – there can be no bigger indictment of Osborne's economic management than that."
On Saturday a spokesman for the business secretary, Vince Cable, who said in a Financial Times interview that he had not ruled out leading his party again, insisted he was fully in agreement with the coalition's broad economic policy and was working well with Osborne.
Cable, while a strong supporter of the coalition's deficit-cutting policy, has long argued that more should be done to boost infrastructure spending, particularly on housing. In February he wrote to David Cameron and his Lib Dem deputy Nick Clegg, saying the government lacked "a compelling vision of where the country is heading beyond sorting out the fiscal mess". He is now said to believe the government is moving in the right direction, with announcements such as last week's plan for a £9bn boost to rail investment. In his FT interview, Cable said he thought Clegg was "doing a good job".
However he refused to deny a lingering ambition to lead his party. "I don't exclude it – who knows what might happen in the future," he said. He also told the paper that the "worship of youth" was subsiding, in an apparent dig at those leading the two coalition parties. A friend of Cable said: "Dr Cable is on call in case of an emergency." |
Take a close look at this Dual USB Flash Drive from SanDisk. The company name doesn't matter so much as the shape and function of the thing: we're about to see every USB stick transform into such a dual-plug peripheral very soon indeed. USB-C, the thin connector on the right, is the hot new port standard that's taking the tech world by storm this year. The big chunky guy on the other side is the ubiquitous but rapidly depreciating USB Type-A connector that we all know (and occasionally loathe when trying to plug it in the wrong way).
I spoke with SanDisk's Jared Peck at Computex today and he told me about the challenge faced by the peripherals industry as we all transition from A to C in our usage of USB. SanDisk is one of the many companies that's embracing USB-C as the future, but it doesn't believe the time is yet right to build and sell accessories with only a USB-C connector on them. After all, the point of external storage devices like flash drives is to maximize compatibility: you're far more likely to want and use a drive that can plug into your phone, desktop PC, and that shiny new MacBook.
There have already been similar dual-connector USB drives featuring the well established Micro USB, but they were solutions for a narrower set of users. This type of USB Type-A plus USB Type-C drive doesn't just bring phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops together — it's also a bridge between the past and the future. And that's what is making it abundant in the present. SanDisk announced the 32GB Dual USB Flash Drive at MWC in February and already has it on sale at Amazon for $39.99.
Verge Video: This is the reversible USB plug of the future |
This traditional braised French country classic works well in the slow cooker. You'll find smoked ham hocks in the deli section of most grocery stores. Substitute smoked turkey leg of equal weight if unavailable.
4 cans (14 oz/398 mL each) no-salt- added navy beans, drained and rinsed (or 6 cups cooked) 1 can (28 oz/796 mL) no-salt-added whole tomatoes, drained 2 onions, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 rib celery, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs 2 fresh parsley sprigs 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper 1 smoked ham hock, (12 oz/340 g) 1 pkg (375 g) fully cooked smoked Polish sausages, cut diagonally in 1-1/2-inch (4 cm) thick slices 3 strips sodium-reduced bacon, sliced 3/4 cup (175 mL) sodium-reduced chicken broth 3/4 cup (175 mL) white wine
In slow cooker, combine beans, tomatoes, onions, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and pepper. Top with ham hock, sausages and bacon. Stir in broth and wine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Discard bay leaves, thyme and parsley. With slotted spoon, remove ham hock; discard bones, skin and fat. Shred any meat into large chunks; return to slow cooker. |
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