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Though the snow and ice can be a barrier for pedestrians and people with disabilities, it can also be a surprising indicator of the way people use the road, which could ultimately have long-term benefits for the very users hampered by the white stuff. When vehicles travel along roadways after a fresh snowfall, they carve out pathways that demonstrate the most well-used areas of the street. At the same time, they also highlight unused road space that could be taken back by pedestrians. A sneckdown, or snowy neckdown, is essentially a curb extension created by snowfall. A sneckdown in Manhattan, image by Liz Patek via Wikimedia Commons Sneckdowns encourage slower vehicle speeds, shorten pedestrian crossing times, and enable planners to understand where possible reconfigurations of the road structure can be made. As a natural form of traffic calming, sneckdowns easily demonstrate where permanent curb extensions can be implemented, thus narrowing the roadway. The term was coined by Streetsblog Founder Aaron Naparstek and popularized by Streetfilms Director Clarence Eckerson, Jr. Since its first recorded Twitter appearance in 2014, the hashtags #plowza, #slushdown, #snovered, and #snowspace have been used to describe these natural phenomena. Sneckdowns demonstrate unused road space, image by Naparstek via Wikimedia Commons
Fallout: Equestria - Occupational Hazards Pg. 29 ❮❮ Newer Download \| Full View Older ❯❯ Submission © 2014 the-furry-railfan Main Gallery 1629 submissions Fallout: Equestria - Occupational Hazards Pg. 29 - by the-furry-railfan Submission information: Posted: Category: All Theme: All Species: Horse Gender: Any Favorites: 3 Comments: 1 Views: 368 Image Specifications: Resolution: 1280x771 Keywords: Fallout Equestria Occupational Hazards fanfic pegasus Twintails Minty Candy Cross Stitch Flash-Bang rule 63 courier post office afternoon window light snow crates The day was lovely; the sun was shining bright in the sky, birds were singing, Featherweight and Buzzy were out playing catch and I was relaxing on the blanket underneath the large willow tree, smiling widely. Green magic lifted up a pair of Sparkle-Cola bottles, clinking them together and catching my attention, one of the bottles levitating into my hoof and becoming uncapped as the young, light-blue mare sat her vibrant self down beside me, returning the smile and stretching her back. The leaves and branches of the tree shook overhead, the smell of recently cooked burgers and fresh fries eminating from a woven basket that rested between us both. A pair of unicorns, one white-coated with a teal mane, and the other sporting a royal-blue coat and purplish mane, trotted up over the hillside, the white unicorn waving happily and moving up towards us. I smiled and waved back, Gamma Ray levitating out an old book from the basket and opening it up to read, the breeze rustling the leaves again. "Minty! Cross Stitch! How've you two been? Haven't seen you in days." I chuckled and rose to my hooves, giving my wings a gentle flap and moving over to them both, smiling widely. Cross Stitch wrapped a hoof around Minty's neck, chuckling and nodding, tapping his horn to Minty's and illiciting a vibrant blush from the bespectacled pony. Minty let off a light giggle and gave Cross a playful push aside. "Not in public, silly~ We've been, ah, keeping busy, getting reacquainted... funny how much you can miss somepony after a few days of them being away." My unicorn friend nuzzled his coltfriend, taking the moment to gently place a kiss on his cheek. The deep-blue stallion held him closer, chuckling softly and turning back towards myself, the three of us starting to head back up the hill. The two pegasi seemed to dance about in the skies above, weaving between themselves, one an agile green and red blur, the other a quick but rather slow-moving grey and blue mess of beautiful eyes and strong muscle. "I was really missing having my peppermint in my mouth~" I could have sworn Minty's cheeks went so red they could match his eyes at that statement. It didn't take a genius to guess exactly what the other unicorn was implying, if my blushing friend's cutie mark was any clue. Cross Stitch passed on a wink, chuckling lightly as we neared Gamma Ray at the top of the hill. A somewhat low droning sound started to grow in the background, myself thinking little of it for the moment, moving underneath the willow tree and settling down upon the large blanket once more. Featherweight and Buzzy landed and walked up to us, Gamma Ray opening up the basket and pulling out the picnic lunch. "Hope everypony's hungry, this was my grandma's recipie, Alpha Ray's famous hayburgers." The unicorn mare smiled widely, holding one of the sandwiches in her magic and passing out the rest. That low droning sound was getting louder, and higher - it sounded like a, ah, a really really big slide whistle, something like that. I seemed to be the only one there noticing the damn thing - it really was starting to grate at the nerves something feirce. No matter how much I rubbed my hooves at my ears, it just wouldn't stop... The tone had begun to rose - it was definitely getting louder, turning into a slow whine, then a wail, drowning out all the other noises around. The sounds of laughter, of Gamma chatting between bites, of the large willow tree overhead shaking in the breeze, all mimed and masked behind that damn wailing sound. I threw myself against the trunk, screaming silently, trying to find some quiet place to just be able to think. The screaming tone started to fall, only to rise back to its previous height, still clear in my head as the sky above. Feeling the exclamations of pain more than actually hearing them, my forehead took to smashing against the wooden tree trunk, each impact leaving a slightly larger red mark than the last - the scream just wouldn't stop. Red started rolling into my vision, myself reeling back for one more whack at it. The scream caught in my throat as the exposed bone and flesh impacted the dirty trunk, an insufferable crack and squelch being felt - and heard - as the weakened and damaged bone gave way to the force, splitting my head apart in the same manner as a large stone falling upon a helpless pet. In the last few fleeting moments before darkness overtook me, I could still hear the siren wailing along in my ears, dead eyes staring up at the branches of the willow tree as they swayed in the breeze, the smell of freshly-cooked hayburgers and sweet Sparkle-cola lingering about my broken nose. Everything faded away... except for that siren. I found myself waking with a start, chest heaving heavily as my bare hoof rubbing against my head - good, good, not cracked. The room in Mooscow; I was the only one in the bed. Minty was probably in the hospital still, Cross Stitch at his side. Four days ago we pulled him out, two days after that he finally was awake and talking. I actually had to remind Minty to eat some days, crazy as it seems - those two really did love each other to the ends of the planet. Always brought a smile seeing them together, happy, cuddling and laughing... just like myself and Gamma Ray used to be. Oh, stop that, at least you saved most of your Stable! Besides, you ought to be happy that you allowed Minty to be happy. Nopony likes somepony who's jealous. Shaking my head to shut my brain up, I peered out the window, hearing that rising and falling tone still wailing out in the Mooscow streets. Families were all making way towards the larger buildings, or out towards Hi-fi's Stable, like an old air raid drill we learned about way back in Stable 34. They'd do those every so often so everypony knew to get to safety when the siren sounded. Huh, so this is what the paranoia of the war must have felt like. Sliding into my barding and donning the pair of saddlebags, the bite of the cold air was subdued, but the sound of the siren stayed, a constant whine that certainly did it's job as far as getting attention. Leaving the larger weapons behind, I passed through the reception area and out into the streets, flicking on the radio meanwhile. Hi-fi's voice was replaced by the automated broadast of the CONELRAD system, the siren finally winding down as the inner walls passed by. There hadn't been a second attack yet - yet - but it was good to be ready on the offchance they were just preparing. CONELRAD broadcasted as far as Trotisk, and I'm pretty sure the sirens in Trotisk could be heard in Turnpike, anyways. As the sirens died off, there was a crackle of static through the speakers before Hi-fi's voice came on again - I guess she got the switchboard mixed up or something. This was definitely meant more for her Stable. "A-alright, welcome to Stable 92, er, residents of Mooscow. I... I'm your, uh, Overmare, I guess, Hi-fi. Thank you for coming down and taking refuge as the sirens indicated, this is the first air raid drill we've conducted based on this new threat. Please remain calm, if you need any directions just ask one of the Stable 34 residents, they ought to be able to help. Ahm... I'll come over the broadcast again when they sound the all-clear topside. Hi-fi out." Static fizzled again, and the emergency evacuation messages resumed, the now-quiet streets giving an eerie sensation as I made way towards the hospital. The large cathedral that held the Mooscow Museum was before then, Minuette staring uneasily up into the sky, her degraded lips parting and mouthing silent words. She had sat down upon her haunches, starting to slowly move her hooves about uneasily, as if in a trance. I stepped up to her, wondering if I should say something or not - she was a ghoul after all, maybe the sirens are making her remember... "Ah... Minuette? Is everything alright?" The young ghoul blinked a few times, having lifted up a forehoof as if she was reaching for something, or holding onto somepony. She let off a shuddering breath, a frown forming across her muzzle as her eyes started to become damp, her flaking body heaving as she began to cry in the cold street. "N-no, don't cry! Everything's going to be alright, it's just a test..." I found myself holding Minuette, gently rubbing at the back of what was left of her mane and letting her rest her chin on my shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks. The faint stench of degredation surrounded her, almost covered by the smell of mothballs and dust - she didn't get out of that museum much at all, did she? "Sc-scared, mommy... don't want the bombs, mommy, make th' bad noise stop..." Mommy? What was she calling me mommy for... she was just a filly when it happened, wasn't she? Oh, goddesses, how did that come to happen. They really didn't all go together when they went, not at all. Squeezing the mare in a gentle hug, her degraded flesh squelched against my frontal barding, her shuddering cries slowly turning into soft whimpers as the wind filled the air about us. Standing myself up, I looked to her eyes, seeing her wiping at them with her flaky foreleg and sniffling in some mucus. Couldn't just leave her here like this... "C'mon, why don't you, ah, tag along with me? I'm heading to visit some friends, and you look like you could use the fresh air." Myself passing on a smile, the mare looked up and nodded, easing up from the snow and idly digging at it, still seeming unnerved. I wanted to ask her how it happened, what it looked like, but... maybe some things are better left undiscovered. Pausing for a moment and digging around in my saddlebags, a light smile returned to Minuette's face as I produced two bottles of Sparkle-Cola. She picked one of them up, uncapping it tmidly and starting to slowly sip from it as we headed for the hospital. --- "Oh, hey Twintails, Minty went to the bathrooWHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Myself and Minuette both stepped inside Cross Stitch's room, the royal-blue unicorn sliding up the length of the old mattress and hiding behind his blanket. Sheesh, it's like he's never seen... oh, right. Minuette hid behind my own body, starting to whimper and cry as the unicorn started flailing for his nightstand. "AAAAH! ZOMBIE PONY! TWINTAILS, SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT DEAD ALREADY!!" Okay, yeah, even I think that it's a bit of an overreaction he's having here. If only I had a snowball... "Cross Stitch?! What's going on, what- oh, hi Twintails, Minuette." Minty soon appeared in the hallway, trotting into the room and looking about it, adjusting his rear barding some. A look of worry crossed his face as he rushed to the side of Cross Stitch, gently resting his hooves against him and looking into his eyes, his non-augmented leg moving to gently rub through his purple mane. Minuette stepped up alongside myself as I moved to one of the chairs, sitting down and watching for the moment. The ghoul mare gently rubbed her head up against me, resting on the floor of the waiting room, watching as the two augmented unicorns whispered between themselves. Idly scratching at my head, Cross Stitch seemed to relax a little the more Minty talked with him, every now and again glancing past the unicorn at myself and Minuette. The ghoul leaned in closer to myself, watching Cross Stitch for a few moments before turning to face me. "W-what's his prob'lm? Didn't even see I wann't a zombie?" She blinked a few times, rubbing at her eyes. Eck, the sound of degrading flesh rubbing degrading flesh is definitely one needing to get used to. Minty held Cross Stitch in a hug, their horns rubbing against each other for a minute and causing them both to blush rather quickly. Huh, who would've figured? "Cross Stitch was the only survivor of Stable 76. He's been in here ever since he was pulled out, he's really never seen a ghoul before. Don't be too afraid, he's just still adjusting." I shrugged lightly, Minuette looking back at the pair. Minty had stood himself back up, looking at the both of us and motioning us to come over. Minuette had a small moment of pause before she lifted herself up, slowly trotting towards the bedside while watching Cross Stitch. I'd stood myself on the opposite side of the bed, a certain tenseness filling the room as the blue augmented unicorn looked at the ghoul mare, putting on a weak grin and waving his hoof at her halfheartedly. Minuette bit at her lower lip - well, what was left of it, anyways - hoofing at the floor. I swear you could cut the awkward with a knife and serve it on a plate... "Stitchy, this is Minuette. She's a ghoul. She doesn't want to eat your brains." Minty chuckled weakly for a moment, gently - that is to say, nearly - resting his foreleg about Minuette's neck. The mare squeaked lightly, looking up through what remained of her mane at Cross Stitch for a moment before looking back to the floor. The purple-maned unicorn rubbed at the back of his head, looking about the room and shuffling underneath the covers. Minuette looked between us, trotting out of the room after a few more moments of awkward silence, much to the visible relief of Cross Stitch. A short way down the hallway, a radio was switched on, the regular radio broadcast resuming as the sirens outside sounded a long, loud note. Minty looked towards myself for a moment, then back at Cross as he sat himself up. "I don't care if they're older than the goddesses, those... ghoul... things, they're really fucking terrifying." Minty shot him a look, then let off a sigh, adjusting his glasses. The royal-blue unicorn blinked a few times, looking to myself and shrugging. "What? It's true. Please tell me that they're the worst things up here in this wasteland-whatever. I mean, besides zebras." Minty in stereo, just wonderful. Rolling my eyes and turning to face the hallway, I glanced down at my own pip-buck, fiddling with the radio settings. Music, news, that sounded good right now. The last few notes of a song faded, and Bert the Turtle came on, the signal fading and mixing a bit - something with the sirens, maybe? "Good evening wasteland, and welcome back from that little test of those two-century-old noisemakers. For those of you who still aren't in the know, a new threat dropped out of the sky four days ago and entirely destroyed Stable 76. There's not much of a happy ending to this one folks, because the only stallion who made it out of there alive was barely living when he was helped into the Mooscow hospital. From what Tom tells me from the descriptions of the attack, it was some kind of kinetic bombardment weapon - in simpler terms, a big old rod of metal that slams into the ground so fast it causes an earthquake. Ain't that just a kick in the dead crotch of whoever owned Stable-Tec, built the damn things so they could survive balefire bombs at their front doors, but a little rod no bigger than a telephone pole can entirely destroy one, eheh..." The radio whined, both Cross Stitch and Minty moving their hooves to their heads, rubbing at their temples. Minty swayed as it passed, blinking in surprise, leaning up against the bed and looking down at his coltfriend. "Anyhow, there's no telling where it might hit next, but better to be safe than sorry. Whoever's controlling it must really hate us to want to do stuff like that. We'll keep you updated as we watch the skies..." The radios whined again, the two augmented unicorns grimacing in visible pain, Minty falling against the floor as he held his temples tightly, grunting and starting to repeat numbers. What the... was... oh no, no, it couldn't be! What was that station doing!? I mashed at my pip-buck, turning the radio off and watching them both. Cross Stitch was dry-heaving - nope, wait, make that vomiting - over the side of the bed, a similar mess forming where Minty was as they both writhed about in agony. I turned the radio off, why were they still doing that!? Unless... down the hall. Pulling Gamma's luger from the holster on my hoof, I looked down to the other rooms, a nurse rushing past me as the whining sound kept up. Radio, radio, where was that radio!? Throwing myself into an open doorway, and giving the attending doctor and patient heart attacks, I glanced madly about the room. It had to be in here, I had to shut it off! A plasticine form caught the corner of my eye on a nightstand, taking fast aim and squeezing at the trigger of the pistol. The .45 caliber round flew through the air and caused the radio to erupt in an electric explosion, fizzling out in the cold air. Dropping the pistol from my mouth, I fell against the side wall of the room, drawing in heavy breaths and relaxing for the moment. The patient in the bed was sitting upright for a few moments before he fell back against the old pillows, the doctor looking confusedly between myself, his patient, and the exploded radio. I put on a weak smile, shrugging and chuckling between breaths. "Never liked that song." --- After being kindly escorted out of the hospital for the day... and clearing more snow out of my nose... the once-empty streets of Mooscow were filling again, shops reopening as the residents returned from their underground shelters. Looking about, all the faces were uneasy, every now and again somepony glancing up towards the sky and scurrying along to their destinations afterwards. While keeping doors open before was probably unwise based on the climate, they all seemed to be shut up tighter than normally, and everypony seemed to have taken to carrying about their preferred weapons a little more readily. The air just seemed a little bit colder as I trotted along, the cold snow crunching underhoof, lights in windowed shops turning on and revealing their wares - wasteland sweet shops, rebuilt from scrap furniture, Razorwing's goods store. Leaving the radio off, the murmurs of uncertainty and fear filled the background noise of the city, a gentle snow beginning to fall once more. I found myself slowing down as I neared the courier office, pausing for a short while and moving a bit more leisurely. A jet-black-maned earth pony was moving some boxes down from the bay window, setting them aside with a bit of effort. Maybe I could get a courier job, if Megaspell mary turns out to be a lost cause. I mean, it wasn't like it was especially difficult work, considering most of the deadlier things in the wasteland generally were either bad shots or landlocked. Could probably see about finding somepony to make a bomber saddle, too - that, or, well, something to let me reload my grenade rifle midair. I found myself lost in thought for the moment, staring at my reflection in the window of the office, my own reflection staring back from behind the crates. wait, what? I blinked a few times in disbelief - my reflection blinked too, longer lashes batting against its cheeks. Tapping a rubber-clad hoof on the glass, the reflection tapped back, reaching over the wooden courier crates marked with faded company logos to meet my own outstretched hoof. I turned my head to the left, the reflection turned accordingly. Spread my wings, so did it. Stuck my tongue out... yeah, that had to be my reflection. I wasn't going crazy, the wasteland wasn't pulling another trick, it's just an optical illusion. That optical illusion just sneezed. Blinking in surprise, mouth agape, I only stared in a bit of wonderment as my reflection... no, wait, that mare, that pegasus mare, that pegasus mare wearing a green duster, and a battle saddle with two auto-rifles, and, and -two tails- trotted over to the desk, pulling out an old box of tissues. The bell above the door rang as I stepped inside, in a daze, smelling the dusty air of old packaging and rusting bottlecaps. At a loss for words, I found myself shuffling on my hooves, feeling rather dizzy - okay, when I said I was getting used to weird, this... this is just a whole new level of weird. Is this what Minty felt when we first stepped inside the Plasma Spaz? My reflection- no, no mirror or glass, what would be the word... mare-me? Me-mare? Sister from another mother? Guh. Whatever-she-is, she turned around and faced myself, tossing the tissues aside. "U-uh..." "Well... yeah, I'm not gonna lie, this is pretty damn freaky, isn't it? I thought Sugar Rush was just hallucinating when she said she saw a stallion that looked just like me, but... goddesses. Name's Flash-Bang." She rubbed at her head, the two auto-rifles jingling at her sides as she moved, just the same way mine did. We both looked over each other in relative silence, before her eyes went wide and she swiftly held me by my cheeks, staring into my eyes. Was -I- this awkward? Sheesh. Letting go of me, she looked out the front window, and then behind herself, beckoning me to move in close. O...kay then, if she kissed me now I think the wasteland weirdness threshold would burst. "Listen to me closely. Have you met a Steel Ranger going by the name Moral Fringe?" We stared at each other for a moment, myself blinking a few times. Steel Ranger? Moral Fringe? "A-ah... uh... I don't think... Fringe? The name, I kind of remember it. I don't know any Steel Rangers by name other than Nova." I thought for a few moments, rubbing at the back of my head. Fringe... wasn't that one of the names Minty pulled out of that corrupted file? Or, was it one of the gate guards... was that the guy I bucked in the crotch? The orange mare inside my head winced - okay, so maybe it wasn't entirely called for, it got the job done and I didn't kill him. Don't look at me like that. Flash-Bang glanced around nervously again, her hooves pulling myself down to the floor of the shop, her voice in a whisper. "His armor is detailed with the insignia of his old unit on the breastplate, and he carries an anti-machine rifle with a distinct muzzlebrake. If you... when, when you meet him, ask him about a pony named Wildfire. -Do NOT- tell him you heard it from me." She poked her head up again, eeping a little and hefting myself over the counter of the shop, dropping me in a mail cart filled with old letters. Yeesh, was -I- this goddess-damned crazy? She looked over and shushed me as I heard the door open, a familiar voice barely heard approaching along with the sound of hooves against the wooden floor. But, wasn't she supposed to still be in Trotisk? "Flash-Bang, thank Celestia. I think that Mossie and Titchbreeze finally found us..." There was a pause, the nervous sound of hooves tapping against the floor heard alongside the shuffle of a canvas bag. Oooh, how I so wanted to peek... "Just listen. I picked this up over the radio a few hours ago." There was a small click, as well as the whine of magic and shuffle of wooden boxes being re-stacked. A staticy recording started on low volume, but you could just barely pick out a mare's voice. By the goddesses, she sounded positively psychotic. "bzzhrt...an make a simulation of a megaspell and use one too, and kill a Stable freely with just the sky above, that's trfsszzht...om plasma to broadside cannons, I command quite the arse...bshzzzt" The recording ended, and the sound of one of the two leaning up against some of the boxes soon filled in the noise gap. Flash-Bang groaned, one of her hooves smashing against the wooden boxes with a grunt from her, Sugar Rush gasping in a bit of surprise. "Just fucking great, isn't it? That strike had them written ALL over it! We were supposed to have a happy ending here, but... they..." Flash-Bang had begun to whimper, and cry, the sound of the backs of the holders for her battle saddle clinking against the hardwood floors telling she'd sat down. Sugar Rush trotted over to her, myself starting to form quite a few pressing questions... like who thought it was a good idea to mail muffins!? Nope, wait, be serious now Twintails. Use those brains of yours. Flash-Bang's cries had become whimpers and sniffles, the sound of a robotic leg gently stroking against mane and... rather passionate kissing filling the air, before she spoke again. "S-Sugar... what are we going to d-do?" The unicorn mare kissed Flash-Bang again, pausing for a moment of thought. "We'll... we'll find somewhere to go. We'll head east, or, or go west, or north. We'll fly to Zebra lands if we have to." There was a sigh, and they both rose up to their hooves. "No mare left behind. I need to get going, pack my things up. See you in Trotisk?" There was a soft pause, before a light peck at the cheek could be heard, along with the door opening and closing shut. The shop was silent for a few minutes again, Flash-Bang trotting around the counter and looking at myself, reaching a hoof in and helping me out of the old pile of mail... and squished muffins. "I... I think you ought to go now. Don't tell anypony about... this. As far as you're concerned-" I held a hoof up to her muzzle, a light smile on mine as I nodded and looked to her bright-green eyes. She moved to grab my forehoof, but stopped, taking a small step back and letting off a sigh. "Nopony else knows who we're exactly going up against like we do. Don't... don't try to be a hero." I paused, chuckling a little, hoof rested against the door. Flash-Bang looked at me quizzically, taking a small step back and moving over to the boxes against the window again. A grin formed across my face as I pulled open the door, the cold wind of the wasteland blowing in and ruffling our manes, my wings spreading out to meet it. "If you're as much me as Sugar Rush is Minty Candy, you know I'm too crazy to not." The mare stuttered a few times, raising a forehoof, but setting it back down, a small smile appearing on her face. "Twintails, by the way. I'll be seeing you." Stepping out into the cold, wintry street, the bells in the cathedral all rang out noon. Ponies in their own barding trotted about, the stormclouds above dropping a gentle dust upon the streets and faded buildings. A smile stuck on my muzzle, looking up and watching the small flakes falling about, taking a cool, deep breath of the crisp wasteland air, looking out towards the north. For a big problem, you need a big weapon... And a megaspell is as big as they come. Full Story Arc Fallout: Equestria created by kkatman
The Republican Party in the last month has taken a sharp turn to the right, confounding more moderate voices urging the party re-brand itself after last year’s election loss. A Tea Party rally outside the Capitol Thursday captured the defiant mood with the far right maligning the merely right. Talk-show host Glenn Beck called the GOP “the Whig party,” with John Boehner the head Whig for appearing open to compromise. There were cries of “learn English” when Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart spoke a few words of Spanish from the podium. Florida Senator Marco Rubio, once a Tea Party favorite, didn’t attend the rally. Part of the Gang of Eight working on a bipartisan immigration bill, his name drew loud boos. What’s going on? Does the GOP have a death wish? Any voter watching this freak show must wonder what happened to all those declarations about reaching out to Hispanics and women, and being more inclusive now that the 21-century is well underway. Recent events suggest that the GOP’s outreach strategy has been shelved, overtaken by a wave of recent polling combined with historical trends that has Republicans convinced that the path to victory lies in—drum roll—doing exactly what they were doing, only more so. For a glimpse inside the workings of the GOP, I turned to Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette, who left Congress in January after serving 18 years in the House. He thought his party was on the right path when Republican Chairman Reince Priebus issued a soul-searching report after the 2012 election. “Then the last month something bad happened,” LaTourette said, blaming a flood of new data from Republican pollsters sketching out the stakes for 2014. In addition to being an historically challenging “six-year itch” midterm election for an incumbent president, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is more unpopular now than it’s ever been with close to half of Americans 49 percent believing it’s a bad idea according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll in early June. The message to Republicans, says LaTourette, “Now is not the time to be more moderate, to shift gears, to be welcoming—now’s the time to double down.” He thinks it’s the wrong strategic choice. “I agree with Priebus. There are not enough 50-year-old white guys who are mad (at the world) to win elections.” Yet that’s the audience House Republicans are playing to in the way they craft legislation, and in the votes they hold. Thursday’s defeat of a farm bill that in ordinary times would easily pass with bipartisan support is the latest example of Republicans at war with themselves, and with much of the country. The bill’s deep reductions in SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, drew a veto threat from the White House and prompted all but 24 Democrats to vote no. Sixty-two Republicans who voted no will go home and tell their constituents that the legislation still spent too much on food stamps, leaving a weakened and embarrassed Speaker Boehner scrambling to salvage the bill. While their colleagues across the aisle are working toward immigration reform, House Republicans voted to reinstate the deportations of so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. The mean-spirited amendment which has no chance of becoming law was offered by Iowa Republican Steve King, who is known for his incendiary rhetoric about immigrants, whom he calls “aliens.” Only six Republicans voted “no,” though many more wished King hadn’t put them on the spot. “After the Steve King vote, people were very sheepish about the fact they supported the amendment,” says Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen. “But they didn’t want to risk the wrath of the far right.” When the House voted this week along party lines to ban abortions after 20 weeks, LaTourette got an email from one of his biggest contributors. It said, “Nothing on jobs, nothing on the economy. These guys don’t have a clue.” “This is not going to get turned around until we bloody their noses in some primaries and stop them from nominating Manchurian candidates that have cost us the Senate in three successive elections,” says LaTourette, who in January became president of the Main Street Partnership, which is working to counter the influence of the far right in next year’s primaries. Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg, looking at data from 50 battleground House districts, says Republicans have “lost significant ground,” and there is a “significant probability” that Democrats will pick up seats in next year’s election. “When you talk about the mess in Congress, Republicans own that,” he says. Yet he stops well short of saying Democrats can regain the majority next year. He does think based on his data that a gain of eight seats, which is what the Democrats netted in 2012, is within reach. Bill Clinton did it in 1998, with Democrats picking up four seats even as Republicans were impeaching him. “The reason Clinton won seats is we made a victim out of him,” says LaTourette. “Americans love winners and they love underdogs, and when we took a sledge hammer to kill ants, people turned against us.” The former GOP congressman isn’t worried about his party keeping the House. He thinks Republicans will hold and maybe expand their majority, “and they’ll see that as vindication.” That’s his worry, then the long promised and long overdue re-branding will be pushed even further into the future.
CLOSE In two and a half years, 21 victims under the age of 18 were accidentally shot in the state. Many of them were by their own hand or by another minor. Even more young Mississippians have suffered similar fates since the study ended. Dustin Barnes/The Clarion-Ledger Debra Romedy McQuillen (Photo: Hinds County Detention Center) A woman was charged after the accidental discharge of her gun inside a medical clinic on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus Thursday. One person was struck in the leg when Debra Romedy McQuillen dropped her purse and the gun inside it went off at Lakeland Family Medicine Center. The wounded woman was transported to UMMC emergency room by ambulance. The injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The name of the victim has not been released by officials. McQuillen, 58, was charged by UMMC campus police and booked into the Hinds County Detention Center. According to the jail website she is charged with possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and simple assault. There are signs outside the building forbidding firearms on the premises. Contact Harold Gater at 601-961-7368 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter. Read or Share this story: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2017/05/26/woman-charged-after-accidental-shooting-ummc-medical-clinic/348423001/
OTTAWA — A new federal law aims to reduce the number of people who die from opioid and other drug overdoses in Canada. The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act was introduced as a private member's bill last year by Liberal backbencher Ron McKinnon and received royal assent on Thursday. The law provides immunity from simple possession charges for anyone calling 911 to report an overdose. A man walks past a mural by street artist Smokey D. about the fentanyl and opioid overdose crisis, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., on Dec. 22, 2016. (Photo: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press) McKinnon said he was spurred to action by an epidemic of opioid overdoses in his home province of British Columbia and the rising number of deaths in Alberta and other provinces. "It will save lives all across the country," he said in an interview, noting the bill was supported by lawmakers from other parties. "They know that their neighbours, their communities, are facing the problem of people dying from overdoses. They understand they need to take action." McKinnon said there have been cases where people have been afraid to call police or an ambulance for help when someone is having an overdose over fear they will be charged with drug possession. He said it doesn't matter if it is a drug addict on the street or a middle class kid at a party. Making a simple phone call for help could save a life. "They know that their neighbours, their communities, are facing the problem of people dying from overdoses. They understand they need to take action." Health Canada says the law also provides an exemption from charges for people who are on a probation order, serving a conditional sentence or who are on parole. McKinnon, the MP for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, said the exemption will not apply to offences such as drug trafficking or driving while impaired. Health Canada says opioid overdoses are killing thousands of Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life. "Protecting the lives of Canadians is our most important priority," Health Minister Jane Philpott said in a release Thursday. "This law ensures that you can call for help when someone is having a drug overdose — and stay to provide them support until emergency responders arrive — with guaranteed immunity from certain charges related to simple possession of illegal drugs." Health Minister Jane Philpott speaks with reporters in Ottawa on Dec. 19, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) Last month, Philpott said Health Canada wants to release statistics on overdose deaths but is frustrated with provinces and territories that haven't provided data. British Columbia reported 931 fatal overdoses from illegal drugs last year. There was also an increase in the number of fentanyl-related deaths. Alberta has said 343 people died in the province last year from apparent drug overdoses related to the opioid fentanyl. The latest figures for Ontario show there were 734 opioid-related deaths in 2015.
Fraud rediscovered It has long been known that one of the most effective popularizers of evolution fudged some drawings, but only now has the breathtaking extent of his deceit been revealed. by Russell Grigg Most people have heard of or been taught the idea that the human embryo goes through (or recapitulates) various evolutionary stages, such as having gills like a fish, a tail like a monkey, etc., during the first few months that it develops in the womb. The idea has not only been presented to generations of biology/medical students as fact, but has also been used for many years to persuasively justify abortion. Abortionists claimed that the unborn child being killed was still in the fish stage or the monkey stage, and had not yet become a human being. This idea (called embryonic recapitulation) was vigorously expounded by Ernst Haeckel from the late 1860s to promote Darwin’s theory of evolution in Germany, even though Haeckel did not have evidence to support his views.1 Data manufactured Lacking the evidence, Haeckel set out to manufacture the data. He fraudulently changed drawings made by other scientists of human and dog embryos, to increase the resemblance between them and to hide the dissimilarities. We reported on this particular fraud in a recent issue of Creation magazine.2 Haeckel’s German peers (notably, in 1874, Wilhelm His Sr, professor of anatomy at the University of Leipzig) were aware of this fraud and extracted a modest confession from him, in which he blamed the draughtsman for blundering—without acknowledging that he himself was the draughtsman!2 Most informed evolutionists in the past 70 years have realised that the recapitulation theory is false.3 Nevertheless, the recapitulation idea is still advanced as evidence for the theory of evolution in many books and particularly encyclopedias and by evolutionary popularizers like the late Carl Sagan.4 But wait—there’s more Haeckel’s famous (infamous) set of 24 drawings purporting to show eight different embryos in three stages of development, as published by him in Anthropogenie, in Germany, 1874. When evolutionists say that the recapitulation theory is false, they usually do not mean to admit that comparing embryos gives no evidence of common ancestry. In fact, they still frequently highlight the assumed similarities between embryos in their early stages (called embryonic homology) as evidence for evolution. This assumption is based on the idea that such similarities are ‘common knowledge’.5 This alleged similarity of embryos has for years been resting, consciously or unconsciously, on a set of 24 of Haeckel’s drawings which he first published in 1866 in his Generalle Morphologie der Organismen, and then repeated in 1874 in his more popular Anthropogenie (see below). These purport to show embryos of fish, salamander, turtle, chicken, pig, cow, rabbit, and human in three stages of development. The various stages, particularly the earlier ones, show substantial similarity. Ever since these drawings appeared, it has been assumed that they have given us something close to the truth about embryos of vertebrate species. So much so that they still appear in textbooks and popular works on evolution.6,7 In fact, no one has bothered to check—until now. It turns out that Haeckel’s fraud was much worse than anyone realised. It did not just affect the idea of recapitulation, it turns out that the similarities are much, much less than anyone thought. Fraud examined and exposed Photos by Michael Richardson (second row) Top row: Haeckel’s drawings of several different embryos, showing incredible similarity in their early ‘tailbud’ stage. Bottom Row: Richardson’s photographs of how the embryos really look at the same stage. (From left: Salmo salar, Cryptobranchus allegheniensis, Emys orbicularis, Gallus gallus, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Homo sapiens.) Many modern evolutionists no longer claim that the human embryo repeats the adult stages of its alleged evolutionary ancestors, but point to Haeckel’s drawings (top row) to claim that it repeats the embryonic stages. However, even this alleged support for evolution is now revealed as being based on faked drawings. Michael Richardson, a lecturer and embryologist at St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, has exposed this further fraud, in an article in the journal Anatomy and Embryology,8 recently reviewed in Science9 and New Scientist.10 Richardson says he always felt there was something wrong with Haeckel’s drawings, ‘because they didn’t square with his [Richardson’s] understanding of the rates at which fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals develop their distinctive features’.8 He could find no record of anyone having actually compared embryos of one species with those of another, so that ‘no one has cited any comparative data in support of the idea’.8 He therefore assembled an international team to do just that—examine and photograph ‘the external form of embryos from a wide range of vertebrate species, at a stage comparable to that depicted by Haeckel’.8 The team collected embryos of 39 different creatures, including marsupials from Australia, tree-frogs from Puerto Rico, snakes from France, and an alligator embryo from England. They found that the embryos of different species are very different. In fact, they are so different that the drawings made by Haeckel (of similar-looking human, rabbit, salamander, fish, chicken, etc. embryos) could not possibly have been done from real specimens. Nigel Hawkes interviewed Richardson for The Times (London).11 In an article describing Haeckel as ‘An embryonic liar’, he quotes Richardson: ‘This is one of the worst cases of scientific fraud. It’s shocking to find that somebody one thought was a great scientist was deliberately misleading. It makes me angry … What he [Haeckel] did was to take a human embryo and copy it, pretending that the salamander and the pig and all the others looked the same at the same stage of development. They don’t … These are fakes.’ 11 Photos by Michael Richardson More of Richardson’s photographs of embryos at the same ‘tailbud’ stage of development and to the same scale, showing the huge differences between various species. (From left: Petromyzon marinus, Acipenser ruthenus, Bufo bufo, Erinaceus europaeus, Felis catus, Manis javanica, Canis familiaris.) Haeckel not only changed the drawings by adding, omitting, and changing features but, according to Richardson and his team, ‘he also fudged the scale to exaggerate similarities among species, even when there were 10-fold differences in size. Haeckel further blurred differences by neglecting to name the species in most cases, as if one representative was accurate for an entire group of animals’.9 Ernst Haeckel’s drawings were declared fraudulent by Professor His in 1874 and were included in Haeckel’s quasi confession, but according to Richardson, ‘Haeckel’s confession got lost after his drawings were subsequently used in a 1901 book called Darwin and After Darwin and reproduced widely in English language biology texts.’9,12 Will there now be a rush by libraries, publishers and sellers of evolutionist books to withdraw from circulation, rewrite and otherwise acknowledge the fact that the idea of embryonic similarities’ suggesting evolution is largely based on academic fraud? The embryo photos used in this article were kindly supplied by Dr Michael K. Richardson. They originally appeared in M.K. Richardson et al., ‘There is no highly conserved embryonic stage in the vertebrates: implications for current theories of evolution and development’, Anatomy and Embryology, 196(2):91–106, 1997, © Springer-Verlag GmbH & Co., Tiergartenstrasse, 69121 Heidelberg, Germany. Reproduced here with permission.
One of the world's leading climate scientists has launched a libel lawsuit against a Canadian newspaper for publishing articles that he says "poison" the debate on global warming. In a case with potentially huge consequences for online publishers, lawyers acting for Andrew Weaver, a climate modeller at the University of Victoria, Canada, have demanded the National Post removes the articles not only from its own websites, but also from the numerous blogs and sites where they were reposted. Weaver says the articles, published at the height of several recent controversies over the reliability of climate science in recent months, contain "grossly irresponsible falsehoods". He said he filed the suit after the newspaper refused to retract the articles. Weaver said: "If I sit back and do nothing to clear my name, these libels will stay on the internet forever. They'll poison the factual record, misleading people who are looking for reliable scientific information about global warming." The four articles, published from December to February, claimed that Weaver cherrypicked data to support his climate research, and that he tried to blame the "evil fossil fuel" industry for break-ins at his office in 2008 to divert attention from reported mistakes in the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, on which he was lead author. The lawsuit also highlights several claims in the articles that attempt to question or undermine the scientific consensus on climate change, including that annual global mean temperatures have stopped increasing in the last decade and that climate models are "falling apart". Such statements, the lawsuit says, would lead readers to conclude that Weaver "is so strongly motivated by a corrupt interest in receiving government funding that he willfully conceals scientific climate data which refutes global warming in order to keep alarming the public so that it welcomes... funding for climate scientists such as himself." Weaver said: "I asked the National Post to do the right thing, to retract a number of recent articles that attributed to me statements I never made, accused me of things I never did, and attacked me for views I never held. To my absolute astonishment, the newspaper refused." A spokesman for the National Post said: "Beyond saying that we intend to defend the article, we do not comment on such suits." Weaver is suing for libel three writers at the newspaper, as well as the newspaper as a whole and several, as-yet unknown, posters on the paper's online comment section. Such comments, typical on articles about global warming, included claims that Weaver was "as big a hypocrite as he is a fraudster" and a rat leaving a sinking "ship of lies, red-herrings and hysteria". One poster suggested he should be thrown under a bus. McConchie Law Corporation, acting for Weaver, said that the National Post articles had "gone viral on the internet" and were reproduced on dozens of other websites, including prominent climate-sceptic sites Climate Audit and Watts Up With That. The lawsuit says the newspaper "expressly authorised republication" of the articles by including online links that invited readers to email the story to others, and share it through tools such as Facebook. McConchie Law said it was seeking an "unprecedented" court order that would require the newspaper to help Weaver remove the articles from across the internet. Media law experts said that such demands were becoming increasingly common in complaints to publishers, but this could be the first time they were tested in court. Weaver's libel action follows an official complaint made last month by a leading UK scientist to the Press Complaints Commission over a story published in the Sunday Times. Simon Lewis, an expert on tropical forests at the University of Leeds, claimed the story published in January was misleading because it gave the impression that the IPCC made a false claim in its 2007 report that reduced rainfall could wipe out up to 40% of the Amazon rainforest. He said he told the newspaper that the IPCC's statement was "poorly written and bizarrely referenced, but basically correct".
For other people named Henry Cavendish, see Henry Cavendish (disambiguation) Henry Cavendish FRS (; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher, scientist, and an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "inflammable air".[1] He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper, On Factitious Airs. Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. A notoriously shy man (it has been postulated that he had what is now called childhood autism in the ICD-10),[2] Cavendish was nonetheless distinguished for great accuracy and precision in his researches into the composition of atmospheric air, the properties of different gases, the synthesis of water, the law governing electrical attraction and repulsion, a mechanical theory of heat, and calculations of the density (and hence the mass) of the Earth. His experiment to measure the density of the Earth has come to be known as the Cavendish experiment. Biography [ edit ] Early life [ edit ] Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice, where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne de Grey, fourth daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish, the third son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire. The family traced its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times, and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain. Henry's mother died in 1733, three months after the birth of her second son, Frederick, and shortly before Henry's second birthday, leaving Lord Charles Cavendish to bring up his two sons. From the age of 11 Henry attended Newcome's School, a private school near London. At the age of 18 (on 24 November 1748) he entered the University of Cambridge in St Peter's College, now known as Peterhouse, but left three years later on 23 February 1751 without taking a degree (at the time, a common practice).[3][4] He then lived with his father in London, where he soon had his own laboratory. Lord Charles Cavendish spent his life firstly in politics and then increasingly in science, especially in the Royal Society of London. In 1758, he took Henry to meetings of the Royal Society and also to dinners of the Royal Society Club. In 1760, Henry Cavendish was elected to both these groups, and he was assiduous in his attendance after that. He took virtually no part in politics, but followed his father into science, through his researches and his participation in scientific organisations. He was active in the Council of the Royal Society of London (to which he was elected in 1765). His interest and expertise in the use of scientific instruments led him to head a committee to review the Royal Society's meteorological instruments and to help assess the instruments of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. His first paper, Factitious Airs, appeared in 1766. Other committees on which he served included the committee of papers, which chose the papers for publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and the committees for the transit of Venus (1769), for the gravitational attraction of mountains (1774), and for the scientific instructions for Constantine Phipps's expedition (1773) in search of the North Pole and the Northwest Passage. In 1773, Henry joined his father as an elected trustee of the British Museum, to which he devoted a good deal of time and effort. Soon after the Royal Institution of Great Britain was established, Cavendish became a manager (1800) and took an active interest, especially in the laboratory, where he observed and helped in Humphry Davy's chemical experiments. Chemistry research [ edit ] [1] Cavendish's apparatus for making and collecting hydrogen About the time of his father's death, Cavendish began to work closely with Charles Blagden, an association that helped Blagden enter fully into London's scientific society. In return, Blagden helped to keep the world at a distance from Cavendish. Cavendish published no books and few papers, but he achieved much. Several areas of research, including mechanics, optics, and magnetism, feature extensively in his manuscripts, but they scarcely feature in his published work. Cavendish is considered to be one of the so-called pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with, for example, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Black, and Daniel Rutherford. Cavendish found that a definite, peculiar, and highly inflammable gas, which he referred to as "Inflammable Air", was produced by the action of certain acid on certain metals. This gas was, in fact, hydrogen, which Cavendish correctly guessed was proportioned to two in one water.[5] Although others, such as Robert Boyle, had prepared hydrogen gas earlier, Cavendish is usually given the credit for recognising its elemental nature. Also, by dissolving alkalis in acids, Cavendish made "fixed air" (carbon dioxide), which he collected, along with other gases, in bottles inverted over water or mercury. He then measured their solubility in water and their specific gravity, and noted their combustibility. Cavendish was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal for this paper. Gas chemistry was of increasing importance in the latter half of the 18th century, and became crucial for Frenchman Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier's reform of chemistry, generally known as the chemical revolution. In 1783, Cavendish published a paper on eudiometry (the measurement of the goodness of gases for breathing). He described a new eudiometer of his invention, with which he achieved the best results to date, using what in other hands had been the inexact method of measuring gases by weighing them. He next published a paper on the production of water by burning inflammable air (that is, hydrogen) in "dephlogisticated air" (now known to be oxygen), the latter a constituent of atmospheric air (phlogiston theory).[6][7] Cavendish concluded that dephlogisticated air was dephlogisticated water and that hydrogen was either pure phlogiston or phlogisticated water. He reported these findings to Joseph Priestley, an English clergyman and scientist, no later than March 1783, but did not publish them until the following year. The Scottish inventor James Watt published a paper on the composition of water in 1783; Cavendish had performed the experiments first, but published second. Controversy about priority ensued. In 1785, Cavendish investigated the composition of common (i.e. atmospheric) air, obtaining impressively accurate results. He conducted experiments in which hydrogen and ordinary air were combined in known ratios and then exploded with a spark of electricity. Furthermore, he also described an experiment in which he was able to remove, in modern terminology, both the oxygen and nitrogen gases from a sample of atmospheric air until only a small bubble of unreacted gas was left in the original sample. Using his observations, Cavendish observed that, when he had determined the amounts of phlogisticated air (nitrogen) and dephlogisticated air (oxygen), there remained a volume of gas amounting to 1/120 of the original volume of nitrogen.[8][9] By careful measurements he was led to conclude that "common air consists of one part of dephlogisticated air [oxygen], mixed with four of phlogisticated [nitrogen]".[10][11] In the 1890s (around 100 years later) two British physicists, William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh, realised that their newly discovered inert gas, argon, was responsible for Cavendish's problematic residue; he had not made an error. What he had done was perform rigorous quantitative experiments, using standardised instruments and methods, aimed at reproducible results; taken the mean of the result of several experiments; and identified and allowed for sources of error. The balance that he used, made by a craftsman named Harrison, was the first of the precision balances of the 18th century, and as accurate as Lavoisier's (which has been estimated to measure one part in 400,000). Cavendish worked with his instrument makers, generally improving existing instruments rather than inventing wholly new ones. Cavendish, as indicated above, used the language of the old phlogiston theory in chemistry. In 1787, he became one of the earliest outside France to convert to the new antiphlogistic theory of Lavoisier, though he remained sceptical about the nomenclature of the new theory.[citation needed] He also objected to Lavoisier's identification of heat as having a material or elementary basis. Working within the framework of Newtonian mechanism, Cavendish had tackled the problem of the nature of heat in the 1760s, explaining heat as the result of the motion of matter. In 1783, he published a paper on the temperature at which mercury freezes and in that paper made use of the idea of latent heat, although he did not use the term because he believed that it implied acceptance of a material theory of heat. He made his objections explicit in his 1784 paper on air. He went on to develop a general theory of heat, and the manuscript of that theory has been persuasively dated to the late 1780s. His theory was at once mathematical and mechanical: it contained the principle of the conservation of heat (later understood as an instance of conservation of energy) and even included the concept (although not the label) of the mechanical equivalent of heat. Density of the Earth [ edit ] Following his father's death, Henry bought another house in town and also a house in Clapham Common, at that time to the south of London. The London house contained the bulk of his library, while he kept most of his instruments at Clapham Common, where he carried out most of his experiments. The most famous of those experiments, published in 1798, was to determine the density of the Earth and became known as the Cavendish experiment. The apparatus Cavendish used for weighing the Earth was a modification of the torsion balance built by Englishman and geologist John Michell, who died before he could begin the experiment. The apparatus was sent in crates to Cavendish, who completed the experiment in 1797–1798[12] and published the results.[13] The experimental apparatus consisted of a torsion balance with a pair of 2-inch 1.61-pound lead spheres suspended from the arm of a torsion balance and two much larger stationary lead balls (350 pounds). Cavendish intended to measure the force of gravitational attraction between the two.[12] He noticed that Michell's apparatus would be sensitive to temperature differences and induced air currents, so he made modifications by isolating the apparatus in a separate room with external controls and telescopes for making observations.[14] Using this equipment, Cavendish calculated the attraction between the balls from the period of oscillation of the torsion balance, and then he used this value to calculate the density of the Earth. Cavendish found that the Earth's average density is 5.48 times greater than that of water. John Henry Poynting later noted that the data should have led to a value of 5.448,[15] and indeed that is the average value of the twenty-nine determinations Cavendish included in his paper.[16] What was extraordinary about Cavendish’s experiment was its elimination of every source of error and every factor that could disturb the experiment, and its precision in measuring an astonishingly small attraction, a mere 1/50,000,000 of the weight of the lead balls. The result that Cavendish obtained for the density of the Earth is within 1 percent of the currently accepted figure. Cavendish's work led others to accurate values for the gravitational constant (G) and Earth's mass. Based on his results, one can calculate a value for G of 6.754 × 10−11N-m2/kg2,[17] which compares favourably with the modern value of 6.67428 × 10−11N-m2/kg2.[18] Books often describe Cavendish's work as a measurement of either G or the Earth's mass. Since these are related to the Earth's density by a trivial web of algebraic relations, none of these sources are wrong, but they do not match the exact word choice of Cavendish,[19][20] and this mistake has been pointed out by several authors.[21][22] Cavendish's stated goal was to measure the Earth's density, although his result obviously calculates G to do so. The first time that the constant got this name was in 1873, almost 100 years after the Cavendish experiment, but the constant was in use since the time of Newton.[23] Cavendish's results also give the Earth's mass. Electrical research [ edit ] Cavendish's electrical and chemical experiments, like those on heat, had begun while he lived with his father in a laboratory in their London house. Lord Charles Cavendish died in 1783, leaving almost all of his very substantial estate to Henry. Like his theory of heat, Cavendish's comprehensive theory of electricity was mathematical in form and was based on precise quantitative experiments. He published an early version of his theory in 1771, based on an expansive electrical fluid that exerted pressure. He demonstrated that if the intensity of electric force were inversely proportional to distance, then the electric fluid more than that needed for electrical neutrality would lie on the outer surface of an electrified sphere; then he confirmed this experimentally. Cavendish continued to work on electricity after this initial paper, but he published no more on the subject. Cavendish wrote papers on electrical topics for the Royal Society[24][25] but the bulk of his electrical experiments did not become known until they were collected and published by James Clerk Maxwell a century later, in 1879, long after other scientists had been credited with the same results. Cavendish's electrical papers from the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London have been reprinted, together with most of his electrical manuscripts, in The Scientific Papers of the Honourable Henry Cavendish, F.R.S. (1921). According to the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, among Cavendish's discoveries were the concept of electric potential (which he called the "degree of electrification"), an early unit of capacitance (that of a sphere one inch in diameter), the formula for the capacitance of a plate capacitor,[26] the concept of the dielectric constant of a material, the relationship between electric potential and current (now called Ohm's Law) (1781), laws for the division of current in parallel circuits (now attributed to Charles Wheatstone), and the inverse square law of variation of electric force with distance, now called Coulomb's Law.[27] Death [ edit ] Cavendish died in 1810 (as one of the wealthiest men in Britain) and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral. The road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him. The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Personality and legacy [ edit ] Cavendish inherited two fortunes that were so large that Jean Baptiste Biot called him "the richest of all the savants and the most knowledgeable of the rich." At his death, Cavendish was the largest depositor in the Bank of England. He was a shy man who was uncomfortable in society and avoided it when he could. He could only speak to one person at a time, and only if the person were known to him and male.[28] He conversed little, always dressed in an old-fashioned suit, and developed no known deep personal attachments outside his family. Cavendish was taciturn and solitary and regarded by many as eccentric. He only communicated with his female servants by notes. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house to avoid encountering his housekeeper, because he was especially shy of women. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks, to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome,[29] a form of autism. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However, his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply, but more often than not they would hear a peeved squeak (his voice appears to have been high-pitched) and turn to find an actual vacancy and the sight of Cavendish fleeing to find a more peaceful corner".[12] Cavendish's religious views were also considered eccentric for his time. He was considered to be agnostic. As his biographer, George Wilson, comments, "As to Cavendish's religion, he was nothing at all."[30][31] He also enjoyed collecting fine furniture, exemplified by his purchase of a set of "ten inlaid satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa".[32] Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's law of reciprocal proportions, Ohm's law, Dalton's law of partial pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's law), and Charles's Law of gases. A manuscript "Heat", tentatively dated between 1783 and 1790, describes a "mechanical theory of heat". Hitherto unknown, the manuscript was analysed in the early 21st century. Historian of science Russell McCormmach proposed that "Heat" is the only 18th-century work prefiguring thermodynamics. Theoretical physicist Dietrich Belitz concluded that in this work Cavendish "got the nature of heat essentially right."[33] As Cavendish performed his famous density of the Earth experiment in an outbuilding in the garden of his Clapham Common estate, his neighbours would point out the building and tell their children that it was where the world was weighed.[32] In honour of Henry Cavendish's achievements and due to an endowment granted by Henry's relative William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, the University of Cambridge's physics laboratory was named the Cavendish Laboratory by James Clerk Maxwell, the first Cavendish Professor of Physics and an admirer of Cavendish's work. Selected writings [ edit ] Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 1 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. – edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor – edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 2 . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. – edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor – edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor Cavendish, Henry (1879). The Electrical Researches of the Honourable Henry Cavendish. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. – edited by James Clerk Maxwell See also [ edit ] Notes and references [ edit ] Further reading [ edit ]
Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says the controversial Bill C-30, known as the online surveillance or warrantless wiretapping bill, won't go ahead due to opposition from the public. The bill, which was known as the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act, was designed to help police combat child pornography. But civil liberties and privacy groups — even the federal privacy commissioner — said the bill violated the rights of Canadians. Opponents lobbied strenuously against C-30, saying it was an overly broad, "Big Brother" piece of legislation that would strip all Canadians of the right to privacy. The bill would have required internet service providers to maintain systems to allow police to intercept and track online communications without a warrant. Canadians rallied against the bill after Public Safety Minister Vic Toews famously told an opposition MP that he could "either stand with us or with the child pornographers." Those explosive comments outraged many Canadians and helped to galvanize the opposition to C-30. "We will not be proceeding with Bill C-30 and any attempts that we will continue to have to modernize the Criminal Code will not contain the measures contained in C-30, including the warrantless mandatory disclosure of basic subscriber information or the requirement for telecommunications service providers to build intercept capability within their systems," Nicholson said. "We've listened to the concerns of Canadians who have been very clear on this and responding to that." OpenMedia, which waged a vigorous online campaign against C-30 through its stopspying.ca website, hailed the decision to kill the bill. "It came as a quite a surprise," said Lindsey Pinto of OpenMedia.ca. "It looks like the government has finally heard the voices of Canadians who have been expressing themselves online in stating that C-30 is invasive, costly and poorly thought out," she said. Nicholson made the announcement after introducing a bill to update provisions that would allow for warrantless phone tapping in emergencies. Canadian law allows police to wiretap without authorization from a court when there is the risk of imminent harm, such as a kidnapping or bomb threat, but the Supreme Court last year struck down the law and gave Parliament 12 months to rewrite another one. The new bill, C-55, would give peace officers the right to secretly intercept private communications without a warrant in relatively rare, urgent situations. Someone whose communications had been intercepted in situations of imminent harm would have to be notified by police within 90 days.
Far Cry Primal represents Ubisoft Montreal’s latest addition to the Far Cry series. Leaving the world of high-powered machine guns, 50 caliber sniper rifles, and your garden variety rocket launchers, Far Cry Primal replaces all that with clubs, spears, and sabre tooth tigers, and travels back to the world of 10,000 BCE. Far Cry Primal is a first-person shooter, developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and is the 5th entry in the popular Far Cry series, succeeding Far Cry 4, released at the end of 2014. In Primal, you’ll follow Takkar as he leads and reunites the Wenja tribe, which has been decimated and scattered by other primitive tribes in the region. Primal is a first-person “shooter” (clubber, spearer, animal tamer…) which runs on the latest version of Ubisoft’s Dunia engine, which first saw use all the way back in Far Cry 2 (2008), though it’s been heavily modified since then. The game offers a wide array of settings, though they aren’t always very descriptive. Let’s start with the basic features: API: DirectX 11 DirectX 11 V-Sync: Yes Yes Anti-Aliasing: Yes Yes 4K Support: Yes Yes Unlimited FPS: Yes Yes Adjustable FOV: Yes Since I don’t have a great number of different graphics cards to benchmark with, the purpose of this article, instead, is to take a deeper look into how each setting affects the overall performance of the game. Ubisoft Montreal has been kind enough to provide an internal benchmark, and after a few hours of gameplay, I decided that the benchmark provided an ideal scenario that was both representative of actual gameplay as well as being easily reproducible. The ‘High’ preset was used as a baseline for all performance benchmarks, meaning that while the options for a single option are changed, the rest of the options will be left on the ‘High’ preset. As you look at the graph for each settings, you’ll see I included results for the minimum, maximum, and average framerates for each of the different options in a given setting. The results for min, max, and avg will be grouped together, with the different colored bars representing the different options. While testing this game, I found performance to be merely “okay”, averaging around 50 fps on a single 290X running at 2560×1440 on the ‘High’ preset. Although the benchmark displayed quite a bit of texture pop-in, this is only really noticeable when the draw distances go out to the horizon. In regular gameplay, I barely noticed it. Well, that’s enough foreplay, let’s get into the settings, shall we? Textures Impact: Negligible You should only need to lower texture settings if you run into major issues with VRAM capacity. Shadows Impact: High The higher shadow settings appear to also enable SSAO, which explains the greater performance impact as the settings climbs higher. Post-FX Impact: Negligible Geometry Impact: Moderate Terrain Impact: Negligible Water Impact: Low Environment Impact: Negligible Anti-Aliasing Impact: Moderate Volumetric Fog Impact: Moderate Motion Blur Impact: Low Strangely, enabling Motion Blur actually increased FPS…and I verified this by re-running the benchmark several times. Lastly, I also took a look at VRAM usage. For this game you’re going to want at least 3GB of graphics memory, with a bare minimum of 2GB, and 4GB if you want to run the game at anything higher than 1440p. I didn’t have a 4K monitor to test on, but word on the street is that at 4K, this game will stop just shy of using 4GB of VRAM. And if all you want is a quick glance to see how much each setting affects the game performance, I made this nifty table for you: Graphic Settings Performance Impact Textures Negligible Shadows High Post FX Negligible Geometry Moderate Terrain Negligible Water Low Environment Negligible Anti-Aliasing Moderate Volumetric Fog Moderate Motion Blur Low At the time of this writing, both AMD and Nvidia have released drivers with multi-GPU support for Far Cry Primal. Nvidia’s SLI solution appears to be slightly more efficient than AMD’s Crossfire, but both show signs of a CPU bottleneck at anything lower than 2560×1440, with the greatest gains to be had at 4K resolutions. Although I’d like to see better optimizations, this is a great looking game that runs reasonably well on my system. The majority of settings that PC gamers have come to expect are easily accessible, and both GPU manufacturers have been quick to issue driver updates for multi-GPU support (though stay tuned for more performance-related driver updates). If you have any questions or suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments! My Testing Rig Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K Intel Core i7-3930K GPU: Radeon R9 290X Radeon R9 290X RAM: 16GB DDR3 16GB DDR3 OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Final Verdict for PC Quality: Far Cry Primal: GOOD (shite, mediocre, good, excellent) Buy the game on Kinguin for 50% discount.
Recently, there was a debate in the Mexican Congress on the proposal to monetize the Silver Libertad Coin. The debate took place during a forum for “The Promotion of Savings for Mexicans.” If Mexico decided to monetize its Silver Libertad Coin, it could have a severe impact on the silver market and price. How much of an impact would the monetization of the Mexican Silver Libertad have on the market? There could be serious ramifications if we consider the vast amount of silver consumed by the minting of Mexican silver coins in the past. Before I get into that data, let’s look at the following text from the article, The Mexican Congress Debates the Monetization of the ‘Libertad’ Silver Ounce, on Hugo Salinas Price’s plata.com site; The central feature of the proposal is that the Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) shall determine a value in pesos for the “Libertad” silver ounce; and that this value shall be slightly higher (by a percentage that would be defined in the corresponding Law) than the price of silver in the international market, in order to provide Banxico with an assured profit in minting and placing these coins in monetary circulation. …. if the price of should shoot upward, Banxico would have to issue new, higher quotes for the “Libertad” silver ounce (according to the formula to be established by Law). In this way, again, the coin will remain “in circulation”, and since it has no nominal price stamped on it, it will avoid ending up – like all the old silver coins that had stamped values – at the refineries. Most of those old silver coins, once their content was worth more than the peso stamped value on their faces, ended up in the refineries. The holders of the coins sold their coins at a profit, for their silver content. This won’t happen with the “Libertad” silver ounce, whose value will be adjusted upward, and benefit the saver, who will thus retain his purchasing power no matter what may happen with inflation. Thanks to owning silver “Libertad” ounces, the public’s savings will float on the ocean of currency through the years. The important feature in the proposal to monetize the Silver Libertad was that the Central Bank of Mexico would adjust the value of the coin based on the price of silver, rather than striking a permanent numerical value on the face of the coin. By basing the value of the Silver Libertad on the market value of silver, this would protect the Mexican citizen from the ongoing devaluation of the . For example, the Mexican peso has devalued 93% versus the since the mid-1970’s: Mexican Peso Chart The Mexcian peso was valued at $0.8006 to the U.S. dollar in the mid-1970’s but is now trading at $0.0570. Thus, the Mexican peso has lost 93% of its value in just the past 40+ years. We can see the devaluation of the Mexican currency much better by looking at the relationship between the amount of silver contained in each coin versus the number of pesos struck on the face of the coin. The following table came from the MexicanSilverCoins.net site: Silver Content By Year The peso minted between 1869-1913, contained 0.786 (oz) of silver in the one-ounce coin. The value struck on the front of the coin was 1-peso. However, if you look down to 1950, the 1-peso coin only had 0.1286 (oz) worth of silver in it. The amount of silver contained in the 1-peso coin was six times less in 1950 than compared to 1913. Now, by examining the amount of silver in the 1913 1-peso of 0.786 (oz) versus the 100-peso (1977-1979) of 0.6426 (oz), we can see that there was only 0.00642 (oz) of silver backing 1-peso in the late 1970’s than the 0.786 (oz) of silver backing the 1-Peso in 1913. Please understand that the Central Bank of Mexico stamped 100-peso on the face of the coin with only 0.6426 (oz) of silver contained in it. Thus, the Mexican peso lost 99.2% of its silver content between 1913 and 1977. Mexico Minted A Vast Amount Of Silver Coins In The 1900’s While I knew the Official Mint Of Mexico produced a lot of silver coins in the past, I had no idea the huge amount until I looked up the data. According to figures put out by the SilverAgeCoins.com, the Mint of Mexico produced a great deal of silver pesos and Silver 50 Centavos in the early to mid part of the 20th Century: Mexican Silver 60 Centavos I focused on the mintage figures for these two coins in 1943. Total Silver Pesos & 50 Centavos minted in 1943 were 89.2 million coins. However, the total silver contained in these two coins minted that year was 26.5 million oz (Moz): Mexico silver peso and silver 50 Centavos (silver content): 1943 Silver peso = 47,662,000 x 0.39 (oz) = 18,588,180 oz 1943 Silver 50 centavos = 41,512,000 x 0.19 (oz) = 7,887,280 oz 1943 Silver coins = 89,174,000 = 26,475,460 oz I did not do extensive research on all the silver coins produced by the Mint of Mexico in 1943, but I would imagine there were others. For example, I found on the same website listed above that 3,955,000 of the Mexican Silver 20 Centavos were produced in 1943 as well. However, the amount of silver in each of the 20 Centavos was only 0.08 (oz), which netted a total of 316,400 oz of silver consumed. Regardless, the Mint of Mexico produced one heck of a lot of silver coins during that period. Now, if we consider that the Mexican government consumed 26.5 Moz of silver to mint the Silver peso and Silver 20 Centavos coins for a total population of approximately 20 million in 1943, how much silver would they consume to protect the value of its current 130 million citizens? Big Trouble For The Silver Market If Mexico Monetizes Its Silver Libertad Coin As I stated in the previous section, the Mint of Mexico consumed 26.5 Moz of silver in producing their silver peso and silver 50 centavos coins in 1943. That being said, let’s look at Mexico’s total silver mine supply during the same year. According to the information put out by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Mexico produced 86.4 Moz of silver in 1943: Minerals Yearbook Thus, Mexico consumed 30% of its domestic mine supply just to produce two of its silver coins in 1943. Furthermore, the population of Mexico at the time was approximately 20 million. Thus, the Mint of Mexico consumed 1.3 oz of silver in the Peso & 50 Centavos coins for each citizen. That’s a lot of silver. Now… let’s fast forward to present day. The amount of Silver Libertads, the Mint of Mexico, produces today, are a fraction of what they were in the past. According to the data put out in the 2017 World Silver Survey, there was only 800,000 oz of Silver Libertads produced in 2016: Silver Fabrication As we can see, the Mint of Mexico produced 800,000 oz of Silver Libertads versus 40.3 Moz of Silver Eagles fabricated by the U.S. Mint last year. The irony about those two figures is that the U.S. had to import silver to produce the 40.3 Moz of Silver Eagles as its domestic mine supply was only 35 Moz. On the other hand, Mexico produced 186 Moz of silver in 2016, more than five times that of the United States. Something is seriously wrong here. Why is Mexico exporting all of its silver for worthless fiat money if its citizens could acquire domestically minted Silver Libertads to protect their wealth in the future? I would imagine the U.S. government has something to do with controlling Mexican officials in keeping their citizens entirely in the dark about silver as MONEY and a STORE OF VALUE. If the proposal to monetize the Silver Libertad gains traction in Mexico, the silver market would be in serious trouble. Here’s why. Currently, Mexico produces about 186 Moz of silver: Mexican Silver Production 2007-2016 If the Silver Libertad was monetized and 30% of Mexico’s silver production was used to produce these coins, as it was in 1943, it would consume nearly 56 Moz of the country’s domestic mine supply. Moreover, with a population of 130 million in Mexico, 56 Moz of Silver Libertads would amount to less than a third of an ounce of silver for each citizen. While it is an excellent idea that the Silver Libertad is monetized as protection for Mexican citizens against the ongoing devaluation of the Peso, it will be an uphill battle in state politics. Unfortunately, the world depends on a lot of silver coming from Mexican mines to supply the global jewelry, electronics and investment industries. If its citizens consumed a significant portion of Mexico’s silver production in acquiring vast numbers of Silver Libertads, it could severely impact the silver market and price. It will be interesting to see how far this proposal to monetize the Silver Libertad goes in the Mexican government.
[Thanks to garyrdiamond for correcting these lyrics] On her way to work one morningDown the path alongside the lakeA tender-hearted woman saw a poor half-frozen snakeHis pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew"Oh well," she cried, "I'll take you in and I'll take care of you""Take me in oh tender womanTake me in, for heaven's sakeTake me in oh tender woman," sighed the snakeShe wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silkAnd then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milkNow she hurried home from work that night as soon as she arrivedShe found that pretty snake she'd taken in had been revived"Take me in, oh tender womanTake me in, for heaven's sakeTake me in oh tender woman," sighed the snakeNow she clutched him to her bosom, "You're so beautiful," she cried"But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died"Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tightBut instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite"Take me in, oh tender womanTake me in, for heaven's sakeTake me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake"I saved you," cried that woman"And you've bit me even, why?You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die""Oh shut up, silly woman," said the reptile with a grin"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in"Take me in, oh tender womanTake me in, for heaven's sakeTake me in oh tender woman," sighed the snake
Gareth Ainsworth has strengthened his defensive options with the capture of Southampton centre-back Jason McCarthy on an initial one-month loan deal. The 19-year-old has featured regularly as captain for the Saints’ under-21 team, lifting the Under-21 Premier League Cup last season, and made his Premier League debut as a substitute against Crystal Palace on Boxing Day last year.McCarthy appeared at Adams Park during Southampton’s 5-2 victory over Reading in the Barclays Under-21 Premier League in September, and links up with his new team-mates as preparations begin for the Sky Bet League 2 clash at Stevenage on Saturday.Ainsworth said: “Jason’s a very highly-rated defender who’s had good experience in the under-21s at Southampton and they feel he’s ready to go out and get a taste of what senior football is like at League 2 level.“Our last two games haven’t reached our high standards defensively and he’s a new option who adds competition for us, with Anthony Stewart still missing for another couple of months.“I’d like to thank Southampton for allowing Jason to move here and we’re looking forward to helping him develop his game during his time with us.”Jason will wear shirt number 22 during his loan spell, which runs until November 12th.
Share this article! 21 Pinterest 2 StumbleUpon 0 Reddit 1 Linkedin Tumblr 0 Digg There are so many misconceptions and untruths out there about our natural hair: Natural hair is hard to manage. Of course it is if you have never learned how to take care of your hair. Like anything, understanding your hair is half the battle. Take the time to understand your hair. What are the best shampoos and conditioners? How long does your hair take to air dry? What does it look like when you “wash and go”? What are the best detangling methods. Educate yourself and apply what you learn. You’ll soon eliminate “hard to manage” from your vocabulary when it comes to your hair. Natural hair is not attractive or professional. Says who? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Anyone who thinks that natural hair is unattractive or unprofessional just because natural hair isn’t straight needs to clean their glasses, check their contact lens prescription or maybe just get an attitude adjustment. Natural hair is really hard to comb. No, our hair does not glide over a comb like straight hair because our curly strands naturally wrap around the prongs of a comb. Coily/curly hair needs more TLC than straight hair so use other detangling options such as finger detangle or combing the hair while wet and highly conditioned with a smooth, rounded wide tooth comb on occasion to prevent breakage. There aren’t as many styling options for Naturalistas. Natural hair has many styling options. You can bun it, braid it, twist and curl it, pin it… the options for styling are limited only by your imagination. My man/partner/family/friends won’t like my hair natural. It is fine to respect the opinion of others but should we be trying to adjust our lives to suit other people’s preferences when it comes to our hair? I say, “absolutely not! If someone doesn’t like your hair, it is their problem, not yours. My hair won’t look like my girlfriend/sister/cousin’s hair. Some women are either caught up in the “straighter” curl pattern dilemma or just lack confidence and think that their hair will never look as good as another women’s hair that they admire. Don’t always strive to look like someone else. Let’s appreciate our own beauty by learning to appreciate our own hair. Wear your hair with confidence and you will be the person whose hair others admire. Helps us to banish misconceptions and untruths about our hair! What are some of the untruths that you’ve heard or experienced over time? “Changing attitudes about natural hair” is what we do at Natural Haircare News. Through informative articles, podcasts and videos, we go beyond just sharing the latest advice and tips on kinky, curly, wavy haircare – We shake things up and focus on the realities of wearing our hair natural. if (function_exists('nrelate_related')) nrelate_related(); ?
This discussion is fairly complex, involving both constitutional and statutory law, so bear with me. Last week, I warned that if Congress adjourned for the year too soon, it could open a window to give President Obama a Supreme Court pick. That's because of a provision of the Constitution that allows the president to make recess appointments that can last two or more years. Now we get word that Congress is planning to adjourn early, which will give Obama an opportunity to appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. 1) Why does Congress want to adjourn early? Members of Congress want to adjourn early this year so they can kill last-minute Obama regulations. According to a 1996 law, Congress has 60 legislative days in which to disapprove of presidential regulations. If Obama makes some horrendous last-minute regulations, by ending its session early, Congress has more time to overrule those regulations. That's why congressional leaders are tentatively planning to adjourn by December 9. 2) What does this have to do with the Supreme Court vacancy? Under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution: The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. Courts have interpreted "recess" to mean a ten or longer-day gap between sessions of the Senate. That means Obama, during the recess, could appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, since by adjourning for the year on December 9, the Senate will be gone for far longer than ten days. 3) But doesn't Congress have the power to say whether it is in recess or not? Kind of. In NLRB v. Noel Canning, the Supreme Court said Congress has the power to decide whether it is in recess or not, but only up to a certain point. If Congress does not at least hold pro forma sessions, it cannot say it is in recess (see pages 4-5 of the actual opinion). 4) But wouldn't an appointment last only until the beginning of January? Note the words of Article II, Section 2 above. Note the word next, as in "not this session, but the next one." The one that's going to last for two years. That's how long Garland would be on the court. 5) But Article II, Section 2 talks about vacancies occurring during a recess. This isn't the situation here. Not true. The actual "vacancy" does not have to begin during the recess. Only the appointment need occur during the recess. That's how the Article II, Section 2 has been interpreted: Presidents have used the Recess Appointments Clause to fill not only vacancies that occur during recesses, but also those that initially arose when the Senate was in session. 6) But couldn't Congress declare itself in recess for purposes of recess appointments but still hold pro forma sessions? No. 7) You don't know what you're talking about! Ryan and McConnell would never be dumb enough to make such a move! Don't be so sure. Even if they are aware of Article II, Section 2, they may think Obama would never be bold enough to make such an appointment. Why else would they be making plans to give Obama such a window unless they never suspected he would use it? I'm an attorney. I went to Harvard Law School. I studied constitutional law. I've spent years listening to people like Mark Levin, who are experts on constitutional law. Trust me when I tell you that this is a potential problem. If Congress does recess on December 9 without coming back, Obama can appoint Garland to the Supreme Court. We could be in for two years of a solid leftist Supreme Court unless someone on Capitol Hill shows some common sense. Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com and an attorney by training.
Story highlights The video mentions that every single presidential nominee since 1976 has released his tax returns Saturday's clip continues a line of attack Clinton has deployed against Trump this week Washington (CNN) Hillary Clinton's campaign is keeping up its attacks on Donald Trump's refusal to release his tax returns. The former secretary of state's campaign on Saturday released a web video asking what the presumptive GOP nominee could be hiding in the documents. The clip mentions that every single presidential nominee since 1976 has released his tax returns, before showing occasions where Trump has previously said he'd release them. The video shows Trump saying he'd release his tax returns if President Barack Obama released his birth certificate and if he ran for office. Both conditions have been met -- but Trump has yet to release his returns. The clip also shows Trump saying he is thinking about releasing his tax returns and another occasion when he said he can't because he is under audit. Saturday's video continues a line of attack Clinton has deployed against Trump this week. Speaking in New Jersey on Wednesday, Clinton asked why Trump has not put out more information about how much he makes and pays in taxes. Read More
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet each other at the BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, on July 15, 2014. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) Just over a year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin was hailed as a statesman for his role in brokering a Syrian chemical weapons deal, while India’s future prime minister, Narendra Modi, was a state leader with bigger dreams little known outside of India. Putin arrived in India on Wednesday for a short summit, and the increasingly ostracized leader is meeting with Modi on the latter’s turf for the first time since Modi swept into power in May with a significant voter mandate for economic revitalization. As Putin seeks ways to shore up his sagging economy and support with Cold War-era friend India, the wildly popular Modi — who just won Time magazine’s reader poll for “Person of the Year” — will be operating from a position of strength, analysts say, as both Moscow and the United States are looking to revitalize relations and foster economic ties with India. The Russian ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, quipped to reporters Monday that India was like “a rich fiancee with many bridegrooms,” according to the Economic Times newspaper. Yet Modi must maintain a balancing act, reassuring the Russian leader that the two countries’ historical ties remain important while keeping the U.S.-India relationship moving forward. After high-level visits from Secretary of State John F. Kerry and others, President Obama will be Modi’s guest next month at India’s Republic Day ceremony. Such a strategy could be risky in the long term, because it could move Putin closer to China and away from India, experts say. The logo of Russia's top crude producer, Rosneft, is seen on a gasoline station near a church in Stavropol, southern Russia. India and Russia are to sign an energy partnership Dec. 11, 2014. (Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters) “Modi will likely go heavy on the pro-Russia rhetoric, particularly by playing up the historical friendship between the two countries, while pursuing deals — such as energy ones — when the opportunity arises,” said Michael Kugelman, a senior program associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. “With the U.S., he’ll likely pursue deeper defense ties and a deeper overall relationship. In effect, going heavy on the pro-Russia rhetoric will give him cover — at least in the short term — to quietly intensify relations with Washington.” Indeed, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has done just that in recent days. Ministry officials have stressed India’s decades-long association with the former Soviet Union and reiterated support for Russia as the country faces economic fallout from sanctions imposed by the West for Putin’s annexation of Crimea in March and Russia’s intervention in the conflict in Ukraine. When Modi was still a regional Indian politician, Russia welcomed him three times on visits, while the United States denied him a visa for not doing enough to stop deadly riots between Hindus and Muslims in his home state of Gujarat more than a decade ago. The Modi government has hewed to the position of India’s former administration, that Russia had a “legitimate” claim to Crimea. Putin has thanked India for its understanding. Ajay Bisaria, joint secretary for Eurasia in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said in a briefing that the two countries agree on “the need to defuse Cold War-like tensions that are increasingly manifesting themselves in global relations.” Russia and India have ties dating to the Soviet era, when economic aid flowed freely to Indian leaders who sought healthy connections to communist leaders as Pakistan aligned itself with the United States. Hit hard by Western sanctions and reeling from fast-dropping oil prices, Russia is seeking an economic and political boost from Putin’s visit to India. India’s gemstone industry has been hoping to persuade Russia to hugely increase its exports of rough diamonds directly to the global center of cutting and polishing. (Sam Panthaky/AFP/Getty Images) “India is a reliable and time-tested partner,” Putin said in an interview with the Press Trust of India released Tuesday. “Russia and India have a huge potential of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.” The Kremlin has tried to play up new ties to Asia as a way of showing that Russia can survive sharply constricted economic relations with the West. But with recession looming, Russia’s economy tells a different story. The country is in the unfamiliar position of seeking more from India than it might have to offer in return. Kremlin advisers have played up a long list of agreements that will be signed during the visit. Weapons and nuclear energy deals are expected, bolstering ties in the fields where Russia and India have long had good relations. In the face of the bruising sanctions, Russia is also searching for new customers for its bountiful oil and natural gas. “Military and technological cooperation is one of the most important aspects of the Russian-Indian strategic partnership,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday, Interfax reported. But Putin’s visit, which ends Thursday, will do little to blunt the impression that his country is short on partners generous enough to lift its economy. “Everybody in India understands the difficult situation in Russia because of the economic situation, the political problems,” said Petr Topychkanov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center. China appears to have driven a tough bargain with Russia in natural gas deals signed this spring, he said. Now India might be able to get similarly advantageous terms. “Russia needs India much more than India needs Russia,” he said. Modi is likely to push for greater economic investment and trade with Russia — as he has during visits with other allies — in energy and defense manufacturing. On Thursday, Putin and Modi will inaugurate the World Diamond Conference in New Delhi, where they are likely to announce a deal to enable India’s prosperous diamond polishers to obtain raw stones from Russia. Many experts said that the meeting is significant because it will be the first time the men will have spent so much time together. They have met twice before at international summits. Local reporting here has been filled with stories comparing the two — both strong nationalists not afraid of showing off their machismo. Putin’s shirtless photos are legendary, and Modi once boasted on the campaign trail that he has a 56-inch chest. “They’ve both been impressed by each other, let’s put it like that,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. “At this point, Modi’s primary driver is development, development, development. He doesn’t possibly see any contradiction between working with the United States and working with Russia. At least in the short term, it’s a win-win for everybody.” Birnbaum reported from Moscow.
Battery-powered bicycles rule China ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 26In this photo taken Monday, June 29, 2009, a commuter ride electric bicycle in Shanghai, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at more than 65 million. It's a trend catching on elsewhere, from remote Australian towns to chaotic New Delhi streets. (AP Photo) less ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, JULY 26In this photo taken Monday, June 29, 2009, a commuter ride electric bicycle in Shanghai, China. Industry estimates put the number of electric bikes and scooters on the roads at ... more Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Battery-powered bicycles rule 1 / 1 Back to Gallery It's a simple pleasure, but Xu Beilu savors it daily: gliding past snarled traffic on her motorized bicycle, relaxed and sweat-free alongside the pedal-pushing masses. China, the world's bicycle kingdom - one for every three inhabitants - is going electric. Workers weary of crammed public transport or pedaling long distances to jobs are upgrading to battery-powered bikes and scooters. Even some who can afford cars are ditching them for electric two-wheelers to avoid traffic jams and expensive gasoline. The bicycle was a vivid symbol of China in more doctrinaire communist times, when virtually no one owned a car. Even now, nearly two decades after the country began its great leap into capitalism, it still has 430 million bicycles by government count, outnumbering electric bikes and scooters 7-1. But production of electric two-wheelers has soared from fewer than 200,000 eight years ago to 22 million last year, mostly for the domestic market. The industry estimates about 65 million are on Chinese roads. Car sales are also booming but there are still only 24 million for civilian use, because few of the 1.3 billion population can afford them. And unlike in many other developing countries, Chinese cities still have plenty of bicycle lanes, even if some have made way for cars and buses. "E-bike" riders are on the move in the morning or late at night, in good weather or bad. When it's wet, they are a rainbow army in plastic capes. On fine days, women don gloves, long-sleeved white aprons and face-covering sun guards. One of them is Xu, on her Yamaha e-bike, making the half-hour commute from her apartment to her job as a marketing manager. She had thought of buying a car but dropped the idea. "It's obvious that driving would be more comfortable, but it's expensive," she says. "I like riding my e-bike during rush hour, and sometimes enjoy a laugh at the people stuck in taxis. It's so convenient and helpful in Shanghai, since the traffic is worse than ever." The trend is catching on in the U.S. and elsewhere. In Japan, plug-in bicycles are favored by cost-conscious companies and older commuters. "Many company workers are beginning to use them to visit clients instead of driving, to save fuel costs," says Miyuki Kimizuka of the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute, a private industry group. Australians use electric bicycles in rural towns without bus and train service. Tony Morgan, managing director of The Electric Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., the continent's largest manufacturer and retailer of e-bikes, says he has sold about 20,000 in the past decade, priced at 1,000-2,000 Australian dollars (about $800-$1,600). In the Netherlands, an especially bicycle-friendly country, the industry says sales passed 138,800 last year. In India, Vietnam and other developing countries, competition from motorcycles, as well as a lack of bike lanes and other infrastructure, are obstacles. Indian sales have risen about 15 percent a year to 130,000 units, thanks in part to a 7,500 rupee ($150) government rebate that brings the cost down to about the cost of a conventional bicycle. But they are far outnumbered by the millions of new motorcycles taking to India's roadways. In China, electric bikes sell for 1,700 yuan to 3,000 yuan ($250 to $450). They require no helmet, plates or driver's license, and they aren't affected by restrictions many cities impose on fuel-burning two-wheelers. It costs a mere 1 yuan (15 U.S. cents) - about the same as the cheapest bus fare - to charge a bike for a day's use, says Guo Jianrong, head of the Shanghai Bicycle Association, an industry group. They look like regular bicycles, only a bit heavier with the battery strapped on. Some can be pedaled; others run solely on battery. In China, their maximum weight is about 40 kilograms (90 pounds), and maximum legal speed is about 20 kph (12 mph). "For us, these are tools for transportation," Guo said. "We're not like Americans and Europeans, who tend to bicycle for fun or exercise."
Note: The "Raid of the Day" features accounts of police raids I've found, researched, and reported while writing my forthcoming book Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. It's due out in July, but you can pre-order it here. Given the amount of force the Kaua'i, Hawaii Police Department meted out to catch him, you'd think David Hibbitts had gone on a spree of orphanage-and-nunnery-burning. Yet when Hawaii Fifth Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe finally sentenced him in May 2006, he got all of five years probation, some fines, and community service. His crime? He had mailed 11 pounds of pot to his home in Hawaii while visiting California. A year earlier, Kaua'i police had intercepted the package and outfitted it with a radio transmitter. They then obtained an "anticipatory search warrant," which authorized them to search whatever house the package was in when it was opened. Hibbitts retrieved the package from the post office. The police followed his Toyota pickup truck down the Kaumuali'i Highway, then into a private neighborhood. But by the time the transmitter indicated that the box had been opened, the police had lost track of the truck. There were seven houses on the street. They had a one in seven chance of getting the right place. So they picked one at random, even though the truck they had been following wasn't parked in any of the driveways. Inside that house, William and Sharon McCulley were babysitting their grandchildren. According to the McCulleys' subsequent lawsuit, the police entered the home quickly and threw Sharon McCulley and one of the grandchildren to the ground. They screamed profanities at her, put a knee into her back, and pushed a gun to her head, hard enough to leave an imprint of the barrel on her scalp. William McCulley was in the kitchen. Due to a nerve disorder, he used a walker and a leg brace. He also used an implanted device that delivers electrical impulses to help him manage pain. When the police ordered him to the floor, he was apparently too slow to respond, so an officer threw him down with violence. That caused his electrical device to malfunction. He began convulsing -- or as the lawsuit colorfully put it -- "flopping like a fish." The police had raided the wrong house. When they finally realized as much, they picked another house to raid. Still no box. Finally, on the third try, the police raided the home with Hibbitts, the box of marijuana, and two others inside. In October 2007, Kaua'i County settled with the McCulleys for $325,000.
Secretary of State John Kerry (center) pauses Tuesday as he, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz (left) and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew testify before House members on the Iran nuclear agreement. - Photo by AP / ANDREW HARNIK WASHINGTON -- Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the longest-serving Jewish member in Congress, said Tuesday that he would support the Iran nuclear accord, lending a voice of approval in a chamber skeptical of the deal. Photo by VAHID SALEMI / AP European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini meets Tuesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) in Tehran. Zarif said that high-level talks with EU officials will soon be held, and he called on the United States to approve the nuclear agreement to “remove the mistrust of the Iranian people.” "Israel's security has and always will be of critical importance to me and our country," Levin said in a statement explaining his decision. "I believe that Israel, the region, and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon. I believe the agreement is the best way to achieve that. In my view, the only anchors in public life are to dig deeply into the facts and consult." Levin's remarks came as members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee interviewed three Cabinet secretaries sent to Capitol Hill by President Barack Obama to defend the agreement. Speaking before the committee for the second time in a week, Secretary of State John Kerry once again made his pitch to skeptical lawmakers that the recently negotiated accord was the only chance to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions and that failure to enact the agreement would isolate the U.S. internationally. "If Congress does not support the deal, we would see this deal die -- with no other options," Kerry said. "I believe that Israel, the region and the world are far more secure if Iran does not move toward possession of a nuclear weapon," Kerry told committee members. While many Republicans have already lined up against the accord and some Democrats rushed in early to defend it, the administration is most concerned with congressional Democrats, especially Jewish members and those from heavily Jewish districts who have expressed skepticism. In a demonstration of that tension, Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., ranking member on the committee, both sounded notes of alarm. Noting that "barely a week after the deal" was announced, the supreme leader of Iran called publicly for "death to America," Engel asked, "How can we trust Iran when this type of thing happens?" "Iran has cheated on every agreement they've signed," Royce said. With Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew waiting to testify, he asked whether Tehran "has earned the right to be trusted" given its history. Few new details emerged from the three-hour hearing. Some committee members asked questions; others used their time to read statements in opposition. Kerry on several occasions accused the members of misconstruing or misunderstanding the details of the agreement. "Nothing in this deal is built on trust. Nothing," Kerry said. Kerry was asked what would prevent Iran from adhering to the agreement for a short time and then racing toward building an atomic bomb. Kerry said that was not a likely scenario. He said the Iranian government is under pressure to improve the economy in a country where half the population is under 30 years of age and wants jobs. And he defended the inspection protocol under the agreement, arguing that if Iran tries to develop a nuclear weapon covertly, the international community will know. "They can't do that. Because the red flags that would go off -- the bells and whistles that would start chiming -- as a result of any movement away from what they have to do" to meet their obligations under the agreement, Kerry said. Congress has 60 days to review the deal, after which it can pass a resolution of approval or disapproval -- or do nothing. Obama has said he would veto a resolution of disapproval, which Congress could override only with a two-thirds vote of both houses. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, said Monday that he expected Congress would move forward on a resolution of disapproval. On Tuesday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes asked for additional intelligence assessments related to the nuclear agreement. In a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Nunes requested an analysis about whether intelligence agencies will be able to verify Iran's compliance with the deal. The California Republican also is seeking an analysis of Iran's nuclear intent and what he called an "out of the box" assessment of a variety of issues relating to Iran and the nuclear agreement. He said he wants the documents by Sept. 3. Intelligence agencies generally comply with requests from their oversight chairmen. While the Obama administration lobbies, opponents are expected to bombard radio stations and other media with an August recess campaign designed to pressure Democrats. Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, met with conservative House Republicans last week to urge them to "leave everything on the field" to derail the accord. soil samples disputed As U.S. lawmakers expressed skepticism on whether Iran would cooperate, the Islamic Republic requested that its officials be allowed to take soil samples at a site where it is alleged to have experimented with ways to detonate a nuclear weapon. The investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency is part of the nuclear deal. Iran denies any such experiments but has agreed to give the agency access to the Parchin military complex. The U.N. agency may agree to the request provided it is allowed to monitor the process, two officials said Tuesday. Several U.S. senators cited Obama administration officials last week as saying Iran could conduct its own soil sampling at Parchin. The officials who spoke Tuesday said a final agreement has not yet been reached between Iran and the U.N. agency. The officials said stringent oversight of the soil sampling could include video monitoring. They did not say what reasons Iran gave for wanting to take its own samples. The samples would be analyzed by the agency for traces left by nuclear experiments. The officials are from agency member nations and keep an eye on Iran's nuclear program. They requested anonymity because their information is confidential. The agency had no immediate comment. The purported weapons work and the U.N. agency's investigation are not central to the nuclear deal, which calls for the U.S. and other world powers to end economic and military sanctions in exchange for concessions from Iran in its nuclear program. Tehran says its program is entirely peaceful, but the U.S. and many other nations believe it is aimed at acquiring nuclear weapons. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, called Tuesday for the U.S. to implement the deal to "remove the mistrust of the Iranian people," adding that Tehran would follow through on its commitments. Zarif made the comments after meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini in Tehran. The foreign minister announced that "high-level" talks soon will start with the European Union, with a focus on energy, the environment and human rights, as well as "extremism, terrorism and sectarianism" in the Middle East. Rouhani suggested after the meeting that Iran and the EU pursue closer relations. "Scientific, cultural and political relations with the EU should be developed," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. "However, promoting economic and trade relations is more accessible and easier." journalist's release urged Also on Tuesday, the lawyer for a Washington Post journalist facing trial in Iran on charges including espionage pressed for her client's immediate release from prison, according to Iranian media. Her comments did not, however, include details of the next step in the closed proceedings against Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who has been in Iranian custody for more than a year. He has denied the allegations against him. Last week, Obama said U.S. officials will not "relent" until the Iranians free Rezaian and two other American citizens known to be detained in Iran. Rezaian's lawyer, Leila Ahsan, was quoted by the semiofficial Tasnim and Fars Iranian news agencies as saying that the nuclear deal reached this month should be a catalyst for Rezaian's release from Tehran's Evin Prison. Ahsan also alluded to new Iranian laws that Rezaian's family has insisted prohibit holding someone in detention for more than a year on charges other than murder. "He has been jailed over a year and ... keeping him in jail is illegal based on Iran's new penal code," she said. Ahsan did not suggest that an immediate release was likely. She said last week that she believes the next hearing in the case in Tehran's Revolutionary Court could bring the trial to a close, but a date for that hearing has not been set. Ahsan was unavailable Tuesday for further comment. She is barred from discussing the case with journalists outside Iran. Rezaian, 39, the Post's bureau chief in Tehran, was detained July 22, 2014, along with his Iranian wife and two other photojournalists, and has reportedly been accused of espionage and engaging in "propaganda against the establishment." His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, was later released on bail. One of the photojournalists faces charges related to the case. Information for this article was contributed by Jennifer Steinhauer of The New York Times; by Deb Riechmann, George Jahn, Ken Dilanian and staff members of The Associated Press; and by Brian Murphy of The Washington Post. A Section on 07/29/2015
Farmers, Indigenous people and rural communities around the world celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity last week. But casting a long shadow was the news that big funders and new NGOs are teaming up with the pesticide-biotech giant, Syngenta, in a renewed effort to push genetically engineered rice forward in Bangladesh and the Philippines. Nicknamed “golden rice,” this untested, highly controversial GE crop threatens biodiversity across the region and risks bringing economic and ecological disaster to Asia’s farms. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has approved $20 million in new monies towards the development of "golden rice." Meanwhile, Helen Keller International (HKI), a New York-based health and nutrition NGO, has also jumped on board. Speaking from Malaysia, Sarojeni V. Rengam, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) called on the donors and scientists involved to wake up and do the right thing: Golden Rice is really a ‘Trojan horse’; a public relations stunt pulled by the agri-business corporations to garner acceptance of GE crops and food. The whole idea of GE seeds is to make money. On this International Day for Biological Diversity, we want to send out a strong message to all those supporting the promotion of Golden Rice, especially donor organizations, that their money and efforts would be better spent on restoring natural and agricultural biodiversity rather than destroying it by promoting monoculture plantations and genetically engineered (GE) food crops. In agreement, hundreds of farmers, scientists, consumers and workers protested in the Philippines. But instead of listening to the thousands of Asian family farmers saying “NO to GMOs,” the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which is receiving $10.3 million of the Gates funds, created a promotional video highlighting their delight in having found new partners like HKI. An economic and ecological disaster Introducing this GE crop into Asia — the center of diversity for rice — is ecologically, socially and culturally irresponsible. Here’s why: Threats to cultural and biological diversity : As a result of the first “Green Revolution,” thousands of traditional and indigenous varieties of rice have been lost across Asia — and with them, cultural knowledge of their management, replaced with a handful of hybrid varieties requiring heavy doses of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. As Slow Food argues, “golden rice” threatens to speed up that process, with the added risk of genetic contamination of Asia’s most precious resource. : As a result of the first “Green Revolution,” thousands of traditional and indigenous varieties of rice have been lost across Asia — and with them, cultural knowledge of their management, replaced with a handful of hybrid varieties requiring heavy doses of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. As Slow Food argues, “golden rice” threatens to speed up that process, with the added risk of genetic contamination of Asia’s most precious resource. Corporate profit over food sovereignty: Golden rice is a Trojan horse for pushing through GE-friendly biosafety regulations under the guise of humanitarian aid. Once in place, these regulations open the door for the biotech industry to bring in commercial, patented GE crops; USAID and Monsanto accomplished exactly this in Kenya with their sweet potato project. This raises serious equity concerns for both farmers and national governments as they become beholden to biotech giants and lose their rights to save and exchange seed. Golden rice is a Trojan horse for pushing through GE-friendly biosafety regulations under the guise of humanitarian aid. Once in place, these regulations open the door for the biotech industry to bring in commercial, patented GE crops; USAID and Monsanto accomplished exactly this in Kenya with their sweet potato project. This raises serious equity concerns for both farmers and national governments as they become beholden to biotech giants and lose their rights to save and exchange seed. Economic losses: Once GE rice contaminates a country’s rice supply and enters the food chain — which it will — these countries will lose crucial agricultural export markets to Japan and Europe. Once GE rice contaminates a country’s rice supply and enters the food chain — which it will — these countries will lose crucial agricultural export markets to Japan and Europe. Loss of livelihood: long-term field studies for robustness to climate change and other stressors haven’t been conducted for golden rice, putting the livelihoods of small-scale farmers at risk. long-term field studies for robustness to climate change and other stressors haven’t been conducted for golden rice, putting the livelihoods of small-scale farmers at risk. And anyway, it won’t work: Vitamin A uptake depends on the presence of fats or oils in a person’s diet. There’s no point in pushing “golden rice” when people can’t access or afford the diet they really need to make use of it. Especially when it comes packaged in a monocultural production system that undermines the very dietary diversity that they need. Smarter, cheaper alternatives exist. Most important is recognizing that poverty is the underlying reason for nutritional deficiencies. This can't be solved with a technological fix. Whose hands in the pot? Who oversees this ambitious project, which its advocates claim will end the suffering of millions? An elite, so-called “Humanitarian Board” where Syngenta sits — along with the inventors of Golden Rice, Rockefeller Foundation, USAID and public relations and marketing experts, among a handful of others. Not a single farmer, Indigenous person or even an ecologist, or sociologist to assess the huge political, social, and ecological implications of this massive experiment. And the leader of IRRI’s Golden Rice project is none other than Gerald Barry, previously Director of Research at Monsanto. Unfortunately, well-meaning NGOs are getting caught up in the GE web. Helen Keller International has done some really top-notch work with home gardens and supplements that has enriched the diets of thousands of families in Asia with micronutrients, including Vitamin A. This is exactly the right sort of thing to be investing resources in. But earlier this year, HKI decided to jump on the GE bandwagon, agreeing to conduct efficacy studies for IRRI. Even if the engineered rice can be proven “efficacious” in the narrow sense that is meant — able to deliver Vitamin A in a biologically available form — the project still threatens the biological and cultural diversity of an entire region and clearly contradicts the desires of the local people. HKI, do the right thing and get out. You have too much in the way of good ideas and initiatives to throw your reputation away by doing Monsanto and Syngenta’s dirty work. It’s not too late to extract yourself from this giant genetic misadventure.
This quest has a quick guide found here. It briefly summarises the steps needed to complete the quest. Old School RuneScape uses the British convention for floor numbering: Ground floor, first floor, etc. Contents show] Details Start point The Sinclair Mansion, north along the path between Seers' Village and Camelot. Talk to one of the guards around the mansion. Official difficulty Novice Description Old man Sinclair has been found dead in his mansion! Unfortunately, the local authorities are having some trouble figuring out who's the guilty party. Maybe the unbiased eye of a passing adventurer will be of help. Length Short Requirements None Items required Pot Recommended: 16 free inventory spaces Enemies to defeat None Walkthrough Murder Mystery is one of the most unique quests in RuneScape, because the outcome of the quest is random, so there is a reasonable amount of detective work you have to do on your own. However, there are plenty of clues to be found as to who the culprit is. Starting out First, talk to the guard to activate the quest. Then, enter the house and search the murder scene, which is on the east side of the ground1st floor[?]. Inside will be a pungent pot, which you should collect, along with the criminal's dagger. Investigate the smashed window to find the criminal's thread. Go around to the various bedrooms belonging to the suspects to find a number of silver items, all contained within barrels in each room. (There are four rooms upstairs and two on the ground1st floor[?].) Look for: Now, it's time to get your first piece of evidence. Go to the main entrance of the mansion, and go north-east until you reach the guard dog enclosure. Investigate the sturdy wooden gate for more information. Next, go to the gardener's shed (the small house on the ground level, west side of the outside of the mansion) and investigate the sacks to find flypaper. Take seven of these. Go to the kitchen, and fill your pot with flour. Use it on the criminal's dagger; then, use the dagger on a piece of flypaper to get an unknown print. Dust each silver item with more flour, and use the flypaper to lift fingerprints from the items; then, compare them to the print of the criminal's dagger you found at the crime scene by using the flypaper pieces on the first flypaper print you got from the dagger. Once you've got a match, you can drop all the silver items except for your proof. Note: You may want to keep the silver necklace since it is a unique cosmetic item and cannot be obtained after completing the quest. If so, you will need to drop the item before completing the quest and pick it up afterwards. Otherwise, the item is taken from your bank or inventory upon quest completion. You'll need more than just that for a conviction, though. Go to the entrance of the mansion, and talk to Gossip, and ask him who he thinks is responsible. Next, you need to gather info about the poison. There's a poison salesman, who sells it inside of the pub west of the bank in Seers' Village. Ask him to whom he sold the poison, and he'll tell you that everyone at the mansion bought some. Go back to the house and ask the person who had the fingerprints on the criminal's dagger to find out what the poison was used on. Search the item they mention, detailed here: Anna - Compost heap Bob - Beehive in cow pen Frank - Family Crest, east of the front door David - Spider nest, upstairs between the two rooms with three beds each in them Carol - Sinclair mansion drain, west of the front door Elizabeth - The fountain You'll find that the subject was lying and didn't use their poison on what they had said they did. Go back and talk to a guard and tell him you know who did it. Use the fingerprints of the person that did it on the unknown fingerprint. Show him the fingerprints, tell him about the poison, and show him the thread from the windowsill, since its colour will be a match to an article of the guilty party's clothing. Case closed! Note: The guard will take the evidence from you. If you dusted the silver necklace you wanted to keep with flour, drop it before talking to the guard. Rewards Required for completing
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) defended President Donald Trump’s approach to race relations amid accusations that the president has fueled discord with his attacks on peacefully protesting football players and officials trying to help the millions of Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria. “Like I said before, he’s learning,” Ryan said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, when asked by host John Dickerson to rate Trump’s ability to bring the U.S. together. “I know his heart’s in the right place,” Ryan added. As evidence, he cited “some very candid conversations” ― particularly around the time of the clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August, when Trump said a white supremacist-dominated group rallying to defend a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee included some “very fine people.” The president offered ambiguous remarks about what happened in Charlottesville and who was to blame, which some in the racist movement said emboldened them further. Trump had both “bad” reactions and then “good” ones to the Charlottesville violence, Ryan said. “I think what matters is that we have to show people that we are an inclusive society” and that “we want everyone to succeed,” the speaker said. “And I think there’s more that all of us as leaders have got to do to be inclusive with people and make people feel like they’re included in society. ... We’ve got a lot, a long ways to go, just as a society and a country for that.” Since the events in Charlottesville, Trump has said any athlete protesting institutionalized racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem is a “son of a bitch” who should be thrown off the field; instituted a new version of his Muslim ban; and said Puerto Rico’s leadership features “politically motivated ingrates” ― a far cry from his comments about the way officials in Texas and Florida responded to recent hurricanes. The president has a history of targeting people of color. He attracted federal scrutiny early in his businesscareer over reports of racial barriers to entry in his housing complexes. He spent years questioning the citizenship of America’s first black president and launched his presidential campaign by attacking Mexicans. Dickerson pressed Ryan on Trump’s response to the NFL protests, noting that the president has not mentioned why the players feel it’s necessary to use their national visibility this way. The speaker didn’t dispute that Trump has failed to do so.
I have used notebooks for years. I have a rather small obsession with notebooks where I have a massive stash of all types of notebooks for when the mood strikes and I must have a certain size, feel, color, paper texture, etc. Last year I blazed through quite a few Moleskine notebooks capturing all my random thoughts, notes, lists, links, and more. The problem with my system is that I am not able to track down where things were located. This year I am dabbling in the Bullet Journal system. In my blog post where I recapped 2015 and made plans for 2016 I shared the following: Last year I also tried to keep a logbook where I documented things each day. It started off good, but it fizzled out because it was simply too much with my weekly planner notebook and other notebooks where I scribbled down ideas. Now, looking back at things the notebook was super powerful and I wish I did not give up on it because so many little life events were captured that would have been lost forever. This year I am not buying the 12 month variant color system(but I LOVE them and the look and wish they worked for me). Instead I will be using a new modified system where I am building up my own Bullet Journal system. This is something I have wanted to do for years and this year I am making it happen. I have already started merging ideas from last year to make positive gains in 2016. Check out my video here on part 1 of my preparation(part 2 coming soon). Even more exciting is that my 9 year old daughter is making one and we had a great evening making and preparing our notebooks. This year will be epic! SO? How have things progressed? I am ten days into the year. I have many things organized, but still have a lot of experimenting to do. I am experimenting with the #planwithmechallenge because I feel like it gives me a bit of structure while still allowing the notebook to be my ideas and my thoughts as I figure out what exactly I want this notebook to become. For January, I try to either set up the next day before bed or first thing in the morning when I wake up. I am taking things one day at a time until I feel ready to plan more extensively. I like the free flow of taking in each day as they come. I am using my Bullet Journal that funded through Kickstarter, but when this fills I will use any notebook that fits your liking i.e. Moleskine or some a cheap one found at the store. Tracking weight. I am tracking my weight daily on my January spread. I see a lot of people capture water intake, but I have an app for this recording that works. I have added 7 goals to the month of January to accomplish. It is a bit overachieving but I can always move to the next month if needed. Each day I try to title it with a word that fits the mood, tone, or actions of the day. Each day capturing little tidbits of stories, books I am reading, video game status, etc. Something that I think I would like to know at the end of the year when I go back through things. I have thought hard about my big goals of 2016. I made a page, but it is still a work in progress. I left room to add more as the year goes on, but I have five big goals to start. What needs work? Artistic talents and font styles. I need to spruce things up but this will come with time. Right now it is a bit drab. Continue to sample with new ideas to see what works and what does not. I am still in the process of taking my old system of just writing all types of things down to a more organized flow. I don’t know how to do that so I simply am using my old notebook on the side. I know, stupid, but it is how I roll until I figure things out. Spiraldex. I am intrigued by this suggestion given to me on G+ Here is a video of what I have done so far(if you did not watch how I migrated my 2015 system and notebooks I suggest you start here first). I gladly welcome any comments, ideas, or suggestions. Here is my Google Photo Album of documenting my journey with my own notebook throughout the year. I am learning so many amazing ideas from the #planwithmechallenge Facebook group. I love seeing how people organize and am creating a file of images for ideas to try next month. What do you think of this post? Interesting ( 4 ) Awesome ( 1 ) Sucks ( 0 ) Useful ( 0 ) Boring ( 0 )
Image caption Alan Woodnutt said the wild boar had been spotted almost every day since 27 September A wild boar which has been on the loose in Alderney for more than a month is thought to have swum there from the nearby French coast. The boar found its way into a pig farm on Friday but, when approached, escaped by jumping over a 1m (3ft) stock fence. Farm owner Tess Woodnutt said she would not have believed the animal could jump so high from a standing start, if she had not seen it with her own eyes. Islanders have dubbed the boar "ghost pig", as it has only been seen at dusk. Mrs Woodnutt said she first became aware of the boar on 27 September, when she was on holiday and received a call from a fellow islander saying one of their 40 pigs had escaped. Her son Jake immediately went to the farm and soon established no pigs were missing. Potentially dangerous Steve Shaw, who was Alderney harbour master for 25 years, said he did not believe it would be possible for a wild boar to get to the island by boat without the crew noticing, and he had never heard of a wild boar being found on any vessel. Some islanders have speculated the animal could be an "iron age pig", which have been farmed on the island. However, Alan Woodnutt, Tess's husband, said he was certain it was not. "Iron age pigs are a cross between a wild boar and a Tamworth," he said. "They look a bit like a wild boar but this animal was not the progeny of an iron age pig." Mrs Woodnutt said the boar's arrival on the island was a mystery but she had had it confirmed to her by an expert in the UK that a wild boar could swim long distances in open water. Wild boar are commonly found in Normandy, the coast of which lies seven miles (11km) to the east of Alderney. Duty Insp Kieran McGrath from Guernsey Police said islanders should contact them if they spotted the animal and should not approach it themselves, as any wild boar could be dangerous when cornered.
Hindu images have been used for every sort of commercialism, from being put on shoes in France to even toilet seats in the US. Hindu sacred chants have been used as the background for erotic scenes in modern movies. Yet it was only after making significant protests that Hindu concerns have even registered in the media. This is largely because the world media, dominated by western religious views, did not even consider a Hindu point of view as existent until Hindus began their protests. In the past this issue had become highlighted relative to the works of the Indian artist MF Hussain. Hussain’s work had been criticized by Hindus for portraying Hindu deities in a disrespectful manner, by showing them naked and in non-sacred poses, much like nudes in western secular art. Those in defence of Hussain have argued that since Hindu deities have been portrayed at times in some ancient Hindu temples as naked, one should not complain if others do so. This argument is very weak. Europeans have also used Christian images at times in non-sacred ways, for that reason should non-Europeans be encouraged to do so? However, to really understand this issue, we must understand the Hindu view of art and how representational images are used in Hindu worship. The Hindu View of Art The Hindu tradition embraces art in a much broader way than orthodox Christianity or Islam have done so historically. Hinduism contains extensive traditions of music, drama, dance, sculpture and painting, honouring the Divine in all forms of nature as well as beyond all form. It views art and religion as two aspects of the same human pursuit of the sacred. Yet Hindu thought does discriminate between sacred and non-sacred art. The portrayal of Hindu deities rests upon a vast ancient literature that outlines the nature of the depictions involved and how to use them. Hindu art follows a strict tradition. There are specific rules as to how deities should be portrayed, what their form is in terms of how many arms, what gestures they make, what ornaments or weapons they might have, the colour and type of their clothing, and other factors. There are specific rules as to how a representational form should be used, the type of temple or room it should be installed in, which direction it faces, the time of the year for its installation, and other factors which show it is a very carefully thought out process. The work of the artist is also part of a daily spiritual practice, not a mere commercial enterprise. Most important to understand for the western mind is that the Hindu tradition does not worship images in themselves, but uses them only as symbolic means of connecting to the deity. In the Hindu tradition, it is never considered that the Deity can be actually represented in a material form. The deity can enter into a representative form for a time for the purposes of worship. This requires special ritual worship of the deity and bringing its spirit into the form. This installing the spirit of the deity into the form is obviously something that commercial or secular interests of Hindu deities is not likely to consider. While the form is regarded as sacred, it is not by way of idolatry or sensationalism but part of an entire science of bringing down Divine energies into the world. In addition, Hindu deities are not meant to be glorifications of the human form. They are in many ways supernatural, whether in having extra arms or special powers or other factors. They are symbolic of higher powers that their portrayal is meant to connect us to and not an end in themselves. They are not portrayed to express the beauty or the eroticism of the human body. In Hindu thought, the human body is regarded as a replica of the entire universe, which is reflected not only in the physical structure of body but in the subtle body or the chakra system. The human body is regarded as sacred, yet its universal implications are what is important, not the mere outer beauty of its forms or gestures. The purpose of viewing deities in human forms is not the enjoyment of the human body but connecting the deity to our human world. We must also remember that Hindu art is never simply representational. The representational form of the Deity, as appears in painting or sculpture, is just the outer form of the deity. The deity also has its geometrical form or yantra, its name or mantra and higher principles that go with it. For example, Sarasvati is not only a young woman clothed in white, riding a swan and carrying a vina, she also represents the power of wisdom and the Divine creative energy behind the universe. To portray her naked as an erotic artistic image, cannot be equated with how she is used in Hindu worship and iconography. So-called Hindu Erotic Art There are a few examples of Hindu erotic art, in which human figures, sometimes deities are portrayed in ways that are sexual. There are sects of Tantric Hinduism which have practiced sacred sexuality and have used erotic images in their worship, like the famous images of the temple at Khajarao. Yet such sects are rare and do not represent Hinduism as a whole. Even such erotic images occur along with forms that are not. Naked erotic images are hardly the main characteristic of Hindu sacred art. Erotic sects have also existed within Christianity. Hinduism as a broad, inclusive and ancient tradition has accepted the existence of many paths and not tried to suppress any of them. Hinduism did not attempt to destroy such sects as the Christians did, which it often accused of practicing forms of eroticism like the witches of medieval Europe. We must recognize that these erotic images constitute a very small portion of Hindu art. To emphasize them as a license for non-Hindus to portray Hindu deities in an erotic way is absurd. The great majority of Hindus do not portray or worship their deities as naked, much less use them as erotic images. In some Hindu artistic traditions, deities can be portrayed as scantily clothed, but no eroticism is intended in that, just the fact that India had a hot climate and people often dressed lightly. Hindu yogis and ascetics are often clothed only in loin clothes. Jain ascetics have an entire sect, which for purposes of renunciation, does not wear any clothes at all. That is no reason to turn such figures into artistic nudes! There is a related tradition of Buddhist Tantric art, such as is found in the Tibetan tradition that uses naked and sometimes erotic images. Yet this has not been used as a license to portray the Buddha or Buddhist deities in the nude. Even classical Indian Buddhist art as in Ajanta and Ellora Caves shows women nude above the waist. This was just the culture of the times. Even Hindu statues that are made naked are usually clothed when installed and used in temples, just as many dolls in the West are made without clothes. Conclusion The western mind likes to focus on the erotic side of Hinduism and ignore the rest of its great spiritual traditions of yoga, meditation and its Vedantic philosophy of Self-realization as the supreme goal of life. Worse, it likes to use Hinduism for its own erotic entertainment. And to use a few erotic temple sculptures to justify non-Hindus portraying Hindu deities in an erotic matter is just an excuse for such insensitive behavior. The western mind has also looked at many native cultures for their erotic or sensational value and has not been sensitive to their real cultures. Hindus are but one glaring example of that. Modern India has produced many great gurus and yogis that have influenced the entire world and founded centers in most major cities in the West. We don’t find any of them promoting the worship of Hindu deities in the nude as part of their teachings! Yet it is such erotic images that people like to promote as representing Hinduism. It is time for the western world to recognize the sensitivities of non-western religions as well as western religions, which still suffer from many missionary and colonial stereotypes and denigrations. Hinduism, as the world’s largest non-Biblical tradition, has not surprisingly been the main victim of these. Like the idea of Hinduism as the religion of the poor and backward that affluent and educated western Hindus are contradicting by their success in the western world, the idea of Hindu images as unsacred and not worthy of respect, must also be rejected. This is not some morbid Hindu fundamentalism, but a Hindu demand for the same human dignity that is afforded other groups. The deity is often said to be like one’s mother and father in Hindu thought. Naturally Hindus will not respond kindly to those portraying those they are devoted to in a sensationalistic manner for their own self-glorification. Hindu Human Rights successful protest at Minneli Ram Shoes(2005) Share this: Share Facebook Twitter Print Email Comments comments Powered by Facebook Comments
Mumbai Police's Cyber Crime Investigation Cell, on Monday, arrested four people for leaking fourth episode of TV series Game of Thrones from the current season before it was aired in India. The leak, police revealed, was carried out by employees of a Mumbai-based company. The complaint in this case was filed by the said company which was tasked with storing and processing the episodes for Hotstar app. After the leak, the firm which deals in technological aid to media companies carried out an internal enquiry which revealed that the episode was accessed using ID of their employee Abhishekh Ghadiyal. But the stolen data was sent using email account of an ex-employee Mohammed Suhail. Police has arrested Ghadiyal, Suhail, Bhaskar Navinchandra Joshi and Alok Sharma in the case. During the course of investigation, police found that Ghadiyal was aided by his colleague Joshi and the episode was later forwarded to Sharma for uploading. A case has been registered under sections 408 (Criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) and 34 (common intention) of IPC and 43 (damage to computer, computer system, etc.) and 66 (computer related offences) of the IT Act. STATEMENT FROM STAR INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED AND NOVI DIGITAL PRIVATE LIMITED: Star India Private Limited and Novi Digital Private Limited gave a complaint to the office of Special IGP (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra, informing that an episode (season 7, episode 4) of Game of Thrones, which was scheduled to be aired for viewing in USA and India on August 7, 2017 at 0730 hours (local time) was leaked and made available for viewing on the internet. We have just learnt from law enforcement agencies about the significant progress made by them into the investigation of the breach of episode 4 of Game of Thrones Season 7, including the arrest of 4 individuals associated with our technology vendor, Prime Focus Technologies. We are extremely delighted with the speed and rigour with which the Office of the Special Inspector General of Police Mr. Brijesh Singh (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra and office of DCP Cyber Cell, Mumbai have moved on this investigation. This is the first time in the history of Star India that an incident of this nature has occurred. We are deeply grateful to the police for their swift and prompt action. We believe that valuable intellectual property is a critical part of the development of the creative industry and strict enforcement of the law is essential to protecting it. We at Star India and Novi Digital Entertainment Private Limited stand committed and ready to help the law enforcement agencies with any technical assistance and help they may require in taking the investigation to its logical conclusion. STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF SPECIAL IGP TO MEDIA: Star India Private Limited and Novi Digital Private Limited gave a complaint to the office of Special IGP, Mr. Brijesh Singh (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra, informing that an episode (season 7, episode 4) of Game of Thrones - an HBO adaptation of a fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire authored by George RR Martin, which was scheduled to be aired for viewing in USA and India on August 7, 2017 at 0730 hours (local time), was leaked and made available for viewing on the internet by some persons. Officers of the Cyber and PAW, Government of Maharashtra, conducted preliminary enquiry and basis the electronic trail and other technical material, zeroed in on Prime Focus Technologies - the agency contracted by Star India Private Limited to manage the data, as being responsible for the illegal leakage of the episode. The material collected by the department, together with the opinion, was sent to the office of DCP (Cyber), BKC, Mumbai for further investigation and necessary penal action in accordance with law. At this stage, Prime Focus Technologies came forward and accepting that the leakage had happened at its end, lodged a complaint (FIR) against one of its serving employee and alleging that he along with another former employee and other persons unauthorizedly gained access to the episode and thereafter illegally leaked the same for viewing by the general public over the internet. A joint team from the office of Cyber and PAW, Government of Maharashtra and the office of DCP (Cyber), BKC, Mumbai, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, swooped in on the Bangalore office of Prime Focus Technologies from where the leakage was apprehended to have occurred and carried out interrogation of the employees throughout the night on August 11, 2017. The investigation revealed complicity and involvement of more persons than those specifically named in the FIR, particularly the ones working in the office and otherwise lawfully having access to the raw data of the series. Investigation was simultaneously being carried out by Police Inspector Sardesai at the Police Station. The information and material collected at the Bangalore office and the Mumbai Police station was collated, studied and analysed by the police. On being satisfied that the material collected by the investigating agency sufficiently established the role and involvement of various persons - both, existing and former employees as well as outsiders -- arrest of 04 persons was affected on August 14, 2017. All the accused persons were produced before the court of Magistrate. A prayer was made for their custodial interrogation and the court has been pleased to send the accused persons to police custody for 7 days, i.e., till August 21, 2017. The police is still continuing with the investigation. The unfortunate incident of leakage, perhaps, a first instance of cybercrime of its kind in India, has been handled with deft professionalism by the office of Special IGP, Mr. Brijesh Singh (Cyber), Government of Maharashtra and the Mumbai Police. Also read: Hackers leak 2 unreleased Game of Thrones episodes online, HBO says investigating Also read: Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 4 leaked ahead of official release, download available now Also read: Game of Thrones 7: Titles and descriptions of first 3 episodes revealed
Stephane Bergeron of Griff Airbrush designs received a call around New Year’s Eve from Pittsburgh Penguins starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and his equipment manager, Dana Heinze. Fleury wanted a new mask. The two have worked together on a number of mask designs for the Penguins netminder, but this one was a little different. Fleury wanted it to be a tribute – not to Penguins of years past, but to the teammates he’s loved to skate out with. In honor of the team’s 50th anniversary – and the upcoming outdoor game against the Philadelphia Flyers – Fleury and Heinze sent Bergeron pictures of the teammates and former players that Fleury wanted featured on his mask. The two agreed to feature some likenesses and some names listed on the mask, with a longer list and the team’s Stanley Cup banners featured on the backplate, as well. Take a look: From Sidney Crosby to backup goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, long-time defensemen Brooks Orpik and Sergei Gonchar to fourth-line specialist (and fellow team pranskter) Joe Vitale, the mask is a touching nod to the players that have impacted Fleury over his many years with the club. There’s Mark Recchi, Ruslan Fedotenko, Brandon Sutter, and Matt Cooke. There’s even Fleury’s old goalie coach, Gilles Meloche. Initially, Fleury wanted yellow wire for his cage, but Bergeron suggested black – so the netminder will be trying out that color scheme to see if it affects his vision on the ice. Add in the 50 years logo down on the neck and it’s a memorable mask that Penguins fans are sure to love. For more of Bergeron’s work, check out his official website or Facebook page. UPDATE: After receiving the mask, Fleury decided to add a few more honorees, writing in Matt Niskanen’s nickname “Nisky” as well as “Neal” for James Neal. (Both played with the Penguins between 2010-11 and 2013-14.) But sometimes friendship hurts. In Game 3 of the Penguins’ Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Washington Capitals, Niskanen cross-checked Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in the head, giving him a concussion. Fleury took his revenge, his gloriously petty revenge.
Powerful new battery technology debuted at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas. As usual, there was an ocean of tech gadgets, gizmo’s, and innovation as the world’s leading companies fought to display the “next big thing”. This year, everything from Mercedes Benz’s self-driving autonomous prototype to LG’s massive 77-inch 4k flexible OLED television filled the convention center. Here are some top picks for the best new battery technology debuted at CES 2015: This is no ordinary backpack, neither is this battery-powered backpack the first of its kind. In the past we have seen the word “smart” displayed on products such as watched and even water bottles, without any intelligence in sight. But Ampl has really stepped up their game this time. The black with green, accents Ampl SmartBackpack has a built in 5,000mAh battery and allows for swappable backup batteries at the same time. The built in 5,000mAh battery is enough to charge an iPhone 6 two and half times without a sweat. With 7 USB outlets, the SmartBackpack ensures that all of your gadgets stay charged. Starting at $299, the Ampl SmartBackpack is one hell of a cell phone charging device. Mophie Juice Packs (for iPhone 6 & 6 Plus) Having recently been released, the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus are still waiting for the gadgets and accessories that the iPhone 5 is compatible with. Well, the wait might be over. Mophie unveiled their new battery packs for the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus. Although this is nothing new, Mophie is promising up to 120% extra juice per charge for the 6 and 60% for the 6 Plus. For those who require extra battery to get through the day, the wait is finally over (if you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. The stylish, though bulky juice pack allows for users to use their iPhones for well over 2 days without needing a charge and the case prevents scratches and scuffs to your shiny new iPhone. The iPhone 6 model will cost $99.95 while the iPhone 6 Plus model will cost $119.95. The biggest surprise at CES 2015 was not from a tech company at all; but from BMW, an automobile manufacturer who has been pushing boundaries in car tech with products such as the BMW i8, a hybrid sports car, and BMW i3, an electric luxury compact. The BMW i8, BMW’s hybrid sports car offering consists of a conventional engine and electric motors powered by a battery pack. Currently, the only way to charge the battery pack is to use the engine as a turbine to charge the batteries or to plug the car into a conventional outlet. But now, BMW has unveiled a new way to charge the hybrid i8 in a way only cell phones have been able to do so: wirelessly. At CES 2015, BMW unveiled its Inductive Wireless Charging technology. Instead of plugging the car into an outlet to charge the batteries, an i8 owner will now be able to drive onto an inductive wireless charging mat which will charge the batteries of the car. BMW claims that the wireless mat can charge the car at almost the same rate as a conventional outlet. This is an interesting feat from a company that has been pushing the envelope in hybrid technology. Regardless of the new battery technology exhibited at CES 2015, devices will still need to get charged up. The Veloxity team hopes to attend CES next year and provide a cell phone charging station lounge to help attendees stay supercharged on the trade show floor.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images, via Nickelodeon Nickelodeon’s eight-year-old Worldwide Day of Play is going big time this year. On Saturday, Nickelodeon, the children’s television network, will for the first time take its annual event to Washington. To be held on the Ellipse, this year’s day of games and activities will bring together more than two dozen of the network’s stars and characters, and will include a concert by the boy band Big Time Rush, stars of the Nickelodeon series of the same name. The move to Washington stemmed from conversations Nickelodeon had with Let’s Move, the initiative led by Michelle Obama , the first lady, said Cyma Zarghami, president, Nickelodeon Networks. On the day of the event, Nickelodeon and its Web site will go dark for three hours to encourage children to take part in physical activities. Mrs. Obama is expected to symbolically flip the switch sending the network offline and off the air. She has been featured on Nickelodeon recently promoting the day and the Million PALA Challenge. PALA, for Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, is an initiative of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Children can earn the award by participating in 60 minutes of physical activity , five days a week for six weeks. The Nickelodeon event, meanwhile, is prominently featured on fitness.gov . The event is expected to cost Nickelodeon $8 million to $10 million and draw as many as 50,000 people, some of them no doubt hoping to see athletes such as the N.B.A. stars Carmelo Anthony , LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Nickelodeon’s dozens of other partners for the event include N.F.L. Play 60 and Major League Baseball . About 5,000 people attended last year’s Worldwide Day of Play, in Riverside Park in New York. Ms. Zarghami said the move to Washington was not related to the government’s campaign to persuade the food industry, including some Nickelodeon advertisers, to restrict how it markets to children and teenagers. “We’ve spent 32 years establishing ourselves as people who really care about kids,” she said. “For every partner we have, we believe they care as well.”
The military aspect of DF is one of the most complex (and for me, the hardest) aspect to get into. I can build gaint monuments, mine straight into Hell; I can even create a Dwarf Monument built of ice in the coldest northern reaches; but for the love of me I cannot set up even a simple military and choose their equipment and uniforms. I cannot tell you have many games I've been killed on because I couldn't get a squard organized and put together to defend a single (OVER-FORTIFIED) entrance into my entire complex.Traps help, but it cannot stop a mass of goblins (or elves, for that matter) from coming over the horizon to butcher me.So I'd be VERY VERY VERY bloody happy to see Dwarf Therapist make strides toward being able to offer a simple UI solution to the complexities of the DF Military. And I'm sure several of us would agree.So here's my pre-plot THANK YOU!!!
Image caption PC maker Dell has struggled as consumers have turned to smartphones and tablet computers Computer maker Dell has reported quarterly profits and revenues ahead of expectations, in what could be its last set of results as a public company. The world's third largest PC maker said net profit in the fourth quarter fell 31% to $530m (£345m) compared with the same period a year ago. Revenue fell 11% to $14.3bn, hurt by a shrinking consumer business, but still beat analysts' forecasts. Founder Michael Dell has offered to buy the business for $24.4bn. But his attempt to turn it back into a private firm has faced opposition. Dell's largest independent shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, said the offer "grossly undervalues the company", while reports suggest other large investors also oppose the deal. In recent years Dell has struggled to compete with cheaper Asian rivals, as well as the boom in smartphones and tablet computers, and has focused more on corporate needs and less on the home consumer. For the full year ending 1 February 2013, net profit fell 32% to $2.37bn, while revenue fell 8% to $56.9bn. Dell said that it was not providing an outlook for the 2014 fiscal year or for the first fiscal quarter, given the proposed merger agreement to take the company private. Shares in Dell edged up 0.5% in after-hours trading in New York to $13.87.
Michigan’s law still finds illegal to hang anything from rearview mirrors while driving and allows police to pull over drivers who break this rule.The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided, after consulting with Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox’s office, that a dangling object of any size constitutes something that can obstruct the view of a driver, and therefore is illegal and grounds for cops to stop motorists, freep.com reported.The law about such obstructions had been put under the question mark since a man challenged his arrest after being pulled over because he had a 4-inch Tweety air freshener hanging from his rearview, in January 2006.The Tweety Bird air freshener made Westland Police to pull over Lonnie Ray Davis. Policemen then found in his car a loaded gun, cocaine and an open pint of Hennessy cognac. Davis was also not having a valid driver’s license.Davis got convicted on federal weapons and drug charges, but appealed to that decision, on the grounds that the air-freshener wasn’t probable cause for cops to pull him over. The court didn’t overturn Davis' conviction and therefore he is serving a sentence of more than 15 years in prison.Still, Michigan’s law was questioned whether or not was too ambiguous.They finally reached to the conclusion that “The law’s language is unqualified: an obstruction of any size for any amount of time falls within it,” as the court wrote in an opinion released April 30.Michigan State Police supported the law, saying it’s been clear for years that dangling objects (such as graduation tassels, dice, garter belts, jewelry and more), while driving can block a driver's view and are therefore illegal. The offense is a civil infraction with a fine of $100 or more.
“This is really a chaotic industry,” says Jackie Zhuang, deputy general manager of Huabao International, a Chinese tobacco flavoring company in Shanghai and an expert on China’s e-cigarette market. “I hope it will soon be well regulated.” Ground Zero for E-Cigarettes In a five-square-mile area in the northwestern part of Shenzhen called Bao’an, in a district packed with industrial parks, there are believed to be more than 600 e-cigarette producers, and many more component suppliers selling bulk orders of tube casings, integrated circuit boards, heating coils and lithium ion batteries, the essential components of the e-cigarette. If you are a manufacturer in Shenzhen and need 50,000 baked-metal casings, a local manufacturer can supply them for about $25,000 and have them delivered within hours. Unlike the counterfeiters’ shops, the largest Shenzhen e-cigarette manufacturing operations are relatively clean, with rows of workers seated on plastic stools along a fast-moving assembly line. In 2004, a Chinese pharmacist named Han Li helped develop the e-cigarette, which was then sold through his company, Beijing Ruyan. Other manufacturers soon followed, and by 2009, as e-cigarettes became more popular in the United States and Europe, more factories opened. The boom has made China the breeding ground for a new, and some would say innovative, product. And yet the Chinese government has played no role in the development of the industry or in regulating it. As in the West, China’s tobacco authority — which acts as both regulator and dominant, state-controlled producer of cigarettes and tobacco products — has been caught off guard by a product that is neither a food nor a drug and perhaps not necessarily even a tobacco product. Some Chinese companies, however, are trying to get ahead of the anticipated F.D.A. rules. First Union is one of the biggest, operating several manufacturing complexes here in Shenzhen with about 6,000 employees. Its plants have glass-enclosed, dust-free rooms that the company says are as clean and sophisticated as pharmaceutical labs. First Union and Kimree, a rival based in nearby Huizhou, say they manufacture for many of the best-selling e-cigarette brands. Neither Chinese company, however, has a long history. The founders of Kimree, which recently filed for an initial public stock offering in the United States, got their start making consumer electronics, like cordless telephones. And before turning to e-cigarettes in 2006, the founders of First Union made silica gel brassieres and weight loss belts. Company executives say they can deliver high-quality goods.
When the Japanese game designer Fumito Ueda was a child, he loved to capture and care for wild animals. He was obsessed with the way they moved; and later as a young game designer he imported a copy of the Amiga classic Lemmings, seeing in it something other than a colourful puzzler. “I sensed life on the TV screen for the first time in my life,” he said. Since then, he has become famous for games that explore humanity and companionship. After joining Sony Japan’s development studio in 1997, he oversaw two of the most fascinating and beautiful action adventures of the PlayStation 2 era: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. These doleful, reflective titles, with their hazy visuals and vast silences, showed us new ways to tell stories and invoke emotions through games. The moment in Ico where the eponymous lead character takes the hand of Yorda, the princess he seeks to rescue from an evil queen, has become one of the great images of the medium. But then, after the wonderful Shadow of the Colossus – a game that brought themes of loss, grief and the fundamental importance of friendship to the standard monster hunting archetype – came the wilderness years. A game codenamed Project Trico, about the relationship between a boy and a giant griffin-like monster, was mentioned, and then officially announced as The Last Guardian at E3 in 2009. Then years of uncertainty as the project shifted from PS3 to PS4, and Ueda announced his separation from Sony Japan. Six years later at E3 2015, Sony began its hugely nostalgic press conference with a revelation: The Last Guardian was definitely in production for PS4. We now know that it is a joint project between Sony Japan and a new studio, Gen Design, formed by members of Ueda’s old Team Ico group. The release date is a tentative 2016. There is still much work to be done. But you get the feeling that Sony Computer Entertainment chief Shuhei Yoshida, always a fan of Ueda’s work, will do whatever it takes to push this through. It is happening. In a quiet meeting room, above the maelstrom of E3’s main halls, Fumito Ueda is showing off the latest build of the game. At the beginning of the short demo, we meet the lead character, a little boy who has been kidnapped (“under mysterious circumstances,” explains Ueda, cryptically) and left in the ruins of a vast stone city. Here he meets a giant creature, Trico, and the two, we’re told, will embark on a journey of friendship. As The Last Guardian world appears on the large cinema screen, it is unmistakably the work of Ueda. We’re in a beautiful but ruined chamber, the intricately carved stone pillars cracked and crumbling, the paving stones punctured with weeds. The light is hazy, the air filled with dust. Pigeons gather and peck at each other in darkened corners, colourful butterflies flutter above. The atmosphere is pure Ico: beauty, solitude and silence. But then Ueda guides the boy into another room and we see Trico, lying still and despondent on the stone floor. Reflecting some of the earliest concept art from the game, he has clearly been attacked. There are two spears protruding from his back, and when the boy climbs up to pull them out, Trico yelps in pain. Facebook Twitter Pinterest When the boy protagonist first finds the gigantic creature Trico, he has been attacked seemingly by hunters. The player must remove their spears This creature is glorious. Vast and feathery, but with a sad-eyed canine face, it seems to be the culmination of Ueda’s childhood interest in animals. During the demo he explains that Trico is inspired by family pets – dogs, cats, birds – because he wanted players to develop the same sort of affinity for Trico as they would for the creatures they look after in their own homes. Clearly, there is a communication system for giving orders to this giant – the boy can call for him, and enact actions like jumping, to tell Trico what to do. But Ueda was also keen to give this giant pet its own stubbornness and intelligence. “It is based on pets, and people think of their pets as cute, so Trico is cute,” he explains. “But it is also a wild animal, and sometimes even with household pets, you don’t have total control over them. That’s part of the design.” We see an element of this in the demo. The boy needs to reach a balcony, high up on the wall in order to escape the chamber. He orders Trico to reach up to the ledge with its front legs; the creature does as he’s told, but as the boy attempts to climb up his “pet” to reach the higher level, Trico gets back down again. He needs to be encouraged, once again, to get up on his hind legs and form the bridge to the platform. “Sometimes when you’ve taught your pet a trick, you invite your friends around to show them, but he won’t do it,” says Ueda. “Trico is like that.” The scene is important for two reasons. It shows that this is very much the game that Team Ico was making all those years ago. Screenshots released in 2009 seem to show this very sequence. But now, Trico is rendered with much more detail and character. The glossy feathers ripple across his body, catching the light as he moves, and his beautiful, globe-like eyes, his little movements, the way he watches the boy wherever he goes, these are animations filled with life and authenticity. Uedo wants us to think of Trico as our own pet, and when we see its head bob upwards with concern when the boy climbs high or gets close to an edge, it is almost heartbreakingly resonant. The sense of formative cooperation between the two continues throughout the rest of the demo. Jumping down into a new room, the boy finds that Trico’s access is barred by a cell door, so he must find and pull a lever to let the animal through. As in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Ueda says that players have to read the landscape in order to progress – there are few hints or directions. Then suddenly, they’re both out on to a ledge and the light from outside, bursts across the screen momentarily blinding us. Then we’re in the vast mountainous arena seen in Sony’s E3 press demo; an ancient city, built into the rock, a spectacular huddle of vast circular towers reaching high above, and interconnected with arched walkways that suspend above a vast chasm. Ueda explains how he often uses height to symbolise universal human fears. “It shows the psycholgical stress that the player has to overcome,” he says. “It also shows the vulnerability of the little boy.” To reach one part of a broken wooden catwalk, the boy makes a jumping motion, ordering Trico to go on ahead. Trico leaps a gap and lands on the platform, and the boy jumps after him; in a moment of slow-motion tension, the boy seems to fall far short, but then Trico leans forward and catches his friend, pulling him up to safety. A similar thing happens later, as the walkways begin to collapse – the boy makes a jump toward his companion, but this time trico can’t catch him in his mouth. Instead, at the last moment, he curls down his tale and the boy catches hold. It is beautiful and frightening, the atmosphere accompanied and enhanced by a rush of symphonic music. But Ueda stresses that these aren’t cinematic cut-scenes: this is gameplay. As with his previous titles, Ueda’s desire is to bring the player into the narrative, the moments of drama are emergent and personal; the worlds are vast but quiet and understated. He calls his approach “design through subtraction”, chipping away at superfluous detail until the heart of the thing is clear. His stories are about epic minimalism. The grandeur of even the smallest tokens of love. Two hands joining together. A boy removing an spear. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A lot of the action in The Last Guardian seems to involve working out how the boy and Trico must combine their abilities to progress Next, there is a simple puzzle where the player must push a large wooden cage along its tracks and over the edge of the precipice, but this sets in motion a destructive sequence as the fragile landing begins to collapse. The two characters rush for a building and leap across to it, the boy on Trico’s back. Trico grasps for a ledge, hanging onto the side of a stone wall, and the boy must climb up him, onto the ledge and find a way to help his friend haul himself up too. Finally, the two are safe, standing together on a balcony, Trico pecking at his feathers, the boy looking out over the collection of jutting buildings. “Everything you see is explorable,” says Ueda, perfectly timing his comment as the camera pans out to show the scale of the ruins. And this is all we’ll see for now. We’re promised more information about the story later, perhaps at Gamescom, or Paris Games Week, or maybe at the Tokyo Game Show. There are concerns that we’re still seeing elements of the adventure that we were seeing in 2009 – but then perhaps that is part of the emerging marketing plan. Ueda’s games are about hope and vulnerability, and about how desire and ambition can mislead us. Perhaps what Ueda has learned from the last six years is that game development is like those animals he caught as a child - it is never something entirely under his control. So best to go cautiously. The lights go up in the demo room; there is a warm ripple of applause and then we file out into the long crowded hallways of the Los Angeles convention centre. Downstairs there are many hundreds of games telling their stories of revenge and honour, many of them doing it extremely well. But none of them do it quite like Ueda, with that sense of intimate sadness, that sense that life and friendship are brittle gifts far too easily lost or wasted on spurious escapades.
From Linus Torvalds <> Date Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:45:28 -0700 Subject Linux 3.1-rc2 Hey, nice calm first week after the merge window. Good job. Or maybe people are just being lazy, and everybody is on vacation. Whatever. Don't tell me. I'm reasonably happy, I want to stay that way. That said, I would be happy if it calmed down further. 300+ commits for -rc2 is good, but please make me even happier for -rc3 by ONLY sending me real fixes. Think of it as "fairly late in the -rc series", because I really want to compensate for the merge window being fairly chaotic. Linus --- Aaron Lu (1): mmc: sdhci: fix retuning timer wrongly deleted in sdhci_tasklet_finish Ajeet Yadav (1): "xfs: fix error handling for synchronous writes" revisited Akinobu Mita (1): slub: fix check_bytes() for slub debugging Alan Cox (2): gma500: Fix clashes with DRM updates gma500: Fix clashes with DRM updates Alex Elder (1): xfs: set cursor in xfs_ail_splice() even when AIL was empty Alex Hacker (1): ath9k: fix a misprint which leads to incorrect calibration Anatolij Gustschin (1): MAINTAINERS: change maintainership of mpc5xxx Andrei Warkentin (1): Bridge: Always send NETDEV_CHANGEADDR up on br MAC change. Andrew Bird (4): USB: option driver: add PID for Vodafone-Huawei K3770 USB: option driver: add PID for Vodafone-Huawei K3771 USB: option driver: add PID for Vodafone-Huawei K4510 USB: option driver: add PID for Vodafone-Huawei K4511 Andrew Morton (5): drivers/staging/speakup/devsynth.c: fix "buffer size is not provably correct" error drivers/staging/dt3155v4l/dt3155v4l.c needs slab.h drivers/staging/solo6x10/core.c needs slab.h drivers/staging/solo6x10/p2m.c needs slab.h staging: more missing slab.h inclusions Andy Lutomirski (9): x86-64: Pad vDSO to a page boundary x86-64: Move the "user" vsyscall segment out of the data segment. x86-64: Work around gold bug 13023 x86-64, xen: Enable the vvar mapping x86-64: Add user_64bit_mode paravirt op x86-64: Add vsyscall:emulate_vsyscall trace event x86: Remove unnecessary compile flag tweaks for vsyscall code x86-64: Wire up getcpu syscall x86-64: Rework vsyscall emulation and add vsyscall= parameter Andy Shevchenko (5): mmc: mmc_test: avoid stalled file in debugfs mmc: Revert "mmc: sdhci: Fix SDHCI_QUIRK_TIMEOUT_USES_SDCLK" mmc: sdhci: check host->clock before using it as a denominator mmc: sdhci: move timeout_clk calculation farther down mmc: sdhci: use f_max instead of host->clock for timeouts Anthony Bourguignon (1): rt2x00: Add rt2870 device id for Dvico usb key Anton Blanchard (10): powerpc: Fix device tree claim code powerpc: Clean up some panic messages in prom_init powerpc: Jump label misalignment causes oops at boot powerpc: pseries: Fix kexec on machines with more than 4TB of RAM powerpc: Move kdump default base address to half RMO size on 64bit powerpc: Lack of ibm,io-events not that important! powerpc: Make KVM_GUEST default to n powerpc/pseries: Fix kexec on recent firmware versions powerpc/pseries: Cleanup VPA registration and deregistration errors powerpc/pseries: Simplify vpa deregistration functions Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo (4): perf evlist: Introduce 'disable' method perf python: Add PERF_RECORD_{LOST,READ,SAMPLE} routine tables perf report: Use ui__warning in some more places perf tools: Check $HOME/.perfconfig ownership Arnaud Lacombe (1): usb/host/pci-quirks.c: correct annotation of `ehci_dmi_nohandoff_table' Arnaud Patard (4): efikasb/mx: fix usbh1 initialisation efikasb: fix gpio keys. efika: Fix board id detection iMX: Fix build for iMX53 Artur Zimmer (1): USB: Serial: Add PID(0xF7C0) to FTDI SIO driver for a zeitcontrol-device Arvid Brodin (1): usb/isp1760: Added missing call to usb_hcd_check_unlink_urb() during unlink Axel Lin (2): usb: gadget: s3c2410_udc: fix unterminated platform_device_id table mmc: tmio: eliminate unused variable 'mmc' warning Ben Dooks (1): ARM: mx5: board-cpuimx51.c fixup irq_to_gpio() usage Benjamin Herrenschmidt (3): powerpc/4xx: Fix build of PCI code on 405 powerpc: Fix build without CONFIG_PCI powerpc: Really fix build without CONFIG_PCI Boaz Harrosh (1): pnfs: Automatically select blocks & objects layouts Bob Copeland (1): ath5k: fix error handling in ath5k_beacon_send Boris Todorov (1): USB: EHCI: Fix test mode sequence Borislav Petkov (1): EDAC: Correct Kconfig dependencies Brian S. Julin (1): ARM: 7005/1: freshen up mm/proc-arm946.S Bruce Allan (4): e1000e: alternate MAC address does not work on device id 0x1060 e1000e: do not disable receiver on 82574/82583 e1000e: alternate MAC address update e1000e: increase driver version number Chandra Seetharaman (13): xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_BFLAGS xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_ERROR and family xfs: Remove macro XFS_BUF_BUSY and family xfs: Remove macro XFS_BUF_HOLD xfs: Remove macro XFS_BUF_SET_START xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_PTR xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_SET_PTR Replace the macro XFS_BUF_ISPINNED with helper xfs_buf_ispinned xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_SET_TARGET xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUF_TARGET xfs: Remove the macro XFS_BUFTARG_NAME xfs: Check the return value of xfs_buf_read() for NULL xfs: replace xfs_buf_geterror() with bp->b_error Christoph Lameter (2): slub: Fix full list corruption if debugging is on slub: Fix partial count comparison confusion Clemens Ladisch (2): ALSA: snd-usb: Accept UAC2 FORMAT_TYPE descriptors with bLength > 6 mm: fix wrong vmap address calculations with odd NR_CPUS values Colin Cross (1): OMAP2+: PM: SmartReflex: use put_sync_suspend for IRQ-safe disabling Dan Carpenter (1): Staging: iio: add some unlocks to raw_read() functions Daniel Baluta (1): ipv4: Fix ip_getsockopt for IP_PKTOPTIONS Daniel Mack (4): ALSA: snd-usb: operate on given mixer interface only ALSA: snd-usb: Fix uninitialized variable usage ALSA: snd-usb-caiaq: Fix keymap for RigKontrol3 ALSA: snd-usb-caiaq: Correct offset fields of outbound iso_frame_desc Dave Martin (2): ARM: 7007/1: alignment: Prevent ignoring of faults with ARMv6 unaligned access model ARM: 7008/1: alignment: Make SIGBUS sent to userspace POSIXly correct David Ahern (1): powerpc/perf: Disable pagefaults during callchain stack read David Howells (1): CRED: Restore const to current_cred() David S. Miller (2): net: Make userland include of netlink.h more sane. sparc: Don't do hypervisor calls on non-sun4v in DS driver. Deepak Saxena (1): sound: oss/pas2: Remove CLOCK_TICK_RATE dependency from PAS16 driver Dmitry Kravkov (3): bnx2x: prevent race between undi_unload and load flows bnx2x: properly clean indirect addresses bnx2x: disable dcb on 578xx since not supported yet Eric Miao (1): ARM: mx53: add pad configuration for I2C signals Eric Sandeen (2): ext3: Properly count journal credits for long symlinks ext4: Properly count journal credits for long symlinks Fabio Estevam (3): ARM: mach-imx/mx31ads: Fix section mismatches ARM: mach-imx/mx31lilly: Fix section mismatches ARM: board-mx51_babbage: Fix UART2 registration Florian Echtler (1): USB: Serial: Add device ID for Sierra Wireless MC8305 Florian Westphal (2): compat_ioctl: add compat handler for PPPIOCGL2TPSTATS net_sched: prio: use qdisc_dequeue_peeked Geert Uytterhoeven (1): usb: gadget: net2272 - Correct includes Guenter Roeck (2): hwmon: (pmbus) Virtualize pmbus_write_byte hwmon: (pmbus/lm25066) Ignore byte writes to non-zero pages Han Pingtian (1): perf buildid-cache: Zero out buffer of filenames when adding/removing buildid Hauke Mehrtens (1): b43: read correct register on bcma bus. Hemant Pedanekar (1): omap: timer: Set dmtimer used as clocksource in autoreload mode Ionut Nicu (1): USB: ftdi_sio: fix minor typo in get_ftdi_divisor Ivo van Doorn (1): rt2x00: Add new rt73 buffalo USB id Jaehoon Chung (3): mmc: sdhci-s3c: add BROKEN_ADMA_ZEROLEN_DESC quirk mmc: core: use defined R1_STATE_PRG macro for card status mmc: remove unused "ddr" parameter in struct mmc_ios Jamie Iles (1): ARM: 7010/1: mm: fix invalid loop for poison_init_mem Jarkko Nikula (1): ASoC: omap: Update e-mail address of Jarkko Nikula Jason Baron (1): jump label: Reduce the cycle count by changing the link order Jason Liu (1): ARM: iMX5: Don't enable DPLL if it already enabled Javier Martin (1): Add tlv320aic32x4 platform data to Visstrim_M10. Jean-Christophe PLAGNIOL-VILLARD (1): USB: at91_udc: include linux/prefetch.h explicitly Jesper Juhl (1): trace events: Update version number reference to new 3.x scheme for EVENT_POWER_TRACING_DEPRECATED JiSheng Zhang (1): USB: xhci: fix OS want to own HC Jiri Olsa (3): perf tools: Add support to install perf python extension perf sched: Do not delete session object prematurely perf sched: Usage leftover from trace -> script rename Johan Hovold (1): OMAP3: am3517crane: remove NULL board_mux from board file John Johansen (1): Ecryptfs: Add mount option to check uid of device being mounted = expect uid John Stultz (1): usb: musb: fix oops on musb_gadget_pullup Jonathan Nieder (2): perf tools: do not look at ./config for configuration cap_syslog: don't use WARN_ONCE for CAP_SYS_ADMIN deprecation warning Jovi Zhang (1): perf probe: Fix coredump introduced by probe module option Julia Lawall (7): drivers/staging/ath6kl/miscdrv/ar3kps/ar3kpsparser.c: adjust array index drivers/staging/hv/blkvsc_drv.c: eliminate NULL pointer dereference ALSA: azt3328 - adjust error handling code to include debugging code drivers/net/wireless/wl1251: add missing kfree net/netlabel/netlabel_kapi.c: add missing cleanup code net/bridge/netfilter/ebtables.c: use available error handling code hwmon: (ibmaem) add missing kfree Julian Anastasov (6): netfilter: avoid double free in nf_reinject ipv4: fix the reusing of routing cache entries netfilter: TCP and raw fix for ip_route_me_harder ipv4: route non-local sources for raw socket ipv4: use dst with ref during bcast/mcast loopback ipv4: some rt_iif -> rt_route_iif conversions Kazutomo Yoshii (1): ALSA: usb-audio - Add quirk for BOSS Micro BR-80 Kevin Hilman (3): OMAP2+: Kconfig: don't select PM in OMAP2PLUS_TYPICAL OMAP1: enable GENERIC_IRQ_CHIP OMAP3: beagle: don't touch omap_device internals Kuninori Morimoto (5): usb: renesas_usbhs: fix DMA build by including dma-mapping.h usb: renesas_usbhs: fixup usbhsg_for_each_uep 1st pos net/irda: sh_irda: add missing header net/irda: sh_sir: add missing header net/irda: sh_sir: tidyup compile warning Kusanagi Kouichi (1): perf tools: Make clean leaves some files Kyungmin Park (1): mmc: core: Detect eMMC v4.5 ext_csd entries Larry Finger (1): rtlwifi: rtl892cu: New USB IDs Lennert Buytenhek (4): ARM: pxa: fix logic error in PJ4 iWMMXt handling ARM: mmp: Also start timer 1 on boot. ARM: mmp: Switch to using timer 1 as clocksource timer. ARM: mmp: Change the way we use timer 0 as clockevent timer. Linus Torvalds (5): cred: use 'const' in get_current_{user,groups} autofs4: clean up uaotfs use of debug/info/warning printouts autofs4: fix debug printk warning uncovered by cleanup Revert "EDAC: Correct Kconfig dependencies" Linux 3.1-rc2 Linus Walleij (1): mach-sa1100: fix PCI build problem Luis de Bethencourt (1): Documentation: drop Linux Source Driver from kernel-docs references Marcos Souza (1): Documentation: befs.txt: no maintainer, orphaned Mark Brown (10): ASoC: Disable wm_hubs periodic DC servo update ASoC: Rename WM8915 to WM8996 ASoC: Acknowledge WM8996 interrupts before acting on them ASoC: Fix binding of WM8750 on Jive ASoC: Fix SPI driver binding for WM8987 ASoC: Fix warning in Speyside WM8962 ASoC: Fix typo in wm8750 spi_ids ASoC: Add missing break in WM8994 probe ASoC: Terminate WM8750 SPI device ID table mmc: sdhci-s3c: Fix build for header change Matvejchikov Ilya (1): slip: fix NOHZ local_softirq_pending 08 warning Maxim Nikulin (1): USB: assign instead of equal in usbtmc.c Maxin John (1): arch:arm:plat-omap:iovmm: remove unused variable 'va' Mehnert, Torsten (1): i.MX25 GPT clock fix: ensure correct the clock source Michal Hocko (1): Revert "memcg: get rid of percpu_charge_mutex lock" Michał Mirosław (1): mmc: cb710: fix possible pci_dev leak in cb710_pci_configure() Mike Waychison (1): tcp: initialize variable ecn_ok in syncookies path Miller Puckette (1): ALSA: usb-audio - add quirk for Keith McMillen StringPort Ming Lei (1): usb: host: ehci-omap: fix .remove and failure handling path of .probe(v1) Nick Bowler (1): USB: usb-storage: unusual_devs entry for ARM V2M motherboard. Nicolai Krakowiak (1): ALSA: snd-usb: avoid dividing by zero on invalid input Nicolas de Pesloüan (1): bonding: document two undocumented options. Nishanth Aravamudan (1): powerpc/kvm: Fix build errors with older toolchains Nishanth Menon (1): OMAP3+: SR: ensure pm-runtime callbacks can be invoked with IRQs disabled Nitin Gupta (1): zcache: Fix build error when sysfs is not defined Oleg Drokin (1): Update Nook Color machine 3284 to common Encore name Oliver Hartkopp (1): slcan: ldisc generated skbs are received in softirq context Paul Gortmaker (1): staging: ft1000_proc needs asm/io.h for inw/outw on sparc Paul Mcquade (1): Documentation: email-clients: Add better Thunderbird information Paul Walmsley (1): OMAP: hwmod: fix build break on non-OMAP4 multi-OMAP2 builds Pekka Enberg (1): perf symbols: Check '/tmp/perf-' symbol file ownership Peng Tao (1): NFS41: make PNFS_BLOCK selectable Peter Ujfalusi (1): OMAP: Fix linking error in twl-common.c for OMAP2/3/4 only builds Peter Zijlstra (2): ppc: Remove duplicate definition of PV_POWER7 mm: Fix fixup_user_fault() for MMU=n Philip Rakity (1): mmc: sdhci: pxav3: controller needs 32 bit ADMA addressing Rabin Vincent (1): usb: musb: fix Kconfig Rajkumar Manoharan (2): ath9k_hw: Fix incorrect Tx control power in AR9003 template ath9k_hw: update PMU to improve ripple issue for AR9485 Ralf Baechle (1): PCnet: Fix section mismatch Ralf Thielow (1): Documentation: SubmittingDrivers: fix Linus's git tree URL Randy Dunlap (1): Documentation: kernel-parameters.txt cleanups Raphaël Assénat (1): am3505/3517: Various platform defines for UART4 Richard Cochran (2): gianfar: fix fiper alignment after resetting the time dp83640: increase receive time stamp buffer size Roberto Sassu (1): eCryptfs: fix compile error Russell King (4): Staging: Add clk API note to nvec/TODO ARM: Fix build error for SMP=n builds dmaengine: PL08x: Fix trivial build error ARM: drop experimental status for ARM_PATCH_PHYS_VIRT Sangbeom Kim (1): ASoC: SAMSUNG: Add I2S0 internal dma driver Sarah Sharp (1): xhci: Don't submit commands or URBs to halted hosts. Scott Wood (2): powerpc: mtspr/mtmsr should take an unsigned long powerpc: Return the_cpu_ spec from identify_cpu Sebastian Andrzej Siewior (3): usb/config: use proper endian access for wMaxPacketSize usb: gadget: fusb300: remove #if 0 block usb: gadget: composite: fix bMaxPacketSize for SuperSpeed Sebastian Bauer (1): usb: gadget: hid: don't STALL when processing a HID Descriptor request Sergei Trofimovich (1): usb: musb: tusb6010_omap: fix build failure: error: 'musb' undeclared Sergiu Iordache (1): Documentation: add Ramoops usage description Seungwon Jeon (1): mmc: dw_mmc: Fix DDR mode support. Shashidhar Hiremath (1): mmc: dw_mmc: Fix mask in IDMAC_SET_BUFFER1_SIZE macro Shawn Guo (1): usb/ehci-mxc: add missing inclusion of mach/hardware.h Stefan Lippers-Hollmann (1): staging: rtl8192u: declare MODULE_FIRMWARE Stephen Boyd (1): Documentation: add ARM user_debug to kernel-parameters.txt Stephen Warren (4): ASoC: Tegra: tegra_pcm_deallocate_dma_buffer: Don't OOPS ASoC: Tegra: wm8903 machine driver: Allow re-insertion of module ASoC: WM8903: Free IRQ on device removal dt: add empty of_get_property for non-dt Takashi Iwai (7): ALSA: hda - Fix digital-mic mono recording on ASUS Eee PC ALSA: hda - Use auto-parser for ASUS UX50, Eee PC P901, S101 and P1005 ALSA: hdspm - Fix uninitialized compile warnings ALSA: Fix dependency of CONFIG_SND_TEA575X ALSA: timer - Fix Oops at closing slave timer ALSA: timer - Add NULL-check for invalid slave timer ASoC: Fix compile warning in wm8750.c Tanmay Upadhyay (2): ARM: pxa168/gplugd: get rid of mfp-gplugd.h ARM: pxa168/gplugd: free correct GPIO Tetsuo Handa (1): TOMOYO: Fix incomplete read of /sys/kernel/security/tomoyo/profile Thadeu Lima de Souza Cascardo (4): staging: fix zcache building staging: zcache: module is GPL staging: zcache: include module.h for MODULE_LICENSE zcache: Use div_u64 for 64-bit division Thomas Meyer (2): ALSA: asihpi - use kzalloc() arm: mach-omap2: mux: use kstrdup() Tim Chen (1): scm: Capture the full credentials of the scm sender Tony Lin (1): mmc: esdhc-imx: fix card interrupt loss on freescale eSDHC Tracey Dent (1): MAINTAINERS: Update linus' git repository Tyler Hicks (2): eCryptfs: Return error when lower file pointer is NULL eCryptfs: Fix payload_len unitialized variable warning Uwe Bonnes (1): usb: serial: ftdi_sio.c: For the FT232H FTDI_SIO_SET_BAUDRATE_REQUEST, index needs to be shifted too Vasiliy Kulikov (1): move RLIMIT_NPROC check from set_user() to do_execve_common() Vijay Chavan (1): USB: Serial: Added device ID for Qualcomm Modem in Sagemcom's HiLo3G Vladislav Zolotarov (2): bnx2x: init FCOE FP only once bnx2x: fix select_queue when FCoE is disabled Wang Shaoyan (3): ALSA: hda - Fix a complile warning in patch_via.c sound: pss - don't use the deprecated function check_region ALSA: hda - Add CONFIG_SND_HDA_POWER_SAVE to stac_vrefout_set() Wanlong Gao (1): drivers:staging:solo6x10:add the missed slab.h Willem de Bruijn (1): net: add Documentation/networking/scaling.txt Wolfram Sang (1): ASoC: sgtl5000: fix cache handling Youquan Song (1): perf, x86: Add model 45 SandyBridge support Zac Storer (1): Documentation: fix spelling error in SubmittingPatches Zhu Yanhai (1): perf lock: Dropping unsupported ':r' modifier huajun li (1): rtl8150: rtl8150_disconnect(...) does not need tasklet_disable(...) wwang (1): staging:rts_pstor: fix thread synchronization flow -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Two weeks of NFL football are in the books, and it's never too early to start evaluating this year's squads. Through the opening weeks, each team has proven different things. The weaknesses, or strengths, shown in Week 1 may not be the same as what came to light in Week 2. Let's focus on Week 2's action. Here is the best and worst thing to come out of each team's second game. *All assertions are from Week 2 games, but rankings take the first two weeks into account. 1. San Francisco 49ers Best: The defense stifled Detroit's passing attack, holding them to 230 yards through the air. Worst: The 49ers allowed three sacks, but picking a "worst" here is just nitpicking. 2. Houston Texans Best: Arian Foster and Ben Tate combined for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Worst: Houston committed 10 penalties for 64 yards. 3. Green Bay Packers Best: The Packers held the Bears to 168 total yards. Worst: The offensive line allowed five sacks. 4. Atlanta Falcons Best: Atlanta's defense sacked Peyton Manning three times and intercepted him three times. Worst: Michael Turner is still struggling, finishing with 27 yards against the Broncos. 5. Philadelphia Eagles Best: The Eagles had 486 yards of offense against the Ravens defense. Worst: The Eagles committed four turnovers, despite another victory. 6. Baltimore Ravens Best: The Ravens forced four turnovers. Worst: Philadelphia averaged over 11 yards per completion. 7. Pittsburgh Steelers Best: Ben Roethlisberger went 24-of-31 for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Worst: Jonathan Dwyer led the team in rushing yards, with 28. 8. New England Patriots Best: Four different receivers had five or more receptions. Worst: They couldn't protect Brady, Aaron Hernandez got hurt and Stephen Gostkowski clanked the game-winning field goal. 9. Denver Broncos Best: Demaryius Thomas is a legitimate No. 1 target. Worst: Peyton Manning threw three interceptions Monday night—in the first quarter. 10. San Diego Chargers Best: Dante Rosario caught three touchdowns as Antonio Gates' replacement. Worst: They didn't lose any, but the team fumbled three times. 11. Chicago Bears Best: Chicago sacked Aaron Rodgers five times. Worst: Jay Cutler threw four interceptions, amounting to a 28.2 quarterback rating. 12. New York Giants Best: Eli Manning had a career-high 510 passing yards in their comeback win. Worst: Manning threw three interceptions. 13. Dallas Cowboys Best: Anthony Spencer had two sacks and seven tackles on an otherwise-poor defense. Worst: Dallas allowed 182 rushing yards to Seattle. 14. Detroit Lions Best: Jason Hanson is ageless, kicking four field goals in Sunday night's loss. Worst: Their passing attack was no match for San Francisco's stingy defense. 15. New York Jets Best: Mark Sanchez didn't throw an interception, despite facing heavy pressure. Worst: Sanchez went 10-of-27 passing. 16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Best: Vincent Jackson averaged almost 26 yards per catch. Worst: The Giants had 604 total yards. 17. Washington Redskins Best: Robert Griffin III carried the ball 11 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Worst: 11 penalties for 96 yards killed all momentum on multiple occasions. 18. Arizona Cardinals Best: The Cardinals sacked Tom Brady four times and hit him on six other occasions. Worst: Arizona averaged four yards per play. 19. Carolina Panthers Best: Cam Newton had 324 total yards and two touchdowns. Worst: The Panthers allowed nearly 500 yards on defense. 20. Seattle Seahawks Best: Marshawn Lynch ran for 122 yards and one touchdown. Worst: The Seahawks were 5-of-15 on third down against Dallas. 21. New Orleans Saints Best: Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas combined for 238 total yards, averaging 11 yards per touch. Worst: Carolina ran for 219 total yards. 22. Cincinnati Bengals Best: Andy Dalton's quarterback rating was 128.2 versus Cleveland. Worst: Dalton was sacked six times and knocked down six more times on top of that. 23. Tennessee Titans Best: Alterraun Verner racked up six tackles, three pass deflections and an interception. Worst: Philip Rivers averaged 8.4 yards per pass on the Titans' defense. 24. St. Louis Rams Best: Danny Amendola had 15 catches for 160 yards and one touchdown. Worst: The Redskins averaged 6.1 yards per carry. 25. Buffalo Bills Best: Defensively, Buffalo forced three turnovers and sacked Matt Cassel five times. Worst: Kansas City had 422 yards. 26. Miami Dolphins Best: Reggie Bush had 172 yards and three touchdowns. Worst: Carson Palmer threw for 373 yards. 27. Cleveland Browns Best: Rookies Brandon Weeden and Trent Richardson combined for 431 yards and three touchdowns. Worst: Cleveland had 10 penalties for 103 yards. 28. Kansas City Chiefs Best: The Bills ran for 201 yards. Worst: Kansas City had 422 total yards. 29. Indianapolis Colts Best: Andrew Luck earned his first NFL victory and didn't throw an interception. Worst: The Colts defense struggled to stop the short routes, typified by Percy Harvin's 12 catches on 13 targets. 30. Minnesota Vikings Best: Christian Ponder went 27-of-35 for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Worst: The Vikings had 11 penalties for 100-plus yards and surrendered the game-winning field goal. 31. Jacksonville Jaguars Best: Maurice Jones-Drew averaged five yards per carry. Worst: Jacksonville only mustered 117 total yards. 32. Oakland Raiders Best: Oakland didn't surrender any sacks. Worst: The Raiders went 1-of-12 on third-down conversions.
Staff at a Sea Life Centre in Blackpool staged their own inauguration ceremony after visitors spotted a fish with a striking resemblance to the new US President. The peculiar frogfish has distinctive facial features and front fins, which cheeky visitors pointed out looked like Donald Trump and his famous hairstyle. President of the US Donald Trump And the remarkable creature can expand its mouth to 12 times its normal size – and change its skin colour to bright orange to blend in with its surroundings. “We couldn’t believe it,” explained Matthew Titherington, General Manager at Sea Life in Blackpool. “Guests kept pointing out a fish they said looked like Donald Trump. When we took a look, we were amazed at the resemblance. It’s creating a real stir! “We’ve named the fish Donald and transferred it into a bigger tank, so that more people can see it. Strangely, the other fish tend to keep it at a distance. “We even staged our own underwater inauguration ceremony, complete with a miniature stars and stripes flag.” Frogfish are found in tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. Short and stocky, they typically lie in wait for prey then strike extremely quickly in as little as six milliseconds. The masters of disguise, frogfish are carnivores, eating fish, crustaceans and even other frogfish – and can expand its mouth to 12 times its normal size.
Our Academy side slowly ground a stubborn Rotherham side into submission to kick-off this season's FA Youth Cup campaign with a convincing 4-0 victory at Stevenage. Keanan Bennetts, Kazaiah Sterling, Ryan Loft and Samuel Shashoua were on target in a one-sided third round encounter at the Lamex Stadium. Rotherham, who play in the North-East Division of the Football League Youth Alliance, set up in a 4-2-3-1 system, sat deep and looked to use the pace of Kudakwashe Muskwe and Darnelle Bailey-King on the break. That allowed us to enjoy the lion's share of possession and the likes of Bennetts, Sterling, Shashoua and Marcus Edwards, backed-up by Zenon Stylianides and Charlie Owens, were always going to take advantage. The team's attitude was spot-on from the start although there was a scare when Alfie Whiteman was forced into a fine early reaction save to tip over Bradley Peace-Macdonald's header. That was one of only two clear-cut chances the visitors created all night. We took the lead on 13 minutes as Owens picked out an inch-perfect pass for Bennetts, dissecting Rotherham's defence in the inside right channel. Bennetts' first effort struck the inside of the post but the winger was alert to the rebound and converted from close range. Rotherham put up the barricades as the pressure increased and managed to block goalbound efforts from Sterling twice and then Owens before springing out themselves as Muskwe got away down the right and volleyed just wide. Below: Japhet Tanganga takes on Brandon Potts Joe Muscatt replaced Nick Tsaroulla at half-time and the second half was all Spurs. Edwards fired straight at Laurence Bilboe from 25 yards and the goalkeeper did well to divert Bennetts' shot down to his right before touching the ball away from Shashoua following in. Either side of the hour mark Shashoua shot straight at Bilboe and Owens' free-kick grazed the roof of the net. You sensed the second goal was coming and it duly arrived on 65 minutes. It stemmed from quick feet and a burst of pace from Stylianides down the left before cutting the ball back for Sterling, whose shot found the net via a deflection. It was soon 3-0 as Edwards picked out substitute Ryan Loft and the big striker made it look easy, controlling before side-footing home from 14 yards. Shashoua got his rewards for a bright display on 83 minutes when his 25-yarder took a slight deflection to leave Bilboe helpless. There was still time for Bilboe to deny Shashoua again and Jaden Brown to shoot over after a venture forward. All in all, a job well done. Spurs: Whiteman, Tanganga, Tsaroulla (Muscatt 46), Owens, Carter-Vickers (c), Brown, Bennetts (Duncan 79), Stylianides, Sterling (Loft 71), Edwards, Shashoua. Substitutes (not used): McDermott (gk), Marsh. Rotherham: Bilboe, Bailey (c), Smalley, Dickinson, Peace-Macdonald, Rose, Bailey-King, Potts (Abraham 63), Muskwe, Wiles (Adeyemi 46), Redmayne (Saxton 88). Substitutes (not used): Fidler (gk), Martin.
Democratic support for immigrants -- legal and illegal -- is chipping away at their support from the party's historic base, working class voters, who believe that the newcomers are robbing jobs. "The Democrats have moved from seeking to manage and champion the nation's growing immigrant diversity to seeming to champion immigrant rights over American citizens'," according to longtime Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg. In his warning shot, the former pollster for Bill Clinton, who tracked a similar political shift in the 1980s when he discovered "Reagan Democrats" in Macomb County, Mich., said the difference this time is that many American minorities feel the same way as whites. "The Democrats don't have a white working-class problem. They have a working-class problem," he said in his latest analysis of his party's woes. "Do not assume that African Americans do not share some of those concerns; many in our focus groups raise anxieties about competition from new immigrants," he added. While he found that Americans still see immigrants as hard working, they do worry about the costs of immigration. More than 60 percent, according to Greenberg, believed granting legal status to illegal immigrants will "lead to greater competition for public services and more than half believe it would take jobs from American citizens." And this is where it hurts Democrats: 41 percent believe immigrants "take jobs from U.S. citizens" and half believe legalization "would be a drain on government services." Since the 2016 election, Greenberg has returned to Macomb County to gauge the effect of President Trump and he found that Trump supporters have doubled down on concerns. For example, he told the Prospect, "It was clear how central concerns about immigration, borders, foreignness, and Islam were to their receptivity to his call to take back America. Many thought [Hillary] Clinton, on the other hand, wanted ‘open borders." While he is hoping that Democrats can eventually chart a path from "this ugly interlude," the Trump administration sees analysis like Greenberg's as support for its hardline stance on illegal immigration. For example, a key Trump advisor recently said that the administration was open to a form of amnesty for illegals who have not committed a crime since entering the U.S. But a senior White House official pushed back hard, telling Secrets, "It's an outside proposal, we get them all the time from all sides on all issues. The administration's position and priorities haven't changed." And last week, the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warned all 11 million illegal immigrants that they are in jeopardy of being deported. "If you are in this country illegally, and you committed a crime by entering this country, you should be uncomfortable, you should should look over your shoulder, and you need to be worried," said Thomas D. Homan. Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
Gay rights activists take part in a protest event called the March against Hatred in St. Petersburg on Nov. 2, 2014. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters) A European court on Tuesday declared a Russian law banning expressions of “gay propaganda” to be discriminatory, ordering Moscow to pay out compensation to three gay rights activists and setting the stage for further conflicts with Europe over Russia’s treatment of gays and lesbians. In a statement, the European Court of Human Rights said that Russia’s adoption of the 2013 law “had reinforced stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia, which was incompatible with the values of a democratic society.” The law, according to the court, violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, of which Russia is a signatory, providing for freedom of expression and a prohibition on discrimination. The ruling comes just weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel separately pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin on numerous reports about the abductions of as many as 100 Chechens suspected of being gay. Three were reportedly murdered, and dozens more allegedly tortured in several secret prisons in Chechnya. Many have fled the Russian region to other parts of the country or for asylum abroad. Russian officials in May said they would review the reports. In Chechnya, Moscow has empowered strongman Ramzan Kadyrov to carry out a conservative agenda by diktat. Kadyrov has disputed the claims, saying that there are no gay people in Chechnya. The Russian Justice Ministry on Tuesday retorted that the “anti-gay propaganda” laws “have the sole purpose of protecting morals and health of children.” The controversy over the persecution of gay people, and an increasingly conservative society under Putin that has emphasized the role of the Orthodox Church, has been an issue in Russia for years. Putin’s macho image has been part of his public persona since he first became president in 2000. In a recent series of softball interviews with movie director Oliver Stone, Putin was asked whether he would take a shower on a submarine next to a gay man. “Well, I prefer not to go to the shower with him,” he said in the interview, laughing. “Why provoke him? But you know, I’m a judo master.” The three activists who brought the case to the court in Strasbourg, France, had staged protests against versions of the “anti-gay propaganda law” between 2009 and 2012, only to be arrested and then fined for those demonstrations. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993. Read more: Reports about torture of gays in Chechnya produce threats against journalists Reports of anti-gay purges in Chechnya lead to international outrage Trump-Pence policy is already affecting LGBT lives in Chechnya Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Burnaby RCMP are investigating after a man trying to sell three pairs of expensive sneakers was ambushed and robbed. The robbery occurred in the area of 13th Avenue and 15th Street on Thursday, police said. Chris Saturino thought he was meeting a single buyer he'd met on Facebook, who was interested in purchasing some Air Jordan shoes. He'd agreed to meet at a location the buyer selected, but the man showed up with backup in the form of four friends. "I had an instinct in myself that something was not going right, so I left my car on, my door open," he told CTV Vancouver the next day. They asked to see the shoes, and Saturino brought them out one pair at a time, he said. He asked for the money, saying he needed to leave, but the men failed to produce any cash. Then one of them, who'd been trying on a pair, ran off with the shoes. The person Saturino had been talking to said, "Sorry, man" and walked away. The group ended up stealing three pairs of the shoes worth more than $1,000. Saturino said he was scared, and knew he couldn't take on five people if he tried to fight. He got in his car and shot some video on his cellphone of the thieves walking away, hoping it could identify the thieves. But then one of the thieves started to pull something out of his belt, Saturino said, so he got scared and drove off, thinking the man had a weapon. The theft solicited a major police response because Saturino reported that one of them may have had a knife or another type of weapon. Two of the three pairs were found by investigators, but the suspects and the third pair have not been located. Police said the theft could be looked at as a lesson for the anyone selling items to strangers online. "Fortunately no one was hurt, but what we can draw from this is anytime you do a transaction over the internet you need to know who the buyer is and do it in a more public place," RCMP Staff Sgt. John Buis said. "Make sure you have other people around you as well." With a report from CTV Vancouver's Scott Roberts
While the scientists say the planet is too hot for life, it's still much cooler than the rocky fireballs known to orbit stars beyond our solar system. The official term for a planet outside our solar system is exoplanet. "If we find this pretty hot planet has managed to hang onto its atmosphere over the billions of years it's been around, that bodes well for the long-term goal of studying cooler planets that could have life," Berta-Thompson said in a statement. Berta-Thompson and the others estimate that GJ 1132b has a diameter of about 9,200 miles, slightly bigger than Earth. Its mass, however, is thought to be 60 percent greater than Earth's. Its home star — GJ 1132 — is a red dwarf one-fifth the size of our sun. The planet circles every 1.6 days from just 1.4 million miles out, thus the heat wave. A slight dip in the starlight every 1.6 days was the giveaway for the observing team. "Our ultimate goal is to find a twin Earth," said astronomer David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, one of the authors, "but along the way we've found a twin Venus." Related: Giant Magellan Telescope Breaks Ground in Chile's Atacama Desert He added in a statement: "We suspect it will have a Venus-like atmosphere, too, and if it does, we can't wait to get a whiff." The astronomers are seeking follow-up observations from Hubble and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope, due to launch in 2018, and other future craft could provide even more details. Related: SETI Researchers Find No Sign of Aliens at KIC 8462852 ... Yet In a companion article in Nature, the University of Maryland's Drake Deming points out astronomers will be able to study GJ 1132b with "unprecedented fidelity" given its proximity and also the small size of its star, which should minimize light interference with the measurements. That, in large part, makes it in his words "arguably the most important planet ever found outside the solar system." He was not involved with the study. It's unknown, for now, whether this star system harbors other planets.
In an hour-long interview for MIT, which held its Centennial Symposium last week, Musk opened himself up to the audience for questions. Most of the questions were about space travel, but one audience member asked Musk for his thoughts on artificial intelligence, and that's when things got a bit spooky. "I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence," said Musk, the expression on his face suddenly turning very serious. "If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. There should be some regulatory oversight maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don't do something very foolish." Sounds reasonable. Prudent even. A generally conservative approach to a potential technological issue facing our world in the future. Wise words. But then… "With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon," said Musk. "In all those stories where there's the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like, 'Yeah, he's sure he can control the demon.' Doesn't work out."
The editors of Anthropoliteia are happy to present the latest entry in on ongoing series The Anthropoliteia #BlackLivesMatterSyllabus Project, which will mobilize anthropological work as a pedagogical exercise addressing the confluence of race, policing and justice. You can see a growing bibliography of resources via our Mendeley feed. In this entry, Jaime Alves discusses teaching “Cultural Anthropology” with the themes of colonialism, global white supremacy, and racialized police practices. As a field of knowledge deeply implicated in racial violence, anthropology has a particular responsibility to educate students on the current and historical status of black lives. Given the fact that liberal arts education is shrinking in this country and – I am sure this will resonate with other colleagues – courses on “black issues” are not a priority. Thus, we should be prepared to incorporate the critical theme of antiblack police violence in a cross-curricula perspective. It will require creativity and audacity to address institutional obstacles and ensure that students do not leave college without exposure to critical discussions on policing and racial terror. It is even more important if one is teaching students from outside of our field because this may be the only opportunity these students may have to be challenged on their antiblack common sense. When teaching “Cultural Anthropology,” for instance, I make sure to incorporate such discussions in the structure of the course. Not necessarily in this order, my course is thematically organized around colonialism, global white supremacy, and racialized policing practices. As an ‘international’ scholar, I try to bring to the classroom some transnational perspective that both provincializes and puts the African American experience into a broader context. I encourage colleagues to do the same. There is a need to expose our students to the global dimensions of policing and its relation to the U.S. imperial order. Some pedagogical/theoretical strategies that I use include the discussion of a short piece by Catherine Lutz, “Making war at home in the United States,” in which she calls attention to the intimate relation between U.S. global power and its domestic police force. This is a critical text for students to unpack the category “freedom,” which is the core of racial terror. Why should students in American classrooms care about the fate of Palestinian, Afghani, Pakistani, and Iraqi lives? What does the killing of a black man selling cigarette in Staten Island, New York have to do with the U.S. training program given to police officers in Brazil? How do we connect an anthropological discussion of “culture” with such global logic of disposability? Military technologies that are tested on the “other” at home are also used abroad in the same way that counter-insurgency practices tested abroad are deployed to police black, Latino, and other people of color at home. This does not mean that we should lose our focus on the unique black experience, but rather that we should invite awareness and solidarity with wasted lives elsewhere that hold profound connections to policed lives at home. A second thematic strategy that I deploy is to push my students to engage with the following question: Who is the subject of police protection? My understanding is that it is impossible to discuss antiblack police violence in the classroom without discussing white privilege and white civil life. I wish there were more texts available that ethnographically address the intimate relation between whiteness and police terror. As expected from a discipline invested in othering some category of people, there is a lack of ethnographic engagement with this critical question. Thus, to a certain extent, this is also a call for our discipline to consider such an endeavor. The key text – not in the field of anthropology and not easily accessible to undergraduate students – that has strong influence in my teaching and research is “The Avant-Garde of White Supremacy” by Steve Martinot and Jared Sexton. This text is an urgent and timely contribution to the current dilemma that black activists face when trying to mobilize civil society to redress police brutality perpetrated in the very name of civil society. This text is even timelier for understanding the current manifestations of white nationalism. I also make sure students understand the political economy of police violence. “Taking Back the Land,” by Joao Costa Vargas, provides a compelling discussion of the socioeconomic logic of police violence against Afro-Brazilians in the context of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic preparations. In this text, colleagues will find it useful to unpack how urban planning policies are translated into the symbolic and literal erasing of black bodies from (their right to) the city. Likewise, I always find it disturbingly useful to show to my students the documentary Bus 174, which describes how symbolic, structural, and police violence comes into play in Brazil’s African Diaspora. This is a punch in the stomach. The documentary always generates a heated debate, and I always receive comments from students on how they felt impacted by the film. Even in cases where students react by cheering on the police for ‘doing its work’ or angry at them for not killing the criminal ‘properly,’ it has proven to be a powerful pedagogical moment to question their idea of justice and social vengeance. I suggest colleagues explore silence after the screening as a pedagogical tool. Finally, since I am addicted to looking for glimpses of hope, a text that I find useful to inspire students to join the struggle is THE FIRE THIS TIME, which is part six of Robert Gooding-Williams’ edited volume, Reading Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising. In fact, the whole edited volume could be easily used as an introduction to policing and antiblackness in the United States, with Judith Butler’s “Endangered/Endangering” being a critical intervention on the centrality of the black body in such a regime of racial terror. As we teach such critical themes, we should keep in mind the necessity to translate the insights learned in the classroom into practices. I encourage my students to participate in on campus and community activism by asking them to reflect on how we might ethically respond to the killings of black youth in the name of protecting white lives. In the summer of 2015, some students from one of my classes played an important role in helping to organize “Insurgencies: Policing and Pedagogies of Resistance in the Americas,” a two-day seminar bringing together activists and scholars from Brazil, Colombia, Central America, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. I hope that even tied to institutions and bureaucracies themselves implicated in antiblackness, we find the time and strength to translate our teaching into a daily commitment to honor the dead and to motivate our students on the right and duty of changing the world. In dear Paulo Freire’s words, the world is not finished! Jaime Alves is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. He holds a PhD in Anthropology and Black Studies from The University of Texas/Austin. His research interests include racialized policing practices, mass incarceration and black urban life in Brazil and Colombia. As an activist anthropologist he has worked with the black movement and abolitionist projects in Brazil, Colombia, and the United States. As a journalist, he has contributed to alternative newspapers in Brazil and written regularly on his blog “com raiva e paciencia” (with anger and patience). You can find his research in the Journal of Latin American Studies, Journal of Black Studies, Revist do Departamento de Geografia, and Revista Ciencias Sociales.
Goodbye academia: The aftermath. Given the overwhelming response to my previous post (thanks redditors!) I think I owe people a follow-up. I pinned my blog post on reddit just as a random experiment, only because I felt “well, I’d like some opinions on this”. I expected a few heads up and some “lol you’re a loser” comment. It was amazing to see it skyrocket on top of its section for more than 24 hours, re-twittered, re-facebooked etc. all over the world -I had a quite successful blog in Italian once, but nothing like that ever happened to me. I received a mails from people all over. With more than 60.000 hits, that post is by far and large the most read thing I’ve ever published [1]. There are several reflections on what happened in the comments etc. that deserve a bit of discussion. We are not alone. This is the first obvious consideration: the large majority of comments were “me too” stories, either of graduate students/scientists with serious doubts on academia, or of people who left academia to do something else (almost invariably much happier than before). A few ones were stating that academia worked perfectly for them, or even that they went to academia from a non-academic work and were happy to do so. I am sure that academia works for a lot of people. In fact, I thought it worked for much more people than I expected. But to see bad experiences similar to mine shared by so many was eye-opening and somehow frightening. There is really something wrong with the ways of academic work out there. I am thinking of ways on how to pursue/help this further. I am still not sure of how, but some kind of hub should be made specifically for this kind of problems; a place where people can find support, or that keeps people updated on this kind of problems. There are places for generic science career help, or generic forums for graduate students etc., but I haven’t seen something tackling the pressure, unfair competition etc. of academia and trying to push things to change, or at least to be better countered. Hints welcome.[2] Also: Are there studies on the (cultural, psychological, life style) impact of science work on scientists themselves -that is, what does science to scientists? For sure there will be some, but I am not aware of it, and I’d like to dig it. Again, hints welcome. What science should do for itself? The incredible response makes me also think again what about a friend of mine said a few weeks ago, that often it’s not the strictly scientific endeavours that influence science more. This has important implications. Scientists are good at science, and somehow at securing their funding, but it seems a constant, in the variety of opinions, that the system is seriously broken at many levels [3]. Almost every blog by a scientist has something to say about what’s wrong with the science career pyramid or its funding processes, and articles like the Economist infamous one, or this from Times Education seem to confirm there are lots of alarm bells ringing. This brings us to the reflection that scientists seem to have little way of influencing, here and now, how science should be done. It seems they are passive Darwinian subjects evolving within internal and external constraints on which they are powerless. The politics of what governmental or private funding want to fund, or the editorial policies of top journals are only some of these factors. Scientists adapt to this environment, but there is extreme general inertia in the community about standing up and changing it -or even to bring themselves to a table and begin working on it. Notice that I am not advocating an utopia in which scientists decide everything from themselves in an ivory tower -which would be impossible, after all, and also not healthy- but it seems to me there is no way for them to consistently, formally have a voice in their own work structure -especially for youngest workers like graduate students or postdoctoral researchers. I talked with people. Reactions from people I have close were mixed, but most of them were supportive. A lot of persons asked me to reconsider, on grounds that Cambridge is a very infamous place from the workplace health point of view, but that there are lots of other places with much nicer enviroments. I agree with them: there are lots of places where one can do science and live in a probably relatively healthy and happy professional environment. However the stress induced by the pressure of securing funding, securing publications for publications’ sake etc. are too much for me now. I’m broken, and I need to heal. Perhaps in 6 months, or 1 year, I will come back to research full time, but now I cannot. Also I want to see what’s out there. Perhaps what’s out there is not for me as well, but how can I know without trying? I have to get a life and see how life works. My (ex)principal investigator also talked to me today: he invited me to a cafe and we talked a lot. He seemed genuinely human and supportive and he said me he was very happy of my work so far and sad I interrupt it, but that he respects my choice if it doesn’t make me feel well. He even offered to let me wait a few months and then let me come back later, with funding, and he asked me not to cut contacts completely. Cambridge’s environment is too toxic for me to ever think of coming back, but it has been nice and interesting anyway -we could still collaborate at a distance in the future, who knows. We discussed a lot about the kind of environment there is (he thinks it’s unavoidable for it to be so and that it is hopeless to try to stop people doing that: I disagree, but he had his points) and about the difficulties and learning experiences that research means. The ones I heard less were my peer collegues (with a few happy, warm exceptions -thanks, you know who you are)[4]. Not surprisingly, given their overall personality. Just an anecdote: When I packed up my stuff last week there were three people in my office. I was taking down all my stuff -books, laptop, etc. from shelves and desk and putting it in a trolley. Nobody even turned at me to ask what I was doing. They surely have seen me -they are not deaf and dumb. They didn’t care at all, not even a “huh, what’s up with these books in the trolley dude?”. Am I brave? A lot of friends, and even my ex-supervisor, are telling me I’ve been very brave to do it. I frankly don’t know: even in the worst case scenario, I still have a family to come back for a while. I’d hate it, because I hate to depend from other people but, as someone commented in a forum, social and family networks are there for these cases. I simply couldn’t cope anymore with a situation, and decided to cut it when it was impossible to sustain, at least for now. Is it bravery? I don’t think so. Brave could have been, after all, battling against all odds. But it is not often so easy to see if I’m battling windmills or real giants. What am I going to do? Who knows. It’s going to be hard. Job market is notoriously awful. I am quite confident it won’t be before 1 year that I’ll find a proper job, given how it works, but we will see. Here and now I need something much less stressful, to recover. But in general: from scientific publishing to some industry job, from programming (I want to learn properly some C++ and SQL in this period) to technician, whatever. I suck at written English. Many redditers were laughing at the poor English of my previous post. I can’t disagree with them, and well, that’s something more to learn. People in the comments are more than welcome to become SS Obersturmbannfuehrers’ of the Grammar Nazi Party and point me the errors, so that I can learn (and fix the posts). People don’t read Ph.D. Comics. Finally, I peppered the previous post with a couple of “Ph.D. Comics” strips (apologies to Jorge Cham for this). I thought everybody would recognize them as, er, comics. A significant minority of commentators thought I draw the diagrams myself. This is a lesson in communication (things that seems shared obvious knowledge often are not) and in attention (the authorship of the strips was clearly written in the strips themselves, yet many ignored it). And, jeez, people: don’t you read Ph.D. comics?!? [1] To be honest, I had a correspondence published on Nature about open access a couple of years ago, and when I was a teenager I had the honour of a letter of mine published on the Corriere della Sera, one of the top Italian newspapers. Both things probably were skimmed over by at least as many people as the post. However in the first case the impact around blogs and networks was almost zero, and in the second, well, I doubt it had any real impact despite a million-people readership. Let’s say it’s had the most direct, measurable impact so far. [2] By the way, I have to say that during my Cambridge postdoc I went to the University consulting to seek help. It distinctly sucked: the mix of trivial, insensate advices they blabbered at me without even listening me made me wonder if they thought I was retarded, or if they were retarded. [3] Even if how and why , and especially how to solve it are all subject of debate. But this shouldn’t be a debate ping-ponged through some blogs, it should be a global debate between scientists, a real debate.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images Got something you want to ask Edward Snowden? Maybe about his work at the National Security Agency or how he's getting along in Russia? Or perhaps something a bit less complimentary? You might get your chance to pose such questions on Tuesday when Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey interviews the famed NSA whistleblower via video conference. The interview will be broadcast at 9:05 a.m. PT on Periscope, Twitter's live-streaming app. It's been three years since Snowden, now 33, leaked information about NSA surveillance programs like Prism, which gave the US access to people's emails, video chats, photos and documents through some of the world's biggest tech companies. The disclosures put pressure on Silicon Valley companies including Apple, Google and Yahoo to step up their efforts in encryption and privacy and galvanized the companies to push back against the government on issues of spying and user data. The Q&A session was announced Monday by Pardon Snowden, a campaign launched in September by major civil rights groups working to win official forgiveness for Snowden. The former NSA-contractor-turned-whistleblower has been living in self-imposed exile in Russia to avoid the charges he faces in the US for violating the Espionage Act and other laws. It wasn't immediately clear what will be discussed, but you can bet that the recent election of Donald Trump as US president will be a major topic. Snowden warned in August that his old employer might have been hacked by his host, saying that that the auction of malicious software files allegedly stolen from the NSA may actually be diplomatic signaling by Russia. Suggested questions for the interview can be submitted over Twitter using the hashtag #AskSnowden. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Google, Apple and Amazon aren’t just giant tech companies. They’re giant tech companies that use their size to “snuff out competition.” That’s the charge levied by Elizabeth Warren in a speech the Massachusetts senator delivered today in Washington. Warren singled out three of tech’s biggest players in a speech about the perils of “consolidation and concentration” throughout the economy. It comes the day after Hillary Clinton, Warren’s recent stage-mate, laid out a “technology agenda” that seemed designed to please Silicon Valley. Warren had different beefs with Google, Apple and Amazon, but the common thread was that she accused each one of using its powerful platform to “lock out smaller guys and newer guys,” including some that compete with Google, Apple and Amazon. Google, she said, uses “its dominant search engine to harm rivals of its Google Plus user review feature;” Apple “has placed conditions on its rivals that make it difficult for them to offer competitive streaming services” that compete with Apple Music; and Amazon “uses its position as the dominant bookseller to steer consumers to books published by Amazon to the detriment of other publishers.” “Google, Apple and Amazon have created disruptive technologies that changed the world, and ... they deserve to be highly profitable and successful,” Warren said. “But the opportunity to compete must remain open for new entrants and smaller competitors that want their chance to change the world again.” Not included in Warren’s list: Facebook, which certainly has platform power that freaks out everyone in the media business. Then again, Facebook doesn’t have a home-grown product that competes with the product the media business creates — unless you want to argue that Facebook’s main product is the user-generated content it is now favoring over the stuff publishers make. Reps for Google, Apple and Amazon all declined to comment. But Spotify, which has complained about the fee Apple charges music services — and other services — that sign up subscribers using its iOS platform, was happy to comment. Here’s Jonathan Prince, who runs communications and public policy for the streaming music company: “Apple has long used its control of iOS to squash competition in music, driving up the prices of its competitors, inappropriately forbidding us from telling our customers about lower prices, and giving itself unfair advantages across its platform through everything from the lock screen to Siri. You know there’s something wrong when Apple makes more off a Spotify subscription than it does off an Apple Music subscription and doesn’t share any of that with the music industry. They want to have their cake and eat everyone else’s too.” Warren’s speech didn’t only go after the tech sector. Other targets included Walmart and Comcast, which owns a minority stake in Vox Media, which owns this site. Her main critique was directed at politicians and regulators she thinks have abandoned their responsibility to “restore and defend competition.” Warren doesn’t expect those same politicians to pass new legislation to fix any of this, but she does want them to “enforce our laws in the way Congress originally intended them to be enforced.” This isn’t the first time Warren has gone after some of Silicon Valley’s standard-bearers. Earlier this spring she laid into Uber and other “gig economy” companies; Clinton made her own critique of that sector last year. I can’t imagine that Warren’s newest words will reverberate in techland. It would be nice if they did. The predominant mindset when it comes to competition in Silicon Valley is that the best tech company wins until it doesn’t, and is replaced by a competitor that does it better. When we do talk about competition, it tends to be about fights between giants, usually about little stuff. Hey! Why won’t Amazon sell Apple TVs? And when it comes to platforms, we usually hear that companies that have built enormously powerful platforms get to operate them any way they see fit — and that the people who built them are going to make the best decisions about this stuff, anyway. But these things are enormously powerful platforms, built on the same internet that Silicon Valley says should be treated as a public utility. If the platform owners don’t want to end up with Washington regulating, say, the size of their app store fees, they ought to work hard to keep themselves in check. Here’s Warren in mad-as-hell mode at last year’s Code Conference:
From left, Elizabeth Banks as Paris, Channing Tatum as Mike, Adam Rodriguez as Tito, Donald Glover as Andre, Kevin Nash as Tarzan, Joe Manganiello as Richie and Jada Pinkett Smith as Rome in “Magic Mike XXL.” (Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures/AP) This unapologetic paean to “Magic Mike XXL” is loaded with spoilers. Are we absolutely sure Channing Tatum didn’t crawl inside a woman’s head and live in it before co-writing “Magic Mike XXL?” The beauty of the film is not just that it offers a vehicle for freely and honestly discussing the taboos of (straight) female sexuality and desire. It’s that it inhabits and celebrates them unabashedly all while making you laugh. Unafraid to acknowledge its own camp ridiculousness, “Magic Mike XXL” presents itself as a movie about five male strippers on a road trip, but it’s really a movie that’s all about women. It even passes the Bechdel test, thanks to a steamy encounter between Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith) and Paris (Elizabeth Banks). Being a successful male stripper requires a unique set of abilities. One has to possess the ability to be charming, disarming and genuine, all while projecting the sort of confidence that ensures that a woman will trust you not to drop her if you pick her up and turn her upside down. “Magic Mike XXL” features a trip to a Georgia mansion that might as well be renamed Jada’s House of Pleasure — it’s basically a giant, classy den of iniquity where black women can feel worshipped like the queens they are. Male strippers have an additional duty of making the rooms they occupy feel like safe spaces. They are agents of escapism, doling out permission to skittish, usually drunk, women who want to be entertained in a way that societal norms have discouraged, hushed and shamed. Thus, being able to read a room is a must. You always need one good sport to go first, get a little embarrassed and have a good time to get the others to come out of their shell. I would know. I’ve been her. (#SorryNotSorry, Mom.) [After ‘Magic Mike XXL,’ five things you’ll never look at the same way again] Joe Manganiello as Ritchie and Jada Pinkett Smith as Rome. (Claudette Barius/Warner Bros./AP) In 2013, news organizations, spurred by findings in Daniel Bergner’s book, “What Do Women Want?: Adventures in the Science of Female Desire,” reported with breathless surprise what people like Dan Savage and other sexual health advocates have been arguing for years: that monogamy wasn’t all that great for women, either, and that it was probably to blame for the drop in libido for women in long-term relationships. Tracy Clark-Flory of Salon published a Q&A with Bergner headlined “The truth about female desire: It’s base, animalistic and ravenous,” something which any male stripper worth his salt could have confirmed with the empirical evidence of professional experience. Ritchie’s (Joe Manganiello) swan song illustrated an understanding that love, marriage and hot, animalistic sex need not be antithetical, something that hasn’t been so clearly articulated (not withstanding Beyoncé’s self-titled 2013 visual album) since the “Frenemies” episode of “Sex and the City” debuted in 2000. In it, Charlotte York, the show’s Pollyanna Park Avenue princess, articulates her vexed disappointment with her supposedly picture-perfect WASP of a husband, Trey, who is impotent. Later, after Charlotte discovers Trey has no problem becoming aroused by the women in his favorite lad mag, she realizes the problem is psychological, not physiological. He’s put her on a pedestal. She approaches him in lingerie, and Trey is visibly uncomfortable. “Look at me,” Charlotte tells him. “I’m not a madonna and I’m not a whore. I’m sexual, and I’m your wife, and I love you.” In “Magic Mike XXL,” it’s clear that Ritchie understands this is something women are still fighting to communicate, and he presents himself as a fantasy-realizing man-unicorn. Ritchie enters his segment at the Myrtle Beach strippers’ convention dressed as a groom, and he picks a lucky lady in the audience to be his bride and pops an oversize prop ring on her finger as Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” plays in the background. But then, he leads her to stage, straps her into a sex swing and runs through the rest of his, um, energetic choreography to “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. [How to prepare yourself for the ludicrously entertaining ‘Magic Mike’ XXL’] And this understanding permeates the whole of “Magic Mike XXL.” Stephen “Twitch” Boss as Malik, in “Magic Mike XXL.” (Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures/AP) When Mike and the rest of the Kings of Tampa find themselves in the company of a party of rich, middle-aged women headed by Nancy Davidson (Andie MacDowell), Mike quickly realizes that they’re going to be entertaining her and her friends, despite the fact that her 20-something daughter was the one who invited them to the house. Later, after Mike and Zoe (Amber Heard) have a private conversation in the kitchen, Mike declares that he needs to return to the “pack of wolves” in the living room. Nancy and her raucous bunch of middle-aged friends don’t get played for laughs, and Tatum and Carolin refrain from characterizing her as predatory. Instead, she and Ritchie enjoy a perfectly adult hook-up, kiss in front of everyone in the morning, and leave the audience squealing internally, happy for Ritchie to have found his Cinderella. (Ritchie’s nickname — which we can’t repeat here — refers to what he calls his blessing and his curse.) “Magic Mike” is the anti-“Pickup Artist.” The premise of the latter, a VH1 reality show, was that you can teach men to score with women by treating them like very complicated sex vending machines that will dispense pleasure if you say the right words and wear the right clothes. There is no negging in the “Magic Mike” universe. There is no lecturing about what women should want from clueless men. There is no hapless foibling and there is zero entitlement to women’s bodies or attention. There is not a single ounce of misogyny or male gaze. There is absolutely no judgment. Furthermore, “Magic Mike XXL” wisely steers clear of becoming a cynical reversal of gender roles wherein male strippers serve as background noise for business deals or lost causes in need of saving, two of the preeminent tropes whenever female strippers are present. The women of “Magic Mike XXL” don’t get played for laughs. There are no crazy women, no stage five clingers, no undesirables and no trolls. They are just women, in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and personality types, who want to have a good time and who are happy to tip generously when you make them forget to feel self-conscious about flashing their Spanx in public. The most depressing thing about “Magic Mike XXL” is that two hours and 10 minutes of escapism amounts to a movie where women don’t have to worry about fearing the worst from men. Even in 2015, female wish fulfillment is largely centered around a modicum of basic human decency. The Internet is already crawling with pieces parsing whether “Magic Mike XXL” is feminist. We say: Not only is it a feminist film, but it’s the long-awaited sex-positive picture we weren’t even sure was possible. Read more: – How to prepare yourself for the ludicrously entertaining ‘Magic Mike XXL’ – After ‘Magic Mike XXL’ five things you’ll never look at the same way again – Review: Uneven ‘Magic Mike XXL’ tries, with mixed results, to recapture the mojo
Step Three: Introduction to Roulette Chambers. In Risk of Rain, "Roulette Chambers" are the tall, cylindrical metal objects often found after level 2. These should not be confused with shops, which are three tall cylindrical metal objects that doshow you their available items. This method willwork with shops! Aside from the mechanical and visual differences, the Roulette Chambers also have a qustion mark outlined in blue.In Risk of Rain, Roulette Chambers can be activated by pressing thekey next to them, and will take some of your money (The amount is displayed under the chamber.) After it is activated, it will start showing you random available items before stopping on a random one. During the time it is displaying the items, it can be stopped by pressing thekey again, allowing people with superhuman reaction time to choose which item they want.
Aaron Dykes Infowars.com April 14, 2011 TSA has defended the groping of a 6 year-old girl, saying it followed policy. Yet in Nov. 2010, TSA vowed no ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for children under 12. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) contradicted itself, even to the point of outright lying, in responding to controversy about a 6 year-old girl who received a groping pat-down AFTER already being sent through a body scanner. The video went viral after appearing on DrudgeReport.com and many other sites. TSA typically explained away this unnerving experience that left the girl in tears by arguing that the action is perfectly normal, follows all procedures and keeps us safe from terrorism, all, of course, in the name of ‘safety.’ You see, the TSA rationalized in its latest defense that, “terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection.” Thus, TSA would have it, we must abandon societal norms [and laws] like not touching children in their private parts, and instead subject them to pre-crime inspections. According to the logic, no women & children, little old ladies or men handicapped in wheelchairs or implanted with modern medical devices, no body cavity or private part is safe from extensive probing by the “guardians” in government. As the Justice Department recently proclaimed, the TSA assumes the authority to literally strip-search people on demand. So, the shocking video seen across the alternative blogosphere today was standard operating procedure, as the TSA pointed out in its most recent blog posting, ‘Screening of 6 Year-Old at MSY‘: A video taken of one of our officers patting down a six year-old has attracted quite a bit of attention. Some folks are asking if the proper procedures were followed. Yes. TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures. Yet in a November 2010 posting ‘TSA Myth or Fact: Leaked Images, Handcuffed Hosts, Religious Garb, and More!,’ written in the hopes of dispelling ‘rumors’ about the new invasive pat-downs, Blogger Bob of the TSA claims that children under 12 are supposed to receive amodified pat-down. Pat-downs Myths & Facts Myth: All children will receive pat-downs. Fact: TSA officers are trained to work with parents to ensure a respectful screening process for the entire family, while providing the best possible security for all travelers.Children 12 years old and under who require extra screening will receive a modified pat down. So why did the little girl receive the full, invasive treatment, particularly after having already been screened via body scanner? After all, the ‘modified’ TSA policy was even publicly announced back in November, as in the USA Today article, “No ‘enhanced’ pat-downs for kids, TSA says.” It cites comments from TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee who stated, “After a thorough risk assessment and after hearing concerns from parents, we made the decision that a modified pat-down would be used for children 12 years old and under who require extra screening.” A d v e r t i s e m e n t Further, the TSA blog deceives the public over the perception that pat-downs only occur for passengers who opt-out of the scanners, writing, “Only passengers who alarm a walk through metal detector or AIT machine or opt out of the AIT receive a pat-down.” However, the girl’s parents revealed what the video did not show– that their child had already been sent through the body scanners, and was then selected for a groping ‘enhanced’ pat-down. If the girl somehow alerted the scanner, the TSA did not disclose that fact to her parents when they asked why she was receiving the additional screening. In fact, the parents were given no reason, but were instead threatened non-verbally to comply with their daughter’s pat-down or face ‘trouble,’ as they told Good Morning America. Is intimidation part of the official policy, too? Stock up with Fresh Food that lasts with eFoodsDirect (AD) Adding insult to injury, the TSA has previously lied about the fact that body scanners can store nude images of the passengers it surveys (and have done so) . Couple that with the controversy raised over the fact that body scanners violate many child indecency laws, or that numerous cases have arisen over perverted and/or criminal TSA employees abusing their power. These parents weren’t comfortable with an officer touching their child, and they shouldn’t be comfortable sending their kids through naked body scanners either.WeWontFly.com, an organization who helped launch the would-be protests against scanners last Thanksgiving, have initiated a campaign demanding an end to pat-downs for children. Second that, but for scanners, too– scanners are both invasive and dangerous, all the more so on both counts for children. Meanwhile, CNN aired a piece largely justifying the pat-down of the 6 year-old, which featured two individuals supposedly representative of the public who were both almost completely apologetic for TSA power. A mother said her four year-old ‘understood’ why TSA did what it did, telling other passengers to “suck it up” for airline safety. She added that it ‘only took a few seconds’ to undergo a pat-down, even if it was like the one of the 6 year-old that CNN reporters showed her. Similar duplicity was expressed by the TSA during the backlash leading up to the Thanksgiving 2010 holidays. The TSA insisted that use of body scanners was indispensable to prevent terrorists and could not be curbed because of public outrage; then days later, TSA stood down at airports across the United States and turned off scanners to prevent protesters from gaining any traction or publicity. Then, as if in concert, mainstream media outlets gave reports that the airports were running smoothly, omitting the fact that body scanners were turned off, proclaimed the protests a failure, and then misrepresented public support for TSA by selectively representing travelers with only supportive interviews. Such contradictions are typical of any overly authoritarian government; its very nature will always argue for more power and say anything to prevent that power from being taken back. Also typical is that thing with known liars… what else are they lying about? Whatever delusional reasons TSA comes up with to justify its harassment of young children, ordinary Americans and travelers from around the world, the people clearly aren’t buying it. At a glance, comments in TSA’s own moderated comments section are overwhelmingly against airport abuse. Here are just a few: This article was posted: Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 4:50 am Print this page. Infowars.com Videos: Comment on this article
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Coalition for Social Justice will appeal last night's federal trial court ruling upholding provisions of North Carolina's restrictive voting law. The groups filed paperwork today announcing their intention to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. "Thousands of voters in North Carolina could be pushed to the sidelines of the upcoming election because of this discriminatory law. That is wrong, illegal, and why we are appealing," said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project. The ACLU and Southern Coalition for Social Justice are challenging provisions of the law that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit the counting of out-of-precinct ballots. Thousands of North Carolinians, disproportionately African-Americans, have relied on those provisions to cast their votes in past elections. The groups charge the law violates the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and the Voting Rights Act. "We plan to move as quickly as possible to ensure that the Fourth Circuit has time to correct this egregious error before the November election," said Southern Coalition for Social Justice senior attorney Allison Riggs. The ACLU, ACLU of North Carolina, and Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed the lawsuit in 2013 on behalf of several plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, North Carolina Common Cause, and Unifour Onestop Collaborative, and several individuals. More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/league-women-voters-north-carolina-et-al-v-north-carolina
British Columbia has seen its population grow by more than two million residents since 1976, going from 2.53 to 4.58 million people (in 2013). This overall growth of 81 percent translated to an average annual rate of expansion of 1.6 percent. That said, actual rates of annual growth deviated around this average, achieving several peaks and troughs. After relatively significant annual increases in the early-1980s (the 3.0 percent growth in 1980 being the most notable), average growth rates fell towards one percent through the mid-1980s as the provincial economy, and migration to BC, slowed. Through the late-1980s to mid-1990s the province’s population expanded more rapidly, driven in part by the pull of a growing provincial economy and in part by the push of both slower economic growth in eastern Canada and the impending transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Overall, the years spanning 1987 to 1997 saw the province’s population grow at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent, with peaks of three percent seen in both 1990 and 1994. Following this period of above-average growth, BC’s economy slowed, resulting in population growth falling just below one percent in 1998 and further to 0.5 percent by 2002. The 1998 to 2008 period saw the province’s population expand at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent, characterized by lows of 0.6 percent in 2002 and 2003 and a peak of 1.4 percent in 2008. Considering the most recent past, population growth in BC—and in many other Canadian provinces—picked up steam through the late-2000s, reaching a peak of 1.4 percent in 2008 and 2009. The Great Recession of 2008/09 resulted in an abatement of growth both provincially and nationally, with annual population growth rates dipping to one percent in 2012. Current estimates for 2013 show a slight uptick in the growth rate, to 1.1 percent. In looking ahead, the provincial population is projected to grow by a further 41 percent by 2041 through the addition of 1.87 million residents. Changing demographics will see annual growth rates fall below historical levels over this period, however, as they would average 1.1 percent between 2013 and 2041. That said, BC is expected to experience the second-fastest rate of growth over this period when compared to other Canadian provinces, behind only Alberta. In absolute terms, Ontario—with its large population today—is projected to add the greatest number of residents by 2041. Components of Future Demographic Change Migration will continue to be the predominant driver to population growth in BC in the coming years, with net international migration (as opposed to net inter-provincial migration) continuing to have the greatest influence on the province’s population, just as it has since the early-1990s. More specifically, the process of people moving to BC from other countries (including both permanent and temporary residents) would add an average of more than 47,000 people each year to the province between 2013 and 2041. While above the 39,000 currently being added annually (and the 32,000 added annually over the past three decades), this sustained level of net immigration would still be below the peak levels seen in the mid-1990s (45,000 annually) and in the late-2000s (47,000 in 2007 and 52,000 in 2008).
Gaydar — the ability to be able to tell who's gay just by looking or talking to them — is a "skill" of debatable merit, but many people like to brag about having finely calibrated systems of working out who's gay and who's not. Of course, when pressed, nobody can ever really put their finger on why exactly they sense someone might be gay. Moreover, people are often wrong, which can lead to all manner of unfortunate situations. But luckily, science has taken it upon itself to study some of the inner workings of gaydar. (Maybe they had a slow week in between trying to cure cancer and figuring out whether wine is killing us or saving us?) The study, which was done by researchers at Albight College, looked at how people perceived sexual orientation based on facial symmetry and proportions. They showed photographs of 60 men and women (15 each of straight men, straight women, gay men, and lesbians) to 40 people (15 men, 25 women) and had them rate the sexual orientation of the people in the pictures. The rating was done on a five-point continuum based on which gender the person in the picture was most sexually attracted to. After they matched the ratings with the self-identified sexual preferences of the people in the pictures, here's what they learned, according to lead researcher Dr. Susan Hughes: We found differences in measures of facial symmetry between self-identified heterosexual and homosexual individuals. We also found that the more likely raters perceived males as being attracted to women (i.e. holding more of a heterosexual orientation), the more symmetrical the males' facial features were. Huh. So the more symmetrical a guy is, the more straight he seems. Interestingly, while straight women tended also to be more symmetrical, it wasn't found to be statistically significant. Researchers also looked at how masculine or feminine a face appeared, and found that heterosexual men tended to have more masculine features than gay men. This matched up with people's ratings of the photographs: the more masculine a man's features, the more likely he was perceived as straight. Advertisement But when it came down to assessing someone's sexual orientation based on looks, symmetry is the key. Dr. Hughes explains, We were surprised to find that symmetry played a larger role than masculine/feminine features in assessing sexual orientation. But it appears that individuals use cues of symmetry to make assessments about one's sexual orientation and may be one of the features that comprise a person's "gaydar" abilities. Of course, a person's sexuality doesn't really have anything to do with their face—and the accuracy of your gaydar can be influenced by things like whether you're ovulating at the moment. Though none of these technicalities should prevent you from spending the next few hours of your workday staring closely at pictures of your favorite ambiguously gay celebrities, trying to determine just how symmetrical their faces are. Advertisement Facial Symmetry May Play a Role in 'Gaydar' [ScienceDaily]
Image caption Police say gathering the data is necessary to fight crime Millions of innocent people who have reported a crime have their details stored on police databases, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. The Press Association study found forces in England and Wales have kept data on people who called them. Senior officers said gathering data was necessary to fight crime, protect the vulnerable and ensure concerns were dealt with properly. But privacy campaigners including Big Brother Watch expressed their concerns. Evidence of the police databases was collected in a series of FOI requests. For the police to log this kind of information isn't just wrong - it's dangerous Daniel Hamilton, Big Brother Watch A total of 13 forces responded with details revealing how they held between 10,091 records - in Lincolnshire - and 1.1 million records, which West Midlands Police had amassed over the past 12 years. The majority of forces said it was not possible to collect the information because the scale of the task was too big. Others, including Lancashire, Cleveland, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, West Mercia and North Wales, hold more than 150,000 each. Hertfordshire Police said it held 1.6 million records of all kinds generated since 1989, while Sussex said it held 5.6 million records gathered over seven years. 'Culture change' These records included details of millions of victims of crime as well as suspects and offenders. Police forces said personal information was spread across up to 22 databases and warned details of the same person could be recorded several times. Records held by police forces Sussex - 5.6 million over seven years Hertfordshire - 1.6 million since 1989 West Midlands - 1.1 million over 12 years Lancashire - around 600,000 North Wales - 302,754 Cleveland - 172,369 Avon and Somerset - 162,968 Lincolnshire - 10,091 They said staff and officers were following guidance published by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). In some cases, police staff not only record names, addresses and contact details, but also the caller's date of birth and ethnicity. Gus Hosein, of Privacy International, said there was a point at which the police "stopped seeing members of the public as the people to be protected and rather see them all as potential criminals". "Until now, this only happened in non-democratic states, but I fear that this line has been crossed in ours. "This only goes to show how far the last government went in promoting this view that we are all criminals, and my understanding is that while this government has cut the NPIA, which is a first step, a culture change in the way we are governed and protected is the next one," he said. We must be transparent and reassure the public that the information is not being misused Ian Readhead, Association of Chief Police Officers Daniel Hamilton, of Big Brother Watch, said: "For the police to log this kind of information isn't just wrong - it's dangerous. "The public must be confident that, when they report a crime, they do so in the comfort of anonymity and without risk of their details being stored on a central police database which can be accessed by thousands of people. "This information must be deleted before public confidence in the police takes yet another hit." 'Transparent' Guy Herbert, of campaign group NO2ID, said police should only use the information to pursue the original inquiry and for investigations and not share it with others. He said: "Just being on a database does not necessarily make it 'Big Brother'. It is how the information is used that is important." Ian Readhead, director of information at the Association of Chief Police Officers, said forces should only record information relevant to the call. The retired Hampshire deputy chief constable admitted an "amicable exchange of information" could be used against callers in the future but said most people would expect police to hold on to it. "What is important is that data is retained in applications that are clearly transparent and subject to audit and that the Information Commissioner is content with the business processes. "We must be transparent and reassure the public that the information is not being misused. The volume of information held by the police service can be vast and one of the things we must do is ensure compliance," he said.
Tiered of misplacing keys, umbrellas and mail? We received an interesting project that can help with this issue. Justin Porcano created Wallplates, a functional system that can be adapted to standard light switches. According to the designer, “Hook and Envelope are the first of these functional Wallplates, but eventually new product functions will be created as the product line expands. Hook and Envelope are simply light switch cover plates that add practical function to your space. The Wallplates concept was born out of a need to store the objects that typically come and go with us; such as: keys, scarves, phones, mail, umbrellas, coats, etc. I wanted to provide a consistent, convenient location for these objects to live.” The product utilizes the existent standard holes in the switch and adds a creative and practical feature that helps one be organized. Have a look at the video below for the whole story!
Last year Steve Hartlett put out the first album from his then-solo project, Stove. Is Stupider showcased Hartlett’s songwriting talents, a necessary outlet following the break-up of Ovlov. But, less than a year later, a lot has changed. Ovlov is back, but Stove still exists, too. And, most importantly, it’s added three more people to the project. This Friday, Exploding In Sound Records will release Is A Toad In The Rain, an EP that signals a shift in the band’s direction. Much of the EP sees Hartlett eschewing the guitar-heavy songs that typified his past work, and while that’s still present on songs like “Mrs. Robertson” and “Wiggle,” they have a spacier quality that the band’s older material never captured. These grander moments notwithstanding, Is A Toad In The Rain is all around softer than its predecessor. It’s more lo-fi and airy than Stove has ever been before, showing a new side of Hartlett’s songwriting that’s certainly welcome. Is A Toad In The Rain is available for pre-order through Exploding In Sound.
TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia’s prime minister named Interior Minister Irakly Garibashvili as his successor on Saturday, handing a close ally the task of treading a political tightrope between Russia and the West. Georgia's Interior Minister Irakly Garibashvili speaks during a news conference as Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili looks on in Tbilisi, November 2, 2013. Georgia's prime minister on Saturday proposed his close ally, Garibashvili, to succeed him when he steps down in the next few weeks. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has said he will quit as premier after Georgy Margvelashvili is sworn in as president on November 17. Margvelashvili was elected last month to take over from Mikheil Saakashvili, who spent a decade in power pursuing friendly relations with the West - often at the expense of Russia. Ivanishvili, who entered politics two years ago following a business career in which he made a fortune estimated at $5.3 billion, made efforts to maintain good ties with the West while improving them with Moscow. He named his successor at the headquarters of his Georgian Dream coalition. Under changes to the constitution that will this month transfer many of the president’s responsibilities to the prime minister, the 31-year-old Garibashvili will become the country’s most powerful politician. He said on Saturday he would stick with the outgoing premier’s policies. “I promise our people, our country that I’ll continue the policies and economic development (plans) started by Bidzina Ivanishvili,” Garibashvili said. BEHIND THE SCENES Garibashvili’s task will be complicated by the state of ties between Russia and the West, strained by tensions over the Middle East as well as Moscow’s granting of asylum to fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, and the detention of 30 Greenpeace activists. Ivanishvili, whose party’s dominance of parliament has allowed him to eclipse Saakashvili politically over the past year, succeeded in opening the Russian market for Georgian wine, mineral water and fruits after a ban imposed in 2006, two years before the two countries fought a five-day war. Garibashvili still has to be nominated by parliament and approved by Margvelashvili, but both steps are viewed as a formality. Margvelashvili’s election cemented Georgian Dream’s grip on power, putting it in charge of the presidency for the first time, as well as the government and legislature, which it took control of in a parliamentary election in October last year. Ivanishvili says the departure of Saakashvili, a bitter rival, means his job is now done. But he is expected to continue wielding influence behind the scenes in the South Caucasus country of 4.5 million, which is crossed by pipelines that carry Caspian oil and gas to Europe. The current government must resign after the presidential inauguration. Parliament then has one week to agree on a nominee for post of prime minister, to be appointed by the president. Ivanishvili, who will be acting premier during that week, will hand over his functions on November 24 and a new cabinet proposed by his successor and approved by parliament. Garibashvili has a master’s degree in international relations from Tbilisi and Sorbonne Universities. Fluent in Russian, English and French, he held senior positions in Ivanishvili’s Cartu Bank and his charity fund before joining the government as interior minister last year. Garibashvili will set economic as well as foreign policy. Poverty is a problem and, after years of robust growth, gross domestic product expanded just 1.5 percent in the second quarter this year, down from 8.2 percent in the same period a year ago.
The new season of Homeland features an obnoxious Alex Jones-style radio host in what is a transparent effort to discredit Infowars and appease liberals via the medium of entertainment. The Alex Jones character was introduced early in the season via a voice on the radio. One of the lead characters, Quinn, is seen obsessively listening to the show. This same character has become violent and semi-deranged since surviving a biological assassination attempt and a stroke. The not so subtle inference is that anyone who listens to Alex Jones is violent and semi-deranged. In the latest episode, the Alex Jones character is seen ranting about a terrorist attack in New York, blaming the female President-elect and vowing to “fight” her. The plots of earlier Homeland seasons were usually focused around Islamic terrorism, but in later series the show has kowtowed to political correctness and allowed social justice narratives to ruin the dynamism of what was once an enjoyable watch. “Showtime’s Homeland is really working on trying to get back on the good side of liberals this season, even after empathizing with terrorist sympathizers and demeaning Israeli settlers. But if they want a medal for that, they’ll have to wait a lot longer than six seasons. Until then, we have to deal with their next appeasement to the liberal crowds: an Alex Jones parody,” writes Newsbusters. The premiere of season 6 was about 600,000 viewers down on the first show of season 5. The fact that a female President was chosen (the series was written before last year’s election) illustrates how out of touch the producers are with reality. Expect the writers of the show to implicate the Alex Jones character as being responsible for a terrorist atrocity towards the end of the season. The fact that an Alex Jones character has been written into the show tells us two things. One – Infowars is part of the cultural zeitgeist and cannot be ignored. Two – The establishment knows that young people don’t watch television news and don’t trust mainstream media so they have to resort to propaganda placement by smearing Jones through the medium of fictional entertainment. It’s essential for our readers to understand that there is a concerted effort to take down Infowars on all fronts, including the suspension of our ability to run advertising which is set to cost $3 million dollars annually. It’s outrageous that we can be demonized in mainstream media, print, on national television, and even by fictional TV shows, while having our right to respond censored and removed. SUBSCRIBE on YouTube: Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.watson.71 ********************* Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.
GALLOWAY: The BBC is a wounded, dying dinosaur WhatsApp 0 shares It seems there are a few useful idiots who don’t mind half a million pounds of public money being handed to Alan Shearer for an hour’s work on MoTD on a Saturday night. Probably the same kind of people who think our nurses and police officers are “overpaid” as Spreadsheet Phil Hammond put it. Still more are quite sanguine about Gary Lineker’s “pay” of £1.8 million for presenting the same show. Mr Lineker understands the public anger though, he tweeted yesterday that it was an outrage…that Chris Evans was paid more than him. As indeed he is. Mr Evans, whom most people imagined to be no longer a thing, is on £2.25 million a year of public money – twenty times the salary of the British Prime Minister. This after the car-crash of his brief tenure at Top Gear – one of the few television programs that earned the Corporation serious money. As I said there are a few useful idiots, just not enough of them. Things will never be the same again for “Auntie” BBC – though there have been rather more slobbering sick “Uncles” on the Corporation’s hitherto closed books – and no-one will ever again watch the sniggering smut-merchant Graham Norton without remembering that they and their family (whom they hopefully have banished from the room) are paying him, at least, the best part of a million quid. The dirty joke is definitely on them. I say “at least” because in his case and countless others the X-Certificate material we saw today is not the whole story. Are there pensions packages not declared for example? What about those who have formed themselves into “Production Companies” which receive part or even all of their publicly funded emoluments? Where for example was David Dimbleby’s package amongst the thicket of information yesterday? I am led to believe that he receives £1million a year for scarcely presiding over the ever-more chaotic Question Time. Add to that the sum he receives for the now annual elections and referenda he can’t be much shy of Ginger Evans’s haul. But of course his money is paid through Mentorn – a company apparently owned by a collection of unknowns in Llanelli. All in all we now have some idea though of how the mandarins – unelected and unaccountable nameless faceless “managers” spend £3.4 BILLION of your money every year. The managers who didn’t know that a whole parade of Yewtree miscreants were up to their dirty tricks often using BBC property to commit their crimes. The managers who sold one of the best development sites in London – White City – for a risible £200million and who moved -or largely didn’t- the BBC to Manchester at a lifetime estimated cost of £1BILLION. In any successful private business such managers would have long ago been on their bikes. In the failing BBC they are motoring towards their knighthoods or, the worst of them, to the House of Lords. A news-management effort was made to turn the whole stinking imbroglio into a “gender” issue – as if Claudia Winkleman receiving half a million pounds for presenting “Strictly” for one season of the year represented an offence against women rather than offence against all of us. But it will not have washed I think though useful idiots like Harriet Harman performed the ritual Pavlovian chorus. The scandal is not that fewer women were ripping off the public purse than men but that all of them are guilty of grand larceny against the public. Of particular piquancy were the “wages” of the political and news staffs. Huw Edwards turns out to be a particularly lucky man. For reading from an autocue in a monotone voice so wooden the birds sometimes nest in him, Lucky Edwards receives almost £600,000-a-year. How they must be rejoicing in the valleys at this. Especially when every fibre of his being is bent each night to tell us how we must all live within our means. But at least somebody else writes his words. Viperous Laura Kuenssberg gets a quarter of a million for her party political broadcasts. The man who hailed Tony Blair’s great victory in Iraq and declared his “vindication” and the flight of his internal enemies – the erstwhile Trotskyist Andrew Marr – trousers hundreds of thousands more for lecturing the rest of us to tighten our belts…And if we don’t pay him, whether we listen to him or not we go to jail. Even Trotsky didn’t think of that one. The BBC is the elephant in the room amongst British institutions. It is a complete historical anachronism. When the media market was undeveloped and the BBC was run by sober public-minded civil servants the current model could be defended. In a world where the media market is vast and expanding like a parallel universe, the BBC is just a black hole. A state broadcaster in a top hat and no trousers. It is no longer a public service but a media company afloat on public largesse, too big to fail, indeed not even measured against its competitors. If it were it would be found wanting and increasingly on every count. Commercial music stations playing the same music as Radio 1 for a fraction of the price. Sky and even BT (from which the aforementioned Mr Lineker trousers ANOTHER fortune) provide far better sports coverage than even the inexplicably scowling Alan Shearer. Sky Arts beats BBC cultural output on a mere fraction of the BBC budget. Over-staffed (on a grand scale) over-paid (ditto) the behemoth that is the BBC looks today as out of date as the dinosaur. Once the king of all it surveyed it fully deserves the meteoric blow it suffered today. I hope I’m alive to visit its relics in the British Museum.
In a list recently released by BizBash, the leading trade media for the event industry, Comic-Con International was named the number one Entertainment Industry Event for the second consecutive year. The list included the Sundance Film Festival, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Television Critics Association's (TCA) Upfront Week as runners-up. To make its rankings, BizBash considered factors including economic impact and buzz, as well as vetting by category insiders. “Even being considered in a category which includes the Kennedy Center Honors and the TCA is an honor,” said Comic-Con spokesperson and director of marketing and public relations David Glanzer. “We really feel that the major factor that sets us apart from the other events considered is the attendees that gather in San Diego annually from all over the globe to celebrate comics, popular art, and all the things that they love.” In recent years, many have claimed that television networks’ and film studios’ presence has impacted the size and scope of the event. That may be true, however film has always been present at the convention, found side-by-side with comics, science fiction, and fantasy. “Our attendees are passionate about what they love and now movie, television, comics, and video game creators are discovering that bringing their products directly to their consumers, is a fast way to get feedback on their latest wares,” said Glanzer. The entire list can be found on BizBash’s website at BizBash.com.
Marjah, Afghanistan (CNN) -- U.S. Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan achieved a main objective Tuesday -- taking over the police headquarters in the center of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah. CNN correspondent Atia Abawi, embedded with the Marines, said troops didn't receive any resistance when they took the station, but gun battles broke out in the area a few hours later. There was an engagement for 15 to 20 minutes, with constant gunfire coming from different directions, and there have been "sporadic battles," Abawi said. Unlike previous days, there was fighting in the evening, with Taliban militants trying to attack Marine locations with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. One of the grenades hit close to one of the U.S. positions and a fire broke out. About 15,000 Afghan and NATO forces are taking part in Operation Moshtarak, which focuses on the town of Marjah and surrounding areas in Helmand province. Set in a region known as the country's heroin capital, Marjah is where the Taliban established a shadow government. The military says the goal of Operation Moshtarak is to provide security, governance and development, and authorities hope fighters choose to reject the insurgency and join the government's reintegration process. Clearing out poppy fields is a key part of the push, the biggest since the Afghanistan War started in 2001. The Taliban finances its activities in part through the illegal opium trade. One of the biggest challenges facing the NATO mission in Afghanistan is attacking the Taliban while limiting civilian casualties. On Sunday, 12 civilians died in a rocket attack by coalition troops. Three other Afghan civilians were killed by NATO in separate incidents on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, Abawi spoke to one civilian whose property had been destroyed in the initial push by Marines. Despite that, he said he was happy to see Americans arrive and noted that Marines promised to pay for the damages to his home. He said Afghans have suffered under the Taliban, who he said had beheaded some people and forced their way into people's homes for food.
Interview with Henry Brade, CEO of Prasos Oy Bitcoin continues to hit the headlines as the price nears $600 and the halving is almost upon us. We talked to Henry Brade, the CEO of Prasos Oy, a Finnish Bitcoin startup founded in 2012, about the hike and the reasons why people should invest in bitcoins now. Let’s call it a deja-vu. Bitcoin price passed the $500 threshold in late May, something which hasn’t happened in almost two years. Despite reports that it will drop once again, the price is still going strong —at press time, the price continued to increase and almost broke the $600 threshold. The most beloved scenario is that fears in China that the yuan could weaken may have something to do with the sudden growth. China’s decision to restrict the flow of cash out of the country has indubitably prompted concerned citizens to seek ways around capital restrictions and Bitcoin proved to be a sort of safe haven. But let’s allow Henry Brade, the CEO of Finnish Bitcoin startup Prasos Oy, to weigh in on the price increase and the growing importance of blockchain. JAXenter: You have been a Bitcoin hobbyist since April 2011, so one can say you are an early adopter. How is your love affair with Bitcoin going? Are you happy with its course? Henry Brade: I’m satisfied with how things are progressing. There has been a lot of drama recently especially related to scaling Bitcoin but I think there is progress in that regard and it does not seem to be stopping the avalanche that Bitcoin is. There is simply too much demand for a monetary instrument like Bitcoin. It’s not going anywhere and it’s only getting started. I really see Bitcoin like the Internet was in the 90’s. I’m expecting the price increase to continue in the mid-term, although there may be corrections and pauses occasionally. JAXenter: Bitcoin price recently passed $500 for the first time in almost two years. Why do you think this happened? Henry Brade: Just a matter of time. This is the way Bitcoin grows, through a series of ups and downs. I saw this in 2011 for the first time and in 2013 for the second time. This is expected. The rise can be attributed to certain specific reasons such as the increase in demand from China and the halving of the Bitcoin block reward but in essence I think it’s just the way Bitcoin market works. I’m expecting the price increase to continue in the mid-term, although there may be corrections and pauses occasionally. JAXenter: Do you think this hike was a one-time thing or it may happen again in the near future? Henry Brade: I think it is clear that Bitcoin is no longer in a downtrend. That was a debated subject for a long time but now the price is high enough that it’s hard to justify a downtrend any longer. Everything from Bitcoin economy fundamentals to the price development leads me to believe that it will certainly not be a one-time thing. JAXenter: Why should people invest in bitcoins? Henry Brade: Bitcoins are a new type of financial instrument. Unlike any other. This digital currency is not strongly linked to other assets in the traditional economy and that makes it a great hedge for everything else. Bitcoin is likely to benefit from any financial problems in the world and thus it makes sense for anyone to diversify into bitcoins. Not much necessarily, I would recommend starting from 2 to 10 percent of ones investment portfolio / savings budget. It may also be a good idea to buy bitcoins not all at once but spread out through time. Bitcoin is no longer in a downtrend. JAXenter: What do you think about the fact that blockchain is slowly outgrowing bitcoin? Henry Brade: The “blockchain phenomenon” is only outgrowing Bitcoin in hype. Not in actual usage or market value. Of all cryptocurrencies Bitcoin still holds over 80 % of the market value, with Ethereum in second place at 10 %. And if we look at the real life use of blockchain applications, I’d say Bitcoin usage is 99 %. There are many interesting projects going on related to blockchain, but Bitcoin is not going anywhere. The currency application of Bitcoin is hard to challenge. Alternative blockchain applications will likely focus on other things. That leads to my conclusion which is that most alternative blockchain projects are not competitors to Bitcoin, they are fulfilling a completely different purpose. That is important to understand. JAXenter: What is the unique selling proposition of your company Prasos? Henry Brade: We operate multiple Bitcoin services under Prasos and the most interesting ones from an international perspective are Coinmotion and Denarium. Coinmotion is a bitcoin exchange platform currently focused on the European market. It allows people in European countries to easily and securely buy, sell and store bitcoins. It is especially suited for regular people who want to invest in bitcoins. Denarium on the other hand is about physical bitcoins which are actual coins with bitcoin value. The coins are a secure physical way of storing bitcoin value and the concept can be understood easily. The bitcoins are safe as long as the coin is kept safe which makes the coin the ideal way of storing bitcoins especially for the older generation.
Two beery sins when entertaining guests for Thanksgiving: 1. You buy the beer, but leave most of the bottles out on the counter because you’re tight on space in the fridge. Do you really need three different juices, a gallon of 2-percent and a carton of soymilk taking up coveted space on this special day? Make some room. 2. You already have a well-stocked fridge filled with various beers you’ve collected over the past few months, and assume whatever’s in there will be fine for your guests. Tip: Put as much thought into planning the day’s drinks as you do the culinary treats. Here’s how to do it: Assuming you’ve got a guest list of football-loving, craft-beer-drinking friends who also appreciate the finer foods in life, you’re going to need to plan your drink menu for different stages of the day. Stage One: The games It’s early afternoon, and the Packers vs. Lions game is just getting started. For the next couple of hours, your guests will be hanging out in front of the TV, circling through the kitchen, tossing the ball in the backyard, snacking on light fare and generally enjoying a stress-free weekday afternoon. This is the first part of an all-day relaxathon, so keep it light and fun with easy-drinking, non-boozy sessionable beers. Serve: Big flavor and low alcohol is key, but so is variety. A 30-can brick of lager isn’t all that exciting. Select a few options from each of these categories: • Session IPAs: Low-ABV IPAs like Founders All Day IPA (4.7%), Boulevard Pop-Up Session IPA (4.2%). • India Pale Lagers (IPLs): Hoppy lagers like Samuel Adams Double Agent (5%), New Belgium Shift (5%). • Pale lagers: All-malt, quaffable lagers like Full Sail Session (5.1%), Notch Session Pils (4.0%). • Malt-forward: Classic malty styles like Stoudt’s Scarlet Lady ESB (4.8%), O’Hara’s Irish Stout (4.3%), Uinta Baba Black Lager (4%). Stage Two: The meal Thanksgiving menus vary too much to go into specific pairings here, but there are a few can’t-miss styles you can serve to enhance any dining experience. Since we’re accustomed to the ritual of popping open a fine bottle of wine for the course, you’ll get bonus points if your beers of choice come corked and caged (or, at least, in fancy capped 750mL bottles). Serve: I like farmhouse styles here, as well as beers that share similar characteristics with red and white wines. For variety, pick up a bottle or two from each of these categories: • Table beers: Low-ABV farmhouse beers like Stillwater Classique (4.5%) or Jester King Le Petite Prince (2.9%) complement but don’t intoxicate. • Farmhouse ales: The earthy spice, sharp lemon and crisp carbonation of saisons like Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale, Funkwerks Saison and Prairie Ale work perfectly with turkey. • Belgian darks: Enjoy the vinous dark fruits from a Belgian dark strong like North Coast Brother Thelonious or throw a slight curve ball with a tart, fruity Oud Bruin like Verzet Oud Bruin Editie 2013. • Belgian lights: As in color, not ABV. Nebraska Melange a Trois (a Chardonnay-barrel-aged tripel) or Allagash Tripel offer a plethora of light fruits to pair with your meal. • Bubbly: Swap out the Champagne with a prickly, effervescent biere brut like Bosteels Deus or Calicraft Buzzerkeley. Stage Three: The after party At this point, everyone’s bloated and either sprawled out in front of the fireplace or watching the Steelers vs. Ravens in the final Thanksgiving matchup (or both). Time for a digestif. Now is when you break out the big stuff—those boozy malt bombs that calm the stomach, warm the chest and please the taste buds with a slow-sipping 8-ounce pour. Serve: Barleywines, imperial stouts and old ales all work. Bonus points if you go deep into the cellar and grab something special. Pour these into your snifters: • Barleywines: Savor the dark fruits of Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine and its monstrous 15% ABV. • Imperial stouts: Pop open that bottle of Firestone Walker Velvet Merkin, a rich imperial oatmeal stout, that you picked up earlier this year. • Old ales: Samuel Smith’s Yorkshire Stingo is stacked with layers of malt depth. • Cellared: Be “host of the year” by opening up rare, aged bottles like Three Floyds Dark Lord, Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout or Westbrook Mexican Cake.
Chat room rules. Please also read our Intervention & Rescue policy Donations please go to WWW.Sea-EagleCAM.org/video.html The BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre is an interactive, interpretive hub that provides opportunities for people to learn about, and engage with, birds in their natural habitat. What better way to do so than by observing our resident pair of White-bellied Sea-Eagles on the nest? EagleCAM, gives bird lovers, researchers and scientists 24-hour access to the lives of nesting sea-eagles and allows us to investigate their habitat, behaviour and how we can help them survive long term. Established in 2009, EagleCAM (Sea-EagleCAM on Ustream) is a live, remote feed that operates out of the Discovery Centre in the Newington Armory at Sydney Olympic Park, close to the Parramatta River. EagleCAM was started and funded by a small group of BirdLife Australia volunteers, who continue to develop and operate the technology that brings the sea-eagles to your screen.
For an officer of the law, motorcycles have distinct advantages over the patrol car. They accelerate faster than anything with four wheels and can slip through traffic. They're fuel efficient. But they're also loud, and that can be problematic when sneaking up on perps. If you’re a motorcycle cop with the L.A.P.D., time to celebrate. As a pilot project, the force has bought a Zero MMX electric motorcycle, that offers those advantages with the addition of stealth. “Most importantly, our officers have an added tactical advantage while on patrol,” says Officer Steve Carbajal of the L.A.P.D. Off-Road Unit. For now, Zero says that the LAPD "purchased one MMX as a pilot program," for use on and off-road. If it goes well, they will order more. Los Angeles taxpayers can be glad that the bikes can be charged for less than $.50 and maintenance is largely limited to the occasional tire inflation. Oh, and with no emissions, they can go indoors to chase a suspect through a hallway. Zero has been supplying police departments around the country with motorcycles since 2011, starting in Northern California. These bikes are like their civilian counterparts, but outfitted with lights, sirens, medical gear, and hard storage containers. The MMX is Zero’s special forces-specific bike. It can ford through water up to 3.2 feet deep, put out 68 pound-feet of torque, go from zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds, and hit a top speed of 85 mph. Equipped with the largest available battery pack, it bike will run for two hours. We're sorry to report the police-spec MMX is not for sale to civilians, but play your cards right and you could end up racing one down the 405.
Regina Munch on Chris Lehmann’s The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream “Where’s the management section?” a man asked the nearest bookseller. My hometown Barnes and Noble’s business and management section is extensive, patronized by the employees in the numerous office parks nearby. The man handed the bookseller a list of titles on a Post-It. She smiled and pointed across the store, but stopped him short. “Actually, a few of these are in our New Age section.” She indicated the bookshelf next to me. “Or in Christian Life.” Even a quick glance at the self-improvement, management, spirituality, and Christian guidance genres reveals their thematic similarities: exhortations to “discover your inner strength,” “call the good into your life,” and “live without limits.” How could such disparate categories become nearly identical in their message? What unites these genres, more broadly called “success literature,” is their focus on individual attainment. The genre has elevated one very particular notion of success—health, wealth, career advancement, and spiritual fulfillment—to a quasi-religious quest for self-perfection. Readers are exhorted to achieve “more”: more happiness, more self-confidence, more success in one’s career or love life, more money. In all cases, what needs to be improved is the person’s habits or outlook; one must develop the mental, emotional, or spiritual strength to gain the “more” that they seek. External circumstances are irrelevant, or worse, an excuse for individual failure. Rich or poor, conservative or liberal, religious or secular, Americans are in thrall of the promise of personal fulfillment that this amalgam of therapeutic self-help, financial counseling, and spiritual enlightenment offers. But when enlightenment is instrumentalized for individual advancement, ties between individuals suffer. Surrounded by the language of personal well-being, we are denied the vocabulary of community and solidarity. Chris Lehmann addresses this uniquely American tendency in The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream. He analyzes the particularly American fusion of capitalism and evangelical Christianity—what he calls “the Money Cult”—and argues that American Protestant Christianity has not only adapted to the mandates of the market, but has sanctified them. Rather than critiquing wealth, power, and pursuit of profit, these qualities became the stuff of divinity. The traits necessary in the market—frugality, faith in the power of self-realization, and complete individualism—morphed into the tools of salvation in Christian churches. Today, he explains, “The Money Cult’s core dogmas are what feed many of America’s popular superstitions about economic life, from the belief that individual merit is the strict and undeviating guarantee of individual wealth, to the myth that Wall Street investment bankers are Promethean ‘job creators,’ to the mystical faith that digital commerce will upend all traditional limitations on human enterprise, and indeed, human existence.” Lehmann’s research catalogs the twists and turns of how this American union of religion and economics came to be. Lehmann presents the Puritans, the earliest Americans to join religious injunction with economic concerns, not as the coldly rational caricatures with which we’re so familiar, but as communitarians whose policies were dictated by the New Testament ethic of caring for all in the community. In the world of the Puritans, wealth might demonstrate God’s favor, but that did not mean the poor could be neglected; indeed, famed Puritan John Winthrop insisted that “the care of the public must oversway all private respects.” How, Lehmann asks, did American life move from this communitarian approach to the radically individualist Money Cult of the twentieth century? The text dives into more than three hundred years of American religious history to explain this transformation. Perhaps the most important factor in the development of the Money Cult was the turn towards privileging the individual’s experience of worship and relationship to God. During the First and Second Great Awakenings, open “revivals,” rather than traditional institutional services, became the most popular forms of worship. These events featured dramatic outward displays of encounter with the divine: spontaneous dancing, fainting, and speaking in tongues, to name a few. Revivals and the preachers that led them encouraged an individualist understanding of salvation and relationship to God; one’s spiritual experiences were unrelated to that one of one’s neighbors. The emotionality of these events became the standard by which a person could judge closeness to God, and indeed, this judgment “resided almost entirely within the solitary believer’s emotional experience of conversion.” In the meantime, revivalists were also shaping connections between religious and economic spheres in American life. Dismayed by the timid nature of Presbyterian prayers, with their Puritanical assumption of the total and collective depravity of humanity, preachers such as Charles Finney encouraged “trust in the abundant capacity of God to bring their wishes to fulfillment.” Worshipers gradually came to believe that, with the proper mindset, one’s prayers to God would bring about material as well as spiritual well-being. Lehmann elaborates, “Individuals were coming into a powerful certainty that they had uncovered a new model of salvation, keyed to their eager pursuit of prosperity and well-being in the New World.” Revivals concentrated their energy on worldly spiritual and material manifestations of God’s blessings and began to preach “market-approved conduct,” like workplace discipline, as part of the God’s divine plan to bring about salvation and wealth on earth. According to Lehmann, this produced quintessentially American religions—Mormonism, Christian Science, and numerous small sects and offshoot churches—that adopted an acquisitive ethic of the newly-emerging middle-class that “cleaved to an elite model of respectable virtue that clearly favored the spiritual outlook and character traits already earmarked for worldly success.” Although these attitudes began among the average believer, they became institutionalized during the mid-nineteenth century, when members of the ever-richer American elite invited these into their corporate cultures. John Wannamaker encouraged his employees and consumers to “infuse” their work lives “with spiritual purpose,” to pray harder and feel more deeply the sanctification that their individual material success could bring. The lineage of Channing, Finney, Wannamaker, and countless others “depicted the individual’s progress towards success and self-culture as a kind of mystic revelation of self-generating qualities already inherent in the secret recesses of one’s soul.” These could be discovered and unleashed by the right mindset toward God. Exhortations to “awaken the giant within” are familiar to us today in the success and self-help literature; this genre exploded into popularity during the Gilded Age and remains popular today. It is startling, Lehmann insists, that “we now reflexively accept the publishing market’s own packaging of business advice books and inspirational works about self-help as essentially the same genre.” The Money Cult retreated somewhat during the less-prosperous era of the world wars, but emerged during the postwar era as the prosperity gospel of thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale. Especially as the prosperity of the 1950s began to erode, Lehmann explains that American Protestants embarked on a mission “to radically reconfigure the self so that divine deliverance and market prosperity were indistinguishable.” Confronted with flattening wages, joblessness, and an uncertain economy, evangelists for the new gospel of wealth encouraged Americans to “envision your best life now” and “become in tune with the Infinite.” If people would merely change their attitude, think positively, and work harder, the market would work wonders in their lives. Workers especially were the target of this message. By this time, business elites had fully adopted and harnessed the prosperity gospel within the workplace; businesses such as General Motors actively preached it to discourage union activity, the ultimate form of negative worker thinking. Indeed, Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking, still a Christian self-help favorite today, was written at the behest of an organization attempting to quash union activity in California and Hawaii. Lehmann elaborates that workers, told repeatedly that any dissatisfaction with their lives was the result of a negative attitude, “responded with a renewed determination to master the elements of a successful life that they felt were still most firmly under their control—namely, their own psychic dispositions.” Inoculated against even the thought of collective well-being, workers would not demand institutional change. For Lehmann, today’s prosperity gospel of Joel Osteen—who “remains the nation’s most popular, beloved, and successful pulpit orator”—is the apotheosis of the Money Cult. “Why put limits on God?” Osteen asks in his sermons and literature. According to Osteen, faithfulness to God will result in eternal salvation, but also the earthly salvation of unlimited wealth, if one only believes enough. In Osteen’s cosmology, being a good Christian and a good capitalist are identical; if one works and believes hard enough, God will deploy “the mechanisms of consumer capitalism to engineer their just battery of worldly, yet supernaturally delivered, rewards.” Limiting one’s worldly ambitions is tantamount to doubting that God can and will provide. Here the communitarian ethos of the seventeenth-century Puritans is turned on its head. According to Lehmann, “The social ethic of the New Testament—under which the poor were the true heirs to the planet, and early Christians held all property in common—has morphed into the prosperity gospel, which deems worldly success a direct sign of divine favor, and translates the ministry of Jesus into a battery of business stratagems and motivational slogans.” In today’s Money Cult, rather than looking around at the treatment of one’s neighbors to seek salvation, one must only look upward, which really only means inward. The Money Cult is refreshing because it insists that we take American Christians and their ideas seriously. Too often it is easy for secular elites to make doomsday-preaching, tongue-speaking preachers and worshipers the butt of their jokes; the preachers become clever con-artists, and the congregation just a group of credulous simpletons or loony fanatics. Lehmann argues that we lose something when we do this: “Deriding high-profile preachers as nothing more than hucksters who prey on popular fears and superstitions may satisfy the very broad dictates of left-leaning secular cultural superiority, but it tells us almost nothing about what the followers of the new gospels of wealth actually think and believe—let alone how the Money Cult’s distinctive gospel influences the culture at large.” If we treat these trends as an aberration of an otherwise sober secularism, rather than a symptom of a broader trend, we miss an opportunity to learn about the culture we live in and how it produces social and economic nostrums that we often take for granted. Lehmann is more right than he knows. The Money Cult argues today’s iteration of this fusion of capitalism and American spirituality is conservative evangelicals, “megapastors,” and their Sunbelt flocks. But quasi-religious success literature is not the exclusive domain of these preachers and their followers. Upper-class liberals, who have made a pastime of mocking evangelicals, have their own Osteens: advocates of “mindfulness,” New Age spirituality, and Americanized “Eastern” religion. Like Money Cult preachers, they encourage a reorientation of one’s own spiritual disposition to discover one’s “true nature” or “strengths,” which can then be harnessed for success in all personal, career, and financial matters – no structural or communal change required. These schools of thought have, wittingly or unwittingly, beatified the seeking of profit as a road to “living well,” defined so as to be compatible with an elite culture of capital. Though they present more palatably to a secular and educated audience, they too are heirs of the Money Cult. Take, for instance, Oprah Winfrey and her feel-good media empire. With immense cultural influence, Oprah has promoted a number of New Age self-help methods. For example, her endorsement of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, which espouses the Law of Attraction (in which thinking positive thoughts creates positive vibrations, which elicit the universe’s help in inviting health and wealth into one’s life) popularized the Law of Attraction for an enormous audience. Another Oprah favorite is New-Age thinker Deepak Chopra, who encourages us to become in tune “with the subtle yet powerful, unseen forces that affect the flow of money in our lives.” Her you-can-change-your-life mantras are especially friendly to the most privileged Americans, but, as Leon Wiesletier charges, “cruel” to everyone else. “There is no such thing as failure,” Oprah preached to Harvard’s graduating class, “just life trying to move us in another direction.” Wiesletier points out the obvious: our country is “awash” in failure, but it’s the rich, not the poor, who might be immune to it. Osteen would ask why they won’t have faith in God’s productivity; Oprah and Chopra might wonder if they aren’t vibrating clearly enough. Arianna Huffington and other members of the tech world might be less overtly associated with therapeutic pseudo-spirituality, but her advocacy of mindfulness techniques suggests otherwise. The New Republic’s Evgeny Morozov reports on Huffington’s projects to use technology to promote spiritual well-being. Using intentionally religious language, she proposes a “GPS for the Soul” and a “digital sabbath” to shut off distractions for a time to live in the present moment. “The speed of life has accelerated,” she laments. “The majority of people are depleted, distracted, unfulfilled.” What is the solution? Change your habits to change your attitude—and leave everything else alone. “What’s good for us as individuals is also good for corporate America’s bottom line,” Huffington wrote, and so we must put “what at first might seem like abstract or esoteric concepts [mindfulness and meditation] to very productive use in the workplace.” The purpose of adopting mindful practices, it seems, is to return to work more productive than we would have been otherwise, confident that we’ve done what we can to change our lives for the better. Cultural icons on both the right and the left, in the religious realm and the (purportedly) secular, offer remarkably similar advice. We are told, “Unleash you inner potential,” “Live your best life,” “Attract positive vibrations,” or even “Put your faith in God” to fix our joblessness and loneliness, our failing health, or our dwindling bank accounts. The onus for success – and the blame for failure – fall squarely on the individual, for not thinking or believing well enough. As Lehmann illustrates, we carry this individualism from the church to the marketplace, to produce “a solitary, unencumbered vision of salvation, selfhood, and social order.” We are all alone together. This spiritual solipsism begs us to forget our collective problems. Conservative and liberal, un-educated and too-educated share the lineage that Lehmann lays out, and their ideologies have much more in common than we assume. Our obsession with perfecting our own dispositions hampers our ability to think or act collectively, for our own good or each other’s; religious and spiritual thinking becomes the ally of capital and power rather than their critic. Our progressive-minded media moguls, who beneficently offer escape, wittingly or unwittingly distract us from the issues—and solutions—that might unite us. Lehmann quips that rather than being concerned with the common good, American religiosity prioritizes “every man and his own divinity.” And if, as The Money Cult argues, Americans forsake community to deify individual wealth, we are a miserly culture indeed. Regina Munch is editorial assistant at Commonweal. She lives in Manhattan. (Visited 4,781 times, 6 visits today)
AURORA \| More than a day after a 10-year-old boy was shot dead Friday night inside a northwest Aurora apartment, police have made public no details about how the boy died. Police early Saturday said only that there would be no updates about the shooting, but Police Chief Nick Metz and two prominent black church leaders met with residents inside the apartment and in the community. Some of those community members said Metz did not divulge any new insight into the shooting death, other than to repeat that there is not a dangerous gunman at large connected to the shooting. Police investigate the shooting of a 10-year-old boy inside an apartment at 1075 Galena St. Friday June 3. PHOTO COURTESY OF AURORA SENTINEL NEWS PARTNER 7NEWS Police were called to the apartment at 1575 Galena St. at about 10 p.m. Friday after neighbors reported a disturbance from a first-floor apartment in the Nordic Arms Apartments complex. Rescuers on the scene discovered the boy dead after being shot. Investigators are trying to piece together how the shooting occurred. Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz was at the scene after the shooting and told reporters that police were interviewing family members at the apartment and had not determined as of late Friday how the boy was shot. A weapon was confiscated from the scene, but Metz said police had not yet determined if it was the gun used in the shooting. As of Sunday morning, there have been no arrests or disclosures. Crying and wailing could be heard in the background of a police-provided interview of the Metz. Metz said he wanted to assure neighbors and all of the metro area that there was not a shooter at large posing a danger to the public. “The Crime Scene Investigations Unit and Detectives from the Crimes Against Children Unit responded to the scene and are handling the investigation into this tragic incident,” Aurora police spokesman Sgt. Chris Amsler said in a statement. “This is an active investigation and detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding this shooting. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detective Sgt. Bob Wesner at 303-739-6093.”
Editor's Note: Fifth in a series on School Segregation in the Eastern States. From the Executive Summary New York has the most segregated schools in the country: in 2009, black and Latino students in the state had the highest concentration in intensely-segregated public schools (less than 10% white enrollment), the lowest exposure to white students, and the most uneven distribution with white students across schools. Heavily impacting these state rankings is New York City, home to the largest and one of the most segregated public school systems in the nation. Forty years ago, school desegregation was a serious component of the state’s education policy, as a result of community pressure and legal cases. Key desegregation cases arose throughout a number of segregated communities. The U.S. Justice Department case in Yonkers was the first in history to combine housing desegregation and school desegregation claims simultaneously. The remedy for the school desegregation case in Rochester led to one of the country’s eight existing voluntary interdistrict programs. The magnet school plan for the school desegregation case in Buffalo was hailed as a model for other similar cities across the country. In New York City, a citywide desegregation case was never brought but community control of local schools sometimes helped integration efforts, as many school officials and community members challenged practices and policies that perpetuated racial imbalance and educational inequity across schools. In light of these efforts, local and political resistance influenced New York’s history of school desegregation. Around the time of Reagan’s administration, the state moved away from desegregation efforts and instead focused on other practices and policies like accountability systems, school choice, and charter schools. By the early twenty-first century, most desegregation orders in key metropolitan areas were small and short-lived due to unitary status, and many programs designed to voluntary improve racial integration levels, like magnet schools, are now failing to achieve racial balance levels due to residential patterns, a lack of commitment, market-oriented framework, and school policy reversals. In New York City, the area has been experiencing significant school choice programs and policies that are exacerbating racial isolation as demographics continue to change. In this report, we provide a synthesis of over 60 years of research showing that school integration is still a goal worth pursuing. From the benefits of greater academic achievement, future earnings, and even better health outcomes for minority students, and the social benefits resulting from intergroup contact for all students – like the possible reduction in prejudice and greater interracial communication skills – we found that “real integration” is indeed an invaluable goal worth undertaking in growing multiracial societies. Can separate be equal, yes. If measured by test scores, a few resegregated schools show high performance. But even if equality can be reached between racially isolated schools, students may never achieve the skills and abilities required to navigate an increasingly diverse nation. Due to such benefits of racial integration, we next explore the demographic and segregation patterns across New York over the last 20 years in a variety of geographical areas. A number of findings resulted from this analysis. For one, we found a growing diversity of student enrollment in schools and school districts across the state and main metropolitan areas, particularly in urban schools. This changing demography, accompanied by a lack of diversity-focused policies over the last two decades, has inevitably been linked to another main finding: persisting segregation patterns, and in some contexts, an increase. With school poverty so closely linked to so many harmful social and educational conditions and outcomes, we then explored a number of associations between race and class, leading to another main finding: the overexposure to low-income students for black and Latinos across geographical levels. Next, we found high racial isolation for the average charter school and lower segregation for the average magnet school across New York City. However, we did find substantial variation within magnets with close to 20% enrolling less than 1% of white students. Finally, due to the lack of voluntary metropolitan or other large interdistrict policies across upstate New York, as well as the proliferation of numerous small, fragmented school districts, we found that the majority (close to 90% or above) of segregation is occurring among rather than within upstate districts. In the video below, Civil Rights Project Co-director Gary Orfield and Senior Researcher John Kucsera present the findings of their report. In compliance with the UC Open Access Policy, this report has been made available on eScholarship: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/5cx4b8pf
As Yu got older and continued his career, he sensed that a lot of the roles he played felt out of touch with the real Asian-American experience. “Every time I played a character who lost his marbles and killed someone out of shame, that role was actually crafted with good intentions. The problem is it was written by a writer who didn’t have contact with the real Asian-American experience. So they ended up falling into the trope of the stereotypical repressed Asian man,” he said. “I think diversity has to happen on a storytelling level, not just on a casting level." Since then, Yu has been more selective about his acting work, and says his latest role as Brian in “Master of None,” Aziz Ansari’s character’s best friend, has allowed for a glimpse into the reality of being a minority. “A lot of people have been writing about the show’s diversity as some kind of watershed moment. I hope those people realize that when you’re Asian American or African American or Indian American or LGBT, you don’t walk around feeling your own diversity,” Yu said. “Aziz and Alan [Yang] put their true reality on the screen, which is full of different kinds of people, and the audiences have reacted this way because I think they are starved to see a better reflection of real life.” RELATED: 'Less Dragons, More Indian People': Aziz Ansari Teases New Netflix Series In the second episode of “Master of None,” the interactions between Yu’s and Ansari’s characters with their parents delivers a personal look into the complex relationships of second-generation immigrants and their parents. The episode balances the complexity and humor of the immigrant narrative in a relatable manner. “Everyone thinks their parents are funny sometimes, but Alan and Aziz had the guts to put their money where their mouth is. What I think makes the episode so successful is that it manages to be entertaining without encasing the parent characters in some kind of manufactured comedy template,” Yu said. “There’s an authenticity to the performances by Aziz’s parents and the actor who played my father that no network has been brave enough to put on screen.” RELATED: Primetime TV still needs more diversity A gap in cultural experiences plays a key factor in the episode. As both Ansari’s and Yu’s characters learn more about their parent’s origins and their journey to America, they begin to see what they have taken for granted—which is something that Yu said resonated with him.
Former League of Gentlemen actor once said he gave Mycroft Holmes ‘reptilian and Mandelsonian’ qualities Sherlock star and co-creator Mark Gatiss is to play Peter Mandelson, the spin doctor during the New Labour era in a TV drama based on the back room deals that led to the coalition government in 2010. The one-off Channel 4 drama, Coalition, aims to portray the “astonishing rise” of deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, a “rank outsider” who “would decide the fate of the country”. Gatiss would seem perfectly placed for the role of Mandelson, known to enemies and friends alike as the “prince of darkness”. He drew inspiration from the politician credited with rebranding the Labour party for the part of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s brother, who secretly runs the government in the hit series, once saying he imbued the character with “reptilian and Mandelsonian” qualities. Bertie Carvel, who won several awards for his performance as Miss Trunchbull in the stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, is cast as the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. Mark Dexter, of The Bletchley Circle and Ripper Street, plays David Cameron, and Ian Grieve takes on the role of Gordon Brown, a part he has already taken on in the play The Confessions of Gordon Brown. Channel 4 said the drama, due to be aired in 2015, will deliver “penetrating insight into one of the most influential and significant political decisions of recent years”. Written by playwright James Graham, whose political play This House, set at the end of James Callaghan’s Labour government, was a hit at the National Theatre, Coalition “charts the emotional wrought, politically charged and often frenzied moments which led to Nick Clegg’s astonishing rise from rank outsider to the man who would decide the fate of the country”. Graham told the Sunday Times: “As with many of the parts Gatiss has played, there is that slight darkness, slight edge that Mandelson has. But he also has the capacity for that three-dimensional pathos. We also need to avoid Mandelson descending into the stereotype”.
There is encouraging news for Mainers coming out of the health care industry. Rates for individual health care plans in Maine are set to drop as much as 60% this July as a result of health reform law PL 90, also known as LD 1333, adopted in March 2011. PL 90, the free market based health reform law, was passed last March by a Republican majority in Maine’s legislature. Governor Paul LePage signed the bill in a ceremony at the statehouse amid cries from Democrats that it wasn’t right for Maine. “The law takes Maine in the wrong direction,” said Emily Cain, the house Democrat leader, at the time the bill was passed. But, if you’re a Mainer looking for individual health coverage, you’re probably going to be encouraged by the direction private health care costs are going – down. “Since the law took effect this past October, we have primarily seen the laws impact to Maine’s small group insurance market with the vast majority seeing lower premiums,” said Joel Allumbaugh, President of the Maine Association of Health Underwriters and Health Care expert at the Maine Heritage Policy Center. “Now we are seeing huge progress in the individual insurance market as well, with rate decreases up to 60%, it’s a huge step forward for Maine.” The rate filing, submitted this week by Anthem, the primary insurer offering individual plans in Maine, is not yet official. The rates would take effect in July, but first must be approved the state Insurance Superintendent. If the rates do take affect, it will be a relief for those paying for private individual insurance, or those who want to purchase a plan. PL 90, the health reform law that Republicans guided through the legislature despite passionate opposition from Democrats, expanded the “rate bands” to allow a wider variation in cost between different aged applicants. In the past, insurance companies had to treat a 21-year-old and 55-year-old as basically the same. The new law allows for distinction in age groups. Democrat Representative Sharon Treat was one of the strongest advocates against PL 90 during the debate about the health reform law. “Unfortunately, in the rush to pass LD 1333 [PL 90], the Republican majority is creating obstacles to better coverage and reduced costs,” she said at the time. Now, it’s becoming evident that reducing costs to individuals is exactly what the law has done. Even the “closed book” plans, which are individual plans that are renewing, versus brand new plans, are seeing benefits from the new law. In the past, the policies in the “closed book” category have seen yearly increases well above 10% annually. In the July Anthem filing, the average rate increase is just 1.7%, good news for those already holding individual policies. Some of the new plans being offered in the individual market by Anthem, called the “HealthChoice Plus Product” include mental health services at no extra cost, when in the past the plans required a “rider” which raised rates by as much as 30%. Not only do the new plans cover mental health, they costs significantly less. A current plan, for a 45 to 49-year- old with a $2,250 deductible, without covering mental health, and without the effects of the health care reform law, would cost $601 per month for just one person. The new plan, which covers mental health, would have a $2,000 deductible and cost the individual just $362 per month, a 40% rate decrease according to the Bureau of Insurance. For the plan holder 60-years-old and over, the current plan would cost $859 per month. As a result of the health reform law, the new plan would cost $645, a 28 percent decrease per month. This is before new competition enters the fray, a likely scenario that the new law makes possible. Allumbaugh said that he anticipates additional insurers will enter the market, but are not prepared to offer products as early as July. When new competition does enter the market, it would drive rate even lower, according to Allumbaugh. Young people are big winners in the rate decreases. A 19 to 24-year-old will be able to purchase a health plan with a $2,000 deductible for about $200 per month, a significantly more affordable option than the current $450 per month for a similar plan. For many, this may be the difference between not being able to afford health care, and holding their own private policy. A 19 to 24-year-old with a higher deductible of $10,000 could carry a policy for just $100 a month, less than the going rate to pay for a typical monthly iPhone plan. This could be especially important for those in that age bracket who may no longer qualify for MaineCare if cuts are passed in the supplemental budget being voted on this week to close an $80 million budget gap. “Getting more young people into the market is a major plus for all Mainers and was a primary goal of the law,” Allumbaugh notes. “As this happens, the claims experience tends to improve and it can lower the rates even further for all age groups,” Allumbaugh said. “This is precisely the impact the health reform law aimed for, lowering rates generally, but in a way that helps our insurance markets reverse the death spiral and begin to grow.”
Alfonso "Mithy" Aguirre Rodriguez will play against Origen in the first game of the 2016 EU LCS Summer Split on Thursday despite a recent hand injury, G2 Esports confirmed to the theScore esports. On Wednesday afternoon, G2's mid laner Luka "Perkz" Perkovic tweeted a picture of Mithy playing with his right hand in a cast. Mithy later tweeted that he would play on Friday regardless of the injury. When no fap is over pic.twitter.com/W8QarRga2S — Luka (@G2Perkz) June 1, 2016 Tomorrow I will play with 1 hand if I have to. — Alfonso 'mithy' (@G2mithy) June 1, 2016 As G2 Esports does not have a support substitute, Mithy will be playing with an injured hand. Mithy joined G2 Esports in May alongside Jesper "Zven" Zvenningsen, after they left their previous team, Origen. It is unclear what caused the injury or how long it will last. Daniel Rosen is a news editor for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter.
The victory was a step in the right direction for Team Canada, which earlier in the day had announced it hopes to crack the list of the top12 countries for most medals won in the Rio Olympics. The Canadian women’s soccer team scored a bronze medal in 2012, and hopes are high this time around that the team will place. It’s a tough goal, and the team needs every win it can get. Canada tied with Hungary in 13th place with 18 medals overall in the 2012 London Olympics. The United States placed first, with 103 medals. “Our goal heading into this tournament is to prove London wasn’t a fluke and that we’re a power,” captain Christine Sinclair told CBC News on Tuesday. Sinclair scored the team’s second goal Wednesday. Janine Beckie broke an Olympic record when she scored the team’s first goal within 20 seconds of the start of the game. The Games don’t officially begin until Friday’s opening ceremony in Rio, but the football tournament in Sao Paolo — and the arrival of the Olympic torch in Rio — got the festivities rolling early. “Team Canada is in good hands. The athletes are sure to have inspiring leaders with tremendous devotion,” said Tricia Smith, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, during the news conference where Team Canada’s overall medal goal was announced. “I am so pumped for our athletes,” said Chef de Mission Curt Harnett, a four-time Olympic cyclist and member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Harnett sported the same shaggy blonde hair that helped earn him his own shampoo commercial back in the 1990s at the height of his fame. “They are here with fire in their hearts and ice in their veins,” he said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FTVjKohaFE&feature=player_embedded Oh my! Well this was quite the little dust-up. Zerlina Maxwell, a political commentator and social media analyst, went on Hannity and put forth the suggestion that the way to solve the “rape crisis” is to teach men NOT to rape. What a brilliant idea! We could solve a lot of problems with this advice. An epidemic of car theft? Let’s line up all the men and teach them NOT to steal cars. A record number of home invasions and robbery? Line up, lads, and we’ll teach you NOT to break into houses and steal other people’s stuff. Skyrocketing rates of arson? Bring your lighters and cans of gasoline over here, gentlemen. We’re gonna teach you how to NOT burn shit down. Now, now. I realize that only a small percentage of men steal cars, break and enter and start fires, but that really isn’t a relevant fact. SOME men do, so that means we need to treat ALL men as if they do. Some women are up to that kind of craziness, too, but shush now. We’re not talking about them. Here is Zerlina’s strategy for teaching men not to be rapists: Teach young men what the word consent means. You know, your average fifth grader knows what that word means, but let’s start with the assumption that men are just straight up stupid. And never mind the fact that the vast majority of men are not sexually violent. Ah, yes. An excellent start. http://www.wcsap.org/sites/www.wcsap.org/files/uploads/webinars/SV%20on%20Campus/Repeat%20Rape.pdf Teach young men to see women’s humanity, instead of seeing them as sexual objects there for male pleasure. Make sure your humanity is visible under your push-up bra and don’t step on it with those 4 inch stilettos! Teach young men how to express healthy masculinity. Which will be defined by women, of course. Teach young men to believe women who come forward and not to blame the victim. And always buy that time-share condo in Florida. Those people never lie! Teach young men about bystander intervention. Dudes, you MUST notice each and every lady that appears to be in distress and immediately leap from your white steed and charge to her rescue. Because equality. Hey about we spin that around and make a list for WOMEN on how not to get raped? Teach young women what the words implied consent mean. If you leave the keys in the ignition of your car, the law takes that as your implied consent to have people steal your car. We’re working on teaching people NOT to steal cars, but so far, no luck. If you get really trashed, start making out with a man, go to his room, remove your clothes, then change your mind AND DON’T SAY ANYTHING, you have implied consent. Claiming you were “paralyzed with fear” is bullshit. If you have changed your mind, you have to SAY that. Otherwise your actions have implied consent. You can’t wake up the next day and decide you were raped. http://judgybitch.com/2012/10/22/54/ http://rnbphilly.com/680791/date-rape-definitions-examples-precautions-help/ Teach young women to see men’s humanity, instead of seeing them as sexual objects there to flatter female vanity. Women don’t wear low-cut tops and miniskirts and high heels or tousle their hair and put on make-up and expect men to ignore them. Not a fucking chance. Women do those things to signal their sexual status to OTHER women, and to try and attract the highest quality man. Instead of ranking men according to what they can provide, how about you just start treating them like people, with a wide range of interests and talents and personalities? Stop chasing after those star football players and you might find they stop treating you like a status whore. http://judgybitch.com/2012/12/18/a-shit-faced-drunk-girl-a-football-star-and-a-vigilante-feminist-the-makings-of-a-fairy-tale/ Teach young women how to express healthy femininity. It begins by accepting responsibility for the choices you make, good and bad. You need to understand that the circumstances of your birth or your socialization are EXPLANATIONS for why you find some things difficult, and not EXCUSES that allow you to blame others for your own decisions. I really don’t give a fuck if your Mama socialized you to defer to every man at all times. You are a grown-up and you figure out how to work around what your Mama gave you. That’s what being a grown-up MEANS. If you’re that much of an emotional cripple that you can’t speak your own mind, you shouldn’t be interacting with anyone other than your cat and your therapist. Teach young women not to lie about being raped. And no, not because false accusers make it difficult for other women to be believed. It’s actually really easy to convict someone of a crime: have some evidence. Voila! You don’t lie about being raped because you are RUINING another person’s life. False accusations carry a social stigma far greater than any stigma a rape victim will face in her life. It’s one of the shittiest things you can do to a man. So don’t. End of story. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2009/10/how_often_do_women_falsely_cry_rape.html Teach young women they do not have an automatic right to male protection. While it’s awfully nice to have the protection of men who will intervene on your behalf, there is no way in hell any woman should go through life thinking she is entitled to that protection. There are things you can do to protect yourself from distressing situations, and you have some responsibility to do so. You can take reasonable precautions to prevent assault, robbery, car theft … any number of crimes. And yes, you can take steps to prevent rape. http://judgybitch.com/2013/01/16/dont-want-to-get-robbed-on-holidays-dont-dress-as-a-tourist-and-some-other-advice/ Ultimately, Zerlina wants us, as a culture, to teach men to be “less sexually aggressive”. You want that Zerlina, and pretty much NO ONE ELSE, Guess who is still required to make the first move? Guess who is waiting to be approached? Guess who has to take the emotional risk of rejection? Guess who is passive? And who is aggressive? A great majority of women, 93%, preferred to be asked out — only 6% preferred to do the asking. The majority of men preferred to do the asking, 83%, while 16% preferred to be asked out on a date. It is interesting that more men preferred to be asked out (16%) than there were women who preferred to do the asking (6%). That difference suggests that 10% of men may be waiting quite a while for a woman to ask them out on a first date. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-how-and-why-sex-differences/201104/why-dont-women-ask-men-out-first-dates The truth is that both men and women like and expect men to be sexually aggressive. While no one (one seriously hopes) wants to see that aggression taken to the extreme of rape, the suggestion that we can fix “rape culture” by making men less aggressive runs exactly contrary to what we actually WANT and DO. The death and rape threats Zerlina received after making her statements are disgusting, and no matter how stupid or ill-conceived her ideas are, she doesn’t deserve to be gang-raped for them! Let’s point out that her ideas are based on some completely hateful stereotypes about men, and that her suggestions run exactly counter to what we want, but we’ll draw the line at rape threats. And that’s an equal opportunity line. Most of my rape threats come from women, so let’s join hands together and teach both men and women NOT to make rape threats on the internet. Isn’t that so much better? Lots of love, JB
Those rumors just keep on coming and the latest one is brought to us courtesy of @evleaks. According to his sources, Sony is working on its new flagship smartphone dubbed Sirius (just a codename, most likely). If the name seems familiar, that's because it got thrown on the table by a previous leak The Sony Sirius will be one capable device if its hardware specs turn out to be correct. It is believed that the phone will be powered by Qualcomm's MSM8974AB SoC, which is a faster variant of the Snapdragon 800 offering higher clock speeds and other goodies. A 5.2-inch display has allegedly been chosen for this device, yet we have no clue what kind of display tech will be implemented this time. As a reminder, the company's current flagship – the Xperia Z1 – has a 5-inch Triluminos screen. It is worth noting that the Sony Sirius could launch with Verizon in the US, according to the source. In other words, it may become the very first Sony smartphone released by Big Red in the States. If this Sony Sirius is to be made official in the near future, then we'll most likely get to see it as soon as next month. The phone is expected to be announced at the MWC expo in Barcelona, which is scheduled to begin on February 24.
The Oakland Raiders signed tight end Jared Cook, which adds pressure on Clive Walford to deliver. So what should we expect from Walford in his third season? It came across in a subtle way, but the Oakland Raiders front office put Clive Walford on notice with a recent acquisition. He’s going into his third season, but lost his spot as the clear-cut No. 1 tight end on the depth chart. Article continues below ... The team signed tight end Jared Cook, who’s expected to take on a decent role within the offense. He’s not coming in to take a backseat similar to Mychal Rivera over the past two years. Despite Walford’s underwhelming numbers, Rivera remained an afterthought within the passing attack. Offensive coordinator Todd Downing praised Cook for his ability to come up huge in big moments, per San Jose Mercury News reporter Jerry McDonald. “He’s got a skill set that’s going to be fun to play with so we’re excited to see what he can do and I know Derek (Carr) is excited to add him,” said Downing. “He’s got a history of making plays in this league and it’s something we’re excited to have.” This doesn’t mean Downing will toss Walford to side, but it’s clear that Cook will have more opportunities than Rivera within the offense. During the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix, general manager Reggie McKenzie revealed telling information, which explains the team’s interest in a veteran tight end, per San Francisco Chronicle reporter Vic Tafur: Asked McKenzie if signing of TE Cook signifies they weren’t happy with Walford. He said Clive was hurt & “wasn’t same player last year” … — Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) March 28, 2017 (con’t) but that Walford “should be fine now” and McKenzie looks forward to competition with Cook. “Should be fun to watch” #Raiders — Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) March 28, 2017 When did you ever hear about a spirited competition between Walford and Rivera over the past two years? The Miami product sat in the driver’s seat as the future at the tight end position once the Raiders selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft. The team understood Rivera’s limitations as a blocker and Lee Smith‘s shortcomings as a receiver. Walford projected a dynamic asset equipped to handle both duties. Unfortunately, a nagging hamstring injury forced Walford to miss several training camp practices during his rookie year. Then, an ATV accident during the previous offseason likely hindered his overall ability during his sophomore campaign. McKenzie alluded to this in his comments above pertaining to the tight end position. The Raiders will undoubtedly speak about Walford with the utmost confidence in his abilities. However, the decision to sign a veteran tight end as prime competition says the team has its reservations about the third-year pro reaching his full potential. Walford and Cook have contracts that expire after the 2018 season, per Spotrac. The 2015 third-round pick must put together showout performances to raise his free-agent market value. Heightened production would also give the team reasons to believe he’s the future at the position. In two seasons, Walford has shown glimpses as a pass-catcher, but he fell behind wide receiver Seth Roberts by 25 targets in the passing game for the 2016 season. With Cook in the mix, it’ll be difficult for the 25-year-old tight end to surpass his 50-target mark from the past season. The Raiders will see if Walford rises above the competition or remains inconsistent as an average player within a booming offense. This article originally appeared on
March-November construction will close Arches N.P. at 7 p.m. each night Visitors to Arches National Park will be required to leave the park by 7 p.m. each evening to accommodate road construction. The construction project is scheduled to begin in mid-March and continue through November. Photo by Molly Marcello slideshow Arches National Park officials and tourism representatives are busy preparing for park-wide road improvements that will significantly impact the 2017 season. Construction is slated to begin mid-March and continue through November. During construction, the road through Arches National Park will be closed daily from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m., park officials said.Although tourism industry representatives said they are facing “a few headaches” from the construction project already — mostly fielding concerns from visitors — many agree that these infrastructure improvements are long overdue.“Everybody understands the need to bring the roads back to a good state of repair, but no one relishes the experience,” said Kate Cannon, superintendent for the Southeast Utah Group of the National Park Service, which includes Arches.John Lewis, chief of maintenance at Arches and Canyonlands national parks, said the project, which will focus on “resurfacing, restoring, and rehabilitating” all paved roads and pullouts in the park, has been roughly 10 years in the making.“I’ve been working on it since [2004],” Lewis said, adding that it takes a long time to receive federal money for projects like these. “... The roads are wholly insufficient now to carry the volume of traffic that we have.”Park officials said the road system was last updated in 1962 and was, at that time, designed to handle approximately 75,000 visitors per year.Arches National Park has actually exceeded those visitation numbers each year since 1961, setting records almost every year. In 2016, the park saw a record 1.58 million visitors, exceeding the current road’s official capacity by 21 times, and straining the aging infrastructure.“The infrastructure in Arches is certainly outdated, and can’t handle the amount of visitation, which is evident when you drive through,” said Myke Hughes, owner of Adrift Adventures. “Parking lots are full; there are people parking off the side of the road, which creates impacts. The impacts to plants and soil are just huge ... So it’s certainly something that’s needed.”The $16 million project, which will be paid for by the Federal Highways Administration program, includes removing undesignated pullouts and “formalizing” other pullout areas, as well as widening the road from a current 9 to 10 feet to 11 feet with a 1-foot shoulder.Work will be completed in phases, Cannon said, beginning with construction on an inbound lane from U.S. 191 to the entrance booths, as well as construction of a roundabout at the entrance to the visitor center.Most of the work will be completed at night, Cannon said, in order to minimize impacts to visitors who most often frequent the park during the day.That means visitors must exit the park by 7 p.m. each night during construction, and cannot enter the park before 7 a.m. the next morning.“The prospect of having major construction going on all season long in Arches was daunting to us. But the one way we thought we could relieve that on visitors is to do the work at night,” Cannon said. “By doing it at night, they can move through the park more freely rather than be greeted by pilot cars and heavy truck traffic.”Cannon said park officials hope the project will be completed at the end of the 2017 season. Construction must be done during the warmer months in order to pour weather-sensitive asphalt, she said.Park officials said to expect closures to areas like Fiery Furnace and the Windows section of the park throughout the season, and Devils Garden Campground — the only overnight facility available in the park — will be closed to all camping from March 1 to Nov. 30.Lewis said park officials and project contractor LeGrand Johnson will meet next week to discuss the proposed work schedule.As soon as that information is confirmed, Cannon said, the park service will release the details to the public using local partners, the park website, and social media.“We will do our level best,” Cannon said. “We have enlisted all our local partners to get the word out.”Canyonlands Natural History Association (CHNA) Executive Director Roxanne Bierman said the Park Service has already been making a concentrated effort to make the public aware.“[The construction] will probably have some impact, but the park is doing everything they can to get the word out ahead of time,” Bierman said. “That may mean some people make other arrangements for their summer or just prepare themselves before they get here.”Bierman said staff at the CNHA-run Moab Information Center is ready with “alternative suggestions” when and if visitors raise concerns about construction in the park.“We’re making sure all of our associates at the MIC have the correct information to pass on, especially for ideas about other places where [visitors] might want to go,” Bierman said.The Moab Area Travel Council is also part of that effort, currently spearheading a training program called “Moab and Beyond” to give tourism industry professionals other recreational ideas to pass on to visitors. A “Moab and Beyond” brochure lists ideas like taking scenic drives or visiting other regional public lands such as the La Sal Mountains or Navajo National Monument.“The goal is to not have people come from far and wide and be upset when they get here,” said Moab Area Travel Council Executive Director Elaine Gizler. “So we have alternative suggestions.”The Travel Council will also regularly update its website, discovermoab.com, with current information about the construction in Arches as well as information about alternative areas to visit.“Our goal is to make sure that anyone coming into this area, whether locals or tourists, are informed and updated on what’s happening so they don’t have a terrible situation or get upset,” Gizler said. “ ... I think if people understand exactly when they can get in and when they need to be out and plan for that, then it won’t be a problem.”Although there might be some pain associated with this year’s season at Arches, many tourism professionals said they understand the work needs to be done.“We’re kind of bummed, but we understand. In the end, we totally get that it’s for the greater good,” said Moab Adventure Center Manager Jamie Pearce. “We’ll sacrifice a little this season and hopefully we’ll have better ones in the years to come.”Updated information about Arches National Park construction, as well as a list of frequently asked questions, can be found online at: nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/construction.htm. The park will also be regularly updating its Facebook page with information related to construction. Questions can also be fielded by the park visitor center at 435-259-2299.
It’s easy to slide into minimizing the real stakes – or to buy into a topsy-turvy victimhood narrative by the ones who are in fact inflicting a wrong—if you omit, as Kinsley does in his piece, any reference to actual past and ongoing discrimination, or the actual campaign still underway to perpetuate it, or the actual work it’s taken to combat and undo past and ongoing legal discrimination. That work long preceded my friend Andrew Sullivan’s important 1989 New Republic article on marriage (which Kinsley rightly championed), and Kinsley is wrong to suggest that “the focus of gay rights on marriage is a historical accident.” In fact, gay people challenged our exclusion from marriage immediately after what we usually regard as the dawn of the modern gay rights movement; within two years of the 1969 Stonewall Revolution, at least three significant cases brought by couples denied the freedom to marry were making their way through the courts. When I wrote my law-school thesis on why gay people should have the freedom to marry, back in 1983, I traced out the case for overturning the massive edifice of discrimination and exclusion that gay Americans endured (and to a large extent still endure). It’s taken 30 years of work to get to the point that Kinsley now treats as basically a done deal while he makes people’s (and a medical school’s) understandable recoil from anti-gay stances such as Carson’s the dog to the tail of those stances’ actual ongoing impact. To justify his piece’s greater solicitude for opponents’ undoubted free speech right to say whatever they want than for the actual legal freedom still denied to millions, Kinsley declares that we “proponents of marriage equality have not just won[, but] have routed the opposition.” Intellectually, sure. There is no good argument and there is zero evidence to justify the exclusion from marriage. We’ve worked hard to show that. Innumerable conversations, many battles, painful losses, sacrifice, and dedication of many gay and non-gay people’s time and treasure to securing freedom we should already enjoy have, indeed, changed hearts and minds. We’ve built a 58% majority for same-sex marriage nationwide, up from 27% in 1996, when Congress passed the so-called DOMA as I was co-counseling the world’s first-ever trial on whether the government actually has a good reason for denying the freedom to marry in Hawaii. We are, happily, winning … but we are far from having won. Freedom to Marry, the campaign I lead to win marriage nationwide, is gearing up for the next round of work and battling it will take to turn the public opinion we have persuaded into the actual legal and political action that will be the true “mission accomplished” that Kinsley is prematurely celebrating. We know we will win, but also know we have a huge amount still to do – organizing, educating, enlisting, lobbying, door-knocking, fundraising, and campaigning that Kinsley’s piece trivializes when he writes, “The challenge [is] simply getting people to think about it a bit.” If only it were, or had been, or will be that simple. All that said, here’s the big thing Kinsley gets right. I wrote my book Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People’s Right to Marry not as a polemic, but as an invitation to Q&A, not to preach to the converted, but to engage the reachable but not reached who want to be fair but are still wrestling with real questions that deserve answers. The primary way we have indeed moved public opinion, changed votes, and built the momentum we will turn into the real victory that shimmers within reach is by conversation. We win when we engage those who disagree or are still working it through. Indeed, the only way to win our freedom to marry is by exercising our freedom of speech, sharing our stories and the truth that does indeed set us free—and then translating that persuasion into legal and political change. There is no marriage without engagement, and gay people and the majority of non-gay people who, like Kinsley, support our freedom to marry need not be afraid of speech—the more the better. All of us—Carson, Kinsley, and the decision-makers still voting and ruling on whether to end discrimination—should heed the words of Dick Cheney when he came out in support of the freedom to marry: “Freedom means freedom for everyone.” Evan Wolfson is founder and president of Freedom to Marry and the author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
Ukip leader also says he would get rid of ‘irrelevant’ anti-discrimination laws in interview with former equality commissioner Trevor Phillips Nigel Farage has warned there is rising public concern about immigration partly because people believe there are some Muslims who want to form “a fifth column and kill us”, and that there has never before been a migrant group that wants to “change who we are and what we are”. The Ukip leader also said that race and other anti-discrimination legislation should be abolished, arguing that it was no longer needed in the United Kingdom, in an interview with former equality and human rights commissioner Trevor Phillips for Channel 4. Farage said the emergence of British-born Islamist extremists was an “especial problem”, with some Muslim immigrants who do not want to integrate prompting wider public concern. During the interview, the Ukip leader said: “I think perhaps one of the reasons the polls show an increasing level of concern is because people do see a fifth column living within our country, who hate us and want to kill us. There is no previous experience, in our history, of a migrant group that fundamentally wants to change who we are Nigel Farage “So don’t be surprised if there isn’t a slight increase in people’s worries and concerns. You know, when you’ve got British, when you’ve got people, born and bred in Cardiff, with British passports, going out to fight for Isis, don’t be surprised if there isn’t an uptick in concern. There has been an uptick in concern, but does it make us a prejudiced people? No.” In contrast, he said, previous waves of immigration by Huguenots, Jews and Ugandan Asians became integrated in society while often maintaining private observance of their faiths and traditions. “There is an especial problem with some of the people who’ve come here and who are of the Muslim religion who don’t want to become part of our culture. So there is no previous experience, in our history, of a migrant group that comes to Britain, that fundamentally wants to change who we are and what we are. That is, I think, above everything else, what people are really concerned about.” He also indicated that anti-discrimination legislation had become irrelevant. Pressed on which discrimination laws he would get rid of, the Ukip leader said: “Much of it. I think the employer should be much freer to make decisions on who he or she employs.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Trevor Phillips said he wanted to discuss the consequences of the equality movement. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Asked whether there would be a law against discrimination on the grounds of race or colour under Ukip, Farage added: “No … because we take the view, we are colour-blind. We as a party are colour-blind.” Phillips said he made the programme because he had come to the conclusion that, while much of the equality movement in Britain had changed it for the better, it might also have led to serious and unwanted consequences that could undermine what had been achieved. Farage has previously issued warnings in the wake of the French terror attacks, which Theresa May, the home secretary, called irresponsible and Labour grandee Tessa Jowell said she thought were sickening. With Ukip polling at around 15% and immigration consistently cited as one of the top concerns of voters, the Channel 4 programme interviewed Farage to explore whether the UK’s “attempt to embrace a multi-ethnic Britain has led directly to the rise of the party”. During the interview, Farage acknowledged that in all honesty he used to see Phillips as “the enemy” and “very, very much as being part of a new Labour project … the politically correct brigade that wouldn’t want these things discussed.” Phillips said he had got on well with Farage during the interview and they had a good conversation, but he declined to elaborate at this point on what he thought of the Ukip leader’s position. A Ukip aide also said the two men had got on very well. Deradicalisation is everyone’s business \| Letters Read more In publicity material released before the screening, Channel 4’s head of specialist factual, David Glover, said: “This film contains some very uncomfortable facts about race. Trevor Phillips now strongly believes that it’s important to get them out there, so ultimately we can understand and tackle them. “Trevor is arguably the best-qualified person in the country to examine these issues. What’s fascinating is that, having thought so deeply about them, he now has a very different approach to the subject than he used to.” Farage has made immigration a key plank of his election campaign, saying the party would reduce numbers by leaving the European Union, banning unskilled migrants for five years and bringing in an Australian points-style system. The Ukip leader has been able to exploit David Cameron’s failure to meet his target of bringing down net migration to the tens of thousands from hundreds of thousands, with the current figure running at almost 300,000. A YouGov poll found last week that 75% of people think immigration has been too high and only 2% think it has been too low. ComRes and ITV research last month found Ukip was more trusted than the other parties on the issue of immigration but 48% said it did not have sensible policies. Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True, Channel 4, 9pm, 19 March
This article is about the band. For the band's self-titled debut album, see Them Crooked Vultures (album) Them Crooked Vultures is a rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by John Paul Jones (former member of Led Zeppelin) on bass and keyboards, Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters and formerly of Nirvana) on drums and backing vocals, and Josh Homme (of Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal and formerly of Kyuss) on guitar and vocals. The group also includes guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances. The band began recording in February 2009, and performed their first gig on August 9, 2009, in Chicago, followed by a European debut on August 19. On October 1 the group embarked on a worldwide tour titled Deserve the Future with dates going into 2010. The band's first single "New Fang" was released in October 2009, followed by the group's self-titled debut album the following month, debuting at number 12 on the Billboard 200. The group won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance for "New Fang". History [ edit ] Formation and early shows (2009) [ edit ] A collaboration between John Paul Jones, Josh Homme, and Dave Grohl was first publicly mentioned by Grohl in a 2005 interview with Mojo, in which he declared "The next project that I'm trying to initiate involves me on drums, Josh Homme on guitar, and John Paul Jones playing bass." Grohl back with his drumkit in a concert with Them Crooked Vultures at Pukkelpop on August 20, 2009 Of the nascent project, Homme's wife Brody Dalle commented in July 2009 that "I'm not at liberty to talk about it [...] but I think [the project] is pretty amazing. Just beats and sounds like you've never heard before."[2] After finding that the name Caligula was already taken, the members arbitrarily chose "Them Crooked Vultures" as a name with no significance.[3] British music magazine NME reported in July 2009 that the trio had begun recording in Los Angeles.[4] The band performed its first show at the Metro, Chicago on August 9, 2009 at midnight.[5][6] The band played all original material during its 80-minute set, debuting such songs as opener "Elephants", "Scumbag Blues", "Caligulove" and closing song "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I".[7] The band made its European debut on August 19 with a performance at Melkweg in the Netherlands, the same day on which a short video clip of studio footage was uploaded by the band, featuring the song "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I". With subsequent festival performances in Europe at Pukkelpop and Lowlands, the band first performed in the United Kingdom at London's Brixton Academy supporting English alternative rock band Arctic Monkeys on August 26.[8] The trio subsequently performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals on August 28 and 29, playing the Leeds Festival first then moving onto Reading the next day.[9] Self-titled debut album (2009–2010) [ edit ] Them Crooked Vultures was released by Interscope Records in North America, and Sony Music internationally.[10] On October 21, radio personality Alan Cross announced the lead single for Them Crooked Vultures debut album to be "New Fang" which premiered on October 26. The single was released on November 2 worldwide as a free download.[11] Icon vs. Icon subsequently announced that the album would be released on November 17, 2009.[12] On November 3, the band gave a free copy of "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)" to fans that had bought tickets to a live performance and offered it on iTunes as a free download. On November 9, Them Crooked Vultures started streaming their full album on their website, and also through a link to their mailing list with the title "Fuck Patience, Let's Dance." On September 1, the band announced two 2009 tours of North America and the United Kingdom, in October and December respectively.[13] The 2009 tour was titled Deserve the Future Tour and the UK leg sold out in just under 12 minutes, making it one of the quickest sold tours in the UK — without the band even officially releasing a song to date. On September 21, the band also announced three Germany dates for December 2009. On November 17, 2009, the single "New Fang" was released as a downloadable song for Rock Band 2. On October 26, 2010, the song titled "Dead End Friends" was included as an on-disc track for the game Rock Band 3. On January 25, 2010, it was confirmed that the band would perform at the Download Festival 2010. On February 6, 2010, the band performed the songs "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" (now the second single) and "New Fang" as musical guests on Saturday Night Live. Dave Grohl also appeared in a sketch near the end of the show. A week later, the band appeared on the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits broadcast February 13, 2010. The band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on April 13–14, 2010. The band also confirmed a series of festival appearances for 2010, including the Coachella Music Festival on April 16, Roskilde Festival,[14] the Peace & Love Festival in Borlange, Sweden on July 1, 2010,[15] and Hove Festival in Arendal, Norway on June 30, 2010.[16] The band closed the show on the Alternastage at Rock Am Ring, Nürburg, Germany, playing after midnight on June 7, 2010.[17] In March, it was announced that the group were to play at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of The Teenage Cancer Trust[18] with support coming from Little Fish.[19][20] On April 20, 2010, Them Crooked Vultures released a digital 45 onto iTunes featuring the songs "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" and the song "Hwy 1" on the A side. "Hwy 1" wasn't featured on the band's self-titled album but was usually played live. For those reasons, the version of "Hwy 1" featured was recorded live in Sydney, Australia. The B-side featured "Vulture Speak", an interview with the band members. Hiatus (2010–present) [ edit ] Grohl said in an interview that they are working on a second album that will be "more powerful than the first one".[21] John Paul Jones also stated in an interview while touring in New Zealand that they will be recording a new album. When asked about the futures of Grohl and Homme's bands Jones said that they will get their frontmen back "eventually".[22] A video was uploaded to the band's official YouTube channel entitled 'Fresh Pots' which NME claimed was filmed during recording for their follow-up album.[23] Grohl clarified after the video's release that it was filmed a year prior, during the self-titled album's recording sessions.[24] On November 12, 2010, in an interview with BBC 6 Music, John Paul Jones has confirmed that the band is ready to resume working on putting together new material for a fresh release, and will go into the studio very soon. Jones has also stated that they are tentatively a year or so away from completing the CD, hinting on a possible late 2011 release.[25] In November 2011, touring member Alain Johannes noted that there are definitely plans to record a second studio album, stating: "The way that the cycles happen, you know, Dave jumped right into Foos, and then Josh toured more than a solid year with Queens for the self-titled album. So I expect at some point after the Queens cycle that there will be [another album]."[26] In December 2012, when asked about the band's future, Dave Grohl stated: "We've talked about it, I know that someday we'll get back together and do stuff, because we love playing with each other."[27] Grohl once again mentioned a possible reunion in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 radio station in June 2017.[28][29] Band members [ edit ] Them Crooked Vultures members Josh Homme; guitars, vocals John Paul Jones; bass, keyboards Dave Grohl; drums Official members Touring members Alain Johannes – rhythm and lead guitar, slide guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Discography [ edit ] Studio albums [ edit ] Singles [ edit ] Awards and nominations [ edit ] Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[40] Year Nominee / work Award Result 2011 "New Fang" Best Hard Rock Performance Won
Paris (CNN) The sophisticated ISIS network that plots foreign strikes had planned for the carnage in the November 2015 Paris attacks to be far worse, to occur in other European countries as well and, investigators believe, had planned to follow them up with strikes in several locations, CNN has learned. CNN has obtained thousands of pages of documents and photos from internal European investigations and gathered information from sources close to the Paris investigation that together provide new details about the highly organized terror group intent on attacking overseas targets. These documents reveal new information about two captured operatives who investigators believe intended to attack France. They also point, chillingly, to the existence of another suspected terrorist -- never before named publicly -- who authorities claim is linked to the Paris terror cell and was on the loose in Europe for months after that attack. That man, identified by authorities as Abid Tabaouni, was only arrested in July. And the documents shed new light on the highly organized branch of ISIS devoted to plotting attacks inside Europe where, even now, sources told CNN, operatives await instructions from senior handlers in Syria. "ISIS is increasing its international attack planning," said Paul Cruickshank, a CNN terrorism analyst who contributed to CNN's investigation and editor of CTC Sentinel, a publication issued by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. "It's increasingly sophisticated in the way it does this. It's set up an intricate, logistical support system for these terrorists ... to launch these terrorist attacks." A CNN team spent months going through 90,000 pages of documents, most of them in French, that included a trove of interrogations, investigative findings and data pulled from cell phones offering insight into the external operations wing of ISIS known as the Amn al-Kharji. The documents show: a fuller portrait of the suspected terrorists' extensive use of social media platforms such as Viber, Telegram and WhatsApp, many encrypted for secure communication. One app let them pick their own phone number, allowing them to disguise who was calling them and from where. how ISIS handlers protect their missions by: giving operatives only as much information and money as they need to reach the next phase; contacting them on each leg of their journey; and insisting on pseudonyms, even within teams. how the suspected terrorists constantly exchanged logistical advice with others in their network, including whether or not to use real names at border crossings and how to sneak across those borders illegally. One tip was to hide in train restrooms. A senior European counter-terrorism official who spoke to CNN said that according to investigations into the network that carried out the Paris attacks, they were a slimmed-down version of an even more ambitious plan to hit Europe. After interrogating suspects and gathering intelligence, European investigators now believe that ISIS initially planned for the operatives it sent last year to also attack the Netherlands, as well as other targets in France including shopping areas and possibly a supermarket in Paris, the official said. In addition, recently obtained intelligence indicates that ISIS has stepped up efforts to infiltrate operatives into the UK to launch attacks there, an official told CNN. The senior European counter-terrorism official told CNN that security services were "uncovering more and more ISIS operatives" on continental European soil. ISIS operatives dispatched back to Europe have taken advantage of encryption, especially the Telegram messenger app, to communicate securely, the official told CNN, frustrating European security services. "Encrypted messaging groups have the potential to revolutionize terror plot planning by allowing entire cells to coordinate in real time without compromising themselves," said CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank. Europe's security agencies have had important successes, though. One major breakthrough was the capture of two men who authorities believe intended to travel to France alongside the two suicide bombers who eventually blew themselves up outside a Paris stadium. Investigators: Two ISIS attackers who never reached France Those two suspected ISIS operatives are identified in the documents as Algerian-born Adel Haddadi and his Pakistani travel partner, Muhammad Usman. Algerian-born Adel Haddadi is a suspected ISIS operative. Muhammad Usman is a suspected ISIS operative from Pakistan Documents that detail their capture and extensive interrogations, particularly with Haddadi, show how ISIS supported the attackers throughout their journey from Syria through Europe -- and how future attacks might be organized. The following account of their journey to Europe is based on those documents, which include evidence gathered by investigators, and their conclusions. Haddadi and Usman, who was identified by investigators as a suspected bombmaker for the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, set out from the capital of the self-declared ISIS caliphate in Raqqa, Syria, six weeks before the Paris attacks. They were part of a team, investigators concluded. The two others, Ahmad al-Mohammad and Mohamad al-Mahmod, would later blow themselves up outside the national stadium in Paris. The team crossed the border from Syria into Turkey in early October and headed for the Turkish coast. Ahmad al-Mohammad was one of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks. Mohamad al-Mahmod was one of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks. The four men didn't seem to know each other's real names, or what their final mission would be. All Haddadi knew, he later told interrogators, was that they were being sent to France to do "something for the good of God." The documents show that their journey was directed by a shadowy ISIS leader in Syria, known only as Abu Ahmad. Operating like a puppet-master from afar, Abu Ahmad handled their logistics: connecting them with smugglers and cars for transport, providing pre-programmed cell phones and getting them fake Syrian passports. He wired them money as they moved, using intermediaries who couldn't be traced, and communicated using encrypted apps. "Abu Ahmad ... is key in sending those individuals, at least the foreigners, into the Paris attacks," said Jean-Charles Brisard, president and chairman of the French Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, who reviewed the documents for CNN. "He is the one who recruited them, who funds them, who trained them," said Brisard. "He was always in contact with them." Throughout their journey, Abu Ahmad gave the men only enough money and information to get to the next stop, rarely if ever telling them what would happen next, the documents show. Posing as Syrian refugees The documents reveal fresh details about their journey and the way they posed as Syrian refugees, blending in with thousands fleeing the war-torn country. They made the treacherous crossing from Izmir, Turkey, into Greece in a boat filled with dozens of refugees. But they were then intercepted by the Greek Navy. The two who would go on to strike the Paris stadium passed through Greece and started moving across Europe toward their target in France. Greek officials declined to explain how the two got through. But Greek authorities discovered Haddadi and Usman's fake Syrian passports. The pair were arrested, their money was taken, and they were held for nearly a month. Sources told CNN that investigators believe that delay was significant; as a result, they would not have a chance to become part of the Paris attacks. The Greeks released Haddadi and Usman in late October. They immediately contacted their ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad, who arranged for someone to wire them 2,000 euros. Flush with cash, the pair continued along the refugee route. It was likely a quiet journey. The documents show that Usman spoke only Urdu, while Haddadi spoke mostly Arabic. And as they travelled north, Usman was preoccupied with a strikingly un-Islamic hobby -- using his phone to peruse almost two dozen X-rated sites, including "sexxx lahur" and "Pakistani Lahore college girls ... ImakeSex." Both men's phones have given European officials rich investigative veins to mine, revealing dozens of contacts across Europe and the Middle East. One of the people Haddadi reached out to for help was a technician at one of the most important nuclear research centers in Europe. That man was placed under immediate observation by French authorities, the documents show. Data pulled from the phones also revealed how the operatives functioned both with extreme care and sometimes, seemingly, by the seat of their pants. In one exchange, Haddadi asks a contact for advice about what to do at a border crossing and whether a friend should use his real name. The friend is so worried about this, Haddadi gripes that he's "driving me crazy." This graphic, featuring suspected ISIS operative Adel Haddadi, shows Haddadi's global network. Other online conversations, notably with Abu Ahmad, are clearly in code. One message investigators pulled from Haddadi's phone shows the ISIS handler counseling patience, though the exact meaning of his message isn't clear. "Yes, but not yet," it reads, "the drugs are not good." On November 14, the day after the Paris attacks, Haddadi and Usman arrived in Salzburg, Austria, applied for asylum and settled into one of the city's refugee centers, where they waited for weeks. Investigators: Planning for another strike They were waiting with a purpose, according to the documents. European investigators concluded that Haddadi and Usman were part of the same terror cell as the Paris bombers and, having failed to participate in that bloody day, were planning another strike. Investigators found that in the days before their arrest, Haddadi and Usman were researching trains to Paris and making a flurry of phone calls overseas, including to contacts in Belgium and France. The documents also reveal that investigators believe that Haddadi and Usman were waiting for a third man to join them -- Abid Tabaouni. Abid Tabaouni was arrested in July in Brussels and is a suspected ISIS terrorist, according to the Belgium prosecutor's office. Tabaouni's name and his alleged role have never before been made public. As investigators grilled Haddadi and pored through data they collected from cell phones, they asked European police to issue a continent-wide warrant for Tabaouni's arrest. Like Usman and Haddadi, Tabaouni traveled from Syria along the refugee route, arriving in Salzburg on December 10. He headed to the refugee center where Haddadi and Usman were staying. The documents outline what happened next: The very day that Tabaouni arrived, Austrian security officials thundered into the center, arresting Haddadi, Usman and a few others suspected of being connected to the Paris attackers. Tabaouni was nowhere to be seen. But investigators found his cell phone charging right beside Haddadi's bed. The ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud The documents show that Tabaouni had programmed into his phone a number linked to the terror cell of the ringleader of the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. He had also saved a photo of ISIS fighters standing before their black-and-white flag. An image investigators pulled from Tabaouni's phone of suspected ISIS fighters Haddadi denied knowing Tabaouni, but investigators found Tabaouni had saved Haddadi's phone number in his contacts. The phone also contained a photo taken just 30 minutes before security officials stormed the refugee center. It shows Tabaouni sitting on a bed in between where Haddadi and Usman slept. The investigators lay out in the documents their belief that Tabaouni was coming to join Haddadi and Usman and that the three men were working on ISIS operations and planning possible attacks. CNN sources and analysts agree about Tabaouni's likely role. "We can assume that Tabaouni was also part of the same plot," said Brisard, the French terror expert. "And (that he) was instructed to carry out an attack." From the moment he slipped away in December, Tabaouni was a wanted man, according to several CNN sources. An arrest is made The Belgian prosecutor's office told CNN that Tabaouni, who is Moroccan, was only arrested in Brussels in July. He was taken into custody as soon as he was located, according to a senior European terrorism official. Following the publication of an earlier version of this story, Austrian media, citing prosecutors, have reported that Tabaouni has been extradited to Austria. Haddadi and Usman were extradited to France, where they face terrorism charges, according to senior European counterterrorism sources, who also say they will be trying to tie Tabaouni to Haddadi and Usman and the Paris attackers. While he was on the loose, Tabaouni was openly using a Facebook account that is identified in the documents by its unique ID number and was publicly posting updates from Belgium, where he was arrested. None of his postings indicate any apparent terrorist leanings or affiliations. Investigators are now analyzing more than 1,600 pages of data from Tabaouni's phone in hopes of learning more about his movements and contacts. Several sources told CNN there are probably more sleeper cells and ISIS operatives coming into Europe using the same crowded, chaotic refugee route exploited by Haddadi, Usman and Tabaouni. "We've seen that in the recent weeks, several of them, individuals who carry out individual attacks, inspired attacks, were coming back from Syria using the same route," Brisard said. "In addition to that, several jihadists have been arrested all around in France ... in Belgium and Germany using the same route, for the same purpose," Brisard said. The treasure trove of information that investigators gained from the interrogations and the data extracted from the phones may help authorities better identify future plotters. Even after the arrests in Austria, Haddadi's phone was still active. On December 15, five days after the refugee center raid, the documents show that the team's ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad, reached out to his operatives. He messaged Haddadi, perhaps wondering about their silence. "How are you," he wrote. "What has become of you?" There was no reply.
The Five Boro Bike Tour is celebrating its 40th anniversary on Sunday and cyclists will ride through 40 miles of car-free roads in all five boroughs. The event will run through parts of Queens, which means parts of Long Island City and Astoria will be closed off from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 7. According to the organizers, 32,000 cyclists are expected to attend the event. Cyclists will start off in Manhattan, snake through the Bronx, cross into Queens through the Queensboro Bridge, head into Brooklyn and then finish in Staten Island. To celebrate, organizers will hold the Finish Festival at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island. Cyclists will be treated to live music and food from vendors such as Bull Dog Burgery, Empanada Shop, Gordo’s Cantina, Salt & Bone, Andy’s Italian Ices & Espresso and more. Proceeds from the event will go to fund free bike education programs. The following streets will be closed:
U.S. AND CANADA FALL TOUR ANNOUNCED Silversun Pickups have announced new headlining shows in October and November with special guest Minus The Bear. Pre-sale tickets for the newly-announced fall shows become available Tuesday, July 25 at 10am local time HERE. General on sale begins Friday, July 28 at 10am local time HERE. In order to get access to pre-sale tickets, you must subscribe to the Silversun Pickups Mailing List via the top right at SilversunPickups.com before 3amET on July 25. October 21 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst * October 22 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre * October 24 – Boise, ID – Revolution Concert House * October 25 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo October 26 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom * October 28 – Calgary, AB – The Palace Theatre * October 29 – Edmonton, AB – Union Hall (Edmonton) * October 31 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory – Spokane * November 1 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom * November 8 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre November 10 – Rochester, NY – Anthology * November 11 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis * November 12 – Toronto, ON – REBEL * November 14 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club * November 15 – New York, NY – Terminal 5 * November 17 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel * November 18 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall * November 19 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore * * with special guest Minus The Bear Photo by Citizen Kane Wayne
Jameson Lopp is a software engineer at BitGo, creator of statoshi.info and founder of bitcoinsig.com. In this guest feature, Lopp provides a deep dive into whether bitcoin can truly be understood as a technology, coming up with more questions than answers and delivering an impassioned appeal to open-mindedness and exploration. When I first became interested in bitcoin, I found myself spending countless hours absorbing as much information about it as possible, trying to put all of the pieces together. After years of learning, I now devote a fair amount of my time trying to help others understand bitcoin better. While many people have referred to me as a “bitcoin expert,” I still consider myself a student – I have yet to determine how deep the rabbit hole goes. Andreas Antonopoulos had this to say about explaining (and thus understanding) bitcoin: “I wrote a book that answers the question ‘What is Bitcoin?’ It’s 300 pages long, was obsolete the moment it was printed and has to be corrected and updated every three months just to keep up with changes.” The multifaceted nature of bitcoin With enough studying you can teach yourself how bitcoin currently works from a technical standpoint. I maintain a list of educational resources that is sufficient to keep anyone busy for several months in pursuit of this goal. However, this approach of information ingestion will only expose the tip of the bitcoin iceberg. Meltem Demirors posted a chart that’s spot on: One challenge to understanding bitcoin is that it is a multifaceted cross-disciplinary system that is constantly evolving. Ferdinando Ametrano put it well: Ferdinando hits a key point that I’ll be delving into – bitcoin is not just a technology; it’s a technology that represents something even less tangible. Bitcoin is a living protocol that emerges from a melting pot of ideas, philosophies, cultures and politics after they undergo trial by fire. You can read the “Rise of the Cypherpunks” to learn how we came to be where we are today. Satoshi’s understanding of bitcoin “Writing a description for this thing for general audiences is bloody hard. There’s nothing to relate it to.” – Satoshi, July 5, 2010 Even Satoshi didn’t fully understand what he built with regard to bitcoin’s security model. He (or she) ended up fixing a multitude of bugs in the first few years of bitcoin’s existence. After it was 18 months old, the rate of bug fixes had slowed down to the point that new vulnerabilities were categorized and documented. Let’s cover a few of the flaws that were fixed before bitcoin gained adopters. In the first versions of bitcoin, anyone could spend anyone else’s coins: “The opcode OP_RETURN originally just caused the script to end early instead of fail, so you could steal anyone’s bitcoins by simply using the scriptSig OP_TRUE OP_RETURN. It was also possible to put a pushdata opcode right at the end of a scriptSig to turn the entire scriptPubKey into a constant (which evaluates to true). Satoshi fixed these bugs by changing the behavior of OP_RETURN to cause the transaction to immediately fail and making it so that scriptSig and scriptPubKey are evaluated in two separate steps.” – Theymos Satoshi fixed a major consensus flaw by changing the ‘best chain’ logic from using the longest chain to using the chain with most proof-of-work. Technically, it could be argued that this was a hard fork, though it didn’t actually cause a chain fork because the longest chain at the time was also the one with the most proof-of-work. Satoshi also set the block-size limit as protection against denial-of-service attacks. The block size was originally only implicitly limited by the network message size of 32MB. There is also a bug in OP_CHECKMULTISIG that exists to this day. It’s mentioned in BIP-011: “(OP_0 is required because of a bug in OP_CHECKMULTISIG; it pops one too many items off the execution stack, so a dummy value must be placed on the stack).” – Gavin Andresen And who could forget the value overflow bug that allowed someone to create 184 billion bitcoins! In my quest to find more early Satoshi bugs that aren’t well-known, Greg Maxwell recalled a juicy one: “In the early versions of bitcoin, any user could hard fork any released versions from any other versions! This design flaw showed he didn’t fully understand the required conditions for safe upgrades when it was first released, but his fix showed he did understand them later. There was an opcode called OP_VER which pushed the verifying node’s version number onto the stack. (Satoshi always believed there should only be one piece of bitcoin node software.) The apparent purpose of that opcode was so that you could add features to script and have only the newer supporting versions see those new opcodes (there also was originally 16 bits of opcode space in the codebase.) But someone could have used this maliciously like “OP_VER 1234 IF FALSE RETURN ENDIF TRUE” to make version 1,234 reject a block mined by any other version. So, any user could make the system fork any any time! When he removed OP_VER, he added the OP_NOP, which is what makes modern style script soft forks possible. This change itself was a soft fork because the original versions ignored unknown opcodes.” Researchers have also discovered some flaws in Satoshi’s white paper regarding the description of the system’s security. For example, there are issues of ‘miner luck’ and ‘selfish mining‘. There is even a compilation of known problems with the white paper available here. Bitcoin clearly didn’t follow a ‘code is law’ view, but rather ‘Satoshi’s vision is law’ given that he made a number of tweaks in the first few years as it was discovered that the code didn’t fully align with the intent of the code creator. I think this distinction is particularly relevant given that: a) Satoshi stopped contributing to bitcoin many years ago, and b) bitcoin has no formal specification. Software is never finished You can tell how little bitcoin is understood simply by the vast amount of research being done to analyze and improve upon it. Google Scholar articles published mentioning Bitcoin: 2009: 83 2010: 136 2011: 218 2012: 424 2013: 1,390 2014: 3,190 2015: 3,670 2016: 3,580 — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) December 17, 2016 Satoshi once stated that the core design was set in stone and other implementations would be a menace to the network. People often take this quote (and others from Satoshi) and use it to fallaciously argue (via appeal to authority) that the bitcoin protocol must evolve in a specific way. I pose to you that this was just another case where Satoshi was mistaken. As we’ve seen, Satoshi actually had to make a lot of changes to bitcoin as early developers were exploring the code and discovering edge cases. There are also over half a dozen bitcoin client implementations running today that aren’t disrupting the network. We have even seen that a single implementation can be a menace to the network when machine-level differences can cause consensus failure, as happened in 2013 with the Berkeley DB chain fork. Recall my earlier description of bitcoin being the result of a melting pot of contributions. This really took hold once Satoshi released his pet project that he had been working on in secret for several years. The very first week that bitcoin launched, it also gained its first collaborator, Hal Finney. Hal was one of the few people who believed early on that bitcoin could actually work, which is clear from Satoshi’s original white paper release: “[Hal Finney] allegedly showed a lot of flaws in the early code, which were fixed by reducing the opcodes. Hal Finney was the cypherpunks’ cypherpunk. He had a rare ability to both code superlatively, see the forest and the trees and describe what he saw. We all read his posts carefully, I don’t think there is anyone else who commanded such respect.” – Ian Grigg Finney released a number of his emails with Satoshi to the Wall Street Journal; they’re an interesting read. You can see Satoshi’s surprise as he manages to find several bugs that Satoshi had not anticipated even though he had “tested heavily”. Unlike some systems (such as ethereum), bitcoin doesn’t have a formal specification. Even if bitcoin did have one, it wouldn’t be any easier or harder to make changes to the protocol from a technical standpoint, though it might from a social standpoint. As Charlie Lee noted in response to Andresen’s suggested definition, it’s amorphous: Definition of Bitcoin is like a definition of a word. It can morph and slowly change over time. No one controls it. — Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) February 7, 2017 Nor is there an objective process by which changes are enacted: While the Bitcoin protocol determines consensus objectively, the means of determining changes to the objective consensus are subjective. — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 25, 2017 Paul Stzorc spoke about making objective decisions with bitcoin development, but it’s far from being realized. His presentation was based upon this blog post. I pose to you that bitcoin’s strength comes not from being the embodiment of some dogmatic beliefs of immutability, decentralization or other buzzwords, but from collaboration. The process of taking collaboration and using it to determine human consensus can be noisy and messy, but it’s the governance model within which we must work. As I see it, this system of governance, rooted in voluntaryism, is the only aspect of bitcoin that is ‘set in stone’. Bitcoin’s magic Sergej Kotliar penned this piece years ago describing why bitcoin has similarities to religion. As he notes, there is a bit of magic to the fact that the system works as a whole, because it relies upon non-technical components. The well-aligned incentives of the system form an “invisible hand” that guides it. Most bitcoin users probably don’t realize it, but they are subscribing to a sophisticated subjectivist ontology by participating in this collectively reinforced belief in the system of rules that comprises bitcoin. To put it in simpler terms: 1) Public permissionless consensus systems let you use them w/o trusting any one individual. However, you must trust everyone in aggregate. — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) June 26, 2016 While bitcoin can be described as trustless in the sense that a full node operator needs not trust any other participants on the network, at a meta level there is often some form of trust involved. For example, almost none of bitcoin’s users actually read and understand the software and the protocol itself. They are trusting the developers to be careful not to introduce flaws. It appears to me that the fact that few people have a deep understanding of bitcoin’s technical operations results in people with lesser understanding deciding which ‘experts’ to trust. As such, when experts clash, the crowd divides and takes sides behind the experts whose arguments they find most compelling. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes politics are injected into the decision making process. As Shaolin Fry recently noted, we should strive to avoid politicization of proposed protocol improvements. To be clear, this doesn’t mean ‘nobody in the ecosystem is motivated by political ideals’. Rather, it means that the direction of the system is not driven by politics in which one group of people forces their beliefs upon another. For example, the concept of ‘voting’ generally means that a political process is occurring. We should instead strive for a system of permissionless innovation wherein participants can signal that they want to interact in certain ways, regardless of what other participants signal. “We already have a lot of options for currencies which are (indirectly) controlled by political whim. Bitcoin should be sounder stuff than that. I would love to be able to say that the complete consensus rules on day one were involatile (‘set in stone’) but engineering reality makes that unrealistic. That dream for bitcoin died the day the first unambiguous and serious consensus flaw was found. The deactivation of buggy opcodes further weakened it, requiring more changes to be fully general again. But the world is seldom so conveniently black and white. Bitcoin can still deliver on the promise of being a less political money without being totally set in stone.” – Greg Maxwell Projection problems Some bitcoin users achieve such a sufficient understanding of the protocol that they begin to envision potential improvements, at which point they try to change the system to better fit their perspective. This is a ‘command and control’ mindset that is human nature; I myself have been guilty of making this same mistake in the past by trying to project my perspective onto bitcoin rather than ingesting the perspectives of the community. There are far more considerations that go into debates about bitcoin’s evolution than just the technical aspects of how changes would affect the network. Ryan X Charles covered the high-level philosophies of the two most popular viewpoints in the scaling debates. Much of the contention in these debates comes from: a) different priorities and b) different beliefs in the use cases for bitcoin. Unfortunately, a significant portion of participants in these debates have taken their perspectives and developed them to the point of dogmatic belief, which makes it nearly impossible to engage in intellectual discourse. Dogma: "Doing X is an attack on Bitcoin!" Discourse: "I disagree with doing X because my vision for Bitcoin is Y." — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 28, 2017 One reason I believe that it is easy for people to project their perspective upon bitcoin is due to its lack of specification and thus lack of clear objectives. For example, Satoshi described bitcoin as a ‘peer-to-peer electronic cash system’. But even this simple description can easily be interpreted in many ways. ‘Peer-to-peer’ provides no context around how many peers there should be; ‘cash’ provides no context around what the speed or cost of transactions should be. Much as you can find a variety of perspectives and interpretations of the US Constitution or the Bible or the Quran, so can the writings of Satoshi be interpreted and debated. The projection of individual perspectives onto bitcoin has led to the same sort of fracturing we can observe in political, philosophical, and religious systems. A group starts out on mostly the same page, but then an issue arises about which the group can not form a consensus. The individuals begin to polarize their perspectives and support actions that foster tribalism. Party lines are drawn, litmus tests are applied to newcomers, dissenting speech is suppressed, propaganda is perpetuated, communications break down, and echo chambers are formed. As a result, today, bitcoin debates often devolve into fallacious assertions and name calling, where one party considers the other party to be either ignorant or malicious. This is unfortunate because people often end up talking past each other under the assumption that they are right and the other party is wrong. It’s troubling to see the ossification of perspectives into dogmatic beliefs that degrade the quality of discourse in the community. I pose to you that there is no single ‘correct’ approach to viewing bitcoin, but rather a multitude of perspectives. The diversity of perspectives and use cases was the topic of one of the first articles I ever wrote about bitcoin. I’m not saying that you have to agree with rhetoric propagated by people with conflicting perspectives of what bitcoin should be. I will suggest, however, that you should recognize it as such – not as a malicious attack that you must defend against with a direct counterattack. If a debate is becoming too heated and discourse is breaking down, you can always disengage. Keep in mind that all humans fall prey to biases; we can’t avoid being affected by them, but we can consciously choose how we respond to other biased people. It may also help to remember that bitcoin doesn’t need you to defend it – you defend your own perspective of bitcoin by choosing which software to run and by choosing the system in which you store your money. The Tao of bitcoin Andreas once spoke about the “noisy” scaling debate. While it can be unpleasant, we should remember that it is the result of a feature rather than of a flaw in bitcoin. Bitcoin ecosystem participants should be humble when discussing it rather than confident that our understanding of the system is superior to that of others participating in a discussion. I, for one, have found my conversations to be more productive after making this realization. I’ve also wasted a lot less time by avoiding conversations that were clearly going to be unproductive due to the dogmatic views expressed by the other party. You can achieve the ‘Tao of Bitcoin’ by accepting that bitcoin is on its own path that is outside of your control. Don’t be frustrated if your vision of bitcoin does not align with that of other users. Bitcoin will naturally converge upon the least common denominator of human consensus – that which is beneficial (or at least not harmful) to the greatest subset of participants. The Tao of Bitcoin is not understanding bitcoin, it is accepting that bitcoin is what it is. Thanks for playing, everybody – you're all correct! Everyone who has a vested interest can /try/ to influence Bitcoin. None can control it. pic.twitter.com/chfbUtZAZi — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) March 2, 2017 Bitcoin breaks bad First step to understanding Bitcoin: admitting you don't understand Bitcoin. Final step: realizing that "understanding" is a moving target. — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 8, 2017 I’ve attempted to present sufficient evidence that bitcoin defies conventional educational approaches and even defies self-professed authorities who claim to understand it. The result can be bewildering, but there is no need for negativity. We should remain hopeful that bitcoin will continue to ‘fail to scale’ just like the internet has. Jimmy Song also made a great case for optimism in the face of deadlock and despair. “In short, bitcoin is maturing and the market is starting to define what bitcoin is going to be. I’m sure there are people on both sides of the debate that won’t like what it’s going to become, but that’s what you get with a decentralized currency.” I will continue my quest to consume as much information as possible about this new ecosystem, but have long since given up the goal of understanding bitcoin. The faster I run toward the finish line, the further it moves away from me. While some people in this space are more confident than others about its future direction, the truth is that we’re blazing new trails and learning as we move forward. You don’t understand bitcoin, and that’s OK – neither does anyone else. You can be any of these things… * whale investor * early adopter * C-level exec * developer * miner … and still not understand Bitcoin. — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 8, 2017 Author’s note: Thanks to the many people with a wide variety of perspectives who provided feedback on this article. Image via Cryptograffiti. Find more images and artwork here. Seeking knowledge image via Shutterstock
The nominees for the 2012 International Bluegrass Music Awards have been announced. Awards will be distributed at the gala IBMA Awards show on September 27, held at the historic Ryman Theater in Nashville. Tickets are available now online. And the nominees are: Entertainer of the Year Dailey & Vincent The Gibson Brothers Alison Krauss & Union Station Steve Martin & Steep Canyon Rangers Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out Vocal Group of the Year Blue Highway Dailey & Vincent The Gibson Brothers Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out Instrumental Group of the Year Blue Highway The Boxcars Sam Bush Band Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper Punch Brothers Emerging Artist of the Year Darin & Brooke Aldridge Della Mae Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen The Darrell Webb Band Male Vocalist of the Year Audie Blaylock Jamie Dailey Vince Gill Russell Moore Dan Tyminski Female Vocalist of the Year Dale Ann Bradley Sonya Isaacs Alison Krauss Claire Lynch Rhonda Vincent Song of the Year A Far Cry From Lester and Earl by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, written by Tim Massey, Rick Purdue & Harry Sisk Jr. Dustbowl Children by Alison Krauss & Union Station, written by Peter Rowan Pretty Little Girl From Galax by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, written by Milan Miller Somewhere South Of Crazy by Dale Ann Bradley, written by Dale Ann Bradley & Pam Tillis Sounds Of Home by Blue Highway, written by Shawn Lane Album of the Year All In by The Boxcars (artists & producers), Mountain Home Records Paper Airplane by Alison Krauss & Union Station (artists & producers), Rounder Records Prime Tyme by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records Sounds Of Home by Blue Highway (artists & producers), Rounder Records The Heart of a Song by Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice (artists), Wes Easter & Ramblers Choice (producers), Rebel Records Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year Beyond The Sunset by Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Jamie Dailey & Josh Swift (artists); Doyle Lawson (songwriter); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records I Press Through The Crowd by Dale Ann Bradley (artist), Joe Isaacs (songwriter), Alison Brown (producer), Compass Records I Saw Him Walk Out Of The Sky by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (artists), Dee Gaskin (songwriter), Doyle Lawson (producer), Mountain Home Records Satisfied by Paul Williams & The Victory Trio (artists), Martha Carson (songwriter), Paul Williams (producer), Rebel Records Singing As We Rise by The Gibson Brothers (artists); Joe Newberry (songwriter); Eric Gibson, Mike Barber & Leigh Gibson (producers); Compass Records Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year Angeline The Baker by the Lonesome River Band (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records Carroll County Blues by Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out (artists & producers), Rural Rhythm Records Manzanita by Tony Rice, Josh Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Aubrey Haynie & Rob Ickes (artists); Anthony D. Rice (songwriter); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records Roaring Creek by Blue Highway (artists & producers), Jason Burleson (songwriter), Rounder Records That’s What She Said by The Boxcars (artists & producers), Adam Steffey (songwriter), Mountain Home Records Recorded Event of the Year Beyond The Sunset by Doyle Lawson, Russell Moore, Jamie Dailey & Josh Swift (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records Life Goes On”by Carl Jackson, Ronnie Bowman, Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Rickey Wasson, Randy Kohrs, D.A. Adkins, Garnet Bowman, Lynn Butler, Ashley Kohrs, Gary Payne, Dale Pyatt, Clay Hess, Alan Bibey, Jay Weaver, Ron Stewart & Jim VanCleve (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records Monroe by Special Consensus with Josh Williams & Chris Jones (artists); Alison Brown (producer); Compass Records Old Violin by Larry Cordle & Michael Cleveland (artists); Bob Kelley, Jack Campitelli & Darrel Adkins (producers); Rural Rhythm Records Singing As We Rise by The Gibson Brothers (artists); Eric Gibson, Mike Barber & Leigh Gibson (producers); Compass Records Instrumental Performers of the Year Banjo Kristin Scott Benson Ron Block J.D. Crowe Sammy Shelor Ron Stewart Bass Barry Bales Mike Bub Missy Raines Mark Schatz Marshall Wilborn Fiddle Hunter Berry Jason Carter Michael Cleveland Stuart Duncan Ron Stewart Dobro Mike Auldridge Jerry Douglas Rob Ickes Randy Kohrs Phil Leadbetter Guitar Tony Rice Kenny Smith Bryan Sutton Doc Watson Josh Williams Mandolin Wayne Benson Jessie Brock Sam Bush Sierra Hull Adam Steffey Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year Kyle Cantrell Katy Daley Chris Jones Bluegrass Event of the Year Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion LaRoche Bluegrass Festival ROMP Bluegrass Print Media Personality of the Year Marty Godbey – Crowe On The Banjo Derek Halsey Ted Lehmann Songwriter of the year Tom T. and Dixie Hall Donna Ulisse Jon Weisberger Best Graphic Design for a Recorded Project Bedrock Manufacturing (designer) for Nobody Knows You, by the Steep Canyon Rangers (Rounder Records) Caroline Hadilaksono (designer) for Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail, by Noam Pikelny (Compass Records) Lynch Graphics (designer), for Home from the Hills, by Jimmy Gaudreau & Moondi Klein (Rebel Records) Best Liner Notes for a Recorded Project Geoffrey Himes (liner notes), for John Duffey: the Rebel Years: 1962-1977, by John Duffey (Rebel Records) Marian Leighton Levy (liner notes), for Tony Rice: The Bill Monroe Collection, by Tony Rice (Rounder Records) Bill Nowlin (liner notes), for Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration: A Classic Bluegrass Tribute, by Various Artists (Rounder Records) Bluegrass Hall of Fame inductees Ralph Rinzler Doyle Lawson IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award Recipients Byron Berline Joe and Lil Cornett Orin Freisen Kitsy Kuykendall Darrell “Pee Wee” Lambert Congratulations to the nominees and honorees, one and all.
CARTER COUNTY, OK -- New details on the Ardmore man who was arrested after prosecutors say he illegally filmed women nude at his home. Police say they're still investigating the case.. but there was plenty of evidence.. leading to the arrest. A quiet neighborhood in Ardmore, turned out to have some deeper secrets... "You know you hear something like that and you really don't know what to think," Kaysea Rowe said. 67 year old Michael Meritt was charged Tuesday with nine counts of taking clandestine videos, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $500 fine on each count. Most of the victims that we have contacted and that are involved in these charges are tenants of Mr. Meritt's," Captain Eric Hamblin said. Police say Meritt recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with several women without them knowing they were on camera. They say the 9 separate occasions took place between January and June of this year at his home in the 2200 Block of Hickory Drive. "People being filmed doing stuff like that...no no... it's not okay without permission," Rowe said. Some we talked to say he's been a good neighbor, and they were shocked to hear it. Meritt has several rent houses throughout Carter County, listed on the assessor's page. Police say, most, but not all the victims were tenants. Police say that they direct acts going on in the home were not illegal, but the fact that the women were being filmed without consent, is where the law was broken. Meritt was released on his own recognizance from the Carter County jail.. with a lawful promise to appear at his next court date on October 1st. Neighbors we talked to who chose not to go on camera say Meritt has been a great neighbor, and they are shocked to hear the allegations against him..
I’ve spilled a good deal of ink on craft beer in the past, discussing how regulations have factored into the big beer monopolies, and questioning whether small brewers need to be unionized the way the big brew shops do. I’ve also written about craft beer as it applies to the “human economy” (more on the human economy here). Suffice to say, the American beer industry fascinates me, not least of all because until quite recently it was dominated by a handful of very big corporations making a very limited, and subpar range of brews. The craft brew revolution has changed all that. Craft beers are now brewed across the United States, and the number of small breweries has shot up exponentially in the past few decades. As the above chart illustrates, since the deregulation of home brewing, small breweries and craft beers have been on the rise. Meanwhile, big beer is losing market share – albeit very slowly: For the fourth year in a row, the beer industry has continued its declines and lost 1.9% to total 2.8 billion cases. According to the Beverage Information Group's recently released 2011 Beer Handbook, continued declines in the Light segment continue to contribute to the overall losses in the industry. This segment has seen declines amongst its core brands and is only seeing pockets of growth from newly introduced line extensions. Despite the struggling economy, growth was seen among the Craft segment as well as Imports. The higher-priced Craft segment continued to post solid gains due to consumers' attraction to the interesting flavors craft brewers offer. Imports, which previously have been experiencing declines, gained 0.9% to 362-8 million cases last year, but that is still 11.1% lower than its pre-recessionary levels. Nevertheless, craft beer faces a steep uphill battle. Distribution laws and other post-prohibition regulations make simply distributing craft beers difficult. The fact that the current big players have so much market share, capital, and the advantage of economies of scale and huge advertising budgets only makes matters worse. Still, good beer is nothing to sniff at, and as more Americans realize they don’t have to drink watered down lagers, I expect growth in the wildly diverse craft sector to just keep growing – unless, that is, politicians like Scott Walker have their way. (hat tip Jacob Grier) Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
During a year with no government shutdowns and few agency reductions in force (RIF), fewer federal employees made hardship withdrawals from the Thrift Savings Plan in 2015. Participants made 111,694 hardship withdrawals worth about $1 billion in 2015, compared with 121,389 withdrawals worth $1.1 billion in 2014. TSP participants can withdraw from their accounts to satisfy a specific, immediate financial need. But more participants — active employees ages 59 1/2 or older — took age-based withdrawals last year than the year before, members of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) said during its monthly meeting Jan. 25. The board saw 20,242 age-based withdrawals for a total of nearly $2.2 billion in 2015, compared with 19,882 withdrawals worth nearly $2.1 billion in 2014. TSP participants took out nearly $1 billion more in loans in 2015 than 2014 — about $3.97 billion last year compared to $2.95 billion the year before. Advertisement Now, the board said it’s trying to figure out why more active federal employees are tapping into their nest eggs early. It will continue its campaign to remind participants of the risks of withdrawing from their nest eggs, even as the stock market remains unsettled and some TSP funds continue their downward spiral, the board said. “What you’re doing is borrowing from your future,” said Jim Courtney, director of the Office of Communications and Education. “The risk of taking the money up front, leaves you with the possibility that you’re going to have hundreds or thousands of dollars less each month in retirement.” Though the board is turning to social media, particularly Twitter and online videos, to get the word out, the goal is to speak with individuals at a more personal level. “We are not doing individually directed messaging,” Renee Wilder, the board’s director of enterprise planning, said during the conference call. “Right now, we are one voice to many. Aspirationally, we would like to be one voice to one.” The TSP saw a record number of Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) participants in 2015 — a 88.5 percent participation rate compared to a 87.5 percent rate in 2014. Active military participation increased steadily throughout 2015 as well, Wilder said. The Board is continuing to prepare for an expected influx of 500,000-700,000 new military members to the TSP in 2018, thanks to a provision in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act requiring automatic enrollment for new troops. Kim Weaver, legislative director for the board, said she is working with the Defense Department on the Uniformed Services Blended Retirement System to make any technical corrections to the NDAA provision before they move forward on implementation. Copyright © 2019 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
There’s something about abandoned buildings that resonates strangely with the human spirit: the homes lost, the stories forgotten. Watching the decay of our built structures – things designed to outlast us – sends a powerful message about how all things must one day return to the earth. Nothing lasts forever. How interesting it is then, to contemplate the decline of our monuments to the eternal: the powerful symbolism offered by the sight of abandoned churches. From time to time in my travels, I’ve come across the derelict remains of religious buildings; some of them boarded and fenced off in city centres, others left to rot in fields or forests. I felt it was about time I shared a few, and so here are five of the most memorable abandoned churches that I’ve had the opportunity to explore. Abandoned Churches and Bell Tower, Bulgaria I came across this place a year ago, nestled amongst bushes and tumbled stone walls, in the middle of a remote Balkan village. The village was much like many others in the region; half a dozen houses clustered around a potholed road, and half of those properties most likely uninhabited. Over the past couple of decades Bulgaria has seen radical depopulation in its more rural settlements, as young people typically move to the cities – or now, increasingly to other EU nations – in search of work. As a result, many of Bulgaria’s more remote villages have been starved of life and vitality. A cluster of buildings sat back from the road; the creepers and brambles already taking hold of the old stones, pulling them down in a deadly stranglehold. It was a war memorial in the graveyard that first caught my eye – but I followed it through to the derelict structures behind. Here I was greeted by the faded symbols of the Bulgarian Orthodox church; and stepping through an arched double doorway, into what I realised was the remains of one of two abandoned churches, for just a moment I was able to imagine the building whole. At a guess, I’d say the church had been built sometime in the early 19th century. It wasn’t until 1878 that Bulgaria finally achieved independence from Ottoman rule, before which these people were strictly forbidden from building churches that rose taller than the mosques of their occupiers. As a result, Bulgarian Orthodox churches built before that were typically dug deep into the ground, to form semi-subterranean spaces of worship that wouldn’t offend their Muslim overlords. This building, approached by a series of three stone steps descending into a shallow, one-storey church, seemed to fit the pattern. There were several buildings clustered together, two separate abandoned churches, plus a bell tower. The latter was built in a more ornate style and topped with a proud cross, which would certainly have been raised post-liberation – such a blatant advert of Christianity would never have met with Ottoman approval. The sun was setting by the time I finished looking around both the abandoned churches. I glanced up at the stone tower as I crossed the graveyard, and at that moment I caught the reflection of sun beams glinting dully on the brass body of a bell. Immediately, I knew I wanted to climb the tower. The bell tower wasn’t tall, perhaps a little over four floors high. What made the climb difficult however, was the state of the wooden staircase. Some steps were missing, others splintered, grown over with moss, while just a few seemed to promise the illusion of stability. I took the climb at a painfully slow rate. The structure creaked and groaned in protest, as I crawled up the rotten corkscrew. At last, however, I made it to the top. Coming round one final corner of the warped and weathered staircase I met a square of blue above – where day’s last light was spilling in through windows in the stone to illuminate the bell ringer’s platform. I caught my breath and looked out at the view – the sleepy hamlet, the lake beyond, the mountains disappearing into mist. In all the years this church and tower had suffered the onslaught of the elements, wood and stone giving way to the inevitable pull of natural decay, the view itself had likely never changed. Now that I was here, I couldn’t resist but ring the bell. It tolled a deep and dissonant sound that echoed out across the landscape… but by now there was hardly anyone left to hear it. Christ the Saviour Cathedral, Kosovo In November last year I took a trip to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. There are plenty of abandoned churches in Kosovo, due to the nature of the religiously-charged conflict that occurred there in the 1990s. One of the most memorable sites I explored that week however, was an unfinished cathedral: located in a park just off George Bush Boulevard. Construction began on the ‘Christ the Saviour Cathedral’ back in 1995, when it was intended as a place of worship for Pristina’s Serbian Orthodox population. That all changed however, with the outbreak of the Kosovo War in February 1998. The project was stalled as war ravaged the country, Albanians pitted against Serbs in a battle for independence. The following years would see attempted ethnic cleansing, bombing raids and eventual UN intervention… and by the time the Republic of Kosovo declared its independence in February 2008, the unfinished Serbian cathedral in its capital had become an uncomfortable reminder of past conflicts. Built on the grounds of Pristina University, the Christ the Saviour Cathedral remains a brickwork shell to this day. It isn’t guarded, and the construction team never got as far as giving the building doors which might be locked to keep out trespassers; and so I sauntered in freely, to explore the vast brickwork arches and domes of a cathedral that never was. While some Kosovo Albanians have called for the complete demolition of the building – branding it a symbol of the regime of Slobodan Milošević – there are others here who like it just the way it is. Speaking to an Albanian Muslim friend just a few days later, I was told that there are some in Pristina (and particularly amongst the younger generation) who consider such abandoned churches a kind of trophy; “Every time I look at this ruin, it reminds me of our victory against the Serbs,” my friend told me over burek and coffee. Inside the cathedral I caught the scent of something foul, and turning a corner, I found that the altar space had recently been used as a public toilet. Whether this too carried a political message – or was simply the work of someone who’d been caught short in the park – I’d never know. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, UK I first spotted this building by daylight, its broken prow rearing up over the graveyard wall. Even from a distance, the extreme decay was clear to see. Named the ‘Church of the Immaculate Conception,’ this ruined temple stands in a town with a population of some 30,000 people. Built as a Catholic church and opened in 1855, the site is a Grade Two listed building – designed, according to some, by the renowned Victorian architect Augustus Pugin (responsible for the interior design of the Palace of Westminster), though researchers suggest a more likely author was Gideon Boyce of Tiverton. The building saw worship for over a century, but in 1980 the Church of the Immaculate Conception closed its doors – the timbers of the roof were rotting, the stonework flaking, and since then it has been left to deteriorate. There’s an ongoing battle between the council, who want to level the church, and campaigners who want it preserved. Thirty years on though, nothing has changed and the building stands now as one of several abandoned churches in the town. I returned to the church under the cover of night, climbing the perimeter wall before wading through a weed infested graveyard up to the stone steps leading to the entrance. Speaking with people locally, I had heard some say the building was haunted – cursed, according to one source. I suppose it’s inevitable that abandoned churches would be potent wells for superstition. Try as I might though, gaining entry to the building was just not possible; at least, not without causing damage to the wooden barricades, something I was not prepared to do. The only clear access I could spot was an unboarded window, a dark slot on the rounded wall at the back end of the church – and at a height of some 15 feet above the ground. In the end I left the site unsuccessful, but I expect I’ll be back some day… and next time I come I’m bringing ropes. St. Augustine’s Church, UK The next on this list is another of Britain’s abandoned churches: and another chance encounter. I passed it one day quite by accident, the building already halfway demolished. Again, I waited until dark… and in the meantime, did a little research on the history of the place. St. Augustine’s, a modern CoE church, was built in 1971-2 and for a time it served as a community centre – hosting, in addition to church services, a range of dance classes, fetes, jumble sales, scouting groups and other community events. The problem was, this church just wasn’t built very well. By 1985, only 14 years into the building’s life, the 80-foot tower was deemed unsafe and had to be dismantled. It was a bad omen, and in April 2000 it was first proposed that the rest of the site should follow in being demolished. It was in 2007 that St Augustine’s finally closed its doors, and the congregation was relocated to the nearby primary school for their weekly services. While researching the church I found it once featured a rather unique statue of the Risen Christ; the image on the left here comes from an article posted to the BBC website back in June 2013. It seems there had been a campaign to find a new home for the figure, after it was deemed too large for the community’s new place of worship. The work of one Ernest Pascoe, this modern likeness rendered in fibre glass measured a height of 10 foot (5 feet wide across His outspread arms), and had hung over the art deco cross above the altar. By the time of my visit, Christ was long gone – to a better home, I hope – while the cross itself was beginning to disappear, cracking and falling from the wall one fragment of plaster at a time. Gaining access to the church was easy enough, by scaling a fence at the back of the demolition site then crossing a yard filled with diggers, trucks and mounds of rubble – to climb at last over a pile of broken wooden furniture that blocked a doorway to the hall. The place was a wreck filled with mounds of broken wood, where stripped cables lay in ribbons across the floor. Each time a car passed outside, the headlights would catch in stained glass windows to throw warm beams of green and red and orange around the hall. Around the walls, was painted a quote attributed to St. Teresa of Avila. “Christ has no body on Earth now but yours: No hands but yours: Yours are the eyes through which He is to look with compassion on the world: Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good: And Yours the hands with which He is to bless us now.” Usually I avoid being too specific with the locations I explore, but there’s little harm in it here. I was back in Bristol again this year, and decided to check up on the Church of St. Augustine in Whitchurch – but this time the church has vanished altogether, to be replaced now by a cluster of new homes, clean, red bricks rising up over the barrier that still surrounds the building site. Abandoned Orthodox Church, Romania Perhaps the most beautiful of these five abandoned churches, this Romanian Orthodox church was also the most severely dilapidated. The church lies on the edge of a tiny village, surrounded by open fields and roughly an hour’s drive from Bucharest. I never would have found the remote location on my own, but rather I made the trip with my Romanian friend Ovidiu, and co-conspirator Nate (the man from Yomadic). Ducking beneath a lintel of jagged, severed bricks, we stepped into the church through a breach in one wall; a breach created after one large section of the building had torn away altogether, to crumble into the long grass. Immediately I was struck by the simplistic beauty of the place. Frescoed walls and pillars in warm shades of orange, delicate arches and the most exquisite murals painted in blue, gold and red. Unlike the previous building, which had been pulled apart by power tools and gas-fuelled vehicles of destruction, the atmosphere here was altogether different. There was a sense of serenity about the decay, as green growth sprouted out of old bricks… and vines reached in through windows to steal the minerals back from the very walls themselves. The death of this church was a beautiful thing, a painless passing wrapped in the arms of nature. Though the space inside was small, we spent a good long while exploring it – most of that time poring over faded frescos, admiring the painstaking detail in every scene. At one point we even climbed up onto the walls themselves… moving slowly, cautious not to dislodge the stones. From the broken end of the nave we looked down on the altar from above, our view level with the bell tower that somehow, against all odds, stood tall and square above the ruin even now. Outside the church, the graveyard touched a village square where children chased chickens and three old women in shawls sat watching from a wooden bench; and on the border, stood a gatehouse. Like the church, this building too had seen better days – but for now at least, it managed to maintain some structural integrity. I decided to climb it. Stood beneath the stone archway, I ran my hand through the space where once a staircase would have been – wet chips of rotten wood now hanging in heavy cobwebs, while the chewed-off ends of steps still jutted out of slots at regular intervals. There was a square hatch above, leading to the balcony – but 10 feet up without a ladder, I wasn’t going to get there on my own. Using Ovidiu as a human climbing frame, I managed to get a hold on the ledge above… before pulling myself up and over the lip, rolling into a square grey chamber adjacent to the central tower. The space inside the upper portion of the gatehouse had, apparently, long since been taken over by the pigeons. Moving through the mounds of muck and feathers, I crossed to where a wooden hatch opened onto the central tower. Above me, sunlight streamed in through a wide rent in the tin roof. The main tower of the building had lost its floor – where once the boards had been, now only a couple of wooden planks extended from one end to the next, a delicate balancing act above a 10-foot drop. I put my best foot forward, placing it on the wooden beam with the hope of crossing, and making it out onto the balcony beyond. It wasn’t to be, however; the moment I put weight on the wood I felt it shift beneath me, the surface crumbling to a grit with the texture and consistency of coffee grounds. I took one last look at that door opening out onto the balcony, then looked down again to the powdery mess my foot had made of the walkway. No, I thought, not worth it. Before we left, the churchyard had one more surprise in store for us. Beneath a nearby tree there sat a heavy stone sarcophagus, its lid carved with ornate script and a sculpted wreath. At each corner, the tomb was supported on stones fashioned into the shape of feet. I was just admiring the letters carved into the tomb, when I spotted a square hole down in the earth beside the sarcophagus. A series of slab-like steps descended beneath the graveyard, into a deep, dark chamber filled with stones and rubble. The space wasn’t large, and felt all the more cramped for the piles of broken things which had been cast down from the opening above. There were cracked tombstones, pieces of pillar, even shards of splintered wood; presumably from coffins. In all this time thinking about abandoned churches, I had never once considered what became of their crypts: as entrances collapsed, and the dead were sealed below ground in forgotten caves. In time, this one too would likely be forgotten. And after that we bid the church farewell. In one sense it was tragic to see such art left out to rot, and I wondered why no effort had been made to preserve it. The more time I spent there however, the more I experienced the feeling that everything was exactly as it should be. All beauty must fade, and I was simply grateful for the opportunity to admire the church before it was swallowed back into the earth. Monastery Crypt, Bulgaria After five derelict and abandoned churches, this last location might seem out of place; it appeared to be still in use, while the church to which it belonged was part of a larger monastery complex nestled beneath a cliff in the mountains of Bulgaria. Stepping around the corner of a chapel, we followed the graveyard path that wound around and down; a flight of stones steps descending to the cellar door. I tried the handle and though the door was stubborn to open – the wood swollen from the rain – found it had been left unlocked. Inside the dim chamber beyond, a number of wooden boxes had been stacked in clumsy piles, a muddle of mismatched chests and caskets. “костилница,” read lettering on the wall: “Ossuary.” Many of the boxes were labelled with names, presumably corresponding to the bones that lay inside. I wondered where these bones were headed; or if these wooden boxes were indeed the final resting place of monks, priests, or whoever else this may have been in life. Not all these holy bones were hidden though, and on a recessed shelf at the back of the crypt were arranged a series of human skulls. The bones were clean, if a little dusty – with names and dates painted across each skull in delicate brushstrokes. The effect was strangely comforting; a repurposing of death, skulls used in place of headstones. It troubled me, however, to see the bones left open to the air… the skulls beginning to disintegrate, while stacked boxes slowly collapsed under the weight of those above. Abandoned churches are thought-provoking enough, but abandoned bones are a more moving sight altogether. Perhaps, though, such desire for preservation is itself an unnatural urge – maybe it’s healthier to accept the passing of time, and to embrace the inevitable decay that comes with it. These skulls seemed to serve the purpose of memento mori in every sense: both a reminder that all things must end, and also an admission that such processes can yet be beautiful.
Coordinates: Republic in Western Asia Yemen ( (); Arabic: ٱلْيَمَن‎, translit. al-Yaman), officially known as the Republic of Yemen (Arabic: ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّة ٱلْيَمَنِيَّة‎, translit. al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), is a country at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. Yemen is the second-largest Arab sovereign state in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometres (203,850 square miles). The coastline stretches for about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles).[7] It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, the Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel to the south, and the Arabian Sea and Oman to the east. Yemen's territory includes more than 200 islands. Yemen's constitutionally stated capital is the city of Sana'a, but the city has been under Houthi rebel control since February 2015. Yemen was the home of the Sabaeans,[8][9][10] a trading state that flourished for over a thousand years and also included parts of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea. In 275 CE, the region came under the rule of the later Jewish-influenced Himyarite Kingdom.[11] Christianity arrived in the fourth century. Islam spread quickly in the seventh century and Yemenite troops were crucial in the expansion of the early Islamic conquests.[12] Administration of Yemen has long been notoriously difficult.[13] Several dynasties emerged from the ninth to 16th centuries, the Rasulid dynasty being the strongest and most prosperous. The country was divided between the Ottoman and British empires in the early twentieth century. The Zaydi Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was established after World War I in North Yemen before the creation of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. South Yemen remained a British protectorate known as the Aden Protectorate until 1967 when it became an independent state and later, a Marxist-Leninist state. The two Yemeni states united to form the modern republic of Yemen in 1990. Yemen is a developing country[14] and the poorest country in the Middle East.[15] Under the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen was described by critics as a kleptocracy.[16][17] According to the 2009 International Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Yemen ranked 164 out of 182 countries surveyed.[18] In the absence of strong state institutions, elite politics in Yemen constituted a de facto form of collaborative governance, where competing tribal, regional, religious, and political interests agreed to hold themselves in check through tacit acceptance of the balance it produced.[19] The informal political settlement was held together by a power-sharing deal among three men: President Saleh, who controlled the state; major general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who controlled the largest share of the Republic of Yemen Armed Forces; and Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar, figurehead of the Islamist al-Islah party and Saudi Arabia's chosen broker of transnational patronage payments to various political players,[20] including tribal sheikhs.[21][22][23][24] The Saudi payments have been intended to facilitate the tribes' autonomy from the Yemeni government and to give the Saudi government a mechanism with which to weigh in on Yemen's political decision-making.[25] It is a member of the United Nations, Arab League, Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation, G-77, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab Satellite Communications Organization, Arab Monetary Fund and the World Federation of Trade Unions. Since 2011, Yemen has been in a state of political crisis starting with street protests against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and president Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution and eliminate the presidential term limit, in effect making him president for life.[26] President Saleh stepped down and the powers of the presidency were transferred to Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was formally elected president on 21 February 2012 in a one-man election. The total absence of central government during this transitional process engendered the escalation of the several clashes on-going in the country, like the armed conflict between the Houthis rebels of Ansar Allah militia and the al-Islah forces, as well as the al-Qaeda insurgency. In September 2014, the Houthis took over Sana'a with the help of the ousted president Saleh,[27][28][29] later declaring themselves in control of the country after a coup d'état; Saleh was shot dead by a sniper in Sana'a in December 2017.[30] This resulted in a new civil war and a Saudi Arabian-led military intervention aimed at restoring Hadi's government.[31] At least 56,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in armed violence in Yemen since January 2016.[32] Saudi Arabia (since 2015) and the United States (since 2016) have blocked food imports, leading to a famine that is affecting 17 million people.[33] The lack of safe drinking water, caused by depleted aquifers and the destruction of the country's water infrastructure, has also caused the world's worst outbreak of cholera, with the number of suspected cases exceeding 994,751.[34] Over 2,226 people have died since the outbreak began to spread rapidly at the end of April 2017.[35][34] In 2016 the United Nations reported that Yemen is the country with the most people in need of humanitarian aid in the world with 21.2 million.[36] Etymology [ edit ] The term Yamnat was mentioned in Old South Arabian inscriptions on the title of one of the kings of the second Himyarite kingdom known as Shammar Yahrʽish II. The term was probably referring to the southwestern cosatline of the Arabian peninsula and the southern cosatline between Aden and Hadramout.[37][38] The historical Yemen includes much greater territory than that of the current republic of Yemen. It stretches from the northern 'Asir Region in southwestern Saudi Arabia to Dhofar Governorate in southern Oman.[39][40] One etymology derives Yemen from ymnt, meaning "South", and significantly plays on the notion of the land to the right (𐩺𐩣𐩬).[41] Other sources claim that Yemen is related to yamn or yumn, meaning "felicity" or "blessed", as much of the country is fertile.[42][43] The Romans called it Arabia Felix (happy Arabia), as opposed to Arabia Deserta (deserted Arabia). History [ edit ] Ancient history [ edit ] A funerary stela featuring a musical scene, first century CE Himyarite King Dhamar Ali Yahbur II Sabaean gravestone of a woman holding a stylized sheaf of wheat, a symbol of fertility in ancient Yemen With its long sea border between eastern and western civilizations, Yemen has long existed at a crossroads of cultures with a strategic location in terms of trade on the west of the Arabian Peninsula. Large settlements for their era existed in the mountains of northern Yemen as early as 5000 BC.[44] The Sabaean Kingdom came into existence from at least the 11th century BC.[45] The four major kingdoms or tribal confederations in South Arabia were: Saba, Hadramout, Qataban, and Ma'in. Saba’ (Arabic: سَـبَـأ‎)[46][47] is thought to be biblical Sheba, and was the most prominent federation.[48] The Sabaean rulers adopted the title Mukarrib generally thought to mean unifier,[49] or a priest-king,[50] or the head of confederation of South Arabian kingdoms, the 'king of the kings'.[51] The role of the Mukarrib was to bring the various tribes under the kingdom and preside over them all.[52] The Sabaeans built the Great Dam of Marib around 940 BC.[53] The dam was built to withstand the seasonal flash floods surging down the valley. Between 700 and 680 BC, the Kingdom of Awsan dominated Aden and its surroundings and challenged the Sabaean supremacy in the Arabian South. Sabaean Mukarrib Karib'il Watar I conquered the entire realm of Awsan,[54] and expanded Sabaean rule and territory to include much of South Arabia.[55] Lack of water in the Arabian Peninsula prevented the Sabaeans from unifying the entire peninsula. Instead, they established various colonies to control trade routes.[56] Evidence of Sabaean influence is found in northern Ethiopia, where the South Arabian alphabet, religion and pantheon, and the South Arabian style of art and architecture were introduced.[57][58][59] The Sabaean created a sense of identity through their religion. They worshipped El-Maqah and believed that they were his children.[60] For centuries, the Sabaeans controlled outbound trade across the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean.[61] By the third century BC, Qataban, Hadramout, and Ma'in became independent from Saba and established themselves in the Yemeni arena. Minaean rule stretched as far as Dedan,[62] with their capital at Baraqish. The Sabaeans regained their control over Ma'in after the collapse of Qataban in 50 BCE. By the time of the Roman expedition to Arabia Felix in 25 BC, the Sabaeans were once again the dominating power in Southern Arabia.[63] Aelius Gallus was ordered to lead a military campaign to establish Roman dominance over the Sabaeans.[64] The Romans had a vague and contradictory geographical knowledge about Arabia Felix or Yemen. The Roman army of 10,000 men was defeated before Marib.[65] Strabo's close relationship with Aelius Gallus led him to attempt to justify his friend's defeat in his writings. It took the Romans six months to reach Marib and 60 days to return to Egypt. The Romans blamed their Nabataean guide and executed him for treachery.[66] No direct mention in Sabaean inscriptions of the Roman expedition has yet been found. After the Roman expedition – perhaps earlier – the country fell into chaos, and two clans, namely Hamdan and Himyar, claimed kingship, assuming the title King of Sheba and Dhu Raydan.[67] Dhu Raydan, i.e., Himyarites, allied themselves with Aksum in Ethiopia against the Sabaeans.[68] The chief of Bakil and king of Saba and Dhu Raydan, El Sharih Yahdhib, launched successful campaigns against the Himyarites and Habashat, i.e., Aksum, El Sharih took pride in his campaigns and added the title Yahdhib to his name, which means "suppressor"; he used to kill his enemies by cutting them to pieces.[69] Sana'a came into prominence during his reign, as he built the Ghumdan Palace as his place of residence. The Himyarite annexed Sana'a from Hamdan around 100 CE.[70] Hashdi tribesmen rebelled against them and regained Sana'a around 180 AD.[71] Shammar Yahri'sh had not conquered Hadramout, Najran, and Tihama until 275 CE, thus unifying Yemen and consolidating Himyarite rule.[72][73] The Himyarites rejected polytheism and adhered to a consensual form of monotheism called Rahmanism.[74] In 354 CE, Roman Emperor Constantius II sent an embassy headed by Theophilos the Indian to convert the Himyarites to Christianity.[75] According to Philostorgius, the mission was resisted by local Jews.[76] Several inscriptions have been found in Hebrew and Sabaean praising the ruling house in Jewish terms for "...helping and empowering the People of Israel."[77] According to Islamic traditions, King As'ad the Perfect mounted a military expedition to support the Jews of Yathrib.[78] Abu Kariba As'ad, as known from the inscriptions, led a military campaign to central Arabia or Najd to support the vassal Kingdom of Kindah against the Lakhmids.[79] However, no direct reference to Judaism or Yathrib was discovered from his lengthy reign. Abu Kariba died in 445 CE, having reigned for almost 50 years.[80] By 515 AD, Himyar became increasingly divided along religious lines and a bitter conflict between different factions paved the way for an Aksumite intervention. The last Himyarite king Ma'adikarib Ya'fur was supported by Aksum against his Jewish rivals. Ma'adikarib was Christian and launched a campaign against the Lakhmids in southern Iraq, with the support of other Arab allies of Byzantium.[81] The Lakhmids were a Bulwark of Persia, which was intolerant to a proselytizing religion like Christianity.[82] After the death of Ma'adikarib Ya'fur around 521 CE, a Himyarite Jewish warlord named Yousef Asar Yathar rose to power with the honorary title of Yathar (meaning, "to avenge"). Yemenite Christians, aided by Aksum and Byzantium, systematically persecuted Jews and burned down several synagogues across the land. Yousef avenged his people with great cruelty.[83] He marched toward the port city of Mocha, killing 14,000 and capturing 11,000.[81] Then he settled a camp in Bab-el-Mandeb to prevent aid flowing from Aksum. At the same time, Yousef sent an army under the command of another Jewish warlord, Sharahil Yaqbul, to Najran. Sharahil had reinforcements from the Bedouins of the Kindah and Madh'hij tribes, eventually wiping out the Christian community in Najran.[84] Yousef or Dhu Nuwas (the one with sidelocks) as known in Arabic literature, believed that Christians in Yemen were a fifth column.[85] Christian sources portray Dhu Nuwas (Yousef Asar) as a Jewish zealot, while Islamic traditions say that he threw 20,000 Christians into pits filled with flaming oil.[83] This history, however, is shrouded in legend.[76] Dhu Nuwas left two inscriptions, neither of them making any reference to fiery pits. Byzantium had to act or lose all credibility as protector of eastern Christianity. It is reported that Byzantium Emperor Justin I sent a letter to the Aksumite King Kaleb, pressuring him to "...attack the abominable Hebrew."[81] A tripartite military alliance of Byzantine, Aksumite, and Arab Christians successfully defeated Yousef around 525–527 CE, and a client Christian king was installed on the Himyarite throne.[86] Esimiphaios was a local Christian lord, mentioned in an inscription celebrating the burning of an ancient Sabaean palace in Marib to build a church on its ruins.[87] Three new churches were built in Najran alone.[87] Many tribes did not recognize Esimiphaios's authority. Esimiphaios was displaced in 531 by a warrior named Abraha, who refused to leave Yemen and declared himself an independent king of Himyar.[88] Emperor Justinian I sent an embassy to Yemen. He wanted the officially Christian Himyarites to use their influence on the tribes in inner Arabia to launch military operations against Persia. Justinian I bestowed the "dignity of king" upon the Arab sheikhs of Kindah and Ghassan in central and northern Arabia.[88] From early on, Roman and Byzantine policy was to develop close links with the powers of the coast of the Red Sea. They were successful in converting[clarification needed] Aksum and influencing their culture. The results with regard to Yemen were rather disappointing.[88] A Kendite prince called Yazid bin Kabshat rebelled against Abraha and his Arab Christian allies. A truce was reached once the Great Dam of Marib had suffered a breach.[89] Abraha died around 555–565; no reliable sources regarding his death are available. The Sasanid empire annexed Aden around 570 CE. Under their rule, most of Yemen enjoyed great autonomy except for Aden and Sana'a. This era marked the collapse of ancient South Arabian civilization, since the greater part of the country was under several independent clans until the arrival of Islam in 630 CE.[90] Middle Ages [ edit ] Advent of Islam and the three dynasties [ edit ] Muhammed sent his cousin Ali to Sana'a and its surroundings around 630 CE. At the time, Yemen was the most advanced region in Arabia.[91] The Banu Hamdan confederation was among the first to accept Islam. Muhammed sent Muadh ibn Jabal, as well to Al-Janad, in present-day Taiz, and dispatched letters to various tribal leaders. The reason behind this was the division among the tribes and the absence of a strong central authority in Yemen during the days of the prophet.[92] Major tribes, including Himyar, sent delegations to Medina during the "year of delegations" around 630–631 CE. Several Yemenis accepted Islam before the year 630, such as Ammar ibn Yasir, Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami, Miqdad ibn Aswad, Abu Musa Ashaari, and Sharhabeel ibn Hasana. A man named 'Abhala ibn Ka'ab Al-Ansi expelled the remaining Persians and claimed he was a prophet of Rahman. He was assassinated by a Yemeni of Persian origin called Fayruz al-Daylami. Christians, who were mainly staying in Najran along with Jews, agreed to pay jizyah (Arabic: جِـزْيَـة‎), although some Jews converted to Islam, such as Wahb ibn Munabbih and Ka'ab al-Ahbar. Yemen was stable during the Rashidun Caliphate. Yemeni tribes played a pivotal role in the Islamic expansion of Egypt, Iraq, Persia, the Levant, Anatolia, North Africa, Sicily, and Andalusia.[93][94][95] Yemeni tribes who settled in Syria, contributed significantly to the solidification of Umayyad rule, especially during the reign of Marwan I. Powerful Yemenite tribes such as Kindah were on his side during the Battle of Marj Rahit.[96][97] Several emirates led by people of Yemeni descent were established in North Africa and Andalusia. Effective control over entire Yemen was not achieved by the Umayyad Caliphate. Imam Abdullah ibn Yahya Al-Kindi was elected in 745 CE to lead the Ibāḍī movement in Hadramawt and Oman. He expelled the Umayyad governor from Sana'a and captured Mecca and Medina in 746.[98] Al-Kindi, known by his nickname "Talib al-Haqq" (seeker of truth), established the first Ibadi state in the history of Islam, but was killed in Taif around 749.[98] Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ziyad founded the Ziyadid dynasty in Tihama around 818 CE. The state stretched from Haly (in present-day Saudi Arabia) to Aden. They nominally recognized the Abbasid Caliphate, but were in fact ruling independently from their capital in Zabid.[99] The history of this dynasty is obscure. They never exercised control over the highlands and Hadramawt, and did not control more than a coastal strip of the Yemen (Tihama) bordering the Red Sea.[100] A Himyarite clan called the Yufirids established their rule over the highlands from Saada to Taiz, while Hadramawt was an Ibadi stronghold and rejected all allegiance to the Abbasids in Baghdad.[99] By virtue of its location, the Ziyadid dynasty of Zabid developed a special relationship with Abyssinia. The chief of the Dahlak islands exported slaves, as well as amber and leopard hides, to the then ruler of Yemen.[101] The first Zaidi imam, Yahya ibn al-Husayn, arrived in Yemen in 893 CE. He was the founder of the Zaidi imamate in 897. He was a religious cleric and judge who was invited to come to Saada from Medina to arbitrate tribal disputes.[102] Imam Yahya persuaded local tribesmen to follow his teachings. The sect slowly spread across the highlands, as the tribes of Hashid and Bakil, later known as "the twin wings of the imamate," accepted his authority.[103] Yahya established his influence in Saada and Najran. He also tried to capture Sana'a from the Yufirids in 901 CE, but failed miserably. In 904, the Qarmatians invaded Sana'a. The Yufirid emir As'ad ibn Ibrahim retreated to Al-Jawf, and between 904 and 913, Sana'a was conquered no less than 20 times by Qarmatians and Yufirids.[104] As'ad ibn Ibrahim regained Sana'a in 915. Yemen was in turmoil as Sana'a became a battlefield for the three dynasties, as well as independent tribes. The Yufirid emir Abdullah ibn Qahtan attacked and burned Zabid in 989, severely weakening the Ziyadid dynasty.[105] The Ziyadid monarchs lost effective power after 989, or even earlier than that. Meanwhile, a succession of slaves held power in Zabid and continued to govern in the name of their masters, eventually establishing their own dynasty around 1022 or 1050 according to different sources.[106] Although they were recognized by the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, they ruled no more than Zabid and four districts to its north.[107] The rise of the Ismaili Shia Sulayhid dynasty in the Yemeni highlands reduced their history to a series of intrigues. Sulayhid Dynasty (1047–1138) [ edit ] The Sulayhid dynasty was founded in the northern highlands around 1040; at the time, Yemen was ruled by different local dynasties. In 1060, Ali ibn Muhammed Al-Sulayhi conquered Zabid and killed its ruler Al-Najah, founder of the Najahid dynasty. His sons were forced to flee to Dahlak.[108] Hadramawt fell into Sulayhid hands after their capture of Aden in 1162.[109] By 1063, Ali had subjugated Greater Yemen.[110] He then marched toward Hejaz and occupied Makkah.[111] Ali was married to Asma bint Shihab, who governed Yemen with her husband.[112] The Khutba during Friday prayers was proclaimed in her husband and her names. No other Arab woman had this honor since the advent of Islam.[112] Ali al-Sulayhi was killed by Najah's sons on his way to Mecca in 1084. His son Ahmed Al-Mukarram led an army to Zabid and killed 8,000 of its inhabitants.[113] He later installed the Zurayids to govern Aden. al-Mukarram, who had been afflicted with facial paralysis resulting from war injuries, retired in 1087 and handed over power to his wife Arwa al-Sulayhi.[114] Queen Arwa moved the seat of the Sulayhid dynasty from Sana'a to Jibla, a small town in central Yemen near Ibb. Jibla was strategically near the Sulayhid dynasty source of wealth, the agricultural central highlands. It was also within easy reach of the southern portion of the country, especially Aden. She sent Ismaili missionaries to India, where a significant Ismaili community was formed that exists to this day.[115] Queen Arwa continued to rule securely until her death in 1138.[115] Arwa al-Sulayhi is still remembered as a great and much loved sovereign, as attested in Yemeni historiography, literature, and popular lore, where she is referred to as Balqis al-sughra ("the junior queen of Sheba").[116] Although the Sulayhids were Ismaili, they never tried to impose their beliefs on the public.[117] Shortly after Queen Arwa's death, the country was split between five competing petty dynasties along religious lines.[118] The Ayyubid dynasty overthrew the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. A few years after their rise to power, Saladin dispatched his brother Turan Shah to conquer Yemen in 1174.[119] Ayyubid conquest (1171–1260) [ edit ] Turan Shah conquered Zabid from the Mahdids in May 1174, then marched toward Aden in June and captured it from the Zurayids.[120] The Hamdanid sultans of Sana'a resisted the Ayyubid in 1175, and the Ayyubids did not manage to definitely secure Sana'a until 1189.[121] The Ayyubid rule was stable in southern and central Yemen, where they succeeded in eliminating the ministates of that region, while Ismaili and Zaidi tribesmen continued to hold out in a number of fortresses.[121] The Ayyubids failed to capture the Zaydis stronghold in northern Yemen.[122] In 1191, Zaydis of Shibam Kawkaban rebelled and killed 700 Ayyubid soldiers.[123] Imam Abdullah bin Hamza proclaimed the imamate in 1197 and fought al-Mu'izz Ismail, the Ayyubid Sultan of Yemen. Imam Abdullah was defeated at first, but was able to conquer Sana'a and Dhamar in 1198,[124] and al-Mu'izz Ismail was assassinated in 1202.[125] Abdullah bin Hamza carried on the struggle against the Ayyubid until his death in 1217. After his demise, the Zaidi community was split between two rival imams. The Zaydis were dispersed and a truce was signed with the Ayyubid in 1219.[126] The Ayyubid army was defeated in Dhamar in 1226.[126] Ayyubid Sultan Mas'ud Yusuf left for Mecca in 1228, never to return.[127] Other sources suggest that he was forced to leave for Egypt instead in 1123.[128] Rasulid Dynasty (1229–1454) [ edit ] The Rasulid Dynasty was established in 1229 by Umar ibn Rasul, who was appointed deputy governor by the Ayyubids in 1223. When the last Ayyubid ruler left Yemen in 1229, Umar stayed in the country as caretaker. He subsequently declared himself an independent king by assuming the title "al-Malik Al-Mansur" (the king assisted by Allah).[128] Umar established the Rasulid dynasty on a firm foundation and expanded its territory to include the area from Dhofar to Mecca[129] Umar first established himself at Zabid, then moved into the mountainous interior, taking the important highland centre Sana'a. However, the Rasulid capitals were Zabid and Taiz. He was assassinated by his nephew in 1249.[127] Omar's son Yousef defeated the faction led by his father's assassins and crushed several counter-attacks by the Zaydi imams who still held on in the northern highland. Mainly because of the victories he scored over his rivals, he assumed the honorific title "al-Muzaffar" (the victorious).[130] After the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in 1258, al-Muzaffar Yusuf I appropriated the title of caliph.[130] He chose the city of Taiz to become the political capital of the kingdom because of its strategic location and proximity to Aden.[131] al-Muzaffar Yusuf I died in 1296, having reigned for 47 years.[130] When the news of his death reached the Zaydi imam Al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar bin Yahya, he commented,[130] The greatest king of Yemen, the Muawiyah of the time, has died. His pens used to break our lances and swords to pieces. A 13th-century slave market in Yemen The Rasulid state nurtured Yemen's commercial links with India and the Far East.[132] They profited greatly by the Red Sea transit trade via Aden and Zabid.[127] The economy also boomed due to the agricultural development programs instituted by the kings who promoted massive cultivation of palms.[127] The Rasulid kings enjoyed the support of the population of Tihama and southern Yemen, while they had to buy the loyalty of Yemen's restive northern highland tribes.[127] The Rasulid sultans built numerous Madrasas to solidify the Shafi'i school of thought, which is still the dominant school of jurisprudence amongst Yemenis today.[133] Under their rule, Taiz and Zabid became major international centres of Islamic learning.[134] The kings themselves were learned men in their own right, who not only had important libraries, but who also wrote treatises on a wide array of subjects, ranging from astrology and medicine to agriculture and genealogy.[131] The dynasty is regarded as the greatest native Yemeni state since the fall of pre-Islamic Himyarite Kingdom.[135] They were of Turkic descent.[136] They claimed an ancient Yemenite origin to justify their rule. The Rasulids were not the first dynasty to create a fictitious genealogy for political purposes, nor were they doing anything out of the ordinary in the tribal context of Arabia.[137] By claiming descent from a solid Yemenite tribe, the Rasulids brought Yemen to a vital sense of unity in an otherwise chaotic regional milieu.[137] They had a difficult relationship with the Mamluks of Egypt because the latter considered them a vassal state.[131] Their competition centred over the Hejaz and the right to provide kiswa of the Ka'aba in Mecca.[131] The dynasty became increasingly threatened by disgruntled family members over the problem of succession, combined by periodic tribal revolts, as they were locked in a war of attrition with the Zaydi imams in the northern highlands.[134] During the last 12 years of Rasulid rule, the country was torn between several contenders for the kingdom. The weakening of the Rasulid provided an opportunity for the Banu Taher clan to take over and establish themselves as the new rulers of Yemen in 1454 CE.[133] Tahiride Dynasty (1454–1517) [ edit ] The Tahirids were a local clan based in Rada'a. While they were not as impressive as their predecessors, they were still keen builders. They built schools, mosques, and irrigation channels, as well as water cisterns and bridges in Zabid, Aden, Rada'a, and Juban. Their best-known monument is the Amiriya Madrasa in Rada' District, which was built in 1504. The Tahiride were too weak either to contain the Zaydi imams or to defend themselves against foreign attacks. The Mamluks of Egypt tried to attach Yemen to Egypt and the Portuguese led by Afonso de Albuquerque, occupied Socotra and made an unsuccessful attack on Aden in 1513.[138] The Portuguese posed an immediate threat to the Indian Ocean trade. The Mamluks of Egypt, therefore, sent an army under the command of Hussein Al-Kurdi to fight the intruders.[139] The Mamluk sultan of Egypt sailed to Zabid in 1515 and began diplomatic talks with Tahiride Sultan 'Amir bin Abdulwahab for money that would be needed for jihād (Arabic: جِـهَـاد‎, 'struggle') against the Portuguese. Instead of confronting the Portuguese, the Mamluks, who were running out of food and water, landed their fleet on the Yemen coastline and started to harass Tihama villagers for what they needed.[140] Realizing how rich the Tahiride realm was, they decided to conquer it.[140] The Mamluk army, with the support of forces loyal to Zaydi Imam Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din, conquered the entire realm of the Tahiride, but failed to capture Aden in 1517. The Mamluk victory was short-lived. The Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt, hanging the last Mamluk Sultan in Cairo.[140] The Ottomans had not decided to conquer Yemen until 1538. The Zaydi highland tribes emerged as national heroes[141] by offering a stiff, vigorous resistance to the Turkish occupation.[142] Modern history [ edit ] The Zaydis and Ottomans [ edit ] The Ottomans had two fundamental interests to safeguard in Yemen: The Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and the trade route with India in spices and textiles—both threatened, and the latter virtually eclipsed, by the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea in the early 16th century.[143] Hadım Suleiman Pasha, The Ottoman governor of Egypt, was ordered to command a fleet of 90 ships to conquer Yemen. The country was in a state of incessant anarchy and discord as Hadım Suleiman Pasha described it by saying:[144] Yemen is a land with no lord, an empty province. It would be not only possible but easy to capture, and should it be captured, it would be master of the lands of India and send every year a great amount of gold and jewels to Constantinople. Imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din ruled over the northern highlands including Sana'a, while Aden was held by the last Tahiride Sultan 'Amir ibn Dauod. Hadım Suleiman Pasha stormed Aden in 1538, killing its ruler, and extended Ottoman authority to include Zabid in 1539 and eventually Tihama in its entirety.[145] Zabid became the administrative headquarters of Yemen Eyalet.[145] The Ottoman governors did not exercise much control over the highlands. They held sway mainly in the southern coastal region, particularly around Zabid, Mocha, and Aden.[146] Of 80,000 soldiers sent to Yemen from Egypt between 1539 and 1547, only 7,000 survived.[147] The Ottoman accountant-general in Egypt remarked:[147] We have seen no foundry like Yemen for our soldiers. Each time we have sent an expeditionary force there, it has melted away like salt dissolved in water. The Ottomans sent yet another expeditionary force to Zabid in 1547, while Imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din was ruling the highlands independently. Imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya chose his son Ali to succeed him, a decision that infuriated his other son al-Mutahhar ibn Yahya.[148] Al-Mutahhar was lame, so was not qualified for the imamate.[148] He urged Oais Pasha, the Ottoman colonial governor in Zabid, to attack his father.[149] Indeed, Ottoman troops supported by tribal forces loyal to Imam al-Mutahhar stormed Taiz and marched north toward Sana'a in August 1547. The Turks officially made Imam al-Mutahhar a Sanjak-bey with authority over 'Amran. Imam al-Mutahhar assassinated the Ottoman colonial governor and recaptured Sana'a, but the Ottomans, led by Özdemir Pasha, forced al-Mutahhar to retreat to his fortress in Thula. Özdemir Pasha effectively put Yemen under Ottoman rule between 1552 and 1560. He was considered a competent ruler given Yemen's notorious lawlessness, garrisoning the main cities, building new fortresses, and rendering secure the main routes.[150] Özdemir died in Sana'a in 1561, and was succeeded by Mahmud Pasha. Unlike Özdemir's brief but able leadership, Mahmud Pasha was described by other Ottoman officials as a corrupt and unscrupulous governor. He used his authority to take over a number of castles, some of which belonged to the former Rasulid kings.[148] Mahmud Pasha killed a Sunni scholar from Ibb.[151] The Ottoman historian claimed that this incident was celebrated by the Zaydi Shia community in the northern highlands.[151] Disregarding the delicate balance of power in Yemen by acting tactlessly, he alienated different groups within Yemeni society, causing them to forget their rivalries and unite against the Turks.[150] Mahmud Pasha was displaced by Ridvan Pasha in 1564. By 1565, Yemen was split into two provinces, the highlands under the command of Ridvan Pasha and Tihama under Murad Pasha. Imam al-Mutahhar launched a propaganda campaign in which he claimed that prophet Mohammed came to him in a dream and advised him to wage jihad against the Ottomans.[152] Al-Mutahhar led the tribes to capture Sana'a from Ridvan Pasha in 1567. When Murad tried to relieve Sana'a, highland tribesmen ambushed his unit and slaughtered all of them.[153] Over 80 battles were fought. The last decisive encounter took place in Dhamar around 1568, in which Murad Pasha was beheaded and his head sent to al-Mutahhar in Sana'a.[153][154] By 1568, only Zabid remained under the possession of the Turks.[154] Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Syria, was ordered by Selim II to suppress the Yemeni rebels.[155] However, the Turkish army in Egypt was reluctant to go to Yemen due to their knowledge of the hegemony of the northern Yemenis.[155] Mustafa Pasha sent a letter with two Turkish shawishes hoping to persuade al-Mutahhar to give an apology and confirm that Mustafa Pasha did not promote any act of aggression against the Ottoman army, and state that the "ignorant Arabian" according to the Turks, acted on their own.[156] Imam al-Mutahhar refused the Ottoman offer. When Mustafa Pasha sent an expeditionary force under the command of Uthman Pasha, it was defeated with great casualties.[157] Sultan Selim II was infuriated by Mustafa's hesitation to go Yemen. He executed a number of sanjak-beys in Egypt and ordered Sinan Pasha to lead the entire Turkish army in Egypt to reconquer Yemen.[158] Sinan Pasha was a prominent Ottoman general of Albanian origin.[154] He reconquered Aden, Taiz, and Ibb, and besieged Shibam Kawkaban in 1570 for seven months. The siege was lifted once a truce was reached.[159] Imam al-Mutahhar was pushed back, but could not be entirely overcome.[160] After al-Mutahhar's demise in 1572, the Zaydi community was not united under an imam; the Turks took advantage of their disunity and conquered Sana'a, Sa'dah, and Najran in 1583.[161] Imam al-Nasir Hassan was arrested in 1585 and exiled to Constantinople, thereby putting an end to the Yemeni rebellion.[154] The Zaydi tribesmen in the northern highlands particularly those of Hashid and Bakil, were ever the Turkish bugbear in all Arabia.[162] The Ottomans who justified their presence in Yemen as a triumph for Islam, accused the Zaydis of being infidels.[163] Hassan Pasha was appointed governor of Yemen and enjoyed a period of relative peace from 1585 to 1597. Pupils of al-Mansur al-Qasim suggested he should claim the immamate and fight the Turks. He declined at first, but the promotion of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence at the expense of Zaydi Islam infuriated al-Mansur al-Qasim. He proclaimed the imamate in September 1597, which was the same year the Ottoman authorities inaugurated al-Bakiriyya Mosque.[161] By 1608, Imam al-Mansur (the victorious) regained control over the highlands and signed a truce for 10 years with the Ottomans.[164] Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim died in 1620. His son Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad succeeded him and confirmed the truce with the Ottomans. In 1627, the Ottomans lost Aden and Lahej. 'Abdin Pasha was ordered to suppress the rebels, but failed, and had to retreat to Mocha.[161] Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad expelled the Ottomans from Sana'a in 1628, only Zabid and Mocha remained under Ottoman possession. Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad captured Zabid in 1634 and allowed the Ottomans to leave Mocha peacefully.[165] The reason behind Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad's success was the possession of firearms by the tribes and their unity behind him.[166] Mocha was Yemen's busiest port in the 17th and 18th centuries In 1632, Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad sent an expeditionary force of 1000 men to conquer Mecca.[167] The army entered the city in triumph and killed its governor.[167] The Ottomans were not ready to lose Mecca after Yemen, so they sent an army from Egypt to fight the Yemenites.[167] Seeing that the Turkish army was too numerous to overcome, the Yemeni army retreated to a valley outside Mecca.[168] Ottoman troops attacked the Yemenis by hiding at the wells that supplied them with water. This plan proceeded successfully, causing the Yemenis over 200 casualties, most from thirst.[168] The tribesmen eventually surrendered and returned to Yemen.[169] Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad died in 1644. He was succeeded by Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il, another son of al-Mansur al-Qasim, who conquered Yemen in its entirety, from Asir in the north to Dhofar in the east.[170][171][172][173] During his reign, and during the reign of his successor, Al-Mahdi Ahmad (1676–1681), the imamate implemented some of the harshest discriminatory laws (ghiyar) against the Jews of Yemen, which culminated in the expulsion of all Jews (Exile of Mawza) to a hot and arid region in the Tihama coastal plain. The Qasimid state was the strongest Zaydi state to ever exist. During that period, Yemen was the sole coffee producer in the world.[174] The country established diplomatic relations with the Safavid dynasty of Persia, Ottomans of Hejaz, Mughal Empire in India, and Ethiopia, as well. Fasilides of Ethiopia sent three diplomatic missions to Yemen, but the relations did not develop into political alliance, as Fasilides had hoped, due to the rise of powerful feudalists in his country.[175] In the first half of the 18th century, the Europeans broke Yemen's monopoly on coffee by smuggling coffee trees and cultivating them in their own colonies in the East Indies, East Africa, the West Indies, and Latin America.[176] The imamate did not follow a cohesive mechanism for succession, and family quarrels and tribal insubordination led to the political decline of the Qasimi dynasty in the 18th century.[177] In 1728 or 1731, the chief representative of Lahej declared himself an independent sultan in defiance of the Qasimid dynasty and conquered Aden, thus establishing the Sultanate of Lahej. The rising power of the fervently Islamist Wahhabi movement on the Arabian Peninsula cost the Zaidi state its coastal possessions after 1803. The imam was able to regain them temporarily in 1818, but new intervention by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt in 1833 again wrested the coast from the ruler in Sana'a. After 1835, the imamate changed hands with great frequency and some imams were assassinated. After 1849, the Zaidi polity descended into chaos that lasted for decades.[178] Great Britain and the Nine Regions [ edit ] Saint Joseph church in Aden was built by the British in 1850 and is currently abandoned The British were looking for a coal depot to service their steamers en route to India. It took 700 tons of coal for a round-trip from Suez to Bombay. East India Company officials decided on Aden. The British Empire tried to reach an agreement with the Zaydi imam of Sana'a, permitting them a foothold in Mocha, and when unable to secure their position, they extracted a similar agreement from the Sultan of Lahej, enabling them to consolidate a position in Aden.[179] An incident played into British hands when, while passing Aden for trading purposes, one of their sailing ships sank and Arab tribesmen boarded it and plundered its contents. The British India government dispatched a warship under the command of Captain Stafford Bettesworth Haines to demand compensation.[179] Haines bombarded Aden from his warship in January 1839. The ruler of Lahej, who was in Aden at the time, ordered his guards to defend the port, but they failed in the face of overwhelming military and naval power. The British managed to occupy Aden and agreed to compensate the sultan with an annual payment of 6000 riyals.[179] The British evicted the Sultan of Lahej from Aden and forced him to accept their "protection."[179] In November 1839, 5000 tribesmen tried to retake the town, but were repulsed and 200 were killed. The British realised that Aden's prosperity depended on their relations with the neighbouring tribes, which required that they rest on a firm and satisfactory basis.[180] The British government concluded "protection and friendship" treaties with nine tribes surrounding Aden, whereas they would remain independent from British interference in their affairs as long as they do not conclude treaties with foreigners (non-Arab colonial powers).[181] Aden was declared a free zone in 1850. With emigrants from India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, Aden grew into a world city. In 1850, only 980 Arabs were registered as original inhabitants of the city.[182] The English presence in Aden put them at odds with the Ottomans. The Turks asserted to the British that they held sovereignty over the whole of Arabia, including Yemen as successor of Mohammed and the chief of the universal caliphate.[183] Ottoman return [ edit ] The Ottomans were concerned about the British expansion from India to the Red Sea and Arabia. They returned to the Tihama in 1849 after an absence of two centuries.[184] Rivalries and disturbances continued among the Zaydi imams, between them and their deputies, with the ulema, with the heads of tribes, as well as with those who belonged to other sects. Some citizens of Sana'a were desperate to return law and order to Yemen and asked the Ottoman Pasha in Tihama to pacify the country.[185] Yemeni merchants knew that the return of the Ottomans would improve their trade, for the Ottomans would become their customers.[186] An Ottoman expedition force tried to capture Sana'a, but was defeated and had to evacuate the highlands.[187] The Opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, strengthened the Ottoman decision to remain in Yemen.[188] In 1872, military forces were dispatched from Constantinople and moved beyond the Ottoman stronghold in the lowlands (Tihama) to conquer Sana'a. By 1873, the Ottomans succeeded in conquering the northern highlands. Sana'a became the administrative capital of Yemen Vilayet. The Ottomans learned from their previous experience and worked on the disempowerment of local lords in the highland regions. They even attempted to secularize the Yemeni society, while Yemenite Jews came to perceive themselves in Yemeni nationalist terms.[189] The Ottomans appeased the tribes by forgiving their rebellious chiefs and appointing them to administrative posts. They introduced a series of reforms to enhance the country's economic welfare. However, corruption was widespread in the Ottoman administration in Yemen. This was because only the worst of the officials were appointed because those who could avoid serving in Yemen did so.[190] The Ottomans had reasserted control over the highlands for temporary duration.[184] The so-called Tanzimat reforms were considered heretic by the Zaydi tribes. In 1876, the Hashid and Bakil tribes rebelled against the Ottomans; the Turks had to appease them with gifts to end the uprising.[191] The tribal chiefs were difficult to appease and an endless cycle of violence curbed Ottoman efforts to pacify the land. Ahmed Izzet Pasha proposed that the Ottoman army evacuate the highlands and confine itself to Tihama, and not unnecessarily burden itself with continuing military operation against the Zaydi tribes.[190] The hit-and-run tactics of the northern highlands tribesmen wore out the Ottoman military. They resented the Turkish Tanzimat and defied all attempts to impose a central government upon them.[188] The northern tribes united under the leadership of the House of Hamidaddin in 1890. Imam Yahya Hamidaddin led a rebellion against the Turks in 1904; the rebels disrupted the Ottoman ability to govern.[192] The revolts between 1904 and 1911 were especially damaging to the Ottomans, costing them as many as 10,000 soldiers and as much as 500,000 pounds per year.[193] The Ottomans signed a treaty with imam Yahya Hamidaddin in 1911. Under the treaty, Imam Yahya was recognized as an autonomous leader of the Zaydi northern highlands. The Ottomans continued to rule Shafi'i areas in the mid-south until their departure in 1918. Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen [ edit ] Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din al-Mutawakkil was ruling the northern highlands independently from 1911. After the Ottoman departure in 1918, he sought to recapture the lands of his Qasimid ancestors. He dreamed of Greater Yemen stretching from Asir to Dhofar. These schemes brought him into conflict with the de facto rulers in the territories claimed, namely the Idrisids, Ibn Saud, and the British government in Aden.[194] The Zaydi imam did not recognize the Anglo-Ottoman border agreement of 1905 on the grounds that it was made between two foreign powers occupying Yemen.[195] The border treaty effectively divided Yemen into north and south.[196] In 1915, the British signed a treaty with the Idrisids guaranteeing their security and independence if they would fight against the Turks.[197] In 1919, Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din moved southward to "liberate" the nine British protectorates. The British responded by moving quickly towards Tihama and occupying al-Hudaydah. Then they handed it over to their Idrisi allies.[198] Imam Yahya attacked the southern protectorates again in 1922. The British bombed Yahya's tribal forces using aircraft to which the tribes had no effective counter.[199] In 1925, Imam Yahya captured al-Hudaydah from the Idrisids.[200] He continued to follow and attack the Idrisids until Asir fell under the control of the imam's forces, forcing the Idrisi to request an agreement that would enable them to administer the region in the name of the imam.[200] Imam Yahya refused the offer on the grounds that the Idrisis were of Moroccan descent. According to Imam Yahya, the Idrisis, along with the British, were nothing but recent intruders and should be driven out of Yemen permanently.[201] In 1927, Imam Yahya's forces were 50 km away from Aden, Taiz, and Ibb, and were bombed by the British for five days; the imam had to pull back.[199] Small Bedouin forces, mainly from the Madh'hij confederation of Marib, attacked Shabwah but were bombed by the British and had to retreat. The Italian Empire was the first to recognize Imam Yahya as the King of Yemen in 1926. This created a great deal of anxiety for the British, who interpreted it as recognition of Imam Yahya's claim to sovereignty over Greater Yemen, which included the Aden protectorate and Asir.[202] The Idrisis turned to Ibn Saud seeking his protection from Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din. However, in 1932, the Idrisis broke their accord with Ibn Saud and went back to Imam Yahya seeking help against Ibn Saud himself, who had begun liquidating their authority and expressed his desire to annex those territories into his own Saudi domain.[203][204] Imam Yahya demanded the return of all Idrisi dominion.[203] That same year, a group of Hejazi liberals fled to Yemen and plotted to expel Ibn Saud from the former Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz, which had been conquered by the Saudis seven years earlier. Ibn Saud appealed to Britain for aid.[205] The British government sent arms and aeroplanes .[205] The British were anxious that Ibn Saud's financial difficulties may encourage the Italian Empire to bail him out.[203] Ibn Saud suppressed the Asiri rebellion in 1933, after which the Idrisids fled to Sana'a.[205] Negotiations between the Imam Yahya Hamid ed-Din and Ibn Saud proved fruitless. After a military confrontation, Ibn Saud announced a ceasefire in May 1934.[205] Imam Yahya agreed to release Saudi hostages and the surrender of the Idrisis to Saudi custody. Imam Yahya ceded the three provinces of Najran, Asir, and Jazan for 20 years.[206] and signed another treaty with the British government in 1934. The imam recognized the British sovereignty over Aden protectorate for 40 years.[207] Out of fear for Hudaydah, Yahya did submit to these demands. According to Bernard Reich, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University, Yahya could have done better by reorganizing the Zaydi tribes of the northern highlands as his ancestors did against the Turks and British intruders and turn the lands they captured into another graveyard.[208] Colonial Aden [ edit ] Starting in 1890, hundreds of Yemeni people from Hajz, Al-Baetha, and Taiz migrated to Aden to work at ports, and as laborers. This helped the population of Aden once again become predominantly Arab after, having been declared a free zone, it had become mostly foreigners. During World War II, Aden had increasing economic growth and became the second-busiest port in the world after New York City.[209] After the rise of labour unions, a rift was apparent between the sectors of workers and the first signs of resistance to the occupation started in 1943.[209] Muhammad Ali Luqman founded the first Arabic club and school in Aden, and was the first to start working towards a union.[210] The Colony of Aden was divided into an eastern colony and a western colony. Those were further divided into 23 sultanates and emirates, and several independent tribes that had no relationships with the sultanates. The deal between the sultanates and Britain detailed protection and complete control of foreign relations by the British. The Sultanate of Lahej was the only one in which the sultan was referred to as His Highness.[211] The Federation of South Arabia was created by the British to counter Arab nationalism by giving more freedom to the rulers of the nations.[212] The North Yemen Civil War inspired many in the south to rise against the British rule. The National Liberation Front (NLO) of Yemen was formed with the leadership of Qahtan Muhammad Al-Shaabi. The NLO hoped to destroy all the sultanates and eventually unite with the Yemen Arab Republic. Most of the support for the NLO came from Radfan and Yafa, so the British launched Operation Nutcracker, which completely burned Radfan in January 1964.[213] Two states [ edit ] Arab nationalism made an impact in some circles who opposed the lack of modernization efforts in the Mutawakkilite monarchy. This became apparent when Imam Ahmad bin Yahya died in 1962. He was succeeded by his son, but army officers attempted to seize power, sparking the North Yemen Civil War.[214] The Hamidaddin royalists were supported by Saudi Arabia, Britain, and Jordan (mostly with weapons and financial aid, but also with small military forces), whilst the military rebels were backed by Egypt. Egypt provided the rebels with weapons and financial assistance, but also sent a large military force to participate in the fighting. Israel covertly supplied weapons to the royalists to keep the Egyptian military busy in Yemen and make Nasser less likely to initiate a conflict in the Sinai. After six years of civil war, the military rebels were victorious (February 1968) and formed the Yemen Arab Republic.[215] The revolution in the north coincided with the Aden Emergency, which hastened the end of British rule in the south. On 30 November 1967, the state of South Yemen was formed, comprising Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia. This socialist state was later officially known as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and a programme of nationalisation was begun.[216] Relations between the two Yemeni states fluctuated between peaceful and hostile. The South was supported by the Eastern bloc. The North, however, was not able to get the same connections. In 1972, the two states fought a war. The war was resolved with a ceasefire and negotiations brokered by the Arab League, where it was declared that unification would eventually occur. In 1978, Ali Abdullah Saleh was named as president of the Yemen Arab Republic.[217] After the war, the North complained about the South's help from foreign countries. This included Saudi Arabia.[218] In 1979, fresh fighting between the two states resumed and efforts were renewed to bring about unification.[217] Thousands were killed in 1986 in the South Yemen Civil War. President Ali Nasser Muhammad fled to the north and was later sentenced to death for treason. A new government formed.[217] Unification and civil war [ edit ] In 1990, the two governments reached a full agreement on the joint governing of Yemen, and the countries were merged on 22 May 1990, with Saleh as President.[217] The President of South Yemen, Ali Salim al-Beidh, became Vice President.[217] A unified parliament was formed and a unity constitution was agreed upon.[217] In the 1993 parliamentary election, the first held after unification, the General People's Congress won 122 of 301 seats.[219]:309 After the invasion of Kuwait crisis in 1990, Yemen's president opposed military intervention from non-Arab states.[220] As a member of the United Nations Security Council for 1990 and 1991, Yemen abstained on a number of UNSC resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait[221] and voted against the "...use of force resolution." The vote outraged the U.S.[222] Saudi Arabia expelled 800,000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991 to punish Yemen for its opposition to the intervention.[223] Following food riots in major towns in 1992, a new coalition government made up of the ruling parties from both the former Yemeni states was formed in 1993. However, Vice President al-Beidh withdrew to Aden in August 1993 and said he would not return to the government until his grievances were addressed. These included northern violence against his Yemeni Socialist Party, as well as the economic marginalization of the south.[224] Negotiations to end the political deadlock dragged on into 1994. The government of Prime Minister Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas became ineffective due to political infighting[225] An accord between northern and southern leaders was signed in Amman, Jordan on 20 February 1994, but this could not stop the civil war.[citation needed] During these tensions, both the northern and southern armies (which had never integrated) gathered on their respective frontiers.[226] The May – July 1994 civil war in Yemen resulted in the defeat of the southern armed forces and the flight into exile of many Yemeni Socialist Party leaders and other southern secessionists.[citation needed] Saudi Arabia actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war.[227] Contemporary Yemen [ edit ] Ali Abdullah Saleh became Yemen's first directly elected president in the 1999 presidential election, winning 96.2 per cent of the vote.[219]:310 The only other candidate, Najeeb Qahtan Al-Sha'abi, was the son of Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, a former president of South Yemen. Though a member of Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party, Najeeb ran as an independent.[229] In October 2000, 17 U.S. personnel died after a suicide attack on the U.S. naval vessel USS Cole in Aden, which was subsequently blamed on al-Qaeda. After the September 11 attacks on the United States, President Saleh assured U.S. President George W. Bush that Yemen was a partner in his War on Terror. In 2001, violence surrounded a referendum, which apparently supported extending Saleh's rule and powers. The Shia insurgency in Yemen began in June 2004 when dissident cleric Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, head of the Zaidi Shia sect, launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government alleged that the Houthis were seeking to overthrow it and to implement Shī'ite religious law. The rebels counter that they are "defending their community against discrimination" and government aggression.[230] In 2005, at least 36 people were killed in clashes across the country between police and protesters over rising fuel prices. In the 2006 presidential election, held on 20 September, Saleh won with 77.2% of the vote. His main rival, Faisal bin Shamlan, received 21.8%.[231][232] Saleh was sworn in for another term on 27 September.[233] A suicide bomber killed eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis in the province of Marib in July 2007. A series of bomb attacks occurred on police, official, diplomatic, foreign business, and tourism targets in 2008. Car bombings outside the U.S. embassy in Sana'a killed 18 people, including six of the assailants in September 2008. In 2008, an opposition rally in Sana'a demanding electoral reform was met with police gunfire. Al Qaeda [ edit ] In January 2009, the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni al-Qaeda branches merged to form Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen, and many of its members were Saudi nationals who had been released from Guantanamo Bay.[234] Saleh released 176 al-Qaeda suspects on condition of good behaviour, but terrorist activities continued. The Yemeni army launched a fresh offensive against the Shia insurgents in 2009, assisted by Saudi forces. Tens of thousands of people were displaced by the fighting. A new ceasefire was agreed upon in February 2010. However, by the end of the year, Yemen claimed that 3,000 soldiers had been killed in renewed fighting. The Shia rebels accused Saudi Arabia of providing support to salafi groups to suppress Zaidism in Yemen.[235] Some news reports have suggested that, on orders from U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. warplanes fired cruise missiles at what officials in Washington claimed were Al Qaeda training camps in the provinces of Sana'a and Abyan on 17 December 2009.[236] Instead of hitting Al-Qaeda operatives, it hit a village, killing 55 civilians.[237] Officials in Yemen said that the attacks claimed the lives of more than 60 civilians, 28 of them children. Another airstrike was carried out on 24 December.[238] The U.S. launched a series of drone attacks in Yemen to curb a perceived growing terror threat due to political chaos in Yemen.[239] Since December 2009, U.S. strikes in Yemen have been carried out by the U.S. military with intelligence support from the CIA.[240] The drone strikes are protested by human-rights groups who say they kill innocent civilians, and that the U.S. military and CIA drone strikes lack sufficient congressional oversight, including the choice of human targets suspected of being threats to America.[241] Controversy over U.S. policy for drone attacks mushroomed after a September 2011 drone strike in Yemen killed Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, both U.S. citizens.[242] Another drone strike in October 2011 killed Anwar's teenaged son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki. In 2010, the Obama administration policy allowed targeting of people whose names are not known. The U.S. government increased military aid to $140 million in 2010.[243] U.S. drone strikes continued after the ousting of President Saleh.[244] As of 2015 , Shi'a Houthis are fighting against the Islamic State,[245] Al Qaeda,[246] and Saudi Arabia.[247] The U.S. supports the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis,[248] but many in US SOCOM reportedly favor Houthis, as they have been an effective force to roll back al-Qaeda and recently ISIL in Yemen.[249] The Guardian reported that "The only groups poised to benefit from the war dragging on are the jihadis of Islamic State (ISIL) and al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the latter's most powerful franchise, who are likely to gain influence amid the chaos. ISIL has claimed recent, bloody suicide bombings in Houthi mosques and Sana'a when it once had no known presence in the country, while AQAP has continued to seize territory in eastern Yemen unhindered by American drone strikes."[250] In February 2016 Al-Qaeda forces and Saudi-led coalition forces were both seen fighting Houthi rebels in the same battle.[251] Revolution and aftermath [ edit ] The 2011 Yemeni revolution followed other Arab Spring mass protests in early 2011. The uprising was initially against unemployment, economic conditions, and corruption, as well as against the government's proposals to modify the constitution of Yemen so that Saleh's son could inherit the presidency. In March 2011, police snipers opened fire on the pro-democracy camp in Sana'a, killing more than 50 people. In May, dozens were killed in clashes between troops and tribal fighters in Sana'a. By this point, Saleh began to lose international support. In October 2011, Yemeni human rights activist Tawakul Karman won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the UN Security Council condemned the violence and called for a transfer of power. On 23 November 2011, Saleh flew to Riyadh, in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, to sign the Gulf Co-operation Council plan for political transition, which he had previously spurned. Upon signing the document, he agreed to legally transfer the office and powers of the presidency to his deputy, Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Hadi took office for a two-year term upon winning the uncontested presidential elections in February 2012.[252] A unity government – including a prime minister from the opposition – was formed. Al-Hadi will oversee the drafting of a new constitution, followed by parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014. Saleh returned in February 2012. In the face of objections from thousands of street protesters, parliament granted him full immunity from prosecution. Saleh's son, General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, continues to exercise a strong hold on sections of the military and security forces. AQAP claimed responsibility for a February 2012 suicide attack on the presidential palace that killed 26 Republican Guards on the day that President Hadi was sworn in. AQAP was also behind a suicide bombing that killed 96 soldiers in Sana'a three months later. In September 2012, a car bomb attack in Sana'a killed 11 people, a day after a local al-Qaeda leader Said al-Shihri was reported killed in the south. By 2012, there has been a "small contingent of U.S. special-operations troops" – in addition to CIA and "unofficially acknowledged" U.S. military presence – in response to increasing terror attacks by AQAP on Yemeni citizens.[253] Many analysts have pointed out the former Yemeni government role in cultivating terrorist activity in the country.[254] Following the election of new president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the Yemeni military was able to push Ansar al-Sharia back and recapture the Shabwah Governorate. The central government in Sana'a remained weak, staving off challenges from southern separatists and Shia rebels as well as AQAP. The Shia insurgency intensified after Hadi took power, escalating in September 2014 as anti-government forces led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi swept into the capital and forced Hadi to agree to a "unity" government.[255] The Houthis then refused to participate in the government,[256] although they continued to apply pressure on Hadi and his ministers, even shelling the president's private residence and placing him under house arrest,[257] until the government's mass resignation in January 2015.[258] The following month, the Houthis dissolved parliament and declared that a Revolutionary Committee under Mohammed Ali al-Houthi was the interim authority in Yemen. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, a cousin of the new acting president, called the takeover a "glorious revolution." However, the "constitutional declaration" of 6 February 2015 was widely rejected by opposition politicians and foreign governments, including the United Nations.[30] Hadi managed to flee from Sana'a to Aden, his hometown and stronghold in the south, on 21 February 2015. He promptly gave a televised speech rescinding his resignation, condemning the coup, and calling for recognition as the constitutional president of Yemen.[259] The following month, Hadi declared Aden Yemen's "temporary" capital.[260][261] The Houthis, however, rebuffed an initiative by the Gulf Cooperation Council and continued to move south toward Aden. All U.S. personnel were evacuated and President Hadi was forced to flee the country to Saudi Arabia. On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia announced Operation Decisive Storm and began airstrikes and announced its intentions to lead a military coalition against the Houthis, whom they claimed were being aided by Iran, and began a force buildup along the Yemeni border. The coalition included the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, and Pakistan. The United States announced that it was assisting with intelligence, targeting, and logistics. Saudi Arabia and Egypt would not rule out ground operations. After Hadi troops took control of Aden from Houthis, jihadist groups are active in the city, and some of terrorist incidents were linked to it such as Missionaries of Charity attack in Aden in 4 March 2016. Since February 2018, Aden has been seized by the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council.[262] More than 50,000 children in Yemen died from starvation in 2017.[263][264] The famine in Yemen is the direct result of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and blockade of Yemen.[265][266] The famine is being compounded by an outbreak of cholera that has affected more than 1 million people.[267] Geography [ edit ] A topographic map of Yemen Yemen is in Western Asia, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula,[268] bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. It lies south of Saudi Arabia and west of Oman, between latitudes 12 and 19°N and longitudes 42 and 55°E. Yemen is at . Yemen is 527,970 km2 (203,850 sq mi) in size. A number of Red Sea islands, including the Hanish Islands, Kamaran, and Perim, as well as Socotra in the Arabian Sea, belong to Yemen; the largest of these is Socotra. Many of the islands are volcanic; for example Jabal al-Tair had a volcanic eruption in 2007, and before that in 1883. Although mainland Yemen is in the southern Arabian Peninsula and thus part of Asia, and its Hanish Islands and Perim in the Red Sea are associated with Asia, the archipelago of Socotra, which lies east of the horn of Somalia and is much closer to Africa than to Asia, is part of Africa,[269][270][not in citation given] thus making Yemen a transcontinental country. Regions and climate [ edit ] A water reservoir in Haraz, Yemen Yemen can be divided geographically into four main regions: the coastal plains in the west, the western highlands, the eastern highlands, and the Rub' al Khali in the east. The Tihāmah ("hot lands" or "hot earth") form a very arid and flat coastal plain along Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline. Despite the aridity, the presence of many lagoons makes this region very marshy and a suitable breeding ground for malaria mosquitos. Extensive crescent-shaped sand dunes are present. The evaporation in the Tihamah is so great that streams from the highlands never reach the sea, but they do contribute to extensive groundwater reserves. Today, these are heavily exploited for agricultural use. Near the village of Madar about 50 km (30 mi) north of Sana'a, dinosaur footprints were found, indicating that the area was once a muddy flat. The Tihamah ends abruptly at the escarpment of the western highlands. This area, now heavily terraced to meet the demand for food, receives the highest rainfall in Arabia, rapidly increasing from 100 mm (3.9 in) per year to about 760 mm (29.9 in) in Taiz and over 1,000 mm (39.4 in) in Ibb. Temperatures are hot in the day, but fall dramatically at night. Perennial streams occur in the highlands, but these never reach the sea because of high evaporation in the Tihamah. The central highlands are an extensive high plateau over 2,000 m (6,562 ft) in elevation. This area is drier than the western highlands because of rain-shadow influences, but still receives sufficient rain in wet years for extensive cropping. Water storage allows for irrigation and the growing of wheat and barley. Sana'a is in this region. The highest point in Yemen and Arabia is Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb, at about 3,666 m (12,028 ft).[268][271] Yemen's portion of the Rub al Khali desert in the east is much lower, generally below 1,000 m (3,281 ft), and receives almost no rain. It is populated only by Bedouin herders of camels. The growing scarcity of water is a source of increasing international concern. See Water supply and sanitation in Yemen. Biodiversity [ edit ] The flora of Yemen is a mixture of the tropical African, Sudanian plant geographical region and the Saharo-Arabian region. The Sudanian element—characterized by relatively high rainfall—dominates the western mountains and parts of the highland plains. The Saharo-Arabian element dominates in the coastal plains, eastern mountain, and the eastern and northern desert plains. A high percentage of Yemen plants belong to tropical African plants of Sudanian regions. Among the Sudanian element species, the following may be mentioned: Ficus spp., Acacia mellifera, Grewia villosa, Commiphora spp., Rosa abyssinica, Cadaba farinosa and others.[272] Among the Saharo-Arabian species, these may be mentioned: Panicum turgidum, Aerva javanica, Zygophyllum simplex, Fagonia indica, Salsola spp., Acacia tortilis, A. hamulos, A. ehrenbergiana, Phoenix dactylifera, Hyphaene thebaica, Capparis decidua, Salvadora persica, Balanites aegyptiaca, and many others. Many of the Saharo-Arabian species are endemic to the extensive sandy coastal plain (the Tihamah).[273] The characteristic genera of the Irano-Turanian in the eastern and northern east of the country are: Calligonum spp., Cymbopogon jwarancusa, and Tamarix spp. and of the Mediterranean regions are: Teucrium, Lavandula, Juniperus, Brassica, and Diplotaxis spp. Politics [ edit ] The Yemeni government has been divided in two since 2014, when a Shi'ite group known as the Houthis seized control of the capital Sana'a. After months of tense coexistence, the Houthis made a constitutional declaration in early 2015 that placed them in de facto control of the government. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled the capital to the southern city of Aden, former capital of South Yemen, and eventually evacuated to Saudi Arabia. With the support of the Saudis and other Gulf states, Hadi remains the official leader of a provisional government based in Aden.[274] The Houthis have struggled to achieve international legitimacy, with most countries continuing to recognize Hadi as Yemen's president, despite the formation of a "national salvation" government in 2016 without the cooperation of the Hadi administration.[275] De jure, Yemen is a republic with a bicameral legislature. Under the 1991 constitution, an elected President, an elected 301-seat Assembly of Representatives, and an appointed 111-member Shura Council share power. The President is the head of state, and the Prime Minister is the head of government. In Sana'a, a Supreme Political Council (not recognized internationally) forms the government. The 1991 constitution provides that the president be elected by popular vote from at least two candidates endorsed by at least 15 members of the Parliament. The prime minister, in turn, is appointed by the president and must be approved by two-thirds of the Parliament. The presidential term of office is seven years, and the parliamentary term of elected office is six years. Suffrage is universal for people age 18 and older, but only Muslims may hold elected office.[276] President Ali Abdullah Saleh became the first elected president in reunified Yemen in 1999 (though he had been president of unified Yemen since 1990 and president of North Yemen since 1978). He was re-elected to office in September 2006. Saleh's victory was marked by an election that international observers judged was "partly free," though the election was accompanied by violence, violations of press freedoms, and allegations of fraud.[277] Parliamentary elections were held in April 2003, and the General People's Congress maintained an absolute majority. Saleh remained almost uncontested in his seat of power until 2011, when local frustration at his refusal to hold another round of elections, as combined with the impact of the 2011 Arab Spring, resulted in mass protests.[252] In 2012, he was forced to resign from power, though he remained an important actor in Yemeni politics, allying with the Houthis during their takeover in the mid-2010s.[278] The constitution calls for an independent judiciary. The former northern and southern legal codes have been unified. The legal system includes separate commercial courts and a Supreme Court based in Sana'a. Sharia is the main source of laws, with many court cases being debated according to the religious basis of law and many judges being religious scholars as well as legal authorities. The Prison Authority Organization Act, Republican decree no. 48 (1981), and Prison Act regulations, provide the legal framework for management of the country's prison system.[279] Foreign relations [ edit ] The geography and ruling imams of North Yemen kept the country isolated from foreign influence before 1962. The country's relations with Saudi Arabia were defined by the Taif Agreement of 1934, which delineated the northernmost part of the border between the two kingdoms and set the framework for commercial and other intercourse. The Taif Agreement has been renewed periodically in 20-year increments, and its validity was reaffirmed in 1995. Relations with the British colonial authorities in Aden and the south were usually tense. The Soviet and Chinese Aid Missions established in 1958 and 1959 were the first important non-Muslim presences in North Yemen. Following the September 1962 revolution, the Yemen Arab Republic became closely allied with and heavily dependent upon Egypt. Saudi Arabia aided the royalists in their attempt to defeat the Republicans and did not recognize the Yemen Arab Republic until 1970. At the same time, Saudi Arabia maintained direct contact with Yemeni tribes, which sometimes strained its official relations with the Yemeni Government. Saudi Arabia remained hostile to any form of political and social reform in Yemen[280] and continued to provide financial support for tribal elites.[281] In February 1989, North Yemen joined Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt in forming the Arab Cooperation Council (ACC), an organization created partly in response to the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council and intended to foster closer economic cooperation and integration among its members. After unification, the Republic of Yemen was accepted as a member of the ACC in place of its YAR predecessor. In the wake of the Persian Gulf crisis, the ACC has remained inactive. Yemen is not a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council mainly for its republican government.[282] Yemen is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and also participates in the nonaligned movement. The Republic of Yemen accepted responsibility for all treaties and debts of its predecessors, the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY). Yemen has acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Since the end of the 1994 civil war, tangible progress has been made on the diplomatic front in restoring normal relations with Yemen's neighbors. In the summer of 2000, Yemen and Saudi Arabia signed an International Border Treaty settling a 50-year-old dispute over the location of the border between the two countries. Until the signing of the Yemen-Saudi Arabia peace treaty in July 2000,[283] Yemen's northern border was undefined; the Arabian Desert prevented any human habitation there. Yemen settled its dispute with Eritrea over the Hanish Islands in 1998. The Saudi – Yemen barrier was constructed by Saudi Arabia against an influx of illegal immigrants and against the smuggling of drugs and weapons.[284] The Independent headed an article with "Saudi Arabia, one of the most vocal critics in the Arab world of Israel's "security fence" in the West Bank, is quietly emulating the Israeli example by erecting a barrier along its porous border with Yemen."[285] Human rights [ edit ] The government and its security forces, often considered to suffer from rampant corruption,[286] have been responsible for torture, inhumane treatment, and extrajudicial executions. There are arbitrary arrests of citizens, especially in the south, as well as arbitrary searches of homes. Prolonged pretrial detention is a serious problem, and judicial corruption, inefficiency, and executive interference undermine due process. Freedom of speech, the press, and religion are all restricted.[287] Journalists critical of the government are often harassed and threatened by the police.[221] Homosexuality is illegal, punishable by death.[288] Since the start of the Shia insurgency, many people accused of supporting Al-Houthi have been arrested and held without charge or trial. According to the U.S. State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2007, "Some Zaydis reported harassment and discrimination by the Government because they were suspected of sympathizing with the al-Houthis. However, it appears the Government's actions against the group were probably politically, not religiously, motivated."[289] The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported several violations of refugee and asylum seekers' rights in the organization's 2008 World Refugee Survey. Yemeni authorities reportedly deported numerous foreigners without giving them access to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, despite the UN's repeated requests. Refugees further reported violence directed against them by Yemeni authorities while living in refugee camps. Yemeni officials reportedly raped and beat camp-based refugees with impunity in 2007.[290] Yemen is ranked last of 135 countries in the 2012 Global Gender Gap Report.[291] Human Rights Watch reported on discrimination and violence against women as well as on the abolition of the minimum marriage age of fifteen for women. The onset of puberty (interpreted by some to be as low as the age of nine) was set as a requirement for marriage instead.[292] Publicity about the case of ten-year-old Yemeni divorcee Nujood Ali brought the child marriage issue to the fore not only in Yemen but also worldwide.[293][294][295] Human trafficking [ edit ] The United States Department of State 2013 Trafficking in Persons report classified Yemen as a Tier 3 country,[296] meaning that its government does not fully comply with the minimum standards against human trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.[297] Yemen officially abolished slavery in 1962,[298] but it is still being practiced.[299] Military [ edit ] The armed forces of Yemen include the Yemen Army (includes Republican Guard), Navy (includes Marines), Yemeni Air Force (Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Yamaniya; includes Air Defense Force). A major reorganization of the armed forces continues. The unified air forces and air defenses are now under one command. The navy has concentration in Aden. Total armed forces manning numbers about 401,000 active personnel, including moreover especially conscripts. The Yemen Arab Republic and The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen joined to form the Republic of Yemen on 22 May 1990.[citation needed] The supreme commander of the armed forces is the President of the Republic of Yemen. The number of military personnel in Yemen is relatively high; in sum, Yemen has the second largest military force on the Arabian Peninsula after Saudi Arabia. In 2012, total active troops were estimated as follows: army, 390,000; navy, 7,000; and air force, 5,000. In September 2007, the government announced the reinstatement of compulsory military service. Yemen's defense budget, which in 2006 represented approximately 40 percent of the total government budget, is expected to remain high for the nearterm, as the military draft takes effect and internal security threats continue to escalate. By 2012, Yemen had 401,000 active personnel. Administrative divisions [ edit ] Map of the Federal Regions of Yemen Governorates of Yemen As of the end of 2004, Yemen was divided into twenty governorates (muhafazat – the latest being Raymah Governorate, which was created during 2004) plus one municipality called "Amanat Al-Asemah" (the latter containing the constitutional capital, Sana'a).[300] An additional governorate (Soqatra Governorate) was created in December 2013 comprising Socotra Island (bottom-right corner of map), previously part of Hadramaut Governorate.[301] The governorates are subdivided into 333 districts (muderiah), which are subdivided into 2,210 sub-districts, and then into 38,284 villages (as of 2001). In 2014, a constitutional panel decided to divide the country into six regions—four in the north, two in the south, and capital Sana'a outside of any region—creating a federalist model of governance.[302] This federal proposal was a contributing factor toward the Houthis' subsequent coup d'état against the government.[303][304][305] Economy [ edit ] A proportional representation of Yemen's exports Yemen as of 2013 had a GDP (PPP) of US$61.63 billion, with an income per capita of $2,500. Services are the largest economic sector (61.4% of GDP), followed by the industrial sector (30.9%), and agriculture (7.7%). Of these, petroleum production represents around 25% of GDP and 63% of the government's revenue.[306] Agriculture [ edit ] A coffee plantation in North Yemen Principal agricultural commodities produced in the nation include grain, vegetables, fruits, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton, dairy products, fish, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), and poultry.[306] Most Yemenis are employed in agriculture. Sorghum is the most common crop. Cotton and many fruit trees are also grown, with mangoes being the most valuable. A big problem in Yemen is the cultivation of Khat (or qat), a psychoactive plant that releases a stimulant when chewed, and accounts for up to 40 percent of the water drawn from the Sana'a Basin each year, and that figure is rising. Some agricultural practices are drying the Sana'a Basin and displaced vital crops, which has resulted in increasing food prices. Rising food prices, in turn, pushed an additional six percent of the country into poverty in 2008 alone.[307] Efforts are being made by the Government and Dawoodi Bohra community at North Yemen to replace qat with coffee plantations.[308] Industry [ edit ] Yemen's industrial sector is centred on crude oil production and petroleum refining, food processing, handicrafts, small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods, aluminum products, commercial ship repair, cement, and natural gas production. In 2013, Yemen had an industrial production growth rate of 4.8%.[306] It also has large proven reserves of natural gas.[309] Yemen's first liquified natural gas plant began production in October 2009. Labour force [ edit ] The labor force was 7 million workers in 2013. Services, industry, construction and commerce together constitute less than 25% of the labor force. Export and import [ edit ] As of 2013 , exports from Yemen totaled $6.694 billion. The main export commodities are crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas. These products were mainly sent to China (41%), Thailand (19.2%), India (11.4%), and South Korea (4.4%). Imports as of 2013 total $10.97 billion. The main imported commodities are machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, livestock, and chemicals. These products were mainly imported from the EU (48.8%), UAE (9.8%), Switzerland (8.8%), China (7.4%), and India (5.8%).[306] State budget [ edit ] Drilling for oil in Yemen using a land rig As of 2013 , the Yemeni government's budget consisted of $7.769 billion in revenues and $12.31 billion in expenditures. Taxes and other revenues constituted roughly 17.7% of the GDP, with a budget deficit of 10.3%. The public debt was 47.1% of GDP. Yemen had reserves of foreign exchange and gold of around $5.538 billion in 2013. Its inflation rate over the same period based on consumer prices was 11.8%. Yemen's external debt totaled $7.806 billion.[306] International relations [ edit ] Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and China provided large-scale assistance. For example, China and the United States are involved with the expansion of the Sana'a International Airport. In the south, pre-independence economic activity was overwhelmingly concentrated in the port city of Aden. The seaborne transit trade, which the port relied upon, collapsed with the closure of the Suez Canal and Britain's withdrawal from Aden in 1967. Since the conclusion of the war, the government made an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement a structural adjustment program. Phase one of the program included major financial and monetary reforms, including floating the currency, reducing the budget deficit, and cutting subsidies. Phase two addresses structural issues, such as civil service reform. In early 1995, the government of Yemen launched an economic, financial, and administrative reform program (EFARP) with the support of the World Bank and the IMF, as well as international donors. These programs had a positive impact on Yemen's economy and led to the reduction of the budget deficit to less than 3% of gross domestic product during the period 1995–1999 and the correction of macro-financial imbalances.[310] The real growth rate in the non-oil sector rose by 5.6% from 1995 to 1997.[311] Water supply and sanitation [ edit ] A key challenge is severe water scarcity, especially in the Highlands, prompting The Times to write "Yemen could become first nation to run out of water."[312] A second key challenge is a high level of poverty, making it difficult to recover the costs of service provision. Access to water supply sanitation is as low as in some sub-Saharan African countries. Yemen is both the poorest country and the most water-scarce country in the Arab world. Third, the capacity of sector institutions to plan, build, operate and maintain infrastructure remains limited. Last but not least the security situation makes it even more difficult to improve or even maintain existing levels of service. The average Yemeni has access to only 140 cubic meters of water per year (101 gallons per day ) for all uses, while the Middle Eastern average is 1000 m3/yr, and the internationally defined threshold for water stress is 1700 cubic meters per year.[313] Yemen's groundwater is the main source of water in the country but the water tables have dropped severely leaving Yemen without a viable source of water. For example, in Sana'a, the water table was 30 metres (98 feet) below surface in the 1970s but had dropped to 1200 meters below surface by 2012. The groundwater has not been regulated by Yemen's governments.[314] Even before the revolution, Yemen's water situation had been described as increasingly dire by experts who worried that Yemen would be the first country to run out of water.[315] Agriculture in Yemen takes up about 90% of water in Yemen even though it only generates 6% of GDP. A large portion of Yemenis are dependent on small-scale subsistence agriculture. Half of agricultural water in Yemen is used to grow khat, a drug that many Yemenis chew. Due to the 2015 Yemeni Civil War, the situation is increasingly dire. 80% of Yemen's population struggles to access water to drink and bathe. Bombing has forced many Yemenis to leave their homes for other areas, and so wells in those areas are under increasing pressure.[316] Demographics [ edit ] Population pyramid 2016 [317] Yemen's population (1961–2008). Yemen has a growth rate of 3.46% (2008 est.) Yemen's population is 28 million by 2016 estimates,[1] with 46% of the population being under 15 years old and 2.7% above 65 years. In 1950, it was 4.3 million.[318][319] By 2050, the population is estimated to increase to about 60 million.[320] Yemen has a high total fertility rate, at 4.45 children per woman. It is the 30th highest in the world.[321] Sana'a's population has increased rapidly, from roughly 55,000 in 1978[322] to nearly 2 million in the early 21st century. Ethnic groups [ edit ] Yemeni ethnic groups are predominantly Arabs, followed by Afro-Arabs, South Asians and Europeans.[306] When the former states of North and South Yemen were established, most resident minority groups departed.[323] Yemen is a largely tribal society.[324] In the northern, mountainous parts of the country, there are 400 Zaidi tribes.[325] There are also hereditary caste groups in urban areas such as Al-Akhdam.[326] There are also Yemenis of Persian origin. According to Muqaddasi, Persians formed the majority of Aden's population in the 10th century.[327][328] Yemenite Jews once formed a sizable minority in Yemen with a distinct culture from other Jewish communities in the world.[329] Most emigrated to Israel in the mid-20th century, following the Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries and Operation Magic Carpet.[330] An estimated 100,000 people of Indian origin are concentrated in the southern part of the country, around Aden, Mukalla, Shihr, Lahaj, Mokha and Hodeidah.[331] Most of the prominent Indonesians, Malaysians, and Singaporeans of Arab descent are Hadhrami people with origins in southern Yemen in the Hadramawt coastal region.[332] Today there are almost 10,000 Hadramis in Singapore.[333] The Hadramis migrated to Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Indian subcontinent.[334] The Maqil were a collection of Arab Bedouin tribes of Yemeni origin who migrated westwards via Egypt. Several groups of Yemeni Arabs turned south to Mauritania, and by the end of the 17th century, they dominated the entire country. They can also be found throughout Morocco and in Algeria as well as in other North African Countries.[335] Yemen is the only country in the Arabian Peninsula that is signatory to two international accords dating back to 1951 and 1967 governing the protection of refugees.[336] Yemen hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 124,600 in 2007. Refugees and asylum seekers living in Yemen were predominantly from Somalia (110,600), Iraq (11,000), Ethiopia (2,000),[290] and Syria.[337] Additionally, more than 334,000 Yemenis have been internally displaced by conflict.[336] The Yemeni diaspora is largely concentrated in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where between 800,000 and 1 million Yemenis reside,[338] and the United Kingdom, home to between 70,000 and 80,000 Yemenis.[339] Languages [ edit ] Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Yemen, while Yemeni Arabic is used as the vernacular. In al Mahrah Governorate in the far east and the island of Socotra, several non-Arabic languages are spoken.[340][341] Yemeni Sign Language is used by the deaf community. Yemen is part of homeland of the South Semitic languages. Mehri is the largest South Semitic language spoken in the nation, with more than 70,000 speakers. The ethnic group itself is called Mahra. Soqotri is another South Semitic language, with speakers on the island of Socotra isolated from the pressures of Arabic on the Yemeni mainland. According to the 1990 census in Yemen, the number of speakers there was 57,000.[342] Yemen was also home of the Old South Arabian languages. The Razihi language appears to be the only remaining Old South Arabian language. English is the most important foreign language, being widely taught and spoken mostly in the south, a former British colony.[343] There are a significant number of Russian speakers, originating from Yemeni-Russian cross-marriages occurring mainly in the 1970s and 1980s. A small Cham-speaking community is found in the capital city of Sana'a, originating from refugees expatriated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War in the 1970s.[citation needed] Urban areas [ edit ] Religion [ edit ] Religion in Yemen consists primarily of two principal Islamic religious groups: About 65% of the Muslim population is Sunni and 35% is Shia, according to the International Religious Freedom Report.[344] Sunnis are primarily Shafi'i but also include significant groups of Malikis and Hanbalis. Shias are primarily Zaydi and also have significant minorities of Ismaili[345] and Twelver[345][346] Shias. The Sunnis are predominantly in the south and southeast. The Zaidis are predominantly in the north and northwest whilst the Ismailis are in the main centres such as Sana'a and Ma'rib. There are mixed communities in the larger cities. About .05 percent of Yemenis are non-Muslim – adhering to Christianity, Judaism, or Hinduism or having no religious affiliation.[348][349] Estimates of the number of Christians in Yemen range from 25,000[350] to 41,000.[351] A 2015 study estimates 400 Christians from a Muslim background in the country.[352] There are approximately 50 Jews left in Yemen. Some 200 Yemenite Jews were brought to Israel by the Jewish Agency circa 2016.[353] Culture [ edit ] The National Museum in Sana'a Typical Yemeni House Yemen is a culturally rich country with influence from many civilizations, such as the early civilization of Sheba.[8][9][10] Media [ edit ] Radio broadcasting in Yemen began in the 1940s when it was still divided into the South by the British and the North by the Imami ruling system.[354] After the unification of Yemen in 1990, the Yemeni government reformed its corporations and founded some additional radio stations that broadcast locally. However, it drew back after 1994, due to destroyed infrastructure resulting from the civil war. Television is the most significant media platform in Yemen. Given the low literacy rate in the country, television is the main source of news for Yemenis. There are six free-to-air channels currently headquartered in Yemen, of which four are state-owned.[355] The Yemeni film industry is in its early stages; only two Yemeni films have been released as of 2008 . Theatre [ edit ] The history of Yemeni theatre dates back at least a century, to the early 1900s. Both amateur and professional (government-sponsored) theatre troupes perform in the country's major urban centres. Many of Yemen's significant poets and authors, like Ali Ahmed Ba Kathir, Muhammad al-Sharafi, and Wajdi al-Ahdal, have written dramatic works; poems, novels, and short stories by Yemeni authors like Mohammad Abdul-Wali and Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh have also been adapted for the stage. There have been Yemeni productions of plays by Arab authors such as Tawfiq al-Hakim and Saadallah Wannous and by Western authors, including Shakespeare, Pirandello, Brecht, and Tennessee Williams. Historically speaking, the southern port city of Aden is the cradle of Yemeni theatre; in recent decades the capital, Sana'a, has hosted numerous theatre festivals, often in conjunction with World Theatre Day. Sport [ edit ] Football is the most popular sport in Yemen. The Yemen Football Association is a member of FIFA and AFC. The Yemeni national football team participates internationally. The country also hosts many football clubs. They compete in the national and international leagues. Yemen's mountains provide many opportunities for outdoor sports, such as biking, rock climbing, trekking, hiking, and other more challenging sports, including mountain climbing. Mountain climbing and hiking tours to the Sarawat Mountains, including peaks of 3,000 m (9,800 ft) and above, particularly that of An-Nabi Shu'ayb,[268][271] are seasonally organized by local and international alpine agencies. The coastal areas of Yemen and Socotra island also provide many opportunities for water sports, such as surfing, bodyboarding, sailing, swimming, and scuba diving. Socotra island is home to some of the best surfing destinations in the world. Camel jumping is a traditional sport that is becoming increasingly popular among the Zaraniq tribe on the west coast of Yemen in a desert plain by the Red Sea. Camels are placed side to side and victory goes to the competitor who leaps, from a running start, over the most camels. The jumpers train year round for competitions. Tribesmen (women may not compete) tuck their robes around their waists for freedom of movement while running and leaping.[356] Yemen's biggest sports event was hosting the 20th Arabian Gulf Cup in Aden and Abyan in the southern part of the country on 22 November 2010. Many thought Yemen was the strongest competitor, but it was defeated in the first three matches of the tournament.[357] Internationally, Naseem Hamed, a world champion boxer, is the most well known Yemeni athlete. World Heritage sites [ edit ] Among Yemen's natural and cultural attractions are four World Heritage sites.[358][359] The Old Walled City of Shibam in Wadi Hadhramaut, inscribed by UNESCO in 1982, two years after Yemen joined the World Heritage Committee, is nicknamed "Manhattan of the Desert" because of its "skyscrapers." Surrounded by a fortified wall made of mud and straw, the 16th-century city is one of the oldest examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. The Old City of Sana'a, at an altitude of more than 2,100 metres (7,000 ft), has been inhabited for over two and a half millennia, and was inscribed in 1986. Sana'a became a major Islamic centre in the 7th century, and the 103 mosques, 14 hammams (traditional bath houses), and more than 6,000 houses that survive all date from before the 11th century. Close to the Red Sea Coast, the historic town of Zabid, inscribed in 1993, was Yemen's capital from the 13th to the 15th century, and is an archaeological and historical site. It played an important role for many centuries because of its university, which was a centre of learning for the whole Arab and Islamic world. Algebra is said to have been invented there in the early 9th century by the little-known scholar Al-Jazari. The latest addition to Yemen's list of World Heritage Sites is the Socotra Archipelago. Mentioned by Marco Polo in the 13th century, this remote and isolated archipelago consists of four islands and two rocky islets delineating the southern limit of the Gulf of Aden. The site has a rich biodiversity. Nowhere else in the world do 37% of Socotra's 825 plants, 90% of its reptiles and 95% of its snails occur. It is home to 192 bird species, 253 species of coral, 730 species of coastal fish, and 300 species of crab and lobster, as well as a range of Aloes and the Dragon's Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari). The cultural heritage of Socotra includes the unique Soqotri language. Education [ edit ] New Sana'a University in Sana'a The adult literacy rate in 2010 was 64%.[360] The government has committed to reduce illiteracy to less than 10% by 2025.[361] Although Yemen's government provides for universal, compulsory, free education for children ages six through 15, the U.S. Department of State reports that compulsory attendance is not enforced. The government developed the National Basic Education Development Strategy in 2003 that aimed at providing education to 95% of Yemeni children between the ages of six and 14 years and also at decreasing the gap between males and females in urban and rural areas.[362] Literacy Rate of Yemen population plus15 1995–2015 by UNESCO Institute of Statistics A seven-year project to improve gender equity and the quality and efficiency of secondary education, focusing on girls in rural areas, was approved by the World Bank in March 2008. Following thi
International Rugby New Zealand Maori announce tour of UK ESPN Staff The Maori All Blacks will tackle Leicester Tigers, Canada and a RFU Championship Select XV on a three-game tour of the UK in November. The New Zealand-based side, that claimed famous victories over Ireland and England during their centenary season in 2010, will arrive in England at the beginning of November and will tackle nine-time English champions Leicester in their opening game at Welford Road on Tuesday, November 13. The squad will then travel north to take on a RFU Championship Select XV, headed up by Bedford Blues coach Mike Rayer, on Saturday, November 17 and finally Canada at Oxford University Sports Centre on Friday, November 23. The RFU Championship XV will comprise entirely of English Qualified Players (EQP), and will take place during a fallow week for the second tier clubs with Liam Middleton (Bristol Rugby) and Diccon Edwards (Leeds Carnegie) set to assist Rayer. Speaking about the forthcoming tour, New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew said: "The Maori All Blacks have been an important part of New Zealand's rugby history and this UK tour reflects a NZRU commitment to a meaningful programme for the Maori All Blacks." The tour is part of a wider programme of November fixtures for Tier 2 sides supported by the International Rugby Board to ensure that these nations have access to an annual high-level competition schedule within the Rugby World Cup cycle. The full programme will be announced shortly. Canada's performance in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, that included a solitary victory over Tonga, attracted an unprecedented number of supporters, peaking at nearly 39,000 against France. The upcoming programme is hoping to help capture and build that support as the Tier 2 nations continue to develop on the world stage. IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "This is an exciting development for the global Game. The IRB is committed to facilitating and facilitating an annual international competition schedule for our Tier 2 Unions and these matches will be key to increased competitiveness on the global stage and at Rugby World Cup. I would like to thank the RFU and the NZRU for their support. "There will be an unprecedented number of international fixtures across the UK in November, which will give sports fans a taste of what to expect in 2015 when England hosts the world's top 20 nations for Rugby World Cup." Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: "Welford Road has always attracted big rugby names and top-quality touring opposition, and we're looking forward to the arrival of the Maori All Blacks squad. In the last few years we've been lucky enough to welcome South Africa, Australia and Argentina for fixtures against Leicester Tigers, and the Maori are very welcome additions to that list." Following the announcement, RFU professional rugby director Rob Andrew commented: "We are honoured to be hosting the Maori All Blacks in November. The three fixtures will provide a broad spectrum of challenges for the touring side, with both tiers of professional rugby in England represented and an international side in Canada. "As well as facing Premiership giants Leicester Tigers, who will no doubt have a roaring support at Welford Road, a RFU Championship XV will form to take on the Maori All Blacks in a first for the competition. Reflecting the growth of the second tier, the team will comprise the best of English Qualified Players in the RFU Championship thanks to the commitment and support from all twelve clubs." Maori All Blacks UK Tour: v Leicester Tigers, Tuesday, November 13, Welford Road (KO 1930) v RFU Championship XV, Saturday, November 17, Castle Park (KO 1205) v Canada, Friday, November 23, Oxford University Sports Centre (KO 1930) © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Hawthorne fire A fire broke out Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, near Southeast Grand Avenue and Madison Street in Portland. It appeared to start in a homeless camp near the Hawthorne Bridge. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Basaca) A blaze broke out Friday afternoon at a homeless camp near the Hawthorne Bridge in Southeast Portland. Portland Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Greg Espinoza said the fire originated in an alley and spread to an empty warehouse in the 1300 block of Southeast Grand Avenue. Heavy black smoke from the fire could be seen from the west side of the Willamette River. Chuck Shively, who works across the street from the warehouse, was smoking a cigarette outside when he heard a loud bang. He saw an entire tent go up in flames, which spread to the warehouse, he said. "The flames ran up the wall," Shively said. Samuel Carpenter, one of the warehouse's owners, said that homeless people set up camp in the alley a few months ago. "We feel for them," Carpenter said. "This is a problem that the whole city faces together. But what's the solution?" By 3 p.m., fire crews were mopping up hot spots. No one was injured. --Samantha Matsumoto [email protected] @SMatsumoto55
An automatic dishwasher uses hot water and electricity, so it makes sense to choose an efficient model. But before discussing the question of which dishwasher you should buy, we need to address two questions: Does washing dishes by hand save energy compared to an automatic dishwasher? Does the use of paper plates and paper cups require more or less energy than using china plates and cups? Hand washing versus automatic dishwashers The definitive research on the first question was performed in 2004 in Bonn, Germany, by researcher Rainer Stamminger. Stamminger reported his findings in an article for English-speaking readers (“Is a Machine More Efficient Than the Hand?”), published in the May/June 2004 issue of Home Energy magazine. Stamminger found that a dishwasher uses about half the energy and one-sixth the water used by the average hand-washer. (The appliances used in Stamminger’s study used an average of about 4 gallons of water and about 1 kWh of electricity per load for a standard washing cycle.) Moreover, the automatic dishwasher used less detergent and got the dishes cleaner. “To rule out possible regional differences in dishwashing techniques, we persuaded 113 people from seven countries in Europe to participate in the dishwashing experiment,” Stamminger wrote in the Home Energy article. “The subject was asked to clean and dry the dishes as he or she would do it at home. … For manual dishwashing, results below 3.5 were regarded as ‘really dirty’ or ‘not acceptable to be placed on a dinner table.’ Clearly, about half of our test subjects did not achieve an acceptable level of cleanliness.” If you are washing dishes by hand, it’s extremely hard to do a good job with the same amount of hot water used by an automatic dishwasher. “To clean the 12 place settings of dishes, the 113 test subjects used on average 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kWh of water-heating energy,” Stamminger wrote. “The amounts of water and energy consumed by the test subjects to clean the dishes do not fall into any clear pattern. … For water consumption, a first cluster in the distribution occurs around 8 to 26 gallons, while a second occurs around 34 gallons. But many test subjects consumed more than 53 gallons, and 1 subject consumed 118 gallons. Similarly, for energy consumption, a first cluster occurs between 1 and 2 kWh, a second around 3.5 kWh, and another significant grouping shows up above 5 kWh. The highest energy consumption was 16.6 kWh.” If you think that people who use lots of hot water end up with clean dishes, you’re wrong. Stamminger wrote, “When we examine these data [for washing by hand], we find almost no correlation between the energy used and the performance achieved [that is, the cleanliness of the dishes].” China versus paper Most environmentalists are scornful of those who use disposable coffee cups or paper plates. Such people take pride in the fact that they always use a china coffee cup at the office (washing it out in the sink, of course, when necessary). So is there any logic to preferring china plates and cups to paper plates and cups? Which approach uses less energy? Several researchers have published papers that include energy life-cycle analyses of the china vs. paper question. The analyses vary in sophistication. One analysis I discovered online (“A Life-Cycle and Economic Analysis: Paper Versus Ceramic Plates”) appeared promising, until I read this sentence: “Assuming five loads are washed per day [in a restaurant] for 365 days of the year, $2651.16 will be spent on electricity. There is no information on how much hot water is required for each wash load, so energy required for heating water was omitted.” OK — we can throw that analysis out the window. Another analysis (“A comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of ceramic plates and biodegradable plates (made of corn starch) using the Life Cycle Assessment tool”) is somewhat more rigorous. That report concluded, “The minimum number of reuses of the ceramic plate to make the associated environmental impact equal to or smaller than that associated with the single-use biodegradable plate was found to be 50. As the number of uses of the plate increased, the environmental impact decreased.” One analysis (“Paper Plates?”) concluded that paper plates and bowls make more sense than paper cups and plastic forks: “Disposable cups and cutlery are probably out, but plates and bowls could be an energy and emissions saving option, assuming you compost all the disposable dishes you use. Taking all the plates and bowls out of your dishwasher could reduce the number of loads you do by, say, 40%. This would save around 9000 kWh, which converts to a savings of 5470 kg of carbon emissions from not using the dishwasher, while requiring less than 2000 kWh and 250 kg of carbon to produce the disposable plates and bowls you would use over 15 years. This translates to a savings of 5 [metric] tonnes of carbon over 15 years… It looks like there is an argument for biodegradable plates and bowls, but not cups or cutlery. If you don’t have a dishwasher, and are currently washing all your dishes by hand, biodegradable plates are almost certainly a good option.” Another online article (“Coffee Cups: Spilling the Beans,”) cites an analysis made by the Dutch Ministry of Environment. “It seems that a ceramic cup is a real greedy vessel when it comes to energy and water consumption and not much better as a contributor to air pollution and solid waste. With energy you’d have to use the ceramic cup 640 times before it would equal a polystyrene cup and 294 times to equal a paper/cardboard one. With air pollution it takes 1,800 uses to beat the polystyrene and 48 to thrash the paper/cardboard. Likewise you would have to drink 126 and 99 cups respectively for the ceramic to compete with polystyrene and paper/cardboard on the waste issue. And water? Sorry, just the use of a ceramic cup totals more than the entire life cycle water consumption of the other two.” Nevertheless, the article concluded, “In this story the ‘good guy’ ceramic cup wins hands down in the functional use category. Designed for a long, durable life, it can be used for well over 3,000 slurping sessions.” “The results are extremely sensitive to the amount of energy used for dishwashing” One of the most credible analyses was made by a Canadian chemistry professor. According to “Reusable vs. Disposable Cups,” an article published by the Institute of Lifecycle Energy Analysis in Seattle, “This classic life-cycle energy analysis was performed [in 1994] by University of Victoria professor of chemistry Martin B. Hocking. Hocking compared three types of reusable drinking cups (ceramic, glass, and reusable plastic) and two types of disposable cups (paper and polystyrene foam).” Hocking calculated that “the energy of manufacture” (embodied energy) of a china cup is 14 MJ, while the embodied energy of a paper cup is only 0.55 MJ. Somewhat surprisingly, the embodied energy of a polystyrene cup is only 0.20 MJ — less than that of a paper cup. The article continues, “The efficiency of the dishwasher, and the efficiency of the energy system that powers it, determines how much energy is required for each wash. Hocking assumed a new, commercial dishwasher requiring about 0.19 MJ/cup-wash.” Hocking developed a “break-even matrix” to show how many times you would have to use a china cup before the energy invested in manufacturing the cup will break even compared to the energy used to make lots of disposible cups. You would have to use (and wash) a ceramic cup 1,006 times to break even with the energy used to manufacture 1,006 polystyrene cups, but you would only have to use a ceramic cup 39 times to break even with the energy used to make 39 paper cups. Since the energy needed to wash a cup or plate once is less than the energy required to manufacture one disposable cup or plate, using a china cup or plate wins the race, as long as it is used for more times than required to reach the “break even” point. However, there is a caveat. The article notes, “The results are extremely sensitive to the amount of energy the dishwasher requires for cleaning each cup. … If Hocking had chosen even a slightly less energy-efficient dishwasher as his standard, then the reusable [ceramic] cups would never have broken even with the foam cup. … In situations where cups are likely to be lost or broken and thus have a short average lifetime, disposable cups are the preferred option.” Some, but not all, of the life-cycle analyses cited above tried to account for the economic and environmental costs of disposing of paper plates and cups. (I anticipate comments from readers who will mention our country’s looming landfill crisis. While a full analysis of the disposal question is beyond the scope of this blog, it’s worth mentioning that paper plates and cups can be composted or used for kindling in your wood stove.) So which wins — china or paper? Based on my reading of the above analyses, I would say that china plates, bowls, and cups win out over paper — but only just barely, and only under certain conditions: China fails this comparison if your cabinets are full of more china plates and cups than you use regularly. After all, if you have 40 coffee mugs in your cabinet, that’s a lot of embodied energy. You have to use each cup dozens or hundreds of times before you’ve broken even. China fails this comparison if you have clumsy family members who break china often. China fails this comparison if you wash your dishes by hand. If you are ever berated by an environmentalist for sipping coffee from a paper cup, you might explain the above facts. (Or not.) And if you keep a ceramic coffee mug on your office desk, and you wash it out in the sink in your office’s lunch room — it might be time for you to buy a package of Dixie cups. Does it make sense to supply cold water to your dishwasher? Dishwashers require 140°F water to operate. U.S. dishwashers assume that the incoming water temperature is 120°F; all dishwashers include an electric resistance element (often rated at 900 watts) to raise the temperature of the incoming water to 140°F. If the incoming water temperature is less than 120°F, the dishwashers still work; however, the cycle takes longer, because the dishwasher has to wait until the necessary volumes of water are heated to 140°F. Three researchers from the Florida Solar Energy Center — David E. Hoak, Danny S. Parker and Andreas H. Hermelink — have written an interesting paper that discusses the energy ramifications of the electric-resistance water heaters in dishwashers. In their paper (“How Energy Efficient are Modern Dishwashers? ), the authors write, “Given the small volume of the fills for the various draws and the length of the time between them leads to the question of how much of the heat in the water heated by the remote hot water tank actually reaches the dishwasher? This is a function of draw amount, length of plumbing to dishwasher, pipe insulation, temperature differences, and time between dishwasher fills within a cycle. … For instance, with a 30-foot plumbing run, it can be shown that only a portion of tank-heated water actually reaches the dishwasher. Some of the water drawn per cycle has been heated by the water heater, only to cool in piping, and then to be reheated by the dishwasher – inherently inefficient. … In large houses where 70-foot runs are possible, none of the hot water in each cycle would be directly heated. Also, in cooling dominated climates, much of the residual heat in the pipes is lost to the interior, becoming internal gains that must be removed by the cooling system. … One recommendation might be to plumb cold water to the dishwasher if the water heater is a resistance electric type and users are willing to tolerate the 20-30 minutes longer dishwasher cycle times. Cold water connection may use the least combined water heater and dishwasher energy since the dishwasher heats its own water only for the parts of the cycle where hot water is needed, but the energy (in the form of electricity) generally costs more. However, if one has a gas or solar hot water system, connecting them to hot will save carbon dioxide emissions and operating costs, particularly if plumbing runs are short.” Minimum federal standards and the Energy Star standard The Federal minimum efficiency standard for automatic dishwashers (effective January 1, 2010) requires standard-sized dishwashers to use no more than 355 kWh/year and no more than 6.5 gallons of water/cycle. The Energy Star standard for dishwashers is more stringent; it requires standard-sized dishwashers to use no more than 295 kWh/year and no more than 4.25 gallons of water/cycle. Since the test method assumes that a dishwasher is used for 215 cycles per year, an Energy Star dishwasher must use no more than 1.37 kWh per cycle. Which models of automatic dishwasher are most efficient? The Energy Star program maintains an online list of Energy Star dishwashers. The most efficient models of standard-sized dishwashers are manufactured by Asko (the Asko D5894A) and Bosch (the Bosch 800 Plus). However, these models are costly; according to Bosch, the manufacturer’s suggest list price for the Bosch 800 Plus “ranges from $1,399 to $2,099.” Another online list of energy-efficient dishwashers is maintained by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE). Appliances on the CEE list use less than 295 kWh/yr and 4.25 gallons of water per cycle (equivalent to the Energy Star requirements). According to Consumer Reports, the Kenmore Elite 12783 ($1,200) topped their tests for quiet operation and low water use. However, the runner-up from Bosch (the Bosch Ascenta SHX3AR7[5]US), came close in performance to the top-rated Kenmore, and was a bargain at $700. Another recent list of efficient dishwashers highlights the Asko D5894A and the following Bosch models: SHE68E05UC, SHE8ER5UC, SHV68E13UC, SHX68E05UC, SHX68E15UC, and SHX8ER5UC. Tips for using an automatic dishwasher No matter what brand of dishwasher you have in your house, here are some tips to minimize energy use and improve performance: Don’t pre-rinse your dirty dishes. Just scrape off the food scraps instead. Don’t run your dishwasher unless it is full. Don’t use “enhanced” settings like “super wash” or “pots and pans.” Use a good detergent. Consumer Reports recommends Cascade Complete with Dawn ActionPacs, Cascade Complete All-in-1 Powder, or Walmart’s Great Value Powder Pacs. If possible, don’t use the heated drying cycle. Heated drying uses an electric resistance heating element. If your dishwasher offers it, select unheated air drying, or just open the door when the dishes are still hot from the rinse cycle, to allow the dishes to dry into the room. Martin Holladay’s previous blog: “Zen and the Art of Grading.” Click here to follow Martin Holladay on Twitter.
Alexander Aan has been imprisoned for 30 months for posting “God doesn’t exist” on Facebook. This is described by Amnesty International as “a serious setback for freedom of expression in Indonesia,”. Tempted to think, “Oh, that is just about non-belief, but I’m a believer, so I’ll be OK”. Well, you might like to think again. There is a story in the Guardian last may in which they note that … …citizens are technically guaranteed freedom ofreligion but protected by law only if they believe in one of six credos: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism. Those who question any of those face five years in prison for “insulting a major religion”, plus an additional six years if they use the internet to spread such “blasphemy” to others. So from the viewpoint of the state in Indonesia, they are mandating that you must believe one of six specific beliefs only and that nothing else is acceptable. This has made life miserable for Mr Aan … From the medium-security rural prison where he has been held for the past two months, Aan has little hope for the future. He has been beaten by angry mobs, rejected by his community and endured public calls for his beheading. OK, so far nothing I’ve said is unknown or new, so where am I going with this? Well, the core problem is that Indonesia is increasingly being influenced politically and financially by conservative Wahhabi clerics from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, who help to incite intolerance in Indonesia. According to Andreas Harsono, a local human rights activist … “Victims keep getting longer prison terms and perpetrators less, while the human rights we set in place 10 years ago are becoming unravelled,” he says. “We’re seeing a motion to ban mini-skirts in government buildings whereas [before] it was OK. Beauty queen contests were OK’d in the 1970s but have been banned in some provinces, while Valentine’s Day celebrations were given the green light 30 years ago but this year were banned in Aceh. “The situation is getting crazy,” Harsono continues. “We used to discuss these issues. Now there is no discussion. The discourse today is ‘This is un-Islamic and immoral’.” This is not just about one individual non-believer going to jail, what has happened to Mr Aan is just the tip of the iceberg. You have complete religious lunatics such as the Padang clan chief, Zainuddin Datuk Rajo Lenggang, who claims, “If you are not a religious person, you might be dangerous to others, behaving without control and doing anything you like,”. Daft of course because he is quite clearly the source of extreme danger to others and is himself behaving without control, and can inflict misery and death without being held accountable. The target here is not just non-belief, Christians also suffer greatly, with thousands of congregations facing harassment from these Islamic lunatics. They might indeed truly believe they have a god on their side and are striving for a peaceful society, but in the end they will simply end up tearing their culture apart. Every time a belief attempts to impose itself by force the result will be a harvest of considerable social disorder at best, but may even lead to outright civil war. Martin Niemöller was a German pastor and theologian born in Lippstadt, Germany, in 1892. Niemöller was an anti-Communist and supported Hitler’s rise to power at first. But when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemöller became disillusioned. First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. His words were not abstract or poetical, he ended up in Dachau concentration camp. As for Mr Aan, he has issued a public apology for his Facebook message and has since converted to Islam, but it all makes no difference, the hardline Islamic Society Forum has called for the use of the death penalty in his case. He looks out the window to where a group of inmates are celebrating their Sunday by performing karoake to drum’n’bass in the dusty prison yard, most of them smoking, all of them barefoot. “I only want to see a better world and help create a better world,” he says. “If I cannot … then I would prefer to die.” Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Pocket Skype WhatsApp Email Print Like this: Like Loading...
Remember when those kids played Jumanji that one time and all those CGI monkeys went berserk? Remember when those kids played Zathura and no one saw that movie? Well I dare those kids to play HARUM SKARUM. Below is the first ad for a board game you should not be playing. Really, don’t. And especially don’t let your kids get their rotten paws on it. Someone named Blackmagic Rollercoaster was suckered into filming the ad. Where’s he now? No one’s heard of him again. A dirty black box arrives in the mail. Inside you find a HARUM SKARUM set – a collection of homemade masks, trinkets, little weapons, maybe some fireworks, and a deck of cards that dare the players to commit worse and worse stunts (“Take a photo of yourself, looking murdered. Send it to the last person you called”). No two sets are exactly alike. Each player dons a mask and lies, cheats, steals, and burns as many bridges as possible in effort to take away the other players’ masks. Where is this going? Is it just a board game? I doubt it. We get plugs for maybe/kinda/almost film projects all the time. Tell me this video for a board game called HARUM SKARUM doesn’t wet your whistle more than all of those combined. Keep you eyes peeled for more on this glorious multimedia/damning project from Blackmagic Rollercoaster. HARUM SKARUM from BLACKMAGIC ROLLERCOASTER on Vimeo.
• Armenia international was left out of squad to play City in EFL Cup • Mkhitaryan has not featured for United since 10 September Henrikh Mkhitaryan is determined to fight for his place at Manchester United despite being left out of the matchday squad for Wednesday night’s EFL Cup victory over Manchester City. The Armenian international has made only four appearances for United since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer for around £30m, the last being the 2-1 defeat to City on 10 September when he was substituted at half-time. That means Mkhitaryan has played just 105 minutes in the Premier League for his new club. ‘Who would subject their kids to that kind of atmosphere?’ West Ham fans’ view of crowd trouble Read more He had been expected to feature against City on Wednesday and was pictured arriving at Old Trafford with the rest of the squad before kick-off, only to be informed that he would be watching the game from the stands. It is understood that the 27-year-old was surprised not to be involved having taken a full part in training in the buildup to the match but will not seek a move away from United in January. Last week, José Mourinho – who was charged with misconduct on Thursday over comments he made about the referee Anthony Taylor prior to the game against Liverpool – admitted Mkhitaryan “has to work more to get the intensity and fitness to play at a high level”. That also came as a shock to the forward, who was voted the Bundesliga’s player of the Season after his performances for Dortmund last season, although he did admit in pre-season that it could take time for him to settle into English football. “It doesn’t matter if they buy me for, I don’t know, £38m or £40m, I am not guaranteed to play the games,” Mkhitaryan said. “So I am trying to do my best during the training to earn this place to play and then we will see, because I don’t think I will play every game, depending on the tactical situation, depending on the opponent. But I will do everything to try and help the team.”
The founders of Ben and Jerry’s are making a fundraising pitch for Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersPush to end U.S. support for Saudi war hits Senate setback Sanders: 'I fully expect' fair treatment by DNC in 2020 after 'not quite even handed' 2016 primary Sanders: 'Damn right' I'll make the large corporations pay 'fair share of taxes' MORE’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, days before the year-end fundraising deadline. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who co-founded the Vermont-based ice cream chain, sent an email to supporters Tuesday, urging them to volunteer and donate $3 before the Dec. 31 deadline. The two are ardent supporters of the Vermont senator and frequently stump for him in the early-voting states. “As we travel the country campaigning for Bernie, we hear a lot of people saying, ‘I love Bernie, but I am not sure he can win,’” Greenfield writes. “But poll after poll shows Bernie is the most electable Democrat,” Cohen writes. “And that’s because we all know in our hearts that the things Bernie is talking about are true. The system is rigged." The pair touted the small contributions funding Sanders’s campaign, adding that they have donated themselves and spent money on ice cream for campaign events. “Every time Bernie ran for office in Vermont, people would say he didn’t have a chance,” Greenfield writes. “And together, I know we’re going to shock the political elite when we win in Iowa next month." Sanders lags behind Clinton in national polls and in Iowa, but he surpasses her by 6 points in New Hampshire, according to RealClearPolitics averages.
Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Poor internet connectivity is threatening to force companies out of Carmarthen, a local business owner has warned. Internet connections that are “simply not good enough” have caused frustration for some time at Cillefwr Industrial Estate in Johnstown, which is home to dozens of businesses. The site has been the subject of a survey in recent weeks to ascertain what internet speeds are available at business premises in the estate and off the adjoining Alltycnap Road. Roger Jones, who owns Carmarthen Lighting Centre, says the issue has affected the day-today running of his company for years. “In rural areas you might expect internet speeds to be poor, but not in an industrial park where businesses rely on it to make their business function,” he said. “It seems to be a nationwide problem. It’s just random and down to pot luck as to whether you get good internet or not.” Mr Jones owns two business units at the Carmarthen estate, as well as one in Cross Hands and one in Llanelli. He says the state of things in Carmarthen has even led him to consider taking his whole business out of the town. “With Cross Hands expanding from a business point of view, I was tempted to pack up and go there or to Llanelli completely,” he added. “We need to encourage people to stay here, long-term. My sons are all from Carmarthen and they’re all university educated, but they’ve all moved away to work. “How can it be that, in Cross Hands and Llanelli, the internet connection is perfect, yet here in Carmarthen, it’s just not good enough?” Julian Wilson, manager of W Kingsbury Ltd in Johnstown, said BT conducted a survey earlier this year and it was agreed that faster broadband would be introduced. After waiting five weeks, he was then told that the agreed service would be not installed after all. “The broadband doesn’t work a lot of the time, so it’s very difficult for businesses to function,” said Mr Wilson. “BT are extremely difficult to deal with - they give the same excuses over and over again. “I live in Kidwelly, and I can get speeds of up to 70Mbs, but in work I’m lucky if I get seven. Reloading our website can take four hours here; at home it can be done in 15 minutes. “Before Christmas, which is a very busy time for us, the internet connection would drop out about 20 times a day. It’s just not good enough if you’re trying to run a successful business.” After long periods of frustration, Mr Wilson revealed that BT has now offered him a deal that should provide him with internet speeds of 20Mbs, but at a cost. “I’ve managed to reduce the monthly fee it’s going to cost us, after all the problems we’ve had, but we’ve had to sign up for five years, which is a long time. “Overall, it’s going to cost us thousands of pounds.” Despite the hope that running the business will now be made easier in light of the new agreement with BT, Mr Wilson thinks the issue represents a wider concern for businesses in west Wales as a whole. “I used to live in Caldicot in east Wales and we had speeds of 70Mbs about five years ago. There shouldn’t be that much of a difference, but while there is, businesses down here are always going to struggle.” BT has stressed that they are working to improve the infrastructure in the Johnstown area, and claim that over 70 per cent of businesses and homes across Carmarthenshire as a whole can already get access to superfast broadband. A spokesperson for BT said: “Large parts of the Cillefwr Industrial Estate can already gain access to some of the fastest fibre broadband speeds in the UK thanks to Superfast Cymru. “We appreciate the frustration of those businesses that currently cannot access superfast broadband but would like to confirm that our engineers are working hard to bring fibre to more of the estate as quickly as possible. “Across Carmarthenshire, more than 7 out of 10 homes and businesses can place an order for superfast broadband today. "For those that can already do so we would urge people to take advantage of the new technology that is being made available and revolutionising the way we work, live and play.”
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Wednesday denied allegations of a physical affair with a staff member but admitted to saying “inappropriate things” to her. “Two years ago, I made a mistake,” Bentley said. “I want everyone to know, though, that I have never had a physical affair with Mrs. Mason.” Bentley is referring to Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a member of his leadership team he described as his closest aide and confidant. When asked what specifically he was apologizing for, Bentley said, “For whatever has been reported.” Allegations of inappropriate relationship “I have not had a physical relationship with Mrs. Mason,” Bentley said. “It was a period of time in my life that I made inappropriate comments.” It started earlier Wednesday when fired Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) head Spencer Collier held a news conference at his attorney’s office to address his firing and level serious accusations against Governor Bentley’s office. Collier says the man Bentley would later put in charge of ALEA, Stan Stabler, first saw an inappropriate text between Governor Bentley and his chief advisor, Mason. However, he says it was Bentley’s family that recorded conversations that confirmed the affair. Collier says he told the governor it would be a crime to use state resources to facilitate the affair. Collier claims that he has no knowledge of Bentley committing crimes of that nature, though he did say he’s had complaints from state troopers suggesting that. Bentley denied asking people to lie to cover up the alleged affair and using state resources to facilitate the alleged affair. Please enable Javascript to watch this video According to Collier, Mason wielded a level of influence over the governor and the state that he has never seen. He adds that the governor made it clear he would fire anyone who questioned Mason’s influence. Bentley didn't address Mason's level of influence, but when asked if he had a romantic relationship with Mason, Bentley asked, "What do you mean 'romantic relationship?'" "I have not had a physical relationship with Mrs. Mason," Bentley said. "It was a period of time in my life that I made inappropriate comments." The governor wouldn't comment on if the inappropriate comments were a factor in his wife's decision to file for divorce last year. Mason's comment Rebekah Mason had a prepared statement ready for the media shortly after Governor Bentley made his address. It read: "There is no way that man would have said what he did today about another man. He only said what he said about my professional abilities because I am a Woman. His comments were clear, demonstrated gender bias. Since 2010, I have proudly served as Governor Robert Bentley's Campaign Press Secretary, Communications Director, Advisor, Campaign Communications Director and now Senior Political Advisor. It is an honor to serve our Governor and the people of this state. As a wife and working mother, I commute four hours a day to serve on a team alongside some of the most dedicated and talented people in the state, who are committed to helping our people. Unfortunately there are still some people who are set on hindering the ability of women to work in the political arena. I am proud of what I have accomplished in my professional career. And I'm grateful for the opportunity God has given me to serve our state." When reporters asked Bentley if Mason asked him to stop the inappropriate remarks, Bentley replied only, “No.” Collier fired The governor announced he had fired Collier on Tuesday night, hours after the acting head of ALEA, Stan Stabler, said in a statement that an internal report found possible misuse of state funds. ALEA says it turned that report over to the Attorney General’s office. The AG’s office told us they didn’t have a comment, and ALEA told us they didn’t have a digital copy of the report and that they wouldn’t release it. WHNT News 19 asked the governor’s office for a copy of the report that he used to justify Collier’s filing. We haven’t heard back. Recording excerpt Wednesday evening, our news partners at AL.com obtained the recording of Governor Bentley making sexually suggestive comments to someone on the phone. You can view the recording here. As a disclaimer, there are some sexually suggestive comments on the video.

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