text
stringlengths 465
100k
|
|---|
I remember listening to a soldier share a story of serving on the frontline. I will always remember his words, “ You never forget the people you kill.” Daesh, the terrorists who are indiscriminately targeting everyone who disagrees with their barbarised way of life, have no such difficulties. They shoot to kill or recruit people to blow themselves up in the name of a warped medieval ideology. No ruminations of living with the dead for their radicalised foot soldiers.
As a nation we must rightly and unequivocally respond and eradicate the enemy. An enemy that is expanding its bloodied playground to include Western playing fields. There should be no doubt that further inaction in dealing with Daesh is over. They have parked their tanks on our lawn and the lawn is not for taking.
The challenge is recognising the solutions are complicated and need a coherent short, medium and long-term strategy.
Before we commit to military activity in Syria, we should learn the lessons from our past. To prevent the chickens coming home to roost if we make the wrong decisions, we need an intelligent military operation. Our sanitised worlds have been stained with the blood of innocents. It is natural to want to retaliate. If we choose to release our fury in Daesh’s front garden, we have moral responsibility to listen to the people most affected by our actions. If we are serious about an effective long term strategy then we should be honest and learn from our intervention in Bosnia. This means considering safe zones, no-fly zones, no bombing zones and/or boots on the ground. To do any less in dealing with Daesh and Assad is dishonest. Orchestrating a bombing campaign without any other solution is the easiest and the most cowardly action we can take.
The inconvenient truth is, after we drop the bombs and watch the ashes rise, what then? What’s the follow through? Are we going to leave President Assad to continue his barrel bombing of ordinary Syrian women, men and children? The persecution of the Kurds? The slaughter of thousand of innocent citizens by the Syrian army?
If we do not want Syria to be the Iraq of this decade then these are legitimate questions our MPs need to consider, ask of themselves and the Government. The privilege of being an MP extends to asking pertinent, difficult and pressing questions.
Should MPs wish to extend their conscience before casting a vote, there are people who can inform the debate. Let no-one say they did not have the information to make an informed choice.
Rebuild Rethink have been listening, talking and lobbying for ordinary Syrians voices to be heard in the crowded marketplace of Western opinion pieces. An organisation run by Syrians for Syrians they have been vocal in ensuring Syrians are part of any dialogue about their homeland. Voices that are woeful lacking in the current political discussions. Their policy document ‘Syria – Between Dictatorship and Isis’ is a useful starting point to try and understand the situation from Syrians perspective.
Yasmine Nahlawi, RR Advocacy and Policy Coordinator said “We advocate a no-bombing zone over Syria. We don’t’ see the effectiveness of an Isis-only bombing. We want the UK to look towards a comprehensive solution that looks towards civilian protection from air attacks. Assad and Daesh are two sides of the same coin, ”
There are parallels we can learn from other conflicts too. Professor George Kassimeris, a leading expert on Greek terrorism states in his book, ‘Inside Greek Terrorism’:
“Central to this book is the view that people in liberal democratic societies rarely choose to commit political violence without discourse. Terrorists, in other words are made, not born” He draws further comparisons in an article about Syria:
“The threat of indiscriminate terror, even if our intelligence and police work improves a great deal, will be with us for some time and this makes it all the more important to deal with the root causes of this type of terrorism rather than simply to try to defend against it, as we have been doing for quite some time.”
Sir Sherard Cower-Cole, a former British Ambassador in Israel, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, said in a lecture in 2012:
“We can occasionally speed up the wheel of history, as we did with the successful and thankfully brief outside intervention in Libya, but to change the course of history in the way that we attempted to do in the 1920s and 30s, and the way that America has attempted to do since its moment in the Middle East began in 1945, is something that we as Westerners, and above all as Western Conservatives should, in my view, avoid.”
Sherard has been a critical friend about Western foreign policy. A quality that make his voice even more important to listen to in the current crisis.
Getting Yasmine, George, Sherard and others around a table either physically or digitally should be a priority for MPs before they vote on Syria action. Hilary Benn, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Sectary should convene a cross-party roundtable discussion immediately. In a technologically advanced world that operates across time zones there should be no excuses in making this happen.
While few MPs will vote on Syria easily, there is no excuse for not seeking advice from people who can assist them in making a conscious decision. Politicians are often accused of just listening to their own echo chambers. When it comes to taking actions that have moral and far-reaching consequences, burying one’s head should not be an option.
The powerful words of Yasser Al-Jassem, a Syrian refugee in Manchester supported by Rethink Rebuild echo in my mind. He describes Daesh as not human.
“My brother was killed by Isis after he and I fought against them. But I still say the Assad regime is the problem. His barrel bombs buzz like bees in the sky. In a second you see the blood on the floor, people without arms. The solution for the world is to stop the holocaust in Syria.”
Amina Lone is Co-Director of the Social Action and Research Foundation and Manchester City Councillor. |
Regarding Contact with Extraterrestrial Nations and Forces
We, the People of Earth, extend greetings to all races in the Greater Community of the Universe. We acknowledge our common heritage before the Creator of all the Universe, both visible and invisible. We declare the planet Earth as humanity’s Planet of Genesis, our Homeworld, and our sacred inheritance. We pledge henceforth to sustain and preserve the Earth for all generations to come. We call upon all humanity to treat all races everywhere with wisdom and justice, here on Earth and throughout the Universe.
Fundamental Rights
We, the People of Earth, regard the need for freedom to be universal. Therefore, we hold that all individuals in all worlds are created equal and are endowed by the Creator with sacred and inalienable rights. Fundamental among these are the right to live as a free race on their Planet of Genesis, their Homeworld; the right of self-determination, self-sufficiency, and creative expression; the right to life without oppression; and the right to pursue in life a higher purpose and a higher calling that the Creator has provided to all.
Before the Greater Community of the Universe, we, the People of Earth, do now invoke these fundamental rights for ourselves and for our Homeworld, along with certain rights that naturally derive from them, including:
The right of sovereignty. The People of Earth shall be self-governed and independent, neither subject to nor dependent upon any other authority. No extraterrestrial force shall contravene or abrogate the human sovereignty of this planet.
The right of planetary sanctity. As our Planet of Genesis, the Earth shall be free from extraterrestrial intervention, intrusion, interference, or exploitation, both mental and physical. No extraterrestrial force shall make close approach, or assume close orbit, or make any landing, or engage in trade, except openly and with the expressed consent of the People of Earth achieved through a democratic means.
The right of sanctity of biological and genetic material. No extraterrestrial power shall take, possess, or manipulate human biological or genetic material for any purpose whatsoever.
The right of occupation. As the native people of the one known inhabited planet of this Solar System, we claim this Solar System as our sphere of influence. No extraterrestrial bases may be established on bodies or stations orbiting the Earth, nor on other planets or bodies of this Solar System, except with the expressed consent of the People of Earth.
The right of peaceful navigation. We claim the right to travel and explore within our Solar System without interference or restraint from extraterrestrial forces, and maintain the right to deny access to this Solar System by any extraterrestrial forces.
We, the People of Earth, consider it our rightful responsibility to assert and defend these fundamental rights, and to give and receive aid consistent with these rights. In the case of any dispute with extraterrestrial forces, the burden of proof of innocence shall fall on those who are not native to Earth.
The Assessment
When in the course of their evolution it becomes necessary for the native people of a planet to unite, to transcend the conflicts and differences that have separated them from one another, and to assume among the powers of the Universe a separate and equal sovereignty, a respectful consideration of that sovereignty requires that they declare the causes which impel them to this present course of action.
Although the Earth has undergone a long history of extraterrestrial visitation, the current situation is that the People of Earth are now suffering the effects of a global extraterrestrial intervention into human affairs. This intervention employs a strategy of deception, manipulation, and exploitation, the goal of which is control over humanity, which will result in the loss of human freedom and self-determination. It is now the sacred right and duty of the People of Earth to oppose, resist, and repel this extraterrestrial intervention, to declare and defend our sovereignty, our freedom, and our independence from all extraterrestrial forces.
Let these violations be considered by those supporting the cause of freedom throughout the Greater Community:
Intervening extraterrestrial forces have refused to openly disclose and reveal the nature and intent of their activities on and around Earth. This extraterrestrial presence is clandestine, covert, uninvited, and unapproved by the People of Earth. These extraterrestrial forces have concealed their own identity, their political or economic alliances and allegiances, as well as the authorities and powers which they serve.
As is becoming increasingly apparent from their actions, extraterrestrial forces intend to exploit the Earth, its resources, and its people, and are engaged in a systematic program of colonizing humanity into a subservient client state to be ruled by agents of these extraterrestrial forces. The extraterrestrial intervention and occupation seeks commercial gain, economic power, and the strategic advantage offered by this world in relation to other worlds.
Extraterrestrial forces have repeatedly and with impunity violated national and international laws of the Earth’s people. These offenses, which still continue today, have included violation of restricted airspace; abduction and transportation of humans without their consent; murder, rape, torture, sexual abuse, interbreeding with humans, and cruel experimentation; theft and trade of human biological and genetic materials; theft and trade of Earth’s natural resources; covert mental and psychological influence; mutilation of humans and animals; tampering with and disabling of military defense systems; and clandestine infiltration into human society.
Extraterrestrial forces have secretly negotiated treaties and agreements with human individuals and groups, without the informed consent of the People of Earth.
Extraterrestrial forces have systematically attempted to persuade and mislead humans through extending false hopes and promises of wealth, power, and protection; rescue from planetary catastrophe; membership in a “galactic federation”; and spiritual salvation and enlightenment.
Extraterrestrial forces have exploited and exacerbated human conflicts to serve their own ends.
Extraterrestrial forces have been disempowering humanity by leading us to believe that we can only survive with their help and their advanced technology, thus fostering our complete dependence upon them and denying our ability to ensure our own survival.
Demands and Declarations
Accordingly, we, the People of Earth, do hereby declare all previously existing agreements or treaties between any human government, group, or individual and any extraterrestrials to be forthwith null, void, and permanently suspended. We demand that any such previously existing treaties or agreements be fully and publicly disclosed. Any future agreements or treaties between human governments, groups, or individuals and extraterrestrials must be negotiated only with the full consent of the People of Earth, publicly and openly expressed by an international democratic body representing the nations and peoples of Earth.
We demand that all extraterrestrials now cease all operations and activities and immediately vacate and depart from the Earth and its surroundings including the Sun, Earth’s Moon, and all planets of this Solar System. This includes vacating any natural or artificial satellites, as well as all space within the Solar System.
We demand that all extraterrestrial organizations who have established or operated bases on the Earth, its Moon, or anywhere else within this Solar System, dismantle these bases and fully disclose their nature.
We further demand that all living humans who are now in custody of extraterrestrials be returned immediately in good health; further, we demand a full accounting of all humans who have been taken or held by extraterrestrials, including those who have died in captivity. In addition, we demand that all human biological or genetic materials taken from any individuals be accounted for and destroyed, and their intended use be identified. Any devices implanted in living individuals must be identified so that they may be safely removed.
We demand full public disclosure of the purpose and details of the extraterrestrial hybridization program, including the location, identity, and activities of all living human-extraterrestrial hybrids, whether on Earth or elsewhere.
Be it known throughout the Universe that from this time forward, extraterrestrials may only enter our Solar System, approach our Earth, fly in our skies, set foot on our soil, or enter our waters with the explicit consent of the People of Earth.
We, therefore, do solemnly declare that the People of Earth are and should be a free and independent people; that all humans are hereby absolved from all allegiance to extraterrestrial powers, and that all political and economic connections between them and the People of Earth are totally dissolved; that as a free and sovereign race in the Greater Community of the Universe, we assume full power within this Solar System to conclude peace, levy war, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to undertake all other actions which a sovereign planetary race may rightfully and ethically do.
Concluding Statement
Let it be understood that in making this Declaration of Human Sovereignty, we, the People of Earth, affirm our future and destiny as a free race within a Greater Community of intelligent life. We recognize that we are a part of this Greater Community and that we are destined over time to encounter many different races from beyond our world.
To them and to all others, we hereby declare that our intention is not conquest or domination in space. We declare that the rights and privileges that we affirm here for ourselves, we also affirm for all races of beings whom we might encounter.
In making our Declaration of Human Sovereignty & Freedom, we proclaim our rights, responsibilities, and privileges as a free race in order that we may pursue greater unity, peace, and cooperation within the human family without unwanted or unwarranted intrusion and interference by any outside nation or force from the Greater Community. We make this proclamation as an expression of our Divine right and honorable intent for the human family and for all races in the Universe who seek to be free.
Share the Declaration with Others: |
Dearest Penny Arcade,
This morning, you guys made a rather bold proclamation: Gaming news is broken, and you're going to be the ones that fix it. To help in that lofty goal, you've scooped up Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera.
"We’re bringing him on to create industry coverage you can read without holding your nose, essentially," you wrote. "I want a perspective, I want a Curator for the Internet’s gaming content. In a couple words, I want something less insulting and disposable."
As you'd probably expect, responses to your announcement have been all over the board, running the gamut from enthusiastic fans to indignant game journos. I suppose, for my part, that I fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. On the one hand, I'm excited to see that a site with the profile of Penny Arcade has drawn attention to the gaming media's problems, but I also think you've missed the mark by a pretty wide margin.
Truth is, the biggest gaming sites didn't get that way by accident. As objectionable as you or I might find the bulk of their news content, that sea of low quality articles is the best way for the majority of gamers, myself included, to keep up to date on the things that interest us.
But, you'd likely protest, most gaming journalism is just poorly written slop, regurgitated from somewhere else without anything of value added. Let's ignore all the talented, hard working game journalists out there and assume that your claim is universally true. If gaming journalism is in such a sorry state, it's the focus on news that got us there in the first place.
Indulge me, if you would, in a bit of theory. All news, regardless of topic, can be broken down into two components: story and packaging. The story is the event that has occurred, the headline and whatever details flesh it out. Man bites dog. Dewey defeats Truman. Bobby Kotick drinks the blood of infants to stay young. The packaging is everything else, be it phrasing, organization, or spin. Straightforward enough, I'd think.
But here's where things get interesting. Packaging can be quantifiably stolen — we call that plagiarism — but the story can't. The reporter who breaks a story doesn't create anything. He merely observes an event and compiles the observations of others. So long as everything is properly attributed, that source can be reworked into an entirely new article without any wrongdoing.
And there's the fundamental dilemma of all journalism: there's no impulse to produce the essential part of what you're selling. In most instances, it's far more efficient to wait for someone else to do the grunt work, then repackage it under your brand. After all, you can offer your customers more value through broad coverage than you can with sporadic original content.
The outcome, of course, is that stories are lifted wholesale from other sources, be it newswires, other publications, or press releases. This behavior, commonly called churnalism, has become shockingly widespread. One study found that 80% of news articles in the British press were unoriginal, and it's easy to imagine the rest of the world is in the same boat.
So, gaming journalism is hardly unique in that regard, although our focus on commercial products makes us more susceptible than most other beats. That's the only real uncomfortable truth here, I think. The gaming press only exists because it provides cheap advertising for publishers. All but a handful of the gaming stories that break in a year are announcements direct from corporate PR. We're all out here, competing for exclusives and scrambling to recycle the work of others because that's all gaming news is. Barring some revolutionary changes in the industry, that's all it can ever be, no matter whose name is in the byline.
There's my real problem with your announcement. Your grandiose vision doesn't seem to be anything more than a compelling narrative. Kuchera will still be writing some subset of the stories everyone else is, and the bulk of them, no matter how elegantly crafted, will still be repackaged PR bunk.
Framing him as some informed, trustworthy "curator" doesn't set him up to change anything. All gaming sites curate content. All gaming sites offer a perspective. There is no blog in existence that covers every story that breaks. I don't think anyone out there is honestly upset over some absence of filters in the gaming press.
The underlying point, then, seems to be that Ben Kuchera's judgment is superior to every other journalist at work today, and that he'll single-handedly be able to decide what news Joe Average Gamer will find scintillating. But this business doesn't work that way. The gaming community is a niche filled with innumerable smaller niches. John Venn would have had a fucking field day. Sites that eschew broad, frequent coverage in favor of quality are usually slow to report and narrow in focus, and they flounder in obscurity as a result. Even if Kuchera can cover just as much content as he did at Ars, he'll still be ignoring a vast majority of the stories people care about. At best, you're offering a supplement, not an outright alternative.
And therein lies the folly of this attempt to "fix" gaming news. By definition and by necessity, news will always value speed and volume over quality, though it's certainly possible for all three to coexist happily. You want to save the unwashed masses from shoddy game reporting? Hire quality writers who can provide depth and breadth, rather than sacrifice one for the other. Want to champion content that has enduring value? Try criticism, analysis, commentary or any of the other criminally overlooked and underdeveloped aspects of game journalism. You've proven time and again that you've got enormous sway within the community. Why waste that soapbox on news, when even the best written article about the Wii U's release date will do next to nothing to advance the discourse?
Honestly, guys, you've been doing pointed commentary of the industry for years, commenting on news and current events without ever slinking down into the trenches yourselves. With PAX, PATV, and Extra Credits, you guys are already a stone's throw away from giving gaming its own New Yorker. Let's not settle for New York Daily News at the last minute. |
Yes, Eric Shinseki had to go, and he probably knew it himself once the horror stories surfaced. As the retired four-star general learned at West Point, the commander is ultimately responsible. While the Veterans Administration has been a managerial bleeding sore for years, the chaos and perhaps criminality at subordinate echelons of the VA on Shinseki’s watch made his survival impossible.
But let’s not forget that Ric Shinseki is not just a highly decorated commander and wounded warrior, losing part of his foot in Vietnam and clawing his way back onto active duty against the wishes of Army brass. He’s a truth-teller of the first rank — and that display of character so enraged the George W. Bush defense team that he encountered some of the shabbiest treatment an officer and a gentleman has ever encountered during my 46 years serving in and hanging around the Pentagon.
It didn’t help his case with the Bushies that Bill Clinton had appointed him Army chief of staff. Moreover, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who didn’t enjoy being challenged, quickly took a dislike to Shinseki after several policy and strategy disagreements.
Rummy was so intent on punishing Shinseki out, in fact, that he directed one of his flack-shop acolytes to leak word of his replacement to The New York Times — 15 months before Shinseki’s four-year term was up.
This had the instant effect of rendering Shinseki a lame duck within the E-ring, the Pentagon’s power corridor. It was cheesy, petty, shameful, and totally unwarranted behavior. The Rumsfeld crowd loved themselves for it.
When Shinseki retired in June of 2003, Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz were notable by their absence at his Fort Myer send-off — another gratuitous, small-bore move.
Even then, they were still fuming over Shinseki’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee four months earlier. Asked how many troops would be needed to keep the peace in a postwar Iraq, Shinseki predicted “several hundred thousand.”
Rumsfeld went ballistic; that was far more than the low-ball figure he’d been using on Capitol Hill. Wolfowitz blasted Shinseki publicly, calling his estimate “wildly off the mark.” The sub-rosa sniping escalated from there; suddenly it wasn’t hard at all for reporters to find someone in the Rumsfeld orbit eager to dump all over the Army chief.
Of course, history has shown that Shinseki’s principled testimony about Iraq was on the mark, and the Rumsfeld/Cheney/Wolfowitz war hawks were wrong.
Still, Obama was right to insist on Shinseki’s resignation from the VA. But he was also right to salute Shinseki as “a very good man; I don’t just mean he’s an accomplished man “¦ [and] an outstanding soldier. He’s a good person who’s done exemplary work on our behalf.”
In the political game, there’s often a difference between needing to go and deserving to go. Not for the first time in a storied career, Ric Shinseki deserved better. |
Dihybrid crosses and gene linkage
10.2.1 Calculate and predict the genotypic and phenotypic ratio of offspring of dihybrid crosses involving unlinked autosomal genes.
A dihybrid cross is a cross between first generation offspring of two individuals which have two different characteristics. These two characteristics are controled by two genes.
We can use dihybrid crosses to calculate and predict the genotypic and phenotypic ratio of offspring involving unlinked autosomal genes. For example: Let's say we cross two cats with two different characteristics such as fur colour and fur length. For this example we will be using the alleles as follows:
S = allele for long fur
s = allele for short fur
B = allele for black fur
b = allele for brown fur
Figure 10.2.1 - Dihybrid cross
10.2.2 Distinguish between autosomes and sex chromosomes.
Sex chromosomes are the ones that determine your gender. These are X and Y (XX in females, XY in males).
Autosomal chromosomes are the remaining chromosomes which are not sex chromosomes. There are 22 pairs of these in humans. This means that there is a total of 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans (22 autosomal pairs + 1 sex chromosome pair = 23 pairs of chromosomes).
10.2.3 Explain how crossing over between non-sister chromatids of a homologous pair in prophase I can result in an exchange of alleles.
10.2.4 Define linkage group.
Linkage group: A pair or set of genes on a chromosome which tend to be inherited together.
10.2.5 Explain an example of a cross between two linked genes.
10.2.6 Identify which of the offspring are recombinants in a dihybrid cross involving linked genes. |
Bryan Singer and his 2000 X-Men was a big hit at the box office and contributed in a big way to studios being willing to give superhero movies another look. Sam Raimi’s Spiderman would follow in 2002 (both movies spawned superior sequels, and blew it bad with the third films). But it was Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins where not only the attitude toward superhero and comic book movies changed, but the approach to general tentpole movie-making as well.
See, Batman Begins was rather audacious: Batman had been portrayed to rather middling success, character-wise, at best from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman to the worst in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 Batman and Robin. For years after the BaR debacle, Warner attempted to do a slew of Batman movies (Schumacher even wanted, as an apology to Bat-fans, to do an adaptation of Frank Miller’s seminal comic Batman: Year One), before settling on Nolan and David S. Goyer’s pitch of pretending the previous films had not happened. They would do something that had never been satisfactorily portrayed onscreen: how exactly Bruce Wayne became Batman.
Now, sure, Burton’s Batman provided a few flashbacks, but I, being old enough to have seen Burton’s Batman in theaters, always felt left a little cold by the films. I’m not a fan of having to divulge every bit of back-story for every character in every film, but Batman IS his fucking back-story. That’s what makes the character the character. Wayne’s past defines him, and his quest to make peace with that is something ameliorated by going out every night and pummeling criminals and keeping the city of Gotham safe and secure and a fine city. Neither pair of Burton or Schumacher films came close to really giving a shit about Wayne, or Batman, really, for the stars of those films were always the villains (hell, Nicholson and Schwarzenegger were first billed).
Nolan’s Batman Begins delves into Bruce Wayne. It shows the before and after of the moment that changed his life: the murder of his parents right before his eyes. It shows how he came to choose being costumed as a bat. Even the ears on the Bat-suit get a reasonable description. See, everything gets a REASON. Every choice Bruce Wayne makes towards that moment of pulling Falcone out of the limo and snarling in the Batvoice, ‘I’m Batman,’ is given its just due by having a perfectly logical reason and path to that moment.
Most importantly, Nolan treated all this with a heightened realism (this was even displayed in the sparse utilizing of CGI for effects, where Nolan wants everything done in camera, and resorts to CGI only when he must), and makes the viewer completely understand that if you were this small boy who saw his parents murdered by some creep with slick-backed hair, you might grow up to be a caped crusader, too. This realism even carries over into how Nolan never makes being Batman look cool. Peter Parker has a ball as Spiderman, and Superman never really brooded over anything until Zack Synder’s 2013 Man of Steel (of which Nolan had a hand in). But Nolan’s Batman? He’s a bruised and battered mess who we actually see complaining about a lack of sleep due to his need to live two lives.
After a near-perfect first hour, Batman Begins settles into a linear summer action movie, complete with a race-the-clock climax and vanquishing of the villain. Pretty standard stuff, yet there was indelible intelligence behind Batman Begins. Despite this being Nolan’s first big foray into big-budget film-making, he does an admirable job, even if the fight scenes are staged much as many fight and action scenes were during the 2000s: close shots, quick cuts, rendering the scene almost unintelligible, though this was vanquished for a much more streamlined approach to the filming of action scenes in ’08’s The Dark Knight and ’12’s The Dark Knight Rises.
What Batman Begins did though, for better or worse, was cast a wide influence upon comic book movies and movies in general. Spider-man was rebooted with the Amazing Spider-man series, which saw more back-story added to Peter Parker’s family. Marvel dug deeper into its vault to create its own studio and its own film universe, with movies planned to release through 2028. This includes every major Avengers character getting their own origin movie, and two Hulk movies in six years. There’s been two Superman movies in seven years, both with different casts and crews, both done to restart the moribund franchise. Man of Steel is to lead into a Batman vs. Superman film, followed by a potential Justice League (DC’s version of the Avengers) movie. The Fantastic Four is to be rebooted (and rightfully so). X-Men Origins: Wolverine was to be another franchise starter, with other X-Men characters getting their own where’d-they-come-from films (X-Men: First Class was originally to be a Magneto origin story). Hell, there’s even discussions of Star Wars characters such as Boba Fett and Han Solo getting their own films.
Whether this glut of comic book movies is a good thing, well that is up for debate. For me the sheer volume of them has rendered the spectacle and wonder of seeing a man fly, or a man dressed as a bat fighting crime, almost moot. I realize I’m alone in that regard; most audiences are reveling in the embarrassment of riches with regards to superhero movies declaring it to be a golden age. But I feel some of the magic is gone when reboots every few years allow studios to basically say, “Oops, fuck it, here’s another.”
I suppose it is almost a curse of success that those following you want to emulate what made your efforts work. Christopher Nolan gave way to comic book filmmakers feeling that imbuing their films and their supercharacters with grit and dark themes would automatically lead to the connection with fans that Nolan’s films enjoyed. But that isn’t how it works, at least not for me. All I see is every superhero movie made recently living in the shadow of Batman’s, and Christopher Nolan’s, cape. They don’t seem to want to venture beyond shadows and grit. Batman is Batman and Superman is Superman. They have different stories and different themes and I don’t feel that anyone is served by making everyone act like Master Wayne.
It’s at a point now where the bold move would be to let a little sunshine and brightness into Metropolis. |
For the second night in a row, the new report from the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) was featured on “Special Report with Bret Baier” on the Fox News Channel. Baier’s show destroys its competition on cable news with about 1.7 million viewers each night.
FNC covered the press conference Heartland and NIPCC held Wednesday morning at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. It informed this fantastic report from Doug McKelway, who said the NIPCC report presents “a torrent of new data … poking very large holes in what the president has called the scientific consensus about global warming.”
Watch it below, and read the transcript below that, which I preserve for posterity. When a reporter on the most-watched nightly news show on cable states the following, it’s worth filing away: “Skeptics believe [alarmist] statements are demonstrably false. They point to observable data, not computer modeling, to prove their point.”
Baier: The earth may, or may not, be heating up. But there’s no debate that the fight over man-made climate change certainly is. Despite repeated proclamations that science comes down on one particular side, it turns out many scientists do not agree. Correspondent Doug McKelway reports tonight on the deepening divide over an issue that is part science and part politics.
[Clip: Barack Obama]: But the debate is settled. Climate Change is a fact.
McKelway: A torrent of new data is poking very large holes in what the president has called the scientific consensus about global warming.
Roger Pilon, Cato Institute: The dirty little secret is that we’re now at 17 years and 8 months of no global warming. Their models have failed, year in and year out.
McKelway: Backed by thousands of peer-reviewed papers, a study released today by the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change contrasts starkly with the recently released UN report that finds severe impacts from global warming. The new report finds that warming from greenhouse gases will be so small as to be indiscernible from natural variability. The impact of modestly rising CO2 levels on plants, animals, and humans has been mostly positive. And the costs of trying to limit emissions vastly exceed the benefits. The report may only heighten debate over climate change, where both sides are armed with their own opinions and their own facts.
[Clip: Hillary Clinton]: Climate change is a national security problem, not just an environmental problem.
[Clip: John Kerry]: And all of the predictions of the scientists are not just being met, they are being exceeded.
McKelway: Skeptics believe those statements are demonstrably false. They point to observable data, not computer modeling, to prove their point.
Joseph Bast, president, Heartland Institute: Carbon dioxide has not caused weather to become more extreme. And it is not causing polar ice and sea ice to melt. It’s not causing sea-level rise to accelerate.
McKelway: All of which is leading Congressional doubters to further question EPA regulations.
[Clip: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)]: The sheer number of proposed rule-makings coupled with cost of compliance with a vast array of regulations already on the books and, what at times are the unreasonable consequences of their enforcement is very, very frustrating.
McKelway: Climate Change skeptic Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma introduced leg just last week that would tackle the administration’s regulatory end-run around Congress. It would prevent the EPA from issuing any final rule until it conducts an economic analysis as required under the Clean Air Act.
Catch up with the latest media reports, op-eds, podcasts, and videos about the NIPCC reports at ClimateChangeReconsidered.org. |
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina coach Roy Williams has spent much of this season trying to drag more intensity and toughness out of Brice Johnson.
When Johnson plays the way he did Saturday, it's easy to see why the Hall of Fame coach won't stop pushing, either.
Johnson had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the 15th-ranked Tar Heels survive a 35-point performance from Florida State freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes and beat the Seminoles 78-74.
The slender 6-foot-9 junior played through back tightness that had him standing at the end of the bench when he subbed out instead of sitting with teammates. He also aggravated his back on a hard fall in the first half, but finished through contact and rebounded in traffic on a day when the Tar Heels (16-4, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) needed help for an injury-depleted backcourt.
"It's a work in progress," Williams said of Johnson. "Brice is getting better. His toughness today was maybe one of the best games he's had because he's hurting. ... But he's nowhere close to what I think he can be."
Johnson earned his fourth double-double despite playing just 23 minutes due to first-half foul trouble. He has hit 15 of 20 shots in the past two games, though Williams was critical of Johnson's inconsistent effort after Wednesday's win at Wake Forest.
Not Saturday.
"It's really helping me, just hearing it over and over," Johnson said of Williams' demands. "Then once you get in a game you hear that little voice in the back of your mind, and it's usually Coach saying, `Go up strong, go through the contact."
Paige scored 19 points to help the Tar Heels win their fifth straight league game. They led nearly all day, though Rathan-Mayes hit three 3-pointers in the final 36 seconds to keep FSU (10-10, 2-5) in it to the horn.
Rathan-Mayes' 35 points were a school freshman record and were the most by a UNC opponent in the Smith Center in nearly nine years. His last 3 cut the deficit to 75-72 with about 17 seconds left, but FSU got no closer.
"It gives me confidence," he said. "But like I said, we didn't pull out the W. ... I'm not worried about myself individually. I'm worried about our basketball team and winning games."
TIP-INS
FSU: The Seminoles haven't won here since February 2010. ... Devon Bookert (11 points) was the only other FSU player to reach double figures. ... Rathan-Mayes' 35 points were the most by a UNC opponent here since Duke's J.J. Redick had 35 in 2006. It also tied the fifth-best single-game total by a freshman in ACC history.
UNC: Freshman Justin Jackson scored 14 points for his third straight double-figure performance. ... UNC shot 48 percent and has won 10 of 11 since losing at top-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 13. ... Former football coach Mack Brown, who spent 10 seasons here before going to Texas, attended and was recognized during a stoppage with the `90s song "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison.
UNC'S INJURIES
The Tar Heels knew they'd be without guard Theo Pinson after the freshman broke his left foot at Wake Forest. They weren't sure if sophomore Nate Britt would play after taking 15 stitches for a cut lip suffered in that game, but he scored four points in 14 minutes.
UNC was also again without guards Joel Berry II (groin), Stilman White (foot) and Luke Davis (foot), while junior center Joel James played 3 second-half minutes due to a knee injury.
ROOKIE RELIANT
Rathan-Mayes scored 22 second-half points and finished 14-for-26 from the field. The rest of the Seminoles shot 13-for-35.
"I think it all came together for him," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "And we really needed every one of his points to stay close."
UP NEXT
FSU hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday.
UNC hosts Syracuse on Monday. |
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday hit out at the Central government for not allowing a probe into the alleged Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) scam, and demanded Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's resignation.
Addressing a press conference at the Constitution Club, AAP leader Kumar Vishwas alleged that the main objective of CBI raid at Delhi Secretariat and taking control of ACB was to prevent alleged graft in DDCA during Arun Jaitley's tenure coming to light.
"DDCA had a budget of Rs 24 crore but additional Rs 90 crore was also spent," claimed party spokesperson Raghav Chadha.
He further stated that payments were made to companies and five companies are involved in DDCA scam, for which the work was already done.
"Money was taken out of DDCA through fake firms and huge payments have been made by DDCA," he said.
Stating that without permission bills were passed, he added, "Only the children of the rich & famous can play in DDCA, not that of the common man."
Further demanding finance minister's resignation, Chadda said, "Jaitley must resign to ensure fair probe by agencies some of which are under Finance Ministry."
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Aam Aadmi Party Government has been exposed by the Transparency International, and is hence trying to slam Jaitley on the issue of an alleged scam in the Delhi District and Cricket Association (DDCA).
The Centre has backed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying he won't be resigning from his post, and added that there won't be any Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe against him, after the Congress Party alleged financial irregularities in the DDCA during his tenure as president of that sports body.
"The entire allegation against Arun Jaitley is absolutely baseless and motivated. The integrity of Arun Jaitley is too well-known in the entire world. The fact remains that because Arvind Kejriwal and his government today is cornered, as the manner in which they sought to give shelter to Rajender Kumar" therefore, it is a counterblast," Prasad told media. |
Grunting so loudly that it sounds like you are having a sexual experience in the free-weights zone. – Inappropriate Using the paper towel provided or a personal towel to wipe excess sweat off of the treadmill/machinery – Appropriate Spending an unnecessary amount of time naked in the changing room, doing what can only be described as naked yoga and sitting on everything with you bare buttocks – Inappropriate Talking loudly so everyone can hear your conversation about how Stephanie “the whore” didn’t put out on your birthday – Inappropriate Taking steroids – Inappropriate Respecting people’s property by keeping your filthy klepto-hands off of their gym clothes/bag/personal equipment – Appropriate Making eye contact with anyone whilst they are squatting – Inappropriate Dropping weights with such force that I start running for high ground in fear of a potential Tsunami hitting – Inappropriate Putting the correct weight pairs together in the weights rack once you have used them – Appropriate Leaving belongings in the shower. This includes but is not limited to: shampoo, soap, deodorant, towels, sponges, excess body hair, bodily fluids, solid waste or any other personal items – Inappropriate Moving quickly to the next machine or off of the gym equipment you were using once you have finished with it – Appropriate Putting your mouth directly on the water dispenser – Inappropriate
Those are just a few of the things I can think of off of the top of my head that irritate me or please me while at the gym
Lets work together to make the gyms more Appropriate than Inappropriate, deal?
Good chat kids, Good chat. |
by Jason Stotts
Welcome to the January 26, 2012 edition of the Objectivist Round Up and the 17th time Erosophia has hosted!
Today’s quote is from Jean-Baptiste Say:
Alas, how many have been persecuted for the wrong of having been right?
If you have never read Say, he is worth reading and is a clear writer, even for those without a background in Economics.
——————————-
Burgess Laughlin presents Making Progress: An Activist’s Choices posted at Making Progress, saying, “Who is an activist? What are the choices an activist faces once committed to activism? The answers are as varied as the personal values and individual abilities of the activists.”
Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents Give Thanks posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, “Short and sweet, but I love this image and the message it conveys!”
Rational Jenn presents Brain Dump posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “In this post, I give my views about several parenting posts that have recently made the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. The last link and commentary especially will be relevant and, I hope, interesting to Objectivists.”
Rational Jenn presents ATLOSCon Speaker Proposals! posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “ATLOSCon 2012 will be in Atlanta on May 24-27. We are soliciting proposals for classes. The deadline is FEBRUARY 1, so get your proposal in soon!”
Jim Woods presents U.S. Troops in Uganda? Blame Congress, Not Obama posted at Words by Woods, saying, “When Obama sent troops to Uganda in October, many wondered why.”
Paul Hsieh presents Repealing CO Health Insurance Exchange posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, “Here is my invited written statement to the CO state legislature supporting a good bill to repeal last year’s bad law establishing a state health insurance “exchange”.”
Earl Parson presents Sam Maloof Exhibit at the Huntington posted at Creatures of Prometheus, saying, “Iconic furniture craftsman Sam Maloof would have been 96 this week. As part of my ongoing ‘Birthdays of the Great Ones’ series, I reviewed the current exhibition of his work at the Huntington in Pasadena. Maloof developed a highly individualized style over the course of his long career – he was a man with a truly unique vision. Enjoy!”
Diana Hsieh presents On Some Recent Controversies posted at NoodleFood, saying, “Here are my thoughts on how the Objectivist movement might and ought to deal with disagreements, as well as some background on current criticisms of me.”
Edward Cline presents “Strike” One at The Rule of Reason
———————-
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of objectivist round up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Share |
Technorati tags:
objectivist round up, blog carnival. |
Story highlights The page's description says it is a "inclusive march" for "everyone who supports women's rights"
More than 40,000 people say they are attending
Washington (CNN) Tens of thousands of people say they are participating in a "Women's March on Washington" the day after President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
The event, which is publicized on Facebook and scheduled for January 21, has garnered national attention and is titled the "Women's March on Washington." Previously, it was called the "Million Women March on D.C."
As of Saturday, the page had more than 44,000 individuals who said they were going, with more than 121,000 people saying they were interested.
Fontaine Pearson, one of the march's organizers, said in a phone call that the march is not a protest against Trump or the legitimacy of the election, but said it is to shed light on women's issues, including sexual assault and workplace discrimination.
"We're strong, but this has been a very difficult election for a lot of women," Pearson said, also noting that she had seen interest from individuals on both side of political aisle.
Read More |
Portuguese-American musician Domingos-Antonio Gomes – aka 'Antonio Domingos' – has proved he has the fastest fingers in the business, after smashing the record for the Most piano key hits in one minute.
The pianist played the key B7 a staggering 824 times in 60 seconds – that’s more than 13 hits a second! You have to see it to believe it...
video
Antonio bettered the previous record by 59 hits, potentially because his technique involved using two alternate fingers and he spent about four months training for the challenge.
He played on an unmodified Yamaha CFX concert grand piano in a music store in Lisbon, Portugal.
“I am I Portuguese-American professional pianist and have been playing since the age of seven,” Antonio told Guinness World Records in his application for the title.
“I broke this record in order to gain visibility in the international world of music by demonstrating my athletic prowess on the piano” he added. |
Gita Jackson is a nice girl who likes dating sims, cats, black lipstick, and weird old man cocktails. She’s the assistant editor for the Comedy section at Paste Magazine , which is pretty cool? She’s on a podcast with her friend Sam Phillips and some other guy, and she wrote some shit about death that made a lot of people cry this one time. Anyway, follow her on Twitter
I often tend to like games that are more interesting than good. I find Massive Chalice in many way pretty frustrating: the difficulty spikes quite swiftly, and it’s super easy to fuck yourself hard and not notice for 50 in-game years. But the way this game allows you to shape a legacy over a period of many centuries just fascinates me. In the end it left me wanting more of that--more ways to build and shape the kind of kingdom I wanted to construct--but I enjoyed it regardless. It felt very much “for me,” in ways that not a lot of games really do. I like turn based strategy, I like interesting fantasy settings that get away from the trappings of elves and dwarves, and I certainly like being a ruler. That it exists makes me happy, even if I can feel what it’s missing every time I play it.
~ c a t s ~ . I love cats. I spend a lot of time looking at cat adoption websites. I follow FosterKittens on Instagram. This is a passive iPhone game about collecting as many cats as possible. There’s not a lot to it--you put out some food and some toys, wait a little while, and then come back to yard full of cats--but it’s probably the closest I’ll get to having a big pile of kitties for a while. Neko Atsume is probably the best of this kind of iPhone game. It’s packed with personality and really doesn’t ever require you to spend money. Plus, you know,
Playing The Sims is like eating a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. It just always comforts me. When I was young, The Sims was the kind of game that girls were "allowed" to like, and it’s disappointing to me that it’s still pretty gendered. I know the idea of a dollhouse is traditionally feminine, but like a lot of the games on this list, The Sims is really just about making stories. My favorite thing to do in The Sims is to make a family and then play as their descendants until I get bored, creating a long, long family tree in an increasingly extravagant house. It isn’t too dissimilar to what I do in Massive Chalice, Dwarf Fortress, or even something like Fallout 4 . In a time when games are asking players to find their own fun, and are respecting the ways in which different players like to play, The Sims has always kind of just been explicitly about that. The thing that makes a dollhouse so desirable is that it’s empty, and it’s yours to fill. The Sims 4 took away a lot of the density of The Sims 3 , but I appreciate its new, cartoonish and expressive art style, its mood system, and frankly, how much easier and faster it is to make some Sims, build a house, and just start playing. There's never been a better time to try The Sims. You might just like it.
Speaking of dollhouses--I know that this game is repetitive and shallow, but I just love it. All you ever do in this game is decorate houses for clients that have specific style requests, but they’re open ended enough that you don’t often feel railroaded into making something you don’t like. Besides, as far as I can tell, there’s no way to really fail. Something that I really appreciate about the Animal Crossing series is that its end goal is to make the player feel happy. Yes, it’s repetitive, but these rote tasks are so calming. Designing houses, stores, and hotels became an evening ritual for a month or two, not just because the library of furniture, wallpaper, and other decorations are broad enough that you can actually develop a “style” as an interior designer, but because I always knew that I was going to make my client happy. There’s room, I think, to celebrate a game that wants to provide you the satisfaction of a job well done. In life, we don’t always get that feeling.
I met Maddy Myers years before I ever considered writing about games professionally, and she had already been doing it for many years. Siren for Hire, not her first game but her most expansive one, speaks to that experience. It’s a touching twine game about Sailor Moon -esque super heroines that are down on their luck. I see my own experiences as a freelancer in this, I see shades of what it’s like to be a visible professional woman. Ultimately, it’s about the confluence of all the garbage women in this industry are forced to deal with--resenting our audience, the older writers who paved the path for us, the young writers that come after us, our peers, our work, ourselves--and trying to find ways to finally let all that resentment go. No matter how Maddy seems to you, or what she might tell you, she’s really a big softie. It’s why she’s still here. It’s why we’re all still here. Even in an industry that sometimes treats us badly, we still really, really care. Maddy if you’re reading this, and you probably are, know that I love you, and I love that you still care, despite everything.
I liked Siren for Hire so much I made a Spotify playlist for it. I only do that for things that really move me.
I don’t like every part of Undertale (I don’t like bullet hell), but the things I do enjoy I absolutely love. It’s understandable that it has a passionate and outspoken fanbase--Undertale tries to appeal to your humanity in its every breath. Toby Fox has made a lovely little game that is desperately asking you to be a nice person, to realize that everyone you talk to, online and off, is a human with wants and needs, and to remember that even the people that you might initially hate have hopes, dreams and desires. It’s a hard world to live in. It’s very easy to get cynical. Undertale doesn’t want you to give up, and I cherish its optimism.
I played Cibele at two in the morning and then immediately had to write a review of it and part of me thinks that is the best way to experience this game. It is so much like a series of diary entries that journaling right after you play it can help you process the deeply intimate feelings it brings up. Cibele is a game about first love and the internet. It’s not an easy story, mostly because it is obvious from the start how stories like this end. It’s clumsy in parts, and maybe overly earnest, but those weaknesses are also its strength. It’s honest in a way that games are usually not. I don’t know if this game is really for everyone, but Cibele represents what is possible in games, and how games can tell a streamlined, personal story, and how important those stories can be at two in the morning when you remember the way that first heartbreak felt.
Dwarf Fortress is ruining my fucking life. It’s all I can think about sometimes: the industries I want to get into, the improvements I can make to my defenses, the little dwarves that I’m waiting to grow up so I can turn them into tanners and soapmakers and soldiers. It’s a dense game with a lot of moving parts you have to juggle all the time, and it’s very, very easy to drop six or seven hours into it without noticing. It’s just got every niche thing that I love about games. I get to meticulously design my fortress with an eye for aesthetics and efficiency, I get to keep an eye on the characters as they live their lives, I need to carefully observe the economics and trade. And occasionally I butcher 20 puppies to prevent overpopulation and turn their leather into armor. More importantly, I like the way that it contextualizes failure. In a way, failure is the point of the game. There really isn’t a way to "win" Dwarf Fortress--these dwarves were born to die, and will, often in a way you didn’t expect. The legacy of your failed fortress is as much a part of the game as managing all these fucking dwarves. If I can be extremely dark, it’s kind of putting me at ease about the idea of death. Everyone dies. That’s part of the deal we all were handed. You might as well live the best you can. And have a moat. Having a moat will help.
This is the most garbage thing I can’t stop playing. It’s cheap, it’s unfair, it’s translated questionably, it’s pandering to my love of cute anime girls and I hate that it knows everything I like. It’s a rhythm game! It’s a collectible card game! It has bad, but catchy, anime music! All the girls are really cute and they have a lot of fucking outfits! It has special events so I better log in every goddamn day so I don’t miss any! Love Live has truly optimized the sleazy iPhone game model (I have spent an embarrassing amount of money on this game and my friend bought me a Nozomi Tojo nendoroid), but it doesn’t feel soulless. The point of collecting the trading cards of school idols is to get to know these girls. Each action you make, each song you play or event you participate in, gives you another glimpse into their lives. Even if it’s trying really, really hard to make me spend money, it’s still about making friends and liking people. I’m a sucker for that shit. Having friends is cool, it turns out. Liking things earnestly is pretty great, actually.
If I had played this game when I was sixteen, it would have changed my life. Let me get personal for a second: I was a sad teenager. I thought I was a bad, ugly person and that I didn’t deserve happiness. Not an uncommon story, especially for young women or marginalized people, but not an easy thing to live through. We Know the Devil is about teenagers like that, people who are still figuring themselves out, who are self absorbed enough to always be thinking about the things they hate about themselves. It’s also about how hard it is to maintain real friendships when you’re like that, how hard it is to be honest to the people you love, or to give those same people room to talk about how they’re feeling. It’s a short visual novel that I immediately played five times over--once to get the ending for each character, and then the secret ending twice in a row. If We Know the Devil is trying to say anything, it's that you deserve to love yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you. The things you think make you weird or unlovable actually make you more powerful than everyone that puts you down. The Devil loves you, and He won’t abandon you, and the curse He gave you was actually a gift. You know Him. You know Him because even if no one else loves you, He always has, and always will. Remember that. You’re always loved. |
Louis Porter II, stands with his son, Zeam, and wife, Ea McMillan Porter. Mr. Porter calls Zeam the “greatest child in the world. That’s one thing that will not change.” (Photo: Anna Min)
Even when my child was an infant, I had a premonition that our precious baby girl was going to throw some curveballs our way. Something in this long-awaited baby’s spirit let me know that a wild ride was ahead for my wife and me.
So, several years ago when my then-middle school child came out as queer, I was caught off guard, but it was news I could handle. “Your daddy’s love comes with a lifetime guarantee,” I said, paraphrasing a song by Sade, a generation-bridging family favorite. Then, as a native of the South steeped in black-middle-class tradition, I said: “I wonder if they’ll still let you be a debutante.” We both immediately laughed that hearty, authentic family chuckle that eases tensions.
But I was beyond shocked when a few years later, this high-school child announced “they” were transgender and planned to live life as a male. Many transgender children display characteristics of the opposite sex very early, but this was not the case for our child, once described as “all girl.”
The deepest fear I have ever known welled up in my gut. There was no laughing at society frills; I worried what the larger society would do to my child. The name change to one that is unique and non-gendered — Zeam — and getting accustomed to new pronouns were challenges but small matters. (For now, we have compromised on “they and them” because Zeam’s mother and I are not yet comfortable saying “he and him.”) And we thought the gender-bending, eccentric wardrobe choices were cool.
But as we learned what being transgender and black in the United States meant, we feared for our child’s welfare and very life with a parental tug so strong it hurt. Planet Transgender, a website providing news and information about the transgender community, reported that transgender people are 400 times more likely to be assaulted or murdered than the general population. While Zeam identifies as masculine, I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of transgender women murdered in 2015 — 21 that we know of — most of them black.
According to a 2011 National Center for Transgender Equality report, 47 percent of black transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been incarcerated. Moreover, that study found that 78 percent of youth who expressed a transgender or gender-nonconforming identity in grades K-12 were harassed, including by staff, and for one-sixth of those youth the harassment was so severe they left school.
Meanwhile, the media have exploded with reports of two trans celebrities: one black, Laverne Cox; the other white, Caitlyn Jenner. This new attention has been a very mixed blessing because it means more people are learning and talking about being transgender. But the comments can be ignorant and filled with rage. My wife and I understand better than anyone that it can be difficult or confusing to grasp trans issues, but the hate behind some responses is terrifying. Trans identities pose a threat to what some perceive as the natural order of life, and that can cause people to question themselves and their world. Trans life is one of today’s greatest phobias and can be filled with prejudice.
Blacks who are transgender endure the toughest challenges.
As a father, one of the scariest moments for me was when Zeam testified in fall 2014 on behalf of transgender athletes before the Minnesota State High School League. Some of the adults in the community directed their hate with full force at my child. Fortunately, we have support — from national organizations that help transgender people and their families to the people at our church who know our family and support us no matter what.
How do we face our fear? Zeam is our inspiration. Our child knows all too well the risks of living an authentic life, but Zeam would not have it any other way. Zeam frequently speaks at meetings and conferences and is a leader with the Transgender Law Center in Oakland, California, and the affiliated Gay-Straight Alliance Network’s Truth campaign to build a storytelling movement for trans and gender-nonconforming youth and their families. This is a teen who has won school and community awards for courage.
Zeam is part of a generation that evokes the spirit of the 1960s, organizing and protesting with an energy that leaves me in awe. But especially for a black transgender youth, speaking out comes at a price. Words, attitudes and actions of other young people and adults can be cruel — yet Zeam continues to soar.
Not long after Zeam was born 18 years ago, I was beyond proud. I would go on and on about my only child. As the years have passed, family and friends would try to change the subject, but I would have none of that. Like many parents, I was convinced that my child was the greatest child in the world. That’s one thing that will not change.
This essay originally ran in the Washington Post. The Porters also discuss Zeam’s transition in an online video.
Louis Porter II, Ed. D., a longtime writer and educator, is executive director of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage.
For more information
LGBT Detroit, 41 Burroughs, Detroit, lgbtdetroit.org; @lbgtdetroit
Transgender Michigan, 23211 Woodward #309, Ferndale, 48220 Help line (855)345-TGMI, or (800) 842-2954 transgendermichigan.org, [email protected]
Transgender Law Center, 1629 Telegraph Ave. Suite 400, Oakland, California 94612 transgenderlawcenter.org, @translawcenter
Human Rights Campaign, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-3278 (800) 777-4723, hrc.org
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/1QG49pZ |
Having hugely enjoyedand its antagonists the Dazzlings (especially the cute, rather clueless Sonata Dusk) I couldn't resist the urge to draw them, along with their marks. You can also see something I wish more people would draw: Sonata making friends with Spike (or a humanized version of him).Also, I was inspired by the half-finished story "Spike is Screwed" by Geoice on FiMFiction ( www.fimfiction.net/story/24780… ) to draw Spike interacting with a humanized Gilda (I'm already a fan of some sort of bond between these two) My design for a human Gilda was largely inspired by this rendition by disfiguredstick.deviantart.com… ), along with an image of Cherry Crash re-coloured by 3d4d.deviantart.com/art/Rainbo… ). Plus, there's a humanization of 's griffon character Katrina, whom I quite like and have imagined as Gilda's close friend (see his gallery here: dalomir.deviantart.com/gallery… Characters and show belong to Hasbro. See here for all my MLP stuff: khialat.deviantart.com/gallery… |
Six Melbourne people have been diagnosed with Ross River. "I thought it was a bad flu. The worst flu. The worst flu ever," he said. "There was joint pain associated with the fever that meant that it was almost too painful to stand up. This lasted 36 hours. The joint pain didn't go away. "I spoke to a doctor friend and she thought it sounded like a mosquito-borne virus. I went to my doctor, feeling better, and they were not too worried. They gave me paperwork for a blood test and told me not to worry unless I felt worse." But Mr Cornish did feel worse.
"Lethargy, weakness and joint pain so bad I could not bend one leg or have the strength to turn on a tap," he said. Blood tests confirmed he had Ross River virus. He's now concerned his young daughter has it too.
Recent heavy rainfall and warm weather across Victoria have made ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which pass the infection to humans with their bite. Symptoms include fever, headache, aching muscles, joints and fatigue. Some people will also develop a rash. While the virus is not considered fatal, in rare cases a person can experience symptoms for more than a year.
A spokesman for the department of health said it was rare for the virus to be detected in Melbourne. He did not have historical data, but said one mosquito in an outer Melbourne suburb tested positive for it in 2009. It was possible this insect had travelled in a car to the city the spokesman said. Health Minister Jill Hennessy urged Victorians to cover up with loose fitting cotton clothing, use repellents and remove any stagnant water from around their homes. "If anyone is feeling unwell we do want to urge them to contact their GP," Ms Hennessy said. "It's not necessarily a fatal illness but it is a really uncomfortable one to have." Over the past four months 18 local councils have been battling the spread in Victoria's north-west and north-east, using fobbing and larvacides.
In January, the Victorian government announced an expansion of mosquito surveillance and control activities to reduce the risks for people. Ten rural councils were given money for the first time to reduce mosquito breeding, and seven councils already attempting to control mosquito numbers were given more money to continue their work. However, a spokesman for the Department of Health said none of this funding went to Melbourne councils. He said this may be reviewed in future. Professor Guest said environmental conditions in the coming weeks will continue to fuel mosquito breeding. "Mosquitoes are at their most active at dawn and dusk, although some species can be present and bite throughout the day," he said.
Mosquito numbers can be reduced by getting rid of stagnant water around the home or campsites. "Mosquitoes will breed in any receptacle that can hold water, including old tyres, unused fish ponds, unsealed water tanks and pot plant holders," he said. Professor Guest said virus symptoms appear between two to 14 days after the mosquito bite and that there will be many people infected who won't experience any symptoms. People may experience chronic inflammation in the small joints of their hands and feet, he said. "It's usually a mild infection that can be prevented by avoiding the mosquito bite," Professor Guest said.
The virus is also found in a wide variety of animals, including horses. Information on protecting against mosquito bites is available on the Beat the Bite campaign page on the Better Health Channel at: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/campaigns/beat-the-bite |
Now that her messy divorce with Johnny Depp is behind her, Amber Heard can focus on her work. Her next job is playing Mera in Justice League, and the actress was spotted working out in a park in London to prepare for the role.
Advertisement
DailyMail has the photos, and a bit more from a source who claims to be a friend of Heard’s:
A friend close to Heard told DailyMail.com that the star is undergoing a grueling exercise regime to achieve the physical look movie bosses want for her next role. ‘Amber is training hard for three hours a day,’ the friend said. ‘A lot of it is with a trainer in the park but a lot in the gym. ‘She’s loving doing the weight training and the cross training and she’s also doing combat and stunt training. ‘Mera is a kick-ass role. It’s very empowering for women, which is appealing to Amber – especially after what she’s gone through. ‘It’s a lot of fun and a real role model for women.’
According to DailyMail, Aquaman will be shooting at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden as well, and Heard will be there for the next six months to shoot the two movies back-to-back.
SOURCE: DailyMail |
I first heard about background transfer when I was giving a ⚡️ talk at Realm back in 2015. Gwendolyn Weston gave an excellent presentation on background transfer services later that day. Her talk was the first resource that I looked up a few weeks ago when we decided to implement background transfer support into our most precious Topology Eyewear app. 📱 👉 👓
It’s been a journey full of surprises and learnings, and felt like something worth sharing.
The idea
Let me give you a little context on why we wanted background processing. The main user journey in our app is
Our user takes a video selfie. She waits with the app open while the video is uploaded. The server processes the video. Once it’s finished processing, she can virtually try on, design, and purchase her perfectly fit Topology glasses right in the app. We warm up the robots to start the manufacturing.
So the app has a video to upload to a server and then download the result, when that’s ready with processing the video. The result is the 3D model of the user’s face that we render the glasses on, in the AR view you can see below.
"But does Apple provide the critical EAR KEYPOINTS??" Is being asked by no one except everyone at @topologyeyewear pic.twitter.com/mpavKfXLP7 — Alexis Gallagher (@alexisgallagher) September 12, 2017
Bad network
Since it’s critical to be able to upload and download files in this flow, we used to ask users to “stay on this screen” during step 2. That works but it’s not the most premium experience. And when someone’s on a bad network, it gets more and more annoying. We are talking about a few megabytes up and then a few megabytes down, but that translates to minutes on a slower network connection.
Since it “takes forever”, users background the app no matter what you ask from them. They have other stuff to do on their phones, but backgrounding the app when you don’t support background transfer simply causes the transfer to fail.
Accurate notifications
Once the upload succeeds, the computer vision algorithms work on the video. It takes approximately 1 minute per video, but this is not always the case. It’s not that the processing work is so unpredictable; there might be all kinds of other delays adding up to the final processing time, delays which the iOS app is unable to anticipate. But since the server keeps working, it can deliver background content updates that let the app fire local, user notifications once everything’s done.
So the plan was to support a flow like this:
User takes a selfie video, immediately presses home (backgrounds the app). App uploads selfie in the background. When processing is done, the server sends a silent push notification to the app. App downloads the 3D face model. User sees a notification, opens the app, and everything’s ready.
Good news, this is how the app works today as of v1.1.4! 🎉
Bad news, it took us weeks to figure out because certain pieces of this puzzle were under-documented, almost impossible to debug, and nerve-wracking to test. At the end, we needed to implement some fallbacks because the flow above turned out to be the very, very optimistic scenario.
The best news is, we are here to share the story, so you can spare some time and headache in case you were about to jump into implementing background transfer yourself.
“Background transfer to the rescue!” – famous last words
Background transfer is the ability to transfer data over the network when the app is in the background.
As a reminder, iOS applications have several app states:
Active: receiving events in the foreground, executing code. Inactive: not receiving events, but can execute code for short periods of time. A brief state between active and background. Background: background, executing code if background transfer is on and implemented. Suspended: background, not executing code. Not running: application is not running at all.
When your app is not in the foreground (active, inactive), it normally goes to sleep (suspended) quite fast. When memory runs low, the system might decide to terminate your sleeping app, especially if it consumes large amounts of memory in the background.
Memory consumption is not the only factor when iOS is judging your app. What also counts is the time your app spends executing in the background and the number of times it wants to be woken up. Keep these in mind when implementing background transfer, because you will want to be a good citizen. iOS ranking your app down means delays in your background execution window, and as mentioned, sometimes might lead to termination.
Switching to background sessions will just work, right?
A background session is what lets you manage the work to be done in the background through the URLSession API.
I started implementing this feature after reading the Apple docs. I updated all our URLSessionConfiguration s, replacing “default” to “background,” and waited for everything to work. It was compiling fine, with no sign of the weeks of work ahead. Clear skies, sunshine – I was full of hope. 🏖
And then nothing worked, for reasons. Not just one reason, but many, many reasons. In the end building this feature required diving a lot deeper than “just looking at the API docs”. It ends up providing an interesting tour of parts of iOS that are not very well known, since they work so hard to disappear… into the background. Let’s take them one by one.
Fancy using completion handlers? Don’t!
“With background sessions, the actual transfer is performed by a separate process.”
A background task is the unit of work represented by an URLSessionTask object, created on and managed by a background session. The task doesn’t know about the parent session being a background session; it’s the same kind of task you’d use either way.
But since your app’s process is not running this transfer, if your tasks are using the callback based URLSession APIs, it’s time for a refactor! Background sessions don’t support the callback based APIs. It’ll produce a runtime error if you try them. They cannot call back to a closure that no longer exists, which is the case if your process was terminated.
You can make it work with URLSession delegates. The system decides about whom to notify and when, after all tasks for a given session are complete. If the tasks finish while your app is running in the foreground or the background, the session notifies its delegate you have previously set, immediately. In case your app was terminated in the background, the system relaunches it at some point, and notifies the AppDelegate that all tasks are complete, to let you process the results there.
I started suspecting this was going to require a bit more than just changing one configuration. And then more problems started to surface.
Anyone else noticing urlSession:task:didCompleteWithError: not getting called on errors in sessions configured to background? — Agnes Vasarhelyi (@vasarhelyia) October 5, 2017
“Why do my background tasks complete 30 mins late?”
Our next question was, why sometimes background processing took so long.
“For time-insensitive tasks, you can set the isDiscretionary property. The system takes this property as a hint to wait for optimal conditions to perform the transfer. For example, the system might wait until the device is plugged in or connected to Wi-Fi.”
This was something we realized way too late – the importance of the isDiscretionary property on URLSessionConfiguration . It defaults to false . But if it’s set to, or treated as being true , then it tells iOS, hey, no rush, take your time with delivering the information that our app is waiting for in the background.
“In cases where the transfer is initiated while the app is in the background, the configuration object’s isDiscretionary property is treated as being true.”
If you scroll up to our very, very optimistic processing plan, you can see that the foundation of our background flow is based on immediate stage progression. Meaning, once the background upload is done, we initiate a task in the background to launch the compute job on the server. Once that’s done, we initiate the download task in the background. Now you see what the problem is. It all gets delayed based on the iPhone’s mood and now we’re back to square one with our premium user experience. 🤦
There is no way around this.
😬 😱 😳 🤔
Let’s just take a deep breath and think about the reasons.
iOS provides a premium experience to its users. Part of it is keeping our greedy hands off the resources. Imagine when your battery is dying, you barely have network, and you are waiting for your Lyft to arrive. Do you want iOS to upload videos in the background, or do you want it to suspend everything else and let you do your thing? You’re paying full attention to the app that is in the foreground, after all. This is how iOS helps you as a user to achieve that. That’s the reason why people buy iPhones – because it works.
As a third party app developer, you need to understand the limitations this implies.
So how do I know if my tasks eventually went through?
To find out when your tasks did complete when your app was terminated while doing background transfer, you can implement that one function on the AppDelegate for handling the results of those sessions. The tricky part here, is that it provides a completion handler that’s very important for you to call it as soon as possible. Remember, iOS judges you if you spend too much time executing code in the background. This is how it measures it.
If you’re interested to see how much time you have left in the background, there is a public var on UIApplication.shared , called backgroundTimeRemaining . It’s good to know, but you better aim for never reaching that limit.
Silent pushes – they arrive whenever they feel like it!
How does iOS punish you? One way is by not waking you up in the background to receive silent push notifications.
Silent pushes are the only way to wake up your app from your server, indicating there’s work to do, such as download data. This was exactly what we needed, to tell the app to download the server’s computer vision results.
We already know the system can terminate our app when it’s in the background, or suspended, and the user can also terminate your app using the multitasking UI. In both cases, the app’s process is killed, and then it never receives silent notifications again.
But even if the system does not terminate your app, it can still simply never wake it up, or wait hours to wake it up, for delivering silent notifications.
Before describing some of the normal practices that can surprisingly provoke this punishment, let’s review the details of silent push.
No need to ask for permissions
First of all: it’s unrelated to user permission. You can registerForRemoteNotifications and receive a device token allowing you to send remote silent notifications to a device, without asking the user for permissions.
To do this, you just need to make sure to format your APN payload correctly on your server. Setting content-available to 1 , and not adding any alert methods, is how you let iOS know what kind of push message it is. See Configuring a Silent Notification in the docs for more details.
You will be notified when your push arrives to your app, through a function on AppDelegate . Same game as with the function for background session completion, you will be passed a completion handler that you must call, the sooner the better. Remember, iOS is watching you. ⏱👀
To support silent notifications, you’ll need to turn the Background Modes capability on, and select “Remote notifications”. Despite what others might tell online, you won’t need to turn “Background fetch” on. It’s a slightly different thing, essentially handled the same. Background fetch is also a way to update content in the background, but scheduled by the app (poll), not initiated by a server (push).
After enabling the silent push capability, you can see that your app appears on the list of apps using background app refresh in the Settings app. If the user turns that switch off there, you won’t receive the silent notifications.
Device tokens do not identify the device
For supporting any kind of push notifications, silent or not, you need to install certificates on your server communicating to APNs servers. You will need to point your app built for development to a server that has the dev certificate installed and communicates to the sandbox APNs. You will need to point your production app to a server that has the distribution push certificate installed and communicates to production APNs. This could be the same server, but then the server needs to know if it’s a development or production app talking to it.
This is because anything built from Xcode, no matter the configuration (yes, Release too!) will be considered as development and will result in a Bad device token error on your server if you try to send push messages to the production APNs environment. This is because iOS gives you a device token valid for development when asking from a dev build, and a device token only valid for production APNs when asking from a production build. So a device token alone doesn’t identify the device. For that, you need the token plus the knowledge of whether it came from a development or production build.
Don’t forget to call registerForRemoteNotifications on every launch, the token can change across launches.
Client authentication does not work 🔓
The biggest surprise of this journey was when authentication between our app and our server broke the minute we switched to background sessions. It stopped working in both the foreground and the background.
According to Apple, client authentication doesn’t work with background sessions. Don’t even try. I filed a new bug report (35126178) to make sure we increase the counter representing the number of people wanting this to work.
Custom server-trust does not work either 🔓
Since we believe in the highest level of security possible, we don’t trust anyone 🙃. We had implemented certificate pinning to ensure that the app only talked to our server, and client certificate authentication to ensure that our server only talked to our app. This meant we did not even need to trust the certificate authorities.
But it failed silently inside the completion handler of the URLSession callback for authentication challenges, and produced a log message on the console like CredStore - copyIdentPrefs - Error copying Identity cred . There was no way to understand what the problem was. But we had a wild guess: it turned out using a CA-signed certificate instead of pinning to a self-signed one works.
But according to Apple, server trust validation should work in the background. Bug filed (35126815), because it only seems to be working with CA-signed certificates. Pinning to a CA-signed certificate is possible too, even if you have a rolling certificate (like Let’s Encrypt) in place, as long as you’re pinning against the public key, rather than the certificate itself. You just need to make sure the public key stays the same across all new certificates. Here’s a great article explaining why certificate pinning is a good way to defend yourself from man-in-the-middle attacks.
Peter needed to change our servers to use a new certificate and new authentication methods. That’s quite some work on the backend for supporting the app’s background processing capabilities. 😬
Even standard server-trust authentication will punish you
But even after re-engineering for only what works, we learned that iOS will still punish you for some approaches that are fully supported. Any server-trust authentication is unwise.
Please make sure to read Quinn the eskimo’s responses to Alexis near the bottom of the dev forum thread carefully, if you want to understand why Apple doesn’t encourage this kind of authentication method when implementing background sessions.
“For background sessions specifically, the resumes necessary to handle this authentication challenge counter against the resume rate limiter.
Note This applies to all authentication challenges, not just server trust challenges.”
Just one last thought before jumping to our next section about the mysterious resume rate limiter… 👻
As Quinn suggests,
“I generally recommend that folks avoid authentication challenges and instead implement a custom authentication scheme.”
For example, to send a custom header field with a transfer token as authentication, that was previously provided by the server in a foreground session. There are more suggestions in that thread to provide better security without risking smooth background processing by hitting the resume rate limit.
The little-known Resume Rate Limiter is the thing that will punish you
Remember metric number three from the list of what to look out for with background transfer – the number of times your app wants to be woken up in the background? That is what the resume rate limiter is there to watch and to regulate.
It all started to make sense… 💡
You give iOS a piece of data to upload to, or download from a server. Your app goes to the background. iOS has a great deal of resource management implemented, so it is able to find a way to transfer that data with low priority, when it’s convenient to do so. All it needs to do is wake your app up and notify the proper delegate.
“N downloads, 1 resume.”
Except, if you’re implementing things like the authentication challenge, for those URL requests.
“N downloads you need N+1 resumes.”
These things add up, and iOS will just rank your app down, delaying your execution window. Let me show you how bad we, at Topology, are doing with resumes:
Upload task completed Data task for job submission authentication challenge for server trust validation Data task for job submission completed Silent remote notification arrived Download task completed
This is 5 background resumes if the user has only submitted one selfie before going to the background.
The punishment is (1) hidden by Xcode, (2) varies by phone, and (3) is severe and random
These three facts above makes you very frustrated when testing, because it starts getting worse as you test more. We unfortunately realized this after a few days of struggling with debugging the uncatchable issues.
A funny sign was that after building the first internal testing version, others saw the whole flow happening, but not me. You can imagine what iOS on my phone was thinking about the Topology app after working on this feature constantly for weeks. My resume rate limiter was probably like “Lol, Topology app. No way! Too much!”
But your app will always resume in the background at the expected times if you’re plugged into Xcode. 🚨
That was a shocking find too, because we had no idea about the rate limiter until that point, when we realized background features just don’t work reliably in TestFlight builds. It’s because you have a free pass with the rate limiter when running in the development environment. In practice, it meant that all of the planned background processing worked in production as expected, except that we could measure the time between stages, as stretching to hours sometimes.
“dasd” is the best friend you didn’t know you needed
My teammate Christopher showed us this great debugging move, where you can find the Duet Activity Scheduler Daemon’s logs on the device’s console that’s responsible for delivering notifications in iOS. From that you can extract information about whether your messages went through or not, and why. There is a score , e.g. 0.76 for every notification, and a decision , like Can Proceed . That verified all our theories we’d been putting together from the guesses we had about how the system works.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nov 6 14:19:32 vasarhelyias-iPhone-7-Plus dasd(DuetActivitySchedulerDaemon)[123] ...:[ {name: ApplicationPolicy, policyWeight: 5.000, response: {Decision: Can Proceed, Score: 0.58}} {name: DeviceActivityPolicy, policyWeight: 10.000, response: {Decision: Can Proceed, Score: 0.25}} {name: ChargerPluggedInPolicy, policyWeight: 10.000, response: {Decision: Can Proceed, Score: 0.50, Rationale: }} ] sumScores:32.260200, denominator:46.910000, FinalDecision: Can Proceed FinalScore: 0.687704 }
A new hope
Since we can’t rely on users walking around with fully charged iPhones connected to excellent WiFi with all their apps closed and not supporting background updates, we needed to add some fallbacks to support the non-optimistic but common scenarios. Still, this is already a huge improvement to how our app used to work, especially for the worst case scenario. 🎊
The UX workaround we have now is to schedule local notifications with estimated end dates for the computing phase, so we don’t rely only on the silent push to trigger the stage progression of the selfie. That allows users to go back and open the app when most of the work is done and let them watch the app downloading the 3D face model.
The most obvious improvement for the future is to decrease the number of resume attempts necessary. That involves changes on our backend to provide a different API and functionality to support fewer stages of job processing on the client. Also, we could make changes to how authentication works, like implementing the suggestions by Quinn about the transfer token. Good thing we always have more coding to do! 😬
I hope this was helpful in understanding our process and what we learned about background transfers. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do let me know! 🙏 You can find me as @vasarhelyia on Twitter.
Special thanks to Alexis and Greg for helping me making this article awesome! 🤗 |
Russia looms large over two elections this weekend: the European Union's parliamentary elections and the presidential race in Ukraine.
But although Russian President Vladimir Putin may have intended to drive wedges among Ukrainians and Europeans, instead he might have unwittingly given the European project a boost.
A new poll out by the Pew Research Center shows that EU popularity is on the rise – with 52 percent of respondents in seven countries surveyed having a favorable view of the 28-member bloc, up from 46 percent in 2013.
Much of that has to do with the perception that the bloc's economic well-being is rebounding from the nadir of the eurocrisis. The results also may have been influenced by timing: polling took place as European parliamentary campaigns were gathering steam. It's a time when candidates attempt to remind the public of the good purpose the EU serves: i.e. it's not just a nebulous bureaucracy regulating things such as the size of window panes or produce.
But Mr. Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, the uncertainty over Ukraine’s future, and the ensuing geopolitical battle between the West and Russia may have bolstered the notion that being part of a 28-member bloc, in the context of a potential security crisis, is not such a bad thing after all, says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Center for European Reform in London.
“The very fact that Ukrainians were prepared to turn out and get killed for the chance to be part of the European process rather than a Eurasian one made some people think perhaps there is something in this European stuff,” Mr. Bond adds.
Growing affinity for Europe?
European nations today begin electing a 751-member parliament, the first European-wide election to take place since the debt crisis. The election is marred by widespread voter apathy, and the dominant storyline has been the rise of the anti-EU far-right – populists who have recently in fact become the strange bedfellows of Putin himself.
But despite the appeal of such populists, the EU has in parallel managed to gain in popularity, particularly in France, Britain, and Germany. Some of the data is hard to explain. That favorability is up 13 percent in France, for example, coincides with the rise of Marine Le Pen’s anti-EU National Front and generalized pessimism about the economy, says Bruce Stokes, the director of Global Economic Attitudes at the Pew Research Center in Washington.
The surveyors didn’t ask respondents specifically about Russia or about support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) this year, but one thing is clear. Of all the nations surveyed, Poland, which is pushing hardest against sanctioning Russia among European nations, also shows the greatest love of Europe, with 72 percent declaring a favorable view.
“You can see from this data that [Poles] are demonstrating a very strong affinity to Europe,” says Mr. Stokes. “One can only presume that the crisis in Ukraine may have strengthened that.”
The presidential election in Ukraine Sunday is taking place precisely because of Europe, symbolized by being held on the biggest day of European elections. Pro-western Ukrainians initially took to Kiev’s streets in November after Ukraine’s then-president, under Russian influence and its desire to create a Eurasian alternative to the EU, rebuffed a trade and association agreement with EU authorities.
The conflict here has morphed into a much bigger geopolitical struggle, but here on Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan, where it all began, Valentine Bebik says that the desire for Ukraine to be part of Europe – and one day be voting in EU elections – holds firm. He is originally from the east, where Putin enjoys wider popularity, but he views the protest movement in Kiev as a loss for Putin overall. “This is the most peaceful way I can say it,” Mr. Bebik says, “he should retire.”
Russia's gambit
Of course, Russia stands to gain this weekend, too, if these races are viewed through the lens of geopolitical struggle. Although Putin has tepidly supported Ukraine’s elections, if pro-Russian separatists are able to undermine a vote widely supported by both the EU and the US, it will be interpreted as a loss for the West.
In the EU, there already has been a qualified victory for Putin, by stirring intra-bloc squabbling over sanctions. Though Europe has cobbled together agreement on some economic punishments for Russia, Moscow has barely budged.
Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
But Putin might be looking to Sunday’s results to see whether his influence can grow in unexpected places. In general, Putin and Europe's populist constituencies share similar conservative views on issues like gay marriage, keeping the culture wars alive and well in Europe. And, says Bond, “Putin has a narrative about European expansionism that rather appeals to [far-right] ideas that Europe is trying to take everyone over.”
Still, many suspect the far-right won’t garner enough seats to have blocking power in the parliament – and thus represent no practical loss beyond the symbolic blow to the EU or the larger West. |
The National Post has been ordered to pay Oak Bay MLA and internationally known climate scientist Andrew Weaver $50,000 in damages for defaming him in four articles published in late 2009 and early 2010.
“I’m thrilled. The judgment is absolutely wonderful,” said Weaver, the Green MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head.
article continues below
“They attributed statements to me I had never made. They accused me of things I had never done and they attacked me for views I’d never held. They refused to retract it, so I had no choice.”
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Emily Burke concluded the National Post newspaper, and its writers Terence Corcoran, Peter Foster and Kevin Libin “have been careless or indifferent to the accuracy of the facts. As evident from the testimony of the defendants, they were more interested in espousing a particular view than assessing the accuracy of the facts.”
Burke found the defamation was serious and that a significant award was appropriate. “The evidence establishes Dr. Weaver was deeply affected by what he perceived as a barrage of articles impugning his integrity and academic reputation,” Burke wrote in her 62-page judgment.
She ordered the National Post to remove the offending articles from any electronic databases under the control of the newspaper and to withdraw consent to third parties to republish the defamatory material.
Burke also ordered the National Post to publish a complete retraction of the defamatory material in the hardcopy National Post, on Internet sites and in electronic databases — in a form agreed to by Weaver.
“That’s something that’s very important to me,” Weaver said.
His lawyer will approach the newspaper next week to discuss the retraction and the costs of the court case, he said.
“I’m reasonably confident I’ll get costs,” Weaver said.
“But I think when all is said and done, it will become a wash in terms of the award. At least, I’ll get my expenses back because this is not a trivial amount.”
The National Post could not be reached for comment.
In late 2009 and early 2010, the newspaper published four articles with the headlines Weaver’s Web, Weaver’s Web II, Climate Agency Going Up In Flames, and So Much for Pure Science.
At the time, Weaver was a professor in the school of earth and ocean sciences at the University of Victoria.
In April 2010, Weaver brought an action for libel against the newspaper. He said the articles implied he attempted to divert public attention from a scandal involving “Climategate” and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change by fabricating stories about the involvement of the fossil fuel industry with break-ins at his office.
Weaver also claimed the articles suggested he was untrustworthy, unscientific and incompetent, and that he distorted and concealed scientific data to promote a public agenda and receive government funding.
He also complained about defamatory comments posted on the National Post website.
[email protected]
The judgment is available online at courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/15/01/2015BCSC0165.htm |
There is real hope that Canada as Canadians knew it - its values, attitudes and priorities - may return once again to the federal government's agenda, with diplomacy, accommodation, and multilateralism at the forefront.
For most, this concerns domestic policies, how the country is run, and where it is headed. Canadians can reflect that, for nine years, the outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to attend any meeting with Canada's premiers who run the country's provincial governments. Justin Trudeau has just announced he will hold such a conclave within 100 days.
But the recent election was also about foreign policy: The 10 years of Harper's rule have changed the country's foreign policy priorities from a liberal progressive approach to a neo-conservative policy marked by distrust and confrontation.
National interests and chauvinism
Canada's quiet international exceptionalism, a country almost all had respected and valued, was twisted in the pursuit of narrow national interests and chauvinism.
The outgoing Harper was hectoring and belligerent. The country became one more player among many in that game, bereft of any larger calling - yet another trumpet of chauvinism in the global cacophony.
All this may now change.
Justin Trudeau is an open-minded man who believes Canada can once again play a constructive role internationally. We cannot predict what the new government's policy will be, but we can muse about some likely possibilities.
Also read: Time for the real Canada to stand up
Canada will once again work closely with allies and like-minded countries, no longer bent on alienating in the name of assertion. The suspicion that the US voted against our candidacy for a seat at the UN Security Council will certainly not happen again.
Canada will re-embrace its most natural calling of multilateralism. Whether over climate change, a policy that the Harper government had gutted, or the work of the G20, our diplomats will provide leadership and innovation and play the facilitating role that was the country's hallmark for decades before the recent change.
Canada will no longer be persona non grata at the UN, where Harper's government was alone and unwelcome in the institution's many committees; trust will be restored in international institutions.
Superb diplomatist
In the old days, Canada was regarded as a superb diplomatist: The strong likelihood is that it will be so again. Canada's foreign service is overjoyed with the change, expecting to be able to speak truth to power - something that killed careers under the previous reign. Diplomats will have the opportunity to use their skills among the community of nations in an atmosphere of trust and confidence.
In the old days, Canada was regarded as a superb diplomatist: The strong likelihood is that it will be so again.
On more specific issues - such as taking in refugees or the Israel-Palestine conflict - the change may not be rapid, but a slow recalibration may take place. More Syrian refugees will be accepted, and Canada once again will likely play a useful middle ground on Israel-Palestine, devoting itself to constructive answers to a suffering region rather than ideological fantasies.
In other words, Canadian policy will return to its natural position of catalyst on complex issues that require international cooperation and the light, but innovative touch of Canadian diplomacy. Equally importantly: Canada's culture of pragmatic and pluralistic politics is a natural counter to rising extremism across the globe. Positive exemplars are desperately needed.
In many ways, this is a reversion to a Canadian tradition - one bred in the Cold War. However, the increasingly dangerous geopolitics in Ukraine, the Middle East, or the South China Sea, and the increasing need for multilateral cooperation on global health, economic and environmental issues, mean that Canada's role as a diplomat and facilitator is needed more than ever.
There are countries out there, such as Brazil and India or even those in the limping EU, who may see much utility in such an actor re-engaging again, ready to lead and play an active role, rather than sit on the sidelines while global affairs deteriorate.
Also read: Islamophobia is a winning card in Canada
Trudeau's combination of idealism and realism and his pragmatic pursuit of solutions represent Canada's natural international vocation. These are necessary ingredients in an increasingly chaotic world.
Over the coming months, newly-minted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend, among others, the G20, Commonwealth, and APEC summits. The world will beckon quickly; there is much work ahead.
Many will celebrate Canada's return to constructive diplomacy, led by a man whose instincts are keen, whose quest for knowledge is great, and whose entire character reeks of a commitment to working together for a better world.
Michael Bell was four-time Canadian ambassador in the Middle East. He is currently a senior fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa.
John Bell is director of the Middle East programme at the Toledo International Centre for Peace in Madrid. He is a former UN and Canadian diplomat and served as political adviser to the personal representative of the UN secretary-general for southern Lebanon and adviser to the Canadian government.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy. |
John Judis just admitted that the “Emerging Democratic Majority” thesis he popularized in a 2002 book with Ruy Teixeira under that name, is not coming to fruition quite on schedule [The Emerging Republican Advantage, National Journal, January 31, 2015]. Published shortly after the Republicans used post 9-11 goodwill to retake their Senate majority and the House of Representatives, the book predicted that the Democrats would ascend back to power on the backs of two growing constituencies: ethnic minorities—with immigration swelling their numbers— and white collar professionals upset with the GOP’s cultural conservatism and aversion to issues like environmental protection. Judis and Teixeira did not expect the Democrats to win back working class whites, but thought the GOP’s pro-corporate policies would limit the hemorrhaging.
Judis and Teixeira were not the first to predict that mass immigration would benefit the Democratic Party. Five years earlier, Edwin S. Rubenstein and Peter Brimelow wrote a National Review cover story with the cutline “The Emerging Democratic Majority” [Electing a New People, July 16 1997). Their hypothesis was simple: If immigration trends continued and ethnic voting patterns (as of George H.W. Bush’s 1988 victory) held, Republicans would become a permanent minority by 2008.
But Brimelow and Rubenstein noted their assumptions were not set in stone. Immigration policies and voting trends can change. Reducing immigration has long been popular among white voters, and Republicans had the option to kill two birds with one stone. But they squandered their majorities promoting unpopular wars, social issues, and plutocratic policies.
In 2008, immigration policies remained unchanged, the Republicans nominated a man eager to increase immigration and depress the white vote. Democrats won in a landslide. At the time, many Leftists trumpeted the Emerging Democratic Majority thesis and predicted a long Republican decline.
Republicans took back the House in 2010, but believers in the Emerging Democratic Majority thesis saw it as just a last gasp of older white America, which turned out disproportionately in the midterms. The 2012 election, where Mitt Romney equaled George H.W. Bush’s 1988 white share (though there was low white voter turnout, more on that later) but still lost the general election by 3 percentage points, reinforced that view.
Then came the 2014 elections. While the minorities voted heavily Democratic, all of Judis and Teixeira’s predictions about the white vote failed. As Judis notes,
Democrats slid from 44 percent of the white working-class vote nationally in 2006 to only 34 percent in 2014, and from a 49-percent-49-percent split among college-educated voters in 2006 to a 54-percent-44-percent loss among these voters in 2014.
Furthermore, millennials did not save the Democrats. Judis again:
In 2006, 60 percent of young voters backed Democrats in House races; that number hit 65 percent in 2008, fell to 60 percent in 2012, and slid to 54 percent in 2014.
Judis did not separate white voters by age, but the results there are even more striking. In 2008, Obama won 18-29 year old whites 54-43. In 2012, Romney won them 51-44 and in 2014, Republicans carried the group 54-43. (Source: CNN and NBC exit polls.)
Does this spell continued Republican success? Judis suggests it might not:
The Democrats' best chances in next year's elections will come if Republicans run candidates identified with the Religious Right or the tea party or the GOP's plutocratic wing. If Republicans are smart, they will nominate for president someone in the mold of George W. Bush in 2000 or the numerous GOP Senate candidates who won last year—a politician who runs from the center-right, soft-pedals social issues, including immigration, critiques government without calling for abolishing the income tax and Social Security, and displays a good ol' boy empathy for the less well-to-do. Such a candidate would cater to the Republican advantage among the middle class without alienating the white working class.
Save his point about immigration, Judis is not completely off base. The 2012 election was the second successive Presidential election in which white turnout fell. Many conservatives took Sean Trende’s missing white voters thesis to suggest that Romney’s squishiness turned away Tea Partiers. However, as I noted in my piece about GOP moderate-but-still-immigration-patriot Scott Brown last year, Trende also noted that most of these voters were working class whites. Romney’s plutocratic image, not lack of conservatism, turned off these voters.
I also pointed to a NBC-Esquire survey that separated voters into four categories: The MBA Middle, Minivan Moderates (Judis’s “white professionals” is likely analogous to the two collective groups), Pick-up Populists (white working class), and the “The WhateverMan” (millennials),” who collectively comprise 51% of the electorate.[ New center: Why our nation isn't as divided as we think, ,By Tony Dokoupil, CNBC, October 15, 2013] I should note that these categories reflected both ideology and demographics, so partisans within each demographic are not counted. This is useful, as those groups are not really swing voters.
According to the study, the New Center is socially liberal and not terribly economic conservative
The new American center has a socially progressive streak, supporting gay marriage (64 percent), the right to an abortion for any reason within the first trimester (63 percent), and legalized marijuana (52 percent). Women, workers and the marginal would also benefit if the center had its way, supporting paid sick leave (62 percent); paid maternity leave (70 percent); tax-subsidized childcare to help women return to work (57 percent); and a federal minimum wage hike to no less than $10 per hour (67 percent).
However, the New Center supports right-wing positions on what VDARE.com calls “National Question” issues, including
the end of affirmative action in hiring and education (57 percent). Most people in the center believe respect for minority rights has gone overboard, in general, harming the majority in the process (63 percent). And just one in four support immigration reforms that would provide a path to citizenship for those who came here illegally.
Judis is right that the Religious Right, libertarianism, and the Tea Party turn off many middle-of-the-road voters. However, he was wrong to conflate immigration restriction with those issues.
Still, as the 2016 Election approaches, the two potential candidates most identified with restrictionism are Ted Cruz and Rick Santorum, who will likely be the leading Tea Party and Religious Right candidates as well. So this may appear to make Judis’s conflation come true.
My view: Fair or not, the more the cause of immigration patriotism is connected with the right wing of the GOP, the more middle class professional feel like it’s socially unacceptable—and the more millennials will snark “dey terk err jurbs,” along with crude jokes about Santoruming.
I miss Scott Brown!
Washington Watcher [email him] is an anonymous source Inside The Beltway |
Photo
Playing action video games may improve reading in children with dyslexia, Italian researchers have found.
The small study, published online last week in Current Biology, involved two groups of 10 dyslexic children. One group played action video games for nine sessions of 80 minutes each, while the other followed the same routine with nonaction games. The researchers bought the games in retail stores and have no financial interest in any video game company.
Age, I.Q., reading speed, error rates and phonological skills were similar in the two groups at the beginning of the study. The researchers measured the attention and reading skills of the children before and after the game sessions and then compared them.
Those trained on the action games scored significantly higher than those who played the nonaction games by various measures: combined speed and accuracy, recognizing pseudo-words made of random letters, and reaction time. The action game players also scored higher on tests that measured attention by inserting distractions as the children tried to accomplish various visual and auditory tasks.
“The correlation between attention improvement and reading improvement was very high,” said the co-first author of the study, Simone Gori, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Padua. “The change in attentional abilities translates into better reading ability.” |
By Jake Tapper and Jessica Metzger
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jake Tapper is an anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent for CNN. He’s also the author of the best-selling book about Afghanistan “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor”
In her senior year at West Point, Candace Fisher decided she wanted to join the Military Police since it would allow her the most options “to do the most soldier-like things,” Fisher recalled in an interview with CNN.
In 2006 and 2007, Fisher served at what would become Combat Outpost Keating, one of the most dangerous bases in Afghanistan. Fisher – who then went by her maiden name, Mathis – led a platoon of Military Police, supervising 36 troops, including six other women, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 71st Cavalry.
With Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announcing today that the Pentagon would end its policy of excluding women from combat positions, Fisher – reached at Fort Leonard Wood in the Missouri Ozarks, where she is currently a small group leader for an officer leadership course – said the Army was acknowledging what has already in many ways become a reality in the military.
“It’s a formalization of what we’ve been experimenting with the last ten to twelve years in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Fisher told CNN. “I think that those two conflicts have probably given the Army a pretty good idea of whether or not an actual policy change was warranted.”
Even though Fisher is Military Police and not Infantry or Cavalry, she says “given the nature of the fight over the last ten years or so, it’s made us all very dependent on each other as far as branches, interdependent as far as combined action and combined arms. So there has been a lot of bleed-over for missions regardless of what branch you are based on the conflict.”
During one mission in October 2006, Fisher and her MPs were teamed up with Able Troop’s 3rd platoon when they had to push through a complex ambush. The female MPs returned fire along with the male soldiers. Actually, one male soldier recalled, with their AT-4 grenade launchers, the MPs had stronger firepower than the scout platoon.
Fisher, 30, speculates that had the ban on women serving in combat missions happened before she chose the Military Police, “maybe the 22 year old gung-ho me would have” applied to serve in a combat unit. “But at this point I’m really happy with the choice I made. It’s great that those opportunities are going to be there for future women soldiers,” she said.
She takes criticisms of the policy change seriously. Of those who say women don’t have the upper body strength to serve in combat roles, Fisher said, “I think that's one of the reasons that Secretary Panetta is allowing the branches the time to do their analysis and give their feedback, because I'm sure that is a concern.” She personally doesn’t “have the upper body strength that a man does,” Fisher says, but “I do know some females out there who are exceptional athletes who can certainly hold their own with their male counterparts. So I think that whatever those branches decide needs to be their standard in order to facilitate their mission.”
Regardless of a soldier’s gender, what matters is that he or she can meet the standard, Fisher says.
Before Fisher and her MP platoon were deployed to what would become Combat Outpost Keating, one officer recalls, there was concern about sending female soldiers to the frontlines of the conflict. Fisher and her soldiers “were manning the same machine guns on patrols as our CAV scouts, which our senior leaders did not like,” the officer recalls. Then those concerns turned into ones about possible “General Order 1” violations – intimate relations between unmarried troops. There were myriad rumors of such prohibited contact.
In terms of fraternization, Fisher says, “people are always going to have those concerns, and whenever you get groups of people together, there's always either going to be that perception or there's going to be the few that do violate those types of policies… I don't think it's going to be enough to detract from the mission.” |
'Absolutely Crazy': Man Killed In Movie Theater For Texting?
The early reports about what happened Monday afternoon inside a movie theater near Tampa are certainly disturbing:
"It started with a father sending text messages to his daughter during the previews of a movie," CNN writes. "It ended with the 43-year-old man shot dead amid the theater seats, and a 71-year-old retired police officer in custody."
Enlarge this image toggle caption NPR NPR
The Tampa Bay Times starts its story this way:
"Charles Cummings and his son, Alex, settled into their seats at the Cobb Grove 16 Monday for the 1:20 p.m. showing of Lone Survivor. During the previews [they say], a man sitting two seats away texted noisily on his phone. The man behind him, retired Tampa police officer Curtis Reeves Jr., asked him to stop several times. "Reeves left for a few minutes and returned. An argument erupted. Popcorn flew. Then, authorities said, Reeves pulled out a pistol and fired at the man."
Chad Oulson was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. His wife Nicole, 33, was treated for an injury to her hand. The bullet that killed her husband apparently struck her first as she reached in front of him.
Reeves was held at the scene by an off-duty sheriff's deputy who happened to be there to see the movie. He's been charged with second-degree murder.
We should remind everyone that these are just the initial reports about what happened. The story may change. But regardless, "it's absolutely crazy it would rise to this level over somebody just texting in a movie theater," Pasco County (Fla.) Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters Monday.
According to Alex Cummings, who as CNN says was sitting close to Oulson, among the dying man's last words were: "I can't believe I got shot."
News reports say the daughter Oulson was texting is 3-years-old.
Update at 1:35 p.m. ET. No Bond:
At the court hearing in Pasco County, the judge just ruled that Reeves will be held without bond at this time. She said the prosecution did present evidence indicating that a second-degree murder may have been committed. She also noted that if convicted, Reeves could be sent to prison for life.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Times reports that local authorities do not believe Reeves will be able to make a "stand your ground" defense.
Update at 1:17 p.m. ET. Court Hearing:
Tampa's ABC Action News is webcasting the first court hearing for Reeves.
Update at 11:45 a.m. ET. No Punches, Only Popcorn Was Thrown, Witnesses Say.
The Tampa Bay Times now reports that:
"Witnesses in Monday's fatal movie theater shooting said the man who was killed hurled a bag of popcorn at the shooter, who then pulled a handgun and fired. No punches were thrown between the men, according to a Pasco sheriff's report." |
thejc.com
Piers Morgan is beginning to feel very much at home at Jewish community events.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge and former Mirror editor was the star attraction at the Norwood property lunch in central London which raised £500,000.
Before a public grilling by Express boss and Norwood president Richard Desmond, Mr Morgan told the JC that the lunch was his third Norwood function. “I was brought up a good Catholic boy, but now the Catholics don’t want anything to do with me. I’ve been shunned by my own religion which never asks me to do anything. I really am starting to feel at home here and feel like one of the clan.”
Reflecting on recent media controversies, he defended the Mail on Sunday for the expose which prompted Lord Triesman’s resignation as Football Association chairman and leader of England’s 2018 World Cup bid. Although the peer claimed “entrapment”, Mr Morgan said he had been “a foolish old goat” for suggesting corruption among other 2018 bidders to a young female friend.
Mr Morgan is keen to make documentary in Tel Aviv similar to his tele-vision programmes about Dubai and Marbella. “I would love to go to Israel, and to Palestine. I couldn’t rule out making a programme there – I hear it’s an absolutely beautiful part of the world.”
Over 500 property professionals heard Mr Desmond and Mr Morgan swap jibes about politics, newspaper circulations, celebrity culture and the Mirror’s publication of fake pictures of British troops abusing Iraqis, which resulted in Mr Morgan’s sacking.
He also took stick from the audience for mispronouncing “chutzpah”.
Lunch chair Simon Silver expressed delight at the high turnout and proceeds. The lunch also incorporated the annual Norwood property awards, whose recipients included Irvine Sellar of Sellar Properties for development of the year – the London Bridge Quarter. A lifetime achievement award went to John Ritblat of British Land. |
A father raped his lesbian daughter to prove to her that "sex was better with men".
The 54-year-old raped his 16-year-old daughter when she revealed that she was a lesbian and "was struggling with her identity". According to the judge, the father responded with 'uncontrolled' anger.
The Warwick Crown Court heard the case and has jailed the man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, for 21 years. The court also found out that he abused his two other daughters as well across two decades.
Also read: To settle debt, man allows friend to rape wife in Ghaziabad
Initially, he plead not guilty to nine other charges of indecent assault, but was found guilty and convicted of all his crimes at the trial.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC said: "As a 16-year-old girl she realised she was gay and, struggling with her identity as many people do at that age, she decided to tell you. "You reacted by showing real and uncontrolled anger, and you decided to rape her to show her why it would be better to have sex with men than women. Her evidence made harrowing listening," reported The Sun .
Also read: Ridiculous remarks made about rape and rapists
"That rape involved degradation and humiliation. The offence demonstrated your hostility towards her as a lesbian", the judge added.
Also watch: |
Lots of vegetables are ripening in the garden this time of the year. Tomatoes are growing like crazy. Besides making tomato sauce, I like to make what I call “Whatever is left in the garden salsa”. It consists of the most abundant produce growing in the garden. The end product is quite tasty. Here is my garden salsa canning recipe.
Garden Salsa Canning Recipe
I generally look around my garden to see what would work well in a salsa. This year tomatoes, zucchini, onions, garlic, green peppers and parsley were the best growers. I used two types of tomatoes-cherry and regular tomatoes. So I decided to make a salsa using these vegetables.
Here is what you will need:
Canning:
Ingredients:
10 – Cups Tomatoes (I used 1/2 regular and 1/2 cherry tomatoes)
2 – Cups Green Peppers
1 – Large Yellow Onion
1 – Large Red Onion
8 – Cloves of Garlic
A Few Scallions
5 – Cups of Parsley
2 – Limes (not from the garden)
1 – Cup White Vinegar
Wash and Sterilize Jars
Your first step is to always wash and sterilize your jars and bands. Wash your jars and bands in hot soapy water. Then rinse and put them into your water bath canner to sterilize for about 15 minutes. The water should be almost to a boil to sterilize the jars and bands. Once the jars and bands are sterilized set them aside on a kitchen towel. I like to place my lids covered with water into a small pan on the stove. Keep them warm until you are ready to use them.
Prepping the Garden Salsa
Now it is time to start chopping and removing the seeds from your tomatoes. I like to chop mine into bite-size pieces. This may take a little time, so just put on some good music and start chopping. You can also chop your onions, zucchini, green peppers, garlic, parsley and scallions.
Cooking Your Garden Salsa
Once you are done chopping all of your vegetables it is time to cook them. I like to start by sauteing the onions and garlic first for about 5 minutes and then add tomatoes, zucchini, green peppers and scallions. Add your vinegar, lime and parsley at the end. Let this mixture cook for about 10 minutes.
Jarring Your Garden Salsa
Once your salsa is cooked it is time to place the mixture into your sterilized jars. Bring your pot over to a nice flat surface and place a kitchen towel under the pot. Place a jar in the funnel on top next to the pot and begin ladling the hot salsa into the jars. Make sure to wipe each jar’s top clean with a kitchen towel.
Capping and Processing The Garden Salsa
Now place the cap on each jar using a magnetic lid lifter. Apply jar bands to each jar until hand tight. Place each jar into the canning tray. Bring your water to a boil and submerge the jars into the canner and place lip on top of the pot and boiled for 15 minutes.
Date, Label and Enjoy
Once your 15 minutes is over, allow your jars to cool a bit. Then remove them with your coated jar lifter and allow to cool on a towel overnight. I like to place a kitchen towel on top of the jars to allow them to cool slowly. I find it helps in the sealing process. You should hear the lids start pinging that means your jars are sealing. Once your jars have cooled, remove your bands to make sure you have a good seal. If you have one that did not seal properly place it into the refrigerator and eat as a snack.
These are my go-to books for preserving and canning:
The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest
Ebay:
Buy It On Ebay.com
Amazon:
Ball Blue Book Guide To Preserving
Ebay:
Buy It On Ebay.com
Amazon:
Conclusion
As you can see you can make salsa many ways. This garden salsa canning recipe will be a nice treat for an afternoon snack. They also make nice gifts to give away to friends and family. |
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to consider linking lending rates to the repo rate, said Tarun Ramadorai, chairman of an RBI-constituted committee on household finances. In an interview, Ramadorai also said lack of inter-regulatory coordination is the biggest roadblock to implementing the committee’s recommendations. Edited excerpts:
Unlike the previous two committees on household finance, you examined the issue from the demand side. What did you find? Are Indian people stupid to be investing in gold and real estate?
I have an enormous amount of respect for traditional systems. Traditional systems usually come up in an environment when they are in optimal response to prevailing condition. I have an enormous amount of respect for an average Indian. I don’t think people are stupid or backward. They are optimizing in the face of an environment which they see. If an environment is good, it generates a certain outcome. If the environment has got market failures embedded in it, then it generates other outcomes. It’s not that demand side is silly but it’s responding to an institutional environment which needs to alter. The question is how does it alter? We have to remove the hassle factor from institutional loans. Changing the collateral registry, enforcing KYC (know your client) standards within banks so that you don’t have to push people to needless bureaucracy.
One of the big things that we come across in the report is that people experience a huge amount of pain from having to deal with bureaucratic institutions. People, especially at the bottom of the pyramid, when they deal with bureaucratic situations feel shame and embarrassment, feel inadequacies, can’t speak the language properly. They feel like people are looking down on them, they feel like financial products are products for the elite group. What we are saying is let’s depersonalize all of this. Massively leverage technology so that people don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff.
Are new institutions like small finance banks, more adaptable to technological innovations?
It doesn’t matter if you are a new player or established player. One of the biggest impediments to creating new technology is the fact that there is a huge regulatory uncertainty. Hence we suggested having what is called a regulatory sandbox and this should be a cross-regulatory initiative and it should be a safe space in which financial technology firms can experiment with temporary relaxation of rules with the view towards gathering evidence. Through this process, financial technology firms will develop the technology in the right way. The regulator gets comfort that this will do (well) for the market and in the process can later regulations as well. What also happens is that regulators will start coordinating with each other and cross functional products are allowed to get out there.
Regulators are behind the tech curve. What makes you think that a sandbox will even be understood by Indian financial sector regulators?
Capacity problem is a well-known problem. There are two ways to deal with the capacity problem. You either say regulator are behind the curve and let’s not create a new institution. In which case we have a status quo and we try to effect the change within the pre-existing system. This is an idea that has not worked. Our thought is if you create a dynamic new institution and populate it with people who are cutting edge within the organisation, then in some (cases) what you get is capacity building incrementally.
What are the biggest roadblocks to implementing your recommendations?
Inter- regulatory coordination is going to be tough. You need to have consistency of standards across different regulators.
One of the other reasons why we proposed a regulatory sandbox is that it is a way to get regulators to coordinate with each other. There are always going to be special interests that don’t like certain prescriptions. It was very hard initially when (former Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman Chandrasekhar Bhaskar) Bhave did the commission reduction (for mutual funds). It was universally excoriated.
But now growth in the mutual fund industry has been massive. One thing we have to ask ourselves is can we convince people in the long run that some of the measures we are advocating are beneficial even though there will be some short-run costs?
RBI and banks have not exactly won awards for their consumer focus. What makes you believe that a repo rate linked bank loan system will even be on the discussion table?
I think we are starting to see some changes. I think this repo rate linking plus immediate reset (of loans every month) plus immediate pass through is all going to happen. It’s all in the works. I think my committee report is going to be helpful in providing more evidence that this is going to be a useful thing and I hope we will be able to see this going forward.
What is the base result you hope to achieve with this report?
I’d like to see much more financialization of savings. Second, what I definitely want to see is an increase in the rate of pension and insurance take off in the country. Third one is a switch away from money lenders and so on which has been a stubbornly persistent problem towards institutionalized credit. There I think you can’t ban informal credit but also have to improve the provision of formal credit.
How do you expect institutions to go about executing these simplified financial products?
There is a role for the government. PMJDY was quite an interesting initiative and it has worked. There have been critics about account seeding. By and large it has introduced people into financial system and we should consider this a success.
We should piggyback on this initiative and should push other stuff. The government can’t do it on its own. It has to partner with private institutions to come out with these products. There has to be product innovation that the government encourages. The government is good at doing platform innovation. So they can create a PMJDY platform and other people can come and work on the platform. They can create an Aadhaar platform and other institutions can work on this. I think that’s what they should be thinking about—how do we create platforms that then private sector can come and capitalize on. |
This is No. 7 on Golden Gate Sports’ list of the Top 10 Bay Area Sports Stories of 2012. For a quick reminder, please read No. 8.
It was a cold, wet November night in Eugene, Oregon and ESPN’s College Game Day was in town. The Pac-12 North was at stake and the Oregon Ducks were sitting pretty at No. 2 in the nation after a brilliant 10-0 start.
The Ducks were hot, and had only lost one home game since Chip Kelly took over as head coach in 2009. However, the Stanford Cardinal had won four straight games themselves after a heartbreaking (and to some controversial) overtime loss to Notre Dame, and entered Autzen Stadium at No. 13 in the nation.
Even so, the experts all seemed to be picking Oregon, and the odds did look to be in the Ducks’ favor. Kelly’s squad had out-dueled the Cardinal in each of the previous two seasons by a combined margin of 44 points. Oregon also boasted one of the top offenses in the country behind dynamic quarterback Marcus Mariota and speedy running back Kenjon Barner.
On top of that, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan was making only his second career start. It didn’t help that the setting was Autzen Stadium, one of the most hostile environments in the country, against a quick and athletic Oregon defense.
Despite these issues, the Cardinal presented some intriguing matchups. Their impenetrable run defense (ranked first in the nation at the time, allowing only 55 yards per game) was heading up against Oregon’s potent hurry-up rushing attack. The Ducks’ fast defensive ends and aggressive pass-rushing linebackers had also not faced an offensive line or ground attack quite as strong as that of Stanford.
Plus, although it was only Hogan’s second career start, his first start had come in the form of a 27-23 victory over No. 15 Oregon State a week earlier where he threw three touchdown passes.
The stage was set for a big game. Two top teams with opposing styles of play clashing to dictate the layout of the Pac-12: If Oregon won, they would clinch the North division and play UCLA for the conference championship. If Stanford won, they would control their own destiny and have to beat UCLA the next week to clinch the division.
The stakes were high and the nation was ready for a great game. These two teams did not disappoint.
It appeared as though Oregon would strike first, as Mariota turned a first down scramble into a 77-yard gain. He would have turned it into a touchdown if not for a missed block by De’Anthony Thomas and an excellent hustle play by safety Devon Carrington to make the tackle.
The Cardinal defense held strong and eventually stopped the Ducks on fourth and one from Stanford’s seven-yard line when Shayne Skov made an excellent tackle on Mariota to give the ball back his team.
Hogan made the most of his opportunity, leading his squad down the field on an excellent drive that culminated in his own one-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
Oregon managed to tie the game up with three minutes remaining in the first half when Mariota hit Keanon Lowe on a deep post for a 28-yard touchdown pass. In an uncharacteristically low-scoring half for the Ducks, the teams went into the break tied at seven.
The home crowd in Autzen Stadium remained calm at the half; after all, Oregon was a notorious second half team due in large part to Kelly’s effective half time adjustments. However, the Ducks never pulled away as the Stanford defense remained strong and Hogan kept moving the ball.
Oregon did manage to take a 14-7 lead in the third quarter when De’Anthony Thomas scored on a six-yard touchdown run. However, they failed to extend their lead due to several missed opportunities, including a missed field goal, and a strong Stanford defense.
Stanford’s offense also struggled to score in the second half, missing a field goal of their own. Hogan eventually hit Zach Ertz who came up with a gorgeous catch in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out to tie the game at 14 late in regulation and send the game to overtime.
The Cardinal defense once again came through for their team in overtime, forcing Oregon to kick a field goal. Alejandro Maldonado missed his second field goal of the game and Stanford had their opportunity to win the game.
Disaster almost struck when Kiko Alonso stripped the ball from Hogan on the team’s second overtime play. However, the Cardinal dodged a bullet when the Ducks failed to recover the ball and keep their hopes alive.
Two plays later, Jordan Williamson nailed a 37-yard field goal to give Stanford the 17-14 win and the top spot in the Pac-12 North.
Running back Stepfan Taylor was amazing for the Cardinal all night. He rushed for 161 yards, 79 of which came after contact.
On the other side of the ball, Stanford’s strong run defense held Oregon’s third-ranked rushing offense to only 198 yards, and 77 of those yards came on Mariota’s long scramble in the first quarter alone.
Kevin Hogan for the second week in a row put down a ranked divisional opponent, proving himself to be one of the most valuable players in the Pac-12.
Coming into the season at No. 20, the Cardinal climbed their way up to the top ten after beating USC and Oregon, everyone’s preseason picks to clash for the conference title at the end of the season.
Stanford’s win over Oregon cemented their place at the top of not only the conference standings, but the national standings as well. After beating UCLA in back to back weeks, the Cardinal have won the Pac-12 and will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl on January 1st against Wisconsin, thanks in large part to this win over the Ducks.
Stay tuned as we continue our countdown on December 21 with No. 6 on our Top 10 Bay Area Sports Stories of 2012. |
•‘God asked me to do it’
There was confusion on Sunday at Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) on Unity Street in Abule-Egba, Lagos, when a prophet set a member ablaze during service.
The victim, simply identified as Madam Bosede, is lying critically ill in hospital.
It was gathered that the prophet in his sermon claimed he got a revelation that there was God in their midst, adding that if the woman was set ablaze she would not suffer burns.
Madam Bosede, who joined the church a month ago told The Nation yesterday: “Our prophet said the spirit of God whispered to him that I would not burn if he sets me on fire. When I came out, they poured kerosene on my body and set me ablaze. But, unfortunately, I was burnt beyond recognition and before the other church members could get water, the deed had already been done.”
The cleric told The Nation that he clearly heard a voice instructing him to set a member on fire to prove and confirm that God was in their midst.
“I heard the voice clearly, but I don’t know what happened after we set fire on her. God has been speaking to me since and it has been working, so I wonder why now,” he said.
Some members, however, left the church, doubting their prophet’s credibility, adding: “We cannot worship here again, who knows who the spirit will ask him to burn next.”
A resident, Irene Ohekina said: “I don’t pity her; she was the one who allowed herself to be deceived by the prophet. Why did the prophet not try the fire on himself or any of his family member?”
Another resident, Nkechi said for the prophet to have given such instruction, it must have come from God, adding “I believe it’s the sins of the victim that made her burn, the prophet of God could not have lied.”
Daniel Ayodele, who also witnessed the incident said: “This whole thing is funny, when the pastor said the woman should be set on fire, why did she not refuse or was she scared to disobey the prophet. Now, she is writhing in pains on the hospital bed and I am sure the prophet is elsewhere enjoying himself.” |
Anyone who has ever been scuba diving in a bull kelp forest will tell you - the stuff does not stand still. The marine aquatic plant consists of a long skinny-but-tough stem (or stipe) that is anchored to the sea floor and topped with a hollow float, from which a number of "leaves" (or blades) extend to the surface. The result is a seaweed that extends vertically up through the water column, continuously swaying back and forth with the surging waves. The researchers at Australia's BioPower Systems evidently looked at that kelp, and thought, "what if we could use that swaying action to generate power?" The result was their envisioned bioWAVE system, which could soon become a reality, thanks to a just-announced AUD$5 million (US$5.1 million) grant from the Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources. |
Was Jesus Two Separate People?
The Heresy of Nestorianism
By: Rev. Joe Kramer
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form
-Colossians 2:9 (NIV)
This heresy was propagated by a man named Nestorius who lived in the late fourth century (exact date is debated and not really known) to 451AD. He was born in modern day Turkey and became a monk and preacher. We don’t know much more about his early years. Whatever else we know about him is in 428AD. In this year he was brought in as the bishop of Constantinople because of a nasty feud amongst the local candidates.
His theological Heresy was an attempt to show that Christ was also a man. The reason he wanted to do this was in response to scholars of his day who placed far too much emphasis on the Deity of Chris; so much so that they were starting to teach that Christ couldn’t have come from Mary because God could not come from a mortal woman. He was trying to bring a balance, but his understanding of the nature of Jesus (Hypostatic Union) was off and heretical.
The Nestorians believed that Jesus was a combination of two separate persons, the man and God. I was thinking of this subject and it is kind of like saying Jesus had Multiple Personality Disorder (now known as Identity Dissociative Disorder). For those of you out there who know more about Psychology than I do, I know this should be applied here but I was trying to bring a little levity to this topic. Anyway, why would I say that? A person with MPD has two separate personalities in one body. This is how the Nestorians viewed Christ, two separate and distinct beings.
Most Trinitarian theologians will tell you that the incarnation is a union of two natures into one personality, God the Son. Nestorians literally taught that there were two separate personalities. One being a man named Jesus and the other being God (hence the MPD joke). They see the man (one individual personality) indwelt by Jesus.
________
Sources Consulted
Shedd, W. G. T. (2003). Dogmatic theology (A. W. Gomes, Ed.) (3rd ed.) (958). Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub.
Schaff, P., & Schaff, D. S. (1910). History of the Christian church. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.
Douglas, J. (1992). Nestorius. In J. Douglas & P. W. Comfort (Eds.), Who’s Who in Christian history (J. Douglas & P. W. Comfort, Ed.) (502–503). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
Advertisements |
Listen Feed Genre Listeners Player Selection Links Status Toronto Transit Enforcement Unit Public Safety
2 Windows Media Player Real Player iTunes Winamp HTML5 Web Player Flash Web Player Java Web Player Static URL ($$) Online
Feed Notes
Toronto Transit Enforcement Units
Primary and Secondary Channels (F1 412.0375, F3 412.1125)
Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is a publicly owned/operated transit organization of the City of Toronto just like other organizations apart of the City of Toronto such as Toronto Police Service.
In regards to the specific channels, Channel 1 (Channel 3 Secondary) is used by Transit Officials to handle day-to-day operations such as any major disruption to services including those of security incident related matters. TTC Transit Enforcement Unit (Previously TTC Special Constable Services) do operate on these channels.
Ch3 is used as a spill over channel. |
It is rare for me to contemplate new gadgetry without a pang of regret for the early passing of Douglas Adams. I miss him both as friend and technology guru. For years, we played with digital toys together, swapping software and finding new ways to make our systems crash. Back in the 80s, we had acoustic coupler modems, capable of what we thought was a dazzling half-duplex 1,200 bps. In those pre-internet days (or, more accurately, pre-ISP days), we communicated with each other's Macs via these modems: plugging telephone receivers into the rubber-grommeted holes of the coupler, we spoke into the Mac's inbuilt microphone and waited for it to emerge from the other end as (broadly) intelligible speech. It took us a week to fine-tune the system, but in the end we could hold a conversation. We triumphantly told Douglas's wife, Jane, who asked why we didn't get rid of the computers, the acoustic couplers, the miles of wiring and the discs. "It's called a telephone conversation," she said. Doh.
Douglas never lived to see his beloved Apple rise from near-collapse in the 90s to today's position. He died a few months before the arrival of the first generation of iPods; I missed his response to them dreadfully, as I have every new arrival in the digital sphere since. Some Christians have What Would Jesus Do? as a motto; I have What Would Douglas Think?
I'm looking now at the SanDisk Sansa e2x0 (x=memory option, from 2Gb to 8Gb), a new media player from the flash data card people. Playing with it over the week, my mind has been turning on one of Douglas's theories. When asked if everyone should become "computer literate", he harked back to a 30s Boy's Wonder Book Of Science in which one article extolled the virtues of the new generation of brushed DC motors and how they were going to revolutionise the world. There were diagrams of a "house of the future", a huge electric motor in the attic with a series of belts driving everything from the washing machine to the rotisserie. The piece concluded that, as a result, everyone would be very handy with DC motors - "electric motor literate". What its authors failed to predict was that such motors would indeed revolutionise the home, but instead of one big master, there'd be dozens of small motors, invisible to the user. They are still with us, in our washing machines, computers, cars - even in the first six generations of iPod. We don't have to be motor literate, however - they are just there.
Douglas argued the same with computer literacy. We used to believe that homes would have one great computer controlling music, lights and heating. In fact, we have them in our tumble-driers and thermostats, cars and coffee machines. But we don't have to be computer literate any more than we need to know how a car engine works. All we have to learn is how to negotiate the traffic.
The Sansa is good, but it is hard to get excited about an audio video player, even a cheap one with such a good battery life (its most impressive feature). Most of us have them built into our phones, and we'll soon have them in our cameras, fridges and cars. It will be interesting to see how Apple copes with the diminishing excitement of new iPods. Meanwhile the SanDisk is fine. Small, good value, better sound reproduction than an iPod - ideal for DRM free music. But surely it won't be long before MP3 players go the way of the electronic calculator: from eye-popping novelty to consumer essential to gift from the estate agent to dusty, solar-powered in a drawer.
Being flash memory, of course, the Sansa doesn't have an electric motor. Shame: Douglas and I would have enjoyed taking it apart and proving our electric motor illiteracy.
Acronyms of the week
BPS Bits per second. In 1985, 1,200 bps was fast; your internet connection is millions of times faster.
ISP Internet service provider. In the 80s, only academe and the military provided internet service. The arrival of the first commercial ISPs ushered in the internet age.
DRM Digital rights management. System that 'locks' music or video bought on the internet so it can be played only by the authorised buyer.
· stephenfry.com/blog |
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a myth for a long time, but there are some extraordinary developments that make AI a reality. AI can be the perfect answer to this era's biggest issue “Cyber Security”. AI researchers believe that it’s only the matter of time before a security firm decides to utilize AI to tackle cyber security attacks and defense. Market analyst's believes whoever was the first to utilize AI will become the market leader.
There is no second thought towards the fact that, growth in cyber threats has shown how the industry is failing to come up with a solution to eliminate these threats. The emergence of new malwares and ransomwares has pushed organizations to spend heavily on their cyber security infrastructures.
Researchers defined that there are two ways how AI can change the cyber security landscape worldwide. The first one is AI can solve every modern cyber threat every organization is facing
How can AI solve organizations cyber security issues?
Organizations are victimized by these modern day threats because of the lack of cyber security knowledge among their employees and hierarchy. In every organization there are a limited number of people who have the knowledge of modern cyber threats. Lack of knowledge played a big part in growth of cyber threats.
All an attacker needs is one mistake from an organization’s employees; to gain unauthorized access to the network. This will lead towards the possible breach of confidential information like clients and employee data. AI will eliminate these issues once its takes place as a cyber security sentinel in organizations.
AI will eliminate the need of Security Professionals
One negative aspect of AI – It can replace the cyber security professionals in organizations. Even through security professionals are always learning through courses, books etc., but all that knowledge is constantly distorted by human limitations like memory, emotions, age, fatigue and many more.
Even with all their knowledge Security professionals sometimes fail to prevent attackers – because there are infinite numbers of attackers out there who are always trying to target your organization. As a human it isn’t possible to always prevent those modern attacks.
How AI can answer all those security threats
Once the era of AI starts every bit of knowledge we collected in our history; AI can utilize it more effectively than we ever will. This means there will not be any mistakes an attacker can take advantage, and AI will operate 24/7 to address all emerging threats. AI can utilize every bit of information provided to it, unlike the human brain.
AI technology have its disadvantages
But there are always negative aspects of any technology revolution in history. AI will also face same case, but threat actors will also have the resources and access to artificial intelligence. And if you thought cyber security solutions utilizing AI are a threat to your position as the cyber security expert of your company, think again.
Imagine every conceivable bit of code ever used or usable in a cyber attack. Now imagine a single entity, capable of combining it and correlating it into attacks more complex than everything ever created by humans - cyber-attacks created by artificial intelligence to destroy any conventional cyber defense measure known to world so far. |
Grave discovered 10 miles from where trainee teachers were last seen in Guerrero state following arrest of four people
Mexican authorities searching for 43 missing college students have found human remains in an area of southern Guerrero state and were being tested to see whether they belong to the young men last seen in police custody a month ago, a government official has said.
Authorities made the discovery following information from four people arrested early on Monday, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The remains were found in Cocula, a town about 10 miles (16km) from where the students were last seen.
Mexico’s attorney general, Jesús Murillo Karam, confirmed the four arrests in a press conference but did not mention more remains or mass graves. He said some of those arrested could be members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel responsible for the disappearance of the students after an attack by local police. Two of the detainees said they received a large group of people around 26 September, the date the students went missing, Murillo Karam said.
Investigators were trying to confirm the statements of those arrested. Mexico now has a total of 56 people in custody in the case.
The students, from a rural teaching college, disappeared after a confrontation with police in Iguala – a city about 80 miles (130km) south-west of Mexico City. Officials said the attack was ordered by Jose Luis Abarca – the mayor of Iguala – who is being sought, along with his wife and the city’s police chief.
Murrillo Karam has said the local officers took the students to a police station and then to Cocula. At some point, they were loaded on to a dumper truck and taken, apparently still alive, to an area on the outskirts of Iguala, he said.
Mexican authorities have mounted searches for the students, spurred by increasingly violent demonstrations that included the burning of Iguala’s city hall by protesters last week. Before Monday’s discovery, investigators had found 11 clandestine graves containing 38 sets of human remains in the hills surrounding Iguala. Initial DNA testing determined the bodies were not those of the missing students. Officials are waiting for results of further tests.
The crime has shaken the country and drawn international criticism and protests about the involvement of officials and police. Last week, Guerrero’s governor, Ángel Aguirre, stepped down amid heavy criticism of the state’s handling of the case and its political support of Abarca.
Rogelio Ortega Martínez, a sociologist and former university administrator, was named interim governor on Sunday.
The 59-year-old previously was secretary general of Guerrero’s state public university. Martínez is a former social activist and the son of a rural schoolteacher. He has close ties to the state’s ruling Democratic Revolution party. |
By Rona Moon
Just like in many Western countries right now, in Japan ’tis the season to be spooky. Halls in Tokyo are decked with orange; cute pumpkins, witches and ghosts wink from shop windows; and you might even find a special seasonal pastry in your local bakery or supermarket.
Now firmly established in the annual Japanese calendar, not so long ago hardly anyone even knew that such a thing as Halloween existed. How could this day, which has become more like a month-long festival in Japan, go from zero to hero so quickly? What brought this on, and why is it so big in Japan? Japan’s Madame Riri looks at four different reasons.
1. Theme parks introduce “Happy Halloween”
Up until about the year 2000, Halloween was something people would only hear of by learning English or watching TV programs from other countries. But when Tokyo Disneyland got in on the act (let’s face it – there’s money to be had from a simple spooky makeover), people began to sit up and take notice. On Oct 31, 1997, visitors to Disneyland wore costumes to be part of “Disney Happy Halloween”. Then in 2000, 400 visitors and Disney characters in costume held a ”Happy Halloween Twilight Parade” in the park.
Already enamored of Disneyland, the people of Japan were enchanted by this new idea of Halloween. The event was a hit in 1997, and the scale of the party increased along with public awareness, until Halloween became established as an annual autumn event. Currently the lavish celebration kicks off sometime in early September.
Universal Studios Japan opened its doors in 2001, and got in on the act from 2002 with “Hollywood Halloween”. The two major theme parks of Japan gradually brought Halloween more and more into the public consciousness.
2. Cosplay culture
A big part of Halloween’s popularity could be attributed to “fancy dress”. I mean, how many other events do you get to dress up for? And dress up to look hot. Reindeer sweater or jingle bell earrings? Not so sexy. Vampire or werewolf? Reowww!
Plus, Japan is the homeland of cosplay, where many love to transform themselves into their favourite anime or video game characters. Japanese fashion also tends to be less conservative. Walk down Takeshita street in Harajuku anytime, and you’ll spot out-there outfits. Even before Halloween landed in Japan, the Takenoko-zoku were dancing it up on the street in attention-grabbing wear, and the yankii were bleaching and teasing up a storm to create their distinctive punk looks.
With such a distinguished history of fancy dress, the quick adoption of Halloween costume parties isn’t too much of a surprise. If only Easter or Thanksgiving had such great costumes, they might also be as well known by now.
3. Children learning English
Some people in Japan probably first heard of the foreign concept of decorating pumpkins when they were children during their English classes. But when they came home, primed to attack pumpkins with carving knives, their families would have been confused, not having heard of any such event.
Time has flown by since then. The world is growing increasingly global, and Japan places a high importance on English language proficiency. In 2011, English became a compulsory subject for Year 5 and 6 primary school students. In addition, major companies such as Uniqlo and Rakuten have lately adopted English as their official language for all operations. The movement to proactively learn English gained momentum.
In this climate, children’s English education came to the fore. The number of parents taking their children to English conversation lessons soared, and as the kids picked up more English conversation, the idea of Halloween spread. For young learners, it’s not just about memorizing lists of verbs—the majority of schools aim to make learning fun by incorporating elements of foreign culture. So don’t be too surprised if you hear a knock on the door of your manshon (high-end apartment) and a high-pitched chorus of “Trick or treat!”
4. Japanese national character
Halloween in Japan is a little different to the Halloween of other countries. Halloween was originally a celebration of the autumn harvest and a ritual to appease spirits of the dead–the Japanese equivalent would be the Bon Festival. But not many Japanese people know that Halloween was said to be the day on which the spirits of the dead visit their family homes. To be honest, I didn’t really know that myself, and I’m not planning on leaving food out for them, except candy. Sorry, ancestors.
Basically, Japanese Halloween is a fun celebration, purely for amusement value and without cultural subtext. It’s highly commercialized, just as Christmas is.
Japan has a tendency to adopt festivities from other cultures, like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and even Beaujolais Nouveau, which may be related to the insatiable passion Japanese consumers have for new and interesting seasonal flavors — just look at all the different varieties of KitKat!
Accustomed to honoring the four seasons, most businesses use seasonal celebrations as part of their marketing strategy. Events which may have begun as a commercial exercise may take on a wider social meaning (like Valentine’s Day). The popularity of Halloween in recent years may be directly tied to this consumer affection for seasonal celebrations.
Either way, I can’t resist a pumpkin choux creme. Hello, Halloween!
Source: Madame Riri
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Celebrate Halloween, Japan-style with jack-o’-lantern sushi -- A concise guide to Halloween attractions in Japan -- Special Halloween treats from familiar companies in Japan
© RocketNews24 |
Ever wonder what’s on the mind of today’s most notable people? Well, don’t miss our unbelievable roundup of the best and most talked about quotes of the day:
"You don’t see tap dancing in the movies anymore, and it’s because the young people won’t put in the time to make the shoes slap down real hard just right."
Advertisement
—Jennifer Grey
On choreography
Advertisement
"It is said that carrier pigeons had the softest feathers of all birds, but maybe that was their gift to us. Maybe the ground they’re all buried in is a little softer because of their sacrifice, and if so, then it was all worth it."
—Krysten Ritter
On beauty in tragedy
Advertisement
"I was never baptized. Yes, a priest poured some water over my head once, but that was for something completely different."
—Angela Bassett
On baptism |
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has become the latest to present a proposal for ETF Bitcoin to the SEC. NYSE plans to launch funds to track Bitcoin futures. The ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF will be the two exchange-traded funds that would allow traders to capitalize on the performance of volatile cryptocurrency futures.
These funds would closely follow the movements of the current currency. futures markets operating from CME and CBOE. From there, the funds would invest their assets in futures contracts with the option of investing in contracts outside of the benchmark. NYSE quickly pointed out that the funds would not actually hold Bitcoins, stopping at a step from a true Bitcoin ETF:
"By Being Futures Contracts on Bitcoin in the long term, the Fund seeks to increase the price of Bitcoin futures.The Sub-Fund will not be compared to the current price of Bitcoin and will not invest directly in Bitcoin.When the price of Bitcoin futures held by Bitcoin the Fund will diminish, the Fund will lose value. "
Addition of Additional Legitimacy
ETFs have been filed several times before. However, a lot has happened since these failures, and the fact that futures have been launched, and that the popular digital currency has reached a new level of acceptance, means that time could have come for the Bitcoin ETFs. If the NYSE successfully launches its futures ETFs, greater legitimacy would add to the unregulated and highly volatile assets, which could also lead to a further rise in the currency, as was the case before the launch. Win Thin, Global Head of Emerging Markets Strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, the custodian of the proposed ETFs said:
"It's very hard for us, as a company". exchange analysts, to follow this.This represents greater integration.Hope that what will come out of it: greater regulatory control.Beyond that, we have no call on where it will go from there. here. "
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, said:
" I think this will finally allow the approval of ETFs Bitcoin, and other digital currency ETFs, which changes the game ",
No objection?
Although the twins Winklevoss and In the past, everything is different: with the successful launch of Bitcoin futures on the CME and CBOE stock exchanges, the SEC can no longer complain of the lack of A regulated mechanism for prices. This was their main objection when they rejected the ETF's earlier proposals. A Bitcoin ETF is considered huge for the currency because it would open up Bitcoin to traditional investors. |
I can remember the first time I wrote code in an editor with syntax highlighting. It seemed to make the code so much more readable. Instead of looking at a wall of black and white text, I was getting visual cues about what was going on. The thing that I love about the Viasfora extension for Visual Studio is that it takes this concept to the next level.
Viasfora simply adds color to source files to give you more clues about what is happening. The color is subtle. It doesn’t make you code look like a Jackson Pollock painting. It simply gives you more glanceable information about the structure of the code.
Here is a comparison of what a chunk of C# code looks like with Viasfora (on the left) and without it.
The first thing you notice is that the access modifier is gray. So in this case, “public” is not the same blue as the rest of the keywords.
Secondly, flow-control keywords are displayed in red-orange, making them stand out. In this case, “foreach” gets your attention right away.
Thirdly, all of the braces and brackets are colorized so that matching pairs also match in color. This is featured is called ‘Rainbow braces’. In this example, the purple braces match each other. The orange parentheses match the orange parentheses and the red parentheses match each other. In my mind, this is the killer feature of Viasfora. It makes it much easier to quickly see where the block begins and ends. This is especially when you have multiple closing parentheses in a row. It is quickly obvious where parentheses are missing as well.
Viasfora also does a good job of being configurable, all of the features I mentioned can be turned on and off. Each of the colors can be configured. It also supports a range of different languages, including JavaScript and F#.
There are other features that I haven’t mention that you can read about on Visfora.com. You can get it on their page in the Visual Studio Gallery or through the Extensions and Updates menu inside Visual Studio.
I highly recommend this extension, it gives you additional functionality without ever getting in your way or slowing you down. |
Last week, Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune Editor-in-Chief Fred Rinne had a chance to sit down with legendary coach and TV personality Don Cherry and get his thoughts on some hot topics in the world of hockey.
On Daniel Alfredsson going to Detroit:
Don: “Someone asked me about that. I think Ottawa has as much of a chance to win the Stanley Cup as Detroit. Is there no loyalty?”
On Leafs getting David Clarkson and re-signing Tyler Bozak:
Don: “(Seven years) for Clarkson, I knew about that (Thursday). I gave my word, so I have to sit there listen to these guys talking about where guys are gonna go…I mean… I knew (Nathan) Horton was going to Columbus. (Bozak) I can’t believe they re-signed him for that, I mean, there’s a classic case of overpaying a guy. Ridiculous. He’s a plugger, he’s playing with (Phil) Kessel and he can’t get 20 goals. You could get 20 goals playing with Kessel (laugh).” (Editor’s Note: No I couldn’t.)
On Oilers getting D man Brad Ference and Bruins trading away Tyler Seguin:
Don: “Ference is a good guy, good player, good solid defenceman, he’s going out there where he come from and the whole deal. But the Bruins, I can’t believe they gave up on Seguin, but there was bad feelings in Boston there I think. Something happened. He (Peter Chiarelli GM) inferred that he was not a good kid off the ice. I don’t care if he’s Jekyll and Hyde you don’t say that. Everybody starts asking what did the kid do, what has he done? He’s a good kid really. He’s a young single kid what do you think he’s gonna be a monk?”
On Roberto Luongo staying in Vancouver, Cherry being one of few predicting it could happen:
Don: “I guess I did. Halfway through the season when Schneider was red hot he won 10 in a row and I went on Coach’s Corner and said this is the time to trade him. You’ll either get a first rounder and two good players or two picks and a player because I said you’re not getting rid of Luongo (pronounced by Grapes predictably and consistently LuLongo) It’s not the player, it’s his contract. So get rid of Schneider now and get tops. It would take some guts to do it, but it needed to be done. You know what his record was in the last game he played? Thirteen shots, five goals. If they had listened to me and traded him at Christmas they would have got a small fortune for him. Bottom line is they have Luongo now, he’ll be alright. He’s a good goalie, he took them to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup. If I was Luongo, I’d be (miffed). (The ownership and management team had to fly to Florida and have a chat with him to reinforce him.) “No (kidding).”
On the new junior rule disallowing European goaltenders:
Don: “Three out of the four goaltenders in the Memorial Cup were Europeans. Let me explain what happens because I owned a junior club (Missisauga Ice Dogs). They don’t bring over young European goaltenders to train them. They bring older ones over. So our kids don’t have a chance. Our younger kids are backups. And when that older goaltender from Europe gets too old, they just go an get another older goalie, and we don’t have a chance. I don’t believe that they should be over here. It’s a Canadian hockey league for Canadian players, that’s what it is for, in fact they had a little motto “For Canadians to Learn Hockey” but they took that out. I believe the Canadian Hockey League is for Canadians…and you have to have Americans , I mean they have Canadians over there (American franchises). To tell you the truth I’ll let you in on a little secret…most of them (teams) don’t want them (Europeans) over here, but they are caught in a situation they can’t get out of. Canadians should always be first.”
On taking the Junior A route to the NHL:
Don: “Sure, I know lots…like Spencer Abbott for The Marlies, he played for the Streetsville Derbies (OHA) and then went down and played for the Black Bears (University of Maine) and got drafted by the Leafs. There’s lots of them. When they play Junior A hockey they want to protect that for those who want to go to college (Major Junior players have to red shirt one year if they go to college in the NCAA), plus they want the education as a backup there’s nothing wrong with that.”
On where the line is between undue pressure to succeed and necessary family support:
Don: “I think if you get any inking at all that the kid doesn’t want to play you got to get him outta there. If he’s not totally, totally dedicated….if he doesn’t eat, drink, sleep (hockey), if he starts thinking about girls …no seriously… I’m not kidding. Forget it. They (scouts) just mark down “more interested in something else,” and I’ve talked to more fathers that said ‘my son was the best player in minor midget and he just give it up. I said I know why, he got interested in girls. Bingo! I’m kinda kidding but you get the message…if the kid isn’t totally committed and dedicated he should get out.”
On how much longer he wants to tour, talk hockey and do Coach’s Corner:
Don: “Oh, I’m having fun at it. And when it stops being fun…. this is my one and only banquet this summer by the way. I haven’t even been to my cottage yet if you can believe it. But I promised my wife at the end of the playoffs I would do one banquet (and) this is it.” |
This marks the third year my annual monster draft preview has been hosted here at The Hockey Writers (THW). This year also features integral contributions from Brian Huddle, Jeff Blay and Patrick Kearns.
Update: THW 2011 NHL Draft Final Rankings – Top 210 (released June 14, 2011)
For prior year’s detailed draft previews:
Consider this your live “home page” for information for the 2011 entry draft. Bookmark and check back often as it will be constantly updated. The 2011 NHL Entry Draft takes place on June 24-25th in St. Paul, Minnesota. Once again, you have to simply love the dates – the 24th and 25th representing hockey’s version of Christmas!
***
Notes Up Front:
My draft rankings are based on my opinion of the BPA (Best Player Available). This is not an attempt at predicting who I think will be drafted at a certain position. I will be posting a 2 (possibly 3) round mock draft in the near future.
Check back to this article often. A series of prospect profiles, The Next Ones, will be released regularly, leading up to the June 24 th and 25 th NHL entry draft.
and 25 NHL entry draft. The rankings will be updated below simultaneously as the prospect profiles are released, with links to the respective profile. .
I am not a big fan of drafting a goalie in the first round unless the talent and potential are simply undeniable. In 2008, for instance, given the astronomical odds of actually being a NHL GM, I would have considered selecting Jacob Markstrom and Chet Pitkard in the first round. In 2009, I would not have selected a netminder at all in the first round. In 2010, Jack Campbell is one of those rare exceptions worthy of a 1 st round pick. Stay tuned to see what we think of this year goaltending crop.
round pick. Stay tuned to see what we think of this year goaltending crop. “One-Timer ” heading is meant to be a quick and concise synopsis of each prospect.
” heading is meant to be a quick and concise synopsis of each prospect. * Scout’s Honor highlights what the hockey scouting world (and occasionally coaches) have to say about the prospect.
highlights what the hockey scouting world (and occasionally coaches) have to say about the prospect. “NHL Player Comparisons” are simply to give the reader a feel for the player’s style and ultimately likely equal the player’s ceiling potential being reached. It is often an exercise in futility, but does offer up some value. If I add the suffix “-lite” or “Jr.” after a NHL player comparison, it simply refers to the fact the prospect likely has no chance to reach that high a potential, but rather resembles or plays a style reminiscent of the respective NHLer.
are simply to give the reader a feel for the player’s style and ultimately likely equal the player’s ceiling potential being reached. It is often an exercise in futility, but does offer up some value. If I add the suffix “-lite” or “Jr.” after a NHL player comparison, it simply refers to the fact the prospect likely has no chance to reach that high a potential, but rather resembles or plays a style reminiscent of the respective NHLer. “Scouting Combine Performance”: included where available to give the reader some insight on the prospects fitness levels. This is definitely not a sole basis for drafting a prospect, but might be a deciding factor when considering too closely rated players. It is also a good resource when a prospect is coming back from an injury as guidance to what his health level is.
included where available to give the reader some insight on the prospects fitness levels. This is definitely not a sole basis for drafting a prospect, but might be a deciding factor when considering too closely rated players. It is also a good resource when a prospect is coming back from an injury as guidance to what his health level is. “Risk/Reward Analysis”: Both “Risk” and “Reward” rated out of “5”. For the risk rating, the higher the rating out of five, the higher the risk of the prospect not turning out as projected. For the reward rating, also out of five, the higher the rating, the higher the potential the prospect has. For the latter, of course, the prospect has to still reach that potential.
Both “Risk” and “Reward” rated out of “5”. For the risk rating, the higher the rating out of five, the higher the risk of the prospect not turning out as projected. For the reward rating, also out of five, the higher the rating, the higher the potential the prospect has. For the latter, of course, the prospect has to still reach that potential. “Fantasy Hockey Potential”: Offensive and defensive ratings out of 10 are given for forwards and defenseman based on perceived potential in each area. Offensive potential is obviously the key factor in most fantasy hockey leagues, but defensive potential should prove useful for those armchair hockey simulator GMs.
Offensive and defensive ratings out of 10 are given for forwards and defenseman based on perceived potential in each area. Offensive potential is obviously the key factor in most fantasy hockey leagues, but defensive potential should prove useful for those armchair hockey simulator GMs. Legend: ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival to NHL
***
Rankings:
THW 2011 NHL Draft Final Rankings – Top 210 (released June 14, 2011)
2011 NHL Draft – Top 100 – March Madness Edition
The Next Ones website: E-Mac’s NHL 2011 Draft Top 120 (clever and unique spin on prospect analysis)
2011 NHL Entry Draft Fantasy-Based Top 100 Rankings (June 20/11)
The Top 10 (as of June, 2011):
[table id=46 /]
***
Mock Drafts:
***
Prospect Profiles: (click on name/link for detailed prospect profiles)
The Next Ones series by Chris Ralph, Brian Huddle, Patrick Kearns and Brendan Ross.
(*THW Ranking in brackets – from final rankings)
(1) The Next Ones – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: RNH NHL Destined
(2) The Next Ones – Jonathan Huberdeau – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Q Does it Again
(3) The Next Ones- Adam Larsson – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile – From Larsson to Lidstrom
(4) The Next Ones – Sean Couturier – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile – Ten Tool Prospect
(5) The Next Ones – Ryan Strome – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Strome Wasn’t Built in a Day
(6) The Next Ones – Ryan Murphy – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Murphy’s Law on the Blueline
(7) The Next Ones – Gabriel Landeskog – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The New Mike Richards?
(8) The Next Ones – Dougie Hamilton – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Next Big Blueliner
(9) The Next Ones – Mark McNeill – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Forward You Can Count On
(10) The Next Ones – Boone Jenner – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Jenner-ating Old Time Hockey Flashbacks
(11) The Next Ones – Mika Zibanajed – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Next Great Swede?
(12) The Next Ones – Nathan Beaulieu – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: From Saint John to Minnesota
(13) The Next Ones – Mark Scheifele – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Schiefele the ‘Safe’ Pick*
(14) The Next Ones – Joel Armia – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Seven Nation Armia
(15) The Next Ones – Sven Bartschi – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Swiss Rising
(16) The Next Ones – Matt Puempel – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: 2011′s Pure Goal Scorer
(17) The Next Ones – Rocco Grimaldi – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Most Skilled Draft Eligible Player
(18) The Next Ones – Duncan Siemens – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: When a Kid Likes Scott Stevens…
(19) The Next Ones – Jonas Brodin – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Zen Master Cometh to the NHL
(20) The Next Ones – Joe Morrow – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Joe No Longer A Best Kept Secret
(21)The Next Ones – Zack Phillips – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Lucky Number Seven
(22) The Next Ones – Jamie Oleksiak – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Big Man on Campus
(23) The Next Ones – Tomas Jurco – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Human Highlight Reel
(24) The Next Ones – Oscar Klefbom – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Other Swedish Defenseman
(25)The Next Ones – Daniel Catenacci – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Flash
(26) The Next Ones – JT Miller – 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The American Project Pick
(27) The Next Ones – Ty Rattie – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: ‘Rattie’ to Go
(28) The Next Ones – Ryan Sproul – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Rising Fast
(29) The Next Ones – Scott Mayfield – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Ready to Take That Next Step
(30) The Next Ones – Brett Ritchie – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Power Forward looking to Sting
(31) The Next Ones – Nicklas Jensen – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Great Dane
(32) The Next Ones – Vladislav Namestnikov – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: A ‘Name’-stnikov to Remember
(33) The Next Ones – Connor Murphy – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Other Puck Moving Murphy
(34) The Next Ones – Alexander Khokhlachev – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Skilled Russian
(37) The Next Ones – Reid Boucher – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Reid Knows Scoring
(38) The Next Ones – Brandon Saad – NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Leaving the Saad Season Behind
(40)The Next Ones – Rickard Rakell – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: Swedes Swedes Swedes
(43) The Next Ones – Victor Rask – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Head Case
(47) The Next Ones – John Gibson – NHL 2011 Draft Prospect Profile: The Strongest in a Weak Class
(51) The Next Ones – Stuart Percy – 2011 NHL Draft Prospect Profile: The Hearty ‘Stu’
***
THW Prospect Features:
(featuring articles from THW prospect writers Cam Charron, Shawn Reznik, Jeff Blay and Patrick Kearns):
***
Interviews: from The Next Ones’ Shawn Reznik
Prospect Profile: Sahir Gill – Don’t Wake A Sleeping Terrier
Prospect Pursuit – Max Friberg – How Swede It Is
***
Team Specific Prospect Articles:
Boston Bruins:
Bruins’ GM Peter Chiarelli’s Draft History: An Analysis
Bruins Top-Five 2011 Draft Options
Buffalo Sabres:
The Sabres Have Options on Draft Day by Brandon Schlager
Calgary Flames:
Calgary Flames 2011 NHL Entry Draft Primer
Calgary Flames top prospects, spring edition by Ryan Pike
Colorado Avalanche:
Who The Avs Should Draft
Edmonton Oilers:
Oilers Friday Draft: Preview
NHL Entry Draft 2011: Assessing the Edmonton Oilers Biggest Needs in Minnesota by Salim Valji
NHL Entry Draft 2011: Players the Edmonton Oilers Should Consider with Los Angeles’s First Round Pick by Salim Valji
Edmonton Oilers: the Case for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Part 1
New Jersey Devils:
Deviling the Details: Parise, the Draft, and Minor Moves
New York Rangers:
New York Rangers Draft Preview
San Jose Sharks:
San Jose Sharks’ Left and Right Wing Leanings in the 2011 Draft
San Jose Sharks: Prospects Report by Jeff Blay
Toronto Maple Leafs:
What Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Do With Their First Round Draft Picks? (June 21st)
THW’s Lukas Hardonk talking Leafs prospects: 1-on-1 With Kelly Friesen of Yahoo! Sports
Draft Schmaft: The Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Entry Draft First Round (I) by Mark Ascione
Draft Schmaft – The Maple Leafs First Round Draft 1968-70: Part II Selwood and Sittler
What Should Toronto do with Their First Round Picks?
***
The Next, Next Ones – Beyond the 2011 Draft:
Tie Domi’s Son Max Turning Heads In Future Watch by Jeff Blay
***
Extra Reading:
***
Resource(s):
The Next Ones website is your online hockey prospect eNewspaper featuring the greatest prospect resources on the web. If there’s a website covering hockey prospects, it’s linked on The Next Ones (TN1).
***
*THW’s The Next Ones prospect profile template design architect: Chris Ralph |
After deciding to quit her job, Esme Kettle started teaching every lesson like it was her last. She describes how it breathed new life into her work
I discovered recently that deciding to leave the profession, is one of the best things you can do improve your teaching. Now, while I love a good paradox, you shouldn't read on if you expect me to dissect the irony of this discovery in any huge detail. I've always known that ignoring the pressures that come with the job will in turn improve enjoyment of/performance in said job. Particularly when performance is managed by observations and the like.
So, instead of taking you on the journey of my discovery, I'd like to try to make the case for joining me. I'd, ideally, like to convince you all to decide to leave.
You don't have to look far to discover that we're not a happy lot at the moment and between the proposed changes to the national curriculum and the day-to-day emphasis on performance, it's easy to see why. The fact remains teaching isn't as fun as it used to be for some of us and it's about time we did something about it.
For me, it was the simple act of deciding to leave. Once I realised that the emails, the expectations and the disappointments were soon to be something that my future self could look back on, I stopped worrying about them. I just let them go.
It wasn't immediate. The relief was, but it alone didn't immediately create the fix that led to me imploring anyone who would listen to do the same. No, the change took time and, to be honest, I'm still in the middle of making sense of it but if there is one thing I am absolutely sure of it is this; planning as though these were my last lessons with each class gave me a new lease of creativity that I hadn't felt since I was a trainee.
And that was how I decided to stay.
You see, deciding that I didn't care about emails I shouldn't get, expectations I couldn't meet and disappointments I couldn't manage didn't change me as a person but it did change how I felt about my job. I walked into my first lesson after deciding to leave and really enjoyed the time spent with the class. I had planned it as though I wouldn't get to see them again. I just picked one thing I really wanted them to learn. It was amazing, so I tried it again. I planned every lesson as though it was the last.
That was a term ago and I'm still doing it. Once a week I plan a lesson as though it will be my last, every day I take some time to talk to a student as though I won't see them again. Remind them what they are good at and why they are special, encourage them to try new things and tell them to take care and be safe when they leave. Every day I try to make life a little easier for a colleague who might well decide that this is their last term.
When you decide to leave, it changes everything. If you make the right choices once you decide, it can help you discover why you decided to 'do something different' in the first place.
Have I convinced you?
In the interest of preserving the profession for future generations, I have put together this short guide to deciding to leave.
• Make a pros and cons list. If the cons outweigh the pros by more than 2:1 you must decide to leave.
• Consider your next career. Education doesn't just happen in schools.
• Take tours of schools that are offering posts. Do this once a term. You'd be surprised how just going somewhere else for a day can help you decide to stay or leave.
• Write your letter of resignation.
• Plan a lesson as though it will be the last. Do this for a week.
• Do your pros and cons list again. If the pros now outweigh the cons, stay.
If the cons feature anything about management, pressure, exams and tracking, consider teaching as though they don't exist and stay. You won't get promoted but both you and your students will be happier for it.
You'd be surprised how just going somewhere else for a day can help you decide to stay or leave.
Whatever you decide to do, do something. Nothing will change unless you do.
Esme Kettle teaches humanities in a secondary school in London. She blogs at Those That Can and writes under a pseudonym.
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Looking for your next role? Take a look at Guardian jobs for schools for thousands of the latest teaching, leadership and support jobs. |
JUNEAU -- The state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit could nearly eliminate the Alaska State Troopers' highway patrol unit, with the administration of Gov. Bill Walker proposing to lower spending $3 million by transferring most of the highway troopers to different jobs.
The Department of Public Safety budget, if approved by legislators, would move 16 of the 18 troopers in the highway patrol bureau to vacant general patrol jobs in Anchorage, Wasilla, Fairbanks and Soldotna.
"General patrol, those guys are drowning. They're behind the power curve," Gary Folger, the state's public safety commissioner, said in a committee hearing last week. "So when we take these specialized troopers and put them back in patrol, that is a lifeline."
The department's proposal would leave two highway patrol troopers based in Girdwood, with the transferred troopers doing some of the same work in their new positions. But Folger acknowledged that the change would "come at a cost."
Legislators at last week's hearing -- held by a House subcommittee on public safety -- asked Folger several questions about the proposal but didn't raise any objections. In an interview Monday, one of the members, Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, said he didn't expect the transfers to draw much notice.
"It's a title change," he said, referring to the troopers' new roles. Johnson added: "If next year we start getting blood on the highways, we may have to go back."
The troopers' highway patrol unit was created in its current form around 2009, according its Anchorage-based supervisor, Capt. Randy Hahn.
He said in a phone interview that the bureau originally evolved from a pair of teams that enforced drunken-driving laws in Fairbanks and Palmer. It was entirely funded by the federal government at first, though now the state has to pay about half its cost.
Asked why the public safety department had chosen to cut the highway patrol bureau rather than other areas of its budget, Hahn responded that "the focus of the agency has to be on delivery of those core services that we're responsible for."
General patrol troopers, he added, respond to many calls that involve "life safety issues -- things that if we don't do, somebody's going to get hurt."
"When you're tasked with coming up with things that you think that you can make work, that allow you to continue to function, but focus the resources where they're most needed -- that's where these decisions come from," he said.
The highway patrol troopers' responsibilities include traffic enforcement, highway safety education, and investigating crashes that cause injuries or deaths.
Hahn said the unit is "mobile" and covers "virtually every part of the road system." Its troopers can cover events like the state fair in Palmer, the Mount Marathon race in Seward, a bluegrass festival outside Fairbanks and even some of the peak fishing periods on the Kenai River.
Hahn said the department can't draw an "absolute correlation" between the highway patrol bureau's work and a downward trend in Alaska's number of fatal crashes over the last few years -- with the 51 deaths in 2013 the lowest annual total since at least 1994.
"But we can certainly attribute some of Bureau of Highway Patrol's activities towards assisting in that overall reduction effort," he said.
Jake Metcalfe, executive director of the Public Safety Employees Association, the union that represents the highway patrol troopers, said his group is opposed to the change -- though he said it was also happy to see that the troopers' positions were not being cut entirely.
Metcalfe said the transfers would be "spreading out" the public safety department's ability to apply the highway patrol troopers' specialized training to investigations of crashes.
Folger, the department's commissioner, maintained in last week's hearing that "that skill doesn't go away when you go back to patrol."
"They will still be called upon to do this," Folger said. |
AURORA — When three male juveniles allegedly tried to rob a group of people moving into an Aurora condominium complex at gunpoint late Friday, one of the movers opened fire, hitting all three, Aurora police said.
One of the juveniles died after being taken to a local hospital, and one was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The third later went to Aurora South seeking treatment for a shoulder wound and is now in custody on unrelated charges, according to Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz.
Detectives interviewed the three men — a man who was moving into his new condominium and two of his friends who were helping him, Metz said.
No names of anyone involved in the case have been released, and police are asking for help in identifying the deceased and seriously injured males.
District Attorney George Brauchler said two of his prosecutors responded to the shooting scene.
Police are still investigating the veracity of the story they were told by the three men who claimed to be moving boxes into the condominium.
“This is still very preliminary,” Brauchler said.
What still must be determined is whether this situation was truly an instance of self-defense or whether the juveniles were victims.
Metz said the three men were moving boxes into a three-story condominium building at 431 S. Kalispell Way at 11 p.m. when they allegedly were accosted by the three juveniles.
One of the juveniles allegedly threatened the movers with a gun.
As two of the men began to pull their money out, a third pulled out a handgun and fired the weapon, striking all three of the juveniles with bullets.
Among the issues police and prosecutors are looking at is who can legally carry the weapons, the prosecutor said.
“If you are placed in danger of serious bodily injury or death, you have the right to defend yourself,” Brauchler said.
Jack Golstone, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, said he was “shocked” and called the incident “very concerning.”
“This is a really nice neighborhood,” he said. “This is a major situation, but in spite of this stuff, we’re here to stay.”
The investigation is continuing, and no names will be released until more information becomes available.
A resident of the condominium complex asked Metz whether residents of the building should be concerned about other people possibly linked to the crime returning to the building.
Metz said everyone who was involved in the case is accounted for, he said.
The three movers were questioned and later released without charges.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, denverpost.com/coldcases or twitter.com/kirkmitchell |
Julianna Reed became the first partner selected on The Profit spin-off The Partner on Tuesday, but she wasn’t the only person from the show hired by Marcus Lemonis.
I learned that yesterday when I interviewed Marcus about the series. He was as candid and straightforward as always, including about the show’s successes and its problems.
For example, The Partner didn’t do well in the ratings, falling throughout the season, with a finale watched by only 294,000 people—several hundred thousand viewers fewer per episode than The Profit’s last season. “Ratings were not consistent with The Profit. I don’t care,” Marcus told me. “I never went to CNBC for ratings.”
He said that if Juli and his other hire work out well, and this process proves succesful, “then I absolutely am going to do it again and I don’t care if anybody watches.”
That other hire was not Peilin, but Chuck Brewer, the restaurant owner eliminated in the second episode. “I ended up hiring him about a month ago,” Marcus said, adding that Chuck is receiving a salary but “has to earn equity over time.”
At the end of the finale, Marcus said he wished he could hire both of the two finalists, but he ended up only choosing Juli. I asked if hiring one person was necessary to have a satisfying conclusion to the series, or something the network wanted.
“I don’t really care about the show. What I care about is it’s a $500,000 contract over three years” and equity, which affects the businesses Juli will be working with, he said. “It was just simple math for me.”
The final decision was easy, Marcus told me. “Juli has been working with me for four moths now” and “was the best choice by a long shot. Was Peilin qualified? You bet. She just didn’t understand the human connection enough.”
The Partner’s candidates
Though Marcus Lemonis is happy with the outcome of The Partner, he admits that his decision-making along the way wasn’t perfect.
“Did I make a mistake? I don’t know anybody who hasn’t made a hiring mistake,” he said. But crucially, “I don’t think that any of those mistakes would have changed the outcome.”
Specifically, Marcus said, “Erin stayed longer than he should have, because he showed really good signs of grit,” though “then he would fall of the wagon,” leading Marcus to ask, “is the pressure of television and the competition messing with his head?”
Marcus said clearly: “He should have gone home first.”
Again, though, that didn’t change the outcome. In fact, Marcus told me that he was leaning toward Juli and Peilin: “I felt middway through that Juli and Peilin were going to lead.” Buffie, he said, “deserved a chance to prove herself” in part because of all the research she’d done on businesses.
During the season, viewers were vocal about the candidates’ performance. “I think people wanted me to be harder” on the candidates, Marcus said, but “I’m not the way in real life; I don’t operate that way.”
The same is true of the way he let people go, which happened at informal moments throughout the process.
“I was criticized heavily—it wasn’t great television because there was no manufactured drama. My firings were not firings; I’m not Donald Trump. The way I let people go, with grace and dignity—why would I have to be an asshole to somebody? You suck; go home.”
The job search was really primary: Marcus said that whether or not the network was fond of his process didn’t matter: “don’t like it, do like it, I really am hiring this person.”
Were The Partner candidates qualified?
Machete Productions, which produces both The Partner and The Profit, “brought me 150 people in six different batches,” Marcus said. As is typical for reality TV casting, that started with applications sent to the show, and included Skype interviews—but also a look at their backgrounds. “In this particular case their professional experience and their educational experience was relevant,” Marcus said.
“I picked people who I thought I could work with,” he told me. “Were there people who were better TV? Yes. So much of it is about chemistry.”
As he said so many times on The Partner, “I feel like I can teach people” about the basics of the job, but “I can’t teach people about how to interact with other people” or how to “work work work.”
He’s aware of the criticism—such as my own, which we discussed—that the candidates did not seem qualified. “To who? Who don’t they seem qualified to?” he asked. Even though it may have affected viewers’ perceptions, Marcus added, “I was very adamant about not exaggerating people’s flaws or overselling their strengths.”
The show itself included several moments when a candidate’s apparent flaws were described as strengths. For example, in the finale, when Juli broke down while discussing financials, Marcus says to the camera, “That’s a good example of a leader acknowledging what he or she is good at, and what they’re not. … You can’t teach people humility and their ability to recognize what they need to work on.”
The Partner was filmed over three weeks, a “very intense” process in which “they did not get a lot of rest because I don’t get a lot of rest,” Marcus said. He recognizes that the stress of the process and production may have affected the candidates.
But, Marcus told me yesterday, “What I really got offended by was people were so nasty: Oh, these people suck; these people are stupid. Come on.”
And he never was pressured to hire any of the candidates. “If I didn’t want to hire them, I would have had no problem telling the network,” he said.
Talking about the challenge that the final two candidates were given—essentially doing what Marcus does on The Profit, and evaluating a business for a potential investment—Marcus told me, “If I were to throw you or anyone else who watched the show, and you have to do what I do, I think a lot of people would have sucked.”
(By the way, he told me that “neither of those deals were done, because the valuations were ridiculous.”)
Those final tests required the candidates to take over and Marcus to hang back, and Marcus said that he, too, like the candidates, was imperfect: “I sucked at it because I had opinions.” |
Talk Business & Politics has learned that former President Bill Clinton will return to his birthplace of Hope, Arkansas for a political rally this Saturday, Oct. 18.
Clinton will lead a Fourth District rally at the Hope Train Depot. Guests include high-profile Democratic candidates Sen. Mark Pryor, gubernatorial nominee Mike Ross, and Congressional candidate James Lee Witt.
Other guests likely to attend are Clinton’s former White House chief of staff and Hope native Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty and Bob Nash, Clinton’s former director of Presidential personnel.
The event will be at the historic Hope Train Depot. Gates for the public will open at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The last time Clinton attended a political event in Hope was in 1999, nearly 15 years ago when he was President.
Clinton famously delivered the line in his 1992 nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, “I still believe in a place called Hope.”
Clinton’s visit to Arkansas will be his second high-profile event in state in the last two weeks. Last week, he attended rallies on college campuses in Central, Northeast, and Northwest Arkansas.
UPDATE: Additional stops are planned for Hot Springs, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Forrest City.
Here is a rundown of the events and agenda:
Friday October 17th, 5:30 p.m.
Hot Springs Farmers Market – Hot Springs
121 Orange Street
Saturday October 18th, 10:00 a.m.
Hope Train Depot – Hope
100 E. Division Street
Saturday October 18th, Noon
Main Street (Argenta) – North Little Rock
314 Main Street
Saturday October 18th, 2 p.m.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff – Pine Bluff
1200 University Drive
Saturday October 18th, 5:30 p.m.
Forrest City High School, Gymnasium – Forrest City
467 Victoria Street, Forrest City
Comments
comments |
One of the new features in Entity Framework Core 2 is the ability to automatically convert interpolated strings into parameterized SQL. Though designed to avoid problems with poorly written SQL, it is feared that it may actually lead to more SQL injection attacks.
Here is an example of string interpolation working correctly:
var city = "Redmond"; context.Customers.FromSql($"SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = {city}"); SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = @p0
And here is a slightly modified version that doesn’t work:
var city = "Redmond"; var sql = $"SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = {city}"; context.Customers.FromSql(sql); SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE City = Redmond
The simple act of storing an expression in a local variable completely changes the behavior of the code.
To understand why this happens you need to know what $" actually does in C#. At first glance it looks like it is just converting the interpolated string into a normal String.Format call. But there is a little more to it.
The natural type of an $" expression is actually a subclass of FormattableString. This object contains the format string expression and all of values needed to populate it. When you pass this object to EF Core’s FromSql(FormattableString) method, it performs the necessary substitutions so that you get a parameterized SQL expression.
The problem is that the compiler doesn’t like working with FormattableString. Unless you directly assign it to a variable or parameter of that type, an $" expression will be immediately converted to a string. Normally this is a benign change, as you are going to want it in String format eventually.
Unfortunately, in the case of EF Core, you lose all of the interesting information that allows Entity Framework to parameterize your SQL. And with no compiler warnings or other hints that something went wrong, this kind of bug can easily creep into an application as developers attempt to “clean up” the code.
To see more examples of how mistakes in using string interpolation in EF Core can lead to SQL injections attacks, download Nick Craver’s EFCoreInjectionSample from GitHub or watch his presentation on ASP.NET monsters titled SQL Injection attacks in Entity Framework Core 2.0. |
By Megan Maxwell, Curator, Starr Family Home State Historic Site
Frank and Clara Starr raised six girls in Maplecroft. It’s no wonder, then, that the Starr Family Home State Historic Site has a large collection of hand-made doll clothing. Most of it is in a Victorian style dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, depicting the distinctive Victorian puffy-sleeved shirts and skirts gathered at the waist. Many pieces of the collection were made with fabrics matching objects in the museum’s historic clothing collection. It seems the Starr women did what most sewers did—they kept scraps for other uses.
While most of the doll clothing was made of functional cotton, some small pieces were fashioned from silk and wool scraps, probably from the scraps of the adult Starr women’s gowns. Black silk scraps used to make a lace trimmed bonnet appear to have originated from their Grandmother Clapp’s black formal silk gown. Additionally, the doll clothing collection contains a fine selection of hats and bonnets along with other accessories.
Most of the doll clothing appears to have been created by Clara Starr, as several of the miniature undergarments are clearly labeled with her initials, “CS.” Other pieces in the collection indicate her daughters were learning to sew. The uneven, messy stitching of these experimental pieces may have been some of the girls’ first attempts at sewing.
It isn’t hard to match some of the doll clothes to the adult clothing in the museum’s collection, but a mystery remains. The collection contains many pieces of doll clothing and accessories, including six Victorian-era dolls. Oddly, all six dolls are too big for the clothing. It looks like there is more research to be done!
Starr Family Home State Historic Site is located in Marshall on the corner of Travis and S. Grove streets, in the Texas Forest Trail Region. |
After the Top 100 prospect lists came out this offseason, I had a thought. The World Series-winning Red Sox had landed a good number of players on those lists, and the success of 2013 combined with the promise of the future seemed like perfection: This might just be the best time ever to be a Red Sox fan.
They scored a lot of runs, won a lot of games, had great players like Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz, and, of course, enjoyed post-season success. The farm system was bursting with young talent. But were they really the best the Red Sox organization had offered their fans in 100-plus years of organizational history? I decided to do some math and find out.
As it turns out, according to my calculations, 2013 was not the best time to be a Red Sox fan. In fact, 2013 is in a three-way tie for the seventh-best season to be a Red Sox fan. Thanks a lot, math.
I decided to try to calculate the best time to be a fan of all 30 major league baseball teams. But before I reveal the results, let's back up a little. So much goes into what we enjoy about baseball and our teams, and I'd like to acknowledge that discovering, cataloguing and assigning a properly weighted system of points to all that we find vital about our favorite pro teams is, because of the subjectivity involved, essentially impossible. I tried anyway.
The idea was to come up with a list of all the things that make being a fan of a team fun and enjoyable on a day-to-day basis, as well as memorable and historically relevant. Of course fans like winning (much more than, for example, losing). They like great players, and they like amazing individual performances. They like being the very best, and the promise of greatness, which can be almost as great as greatness itself.
With all that in mind, I assigned points in seven different categories:
1. The World Series
Winning a World Series is the most valuable thing a team can do. It's worth 10 points that season, six points the following season and two the season after that because the glow lingers before it fades -- thus the evaporating point system. Getting to the World Series is an accomplishment too, so losing the series is worth four points. It's also worth pointing out that I used the first World Series as a cut-off point, so no teams before 1903 were considered.
2. Making the Playoffs
Making the playoffs in any capacity is worth four points. This biases the system in favor of the present, as more teams make the playoffs now than ever before. However, there are also more teams now, and as you will see, some of the other categories are biased towards older teams. I felt it evened out in the end.
3. Winning More Games Than You Lose
Teams that finished above .500 received four points, because, of course, it's more enjoyable to follow a team that wins more than it loses. Teams that won 100 games or more were awarded four additional points because it's more fun to watch a team that win lots more than it loses.
4. Winning a Major Award
A team that fields an MVP, Cy Young, or Rookie of the Year winner gets two points. This biases the system in favor of teams that played after the awards were available. The Rookie of the Year award didn't come into being until 1947, while the first Cy Young wasn't awarded until 1956, and for its first 11 seasons there was only one Cy Young winner, as opposed to one given out by each league. The MVP goes back to 1911.
Related Articles The Best Lineups In Baseball A new season brings new lineups, and new arguments about who is best at what. Do Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo… More»
Grizzled Veterans It's incredibly hard for a player to make it to the major leagues, and very few play into their late 30s, let… More»
Positive Thinking To call Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. an optimist would be an understatement. After a rough 2013, "maybe… More»
The Truth Hurts At various times throughout his career, Carl Pavano was the butt of jokes in the locker room and the media for how… More»
5. Hall of Famers
Having a Hall of Famer on the roster is worth two points. This biases the system towards older teams -- there are not any Hall of Famers playing right now, simply because they haven't been elected yet. Also, more Hall of Famers were elected from the first thirty years of the 1900s than any other time, because the Veterans Committee thought it would be fun to enshrine all their drinking buddies. Briefly I considered not counting those selected by the Veterans Committee, but lest this reach a level of complexity that causes my eyeballs to bleed, I decided a Hall of Famer is a Hall of Famer. The one exception: I awarded no points for Hall of Fame managers.
6. A Highly Rated Minor League System
I gave three points for the best minor league system, two for the second best system and one point each for the third, fourth and fifth best systems. I lumped three, four and five together because there is no real difference from a fan's perspective. I used Baseball America's minor league system rankings, which I could only locate back to 1984, so this is another one that favors more recent teams (also, try as I might, I could not locate BA's rankings from 1990).
7. Scoring Runs and Preventing Runs
Great teams score the most runs and allow the fewest, so I awarded four points each to the team that scored the most runs and the team that allowed the fewest runs (in all of baseball, not by league).
A few other notes before we get to the rankings:
I thought about trying to penalize teams that played in the segregated era, since that was obviously not the best time to be a fan of Major League Baseball for a large swatch of the country. But it's simply too big and serious an issue to be dealt with by a points system. Still, it's certainly something to acknowledge and keep in mind.
I ignored the 1994 season when the World Series was cancelled, as that was just a rotten time to be a fan of any team.
Much as you have likely done your whole life, I ignored the existence of the Federal League in 1914 and 1915.
This is by organization, so the Philadelphia A's are lumped in with the Kansas City A's and the Oakland A's, the Brooklyn Dodgers are combined with the Los Angeles Dodgers and so on.
So what was the best time to be a fan of your favorite team? The alphabetical list below will tell you. Enjoy!
* * *
Arizona Diamondbacks
Year: 2001
Points: 22
The 2001 team of course won the World Series over the Yankees in seven games, when not-quite-MVP Luis Gonzalez looped a single to center off of Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning to score two runs. Beyond that, though, they weren't a particularly amazing team to follow. Although Randy Johnson did win the Cy Young, they were not a truly amazing offensive or defensive team. The score would go up to a more respectable 26 if you awarded Hall of Fame plaques to Johnson (he'll get one) and Curt Schilling (he might get one).
Atlanta/Milwaukee/Boston Braves
Year: 1957
Points: 32
The '57 Milwaukee Braves were stacked. They led the league in runs scored, which shouldn't be a surprise considering the lineup featured Eddie Mathews and MVP Hank Aaron, who hit a combined 76 home runs. Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn was the ace of the staff, though oddly it was Lew Burdette who started three World Series games against the Yankees and won all three, beating Whitey Ford, Don Larsen and Bobby Shantz.
Since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966, the system says the best time to be a Braves fan was 1995. That team won the World Series, Greg Maddux grabbed his fourth Cy Young award and the Braves basically gave up no runs at all that entire season.
Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns
Year: 1970
Points: 34
The Browns became the Orioles in 1954, and though I included the organization's entire history in the system, I needn't have done so -- the organization's 50 years in St. Louis produced exactly one playoff appearance. The Orioles have fielded some great teams, but it should come as no surprise that the 1970 team was the best to follow. Besides winning the World Series (after losing it the previous season), the team fielded three Hall of Famers (the Robinsons, Brooks and Frank, and Jim Palmer) and the league MVP, Boog Powell, while allowing the fewest runs in baseball. The system puts the '71 team in second place, two points behind the '70 team, so if you were an Orioles fan during that two-year stretch, consider yourself the luckiest O's fan ever.
Boog Powell slides into second base against the Oakland Athletics in 1970 at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. (Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox
Year: 1912
Points: 32
It's appropriate to point out here that the system just doesn't recognize some key things. For example, no points are awarded for winning a World Series after an eight-decade drought -- so while '04 finished with a respectable 22 points, it is still 10 points behind 1912. In fact, 1915, 1916 and 2007 all finished with higher scores.
While 2004 will always be special, being a fan of the 1912 team was pretty great. That Red Sox team featured two future Hall of Famers in Harry Hooper and MVP Tris Speaker, who had a slash line of .383/.464/.567 (188 OPS+) and a then-impressive 10 homers. There was no Cy Young award yet, but if there had been, it is conceivable Boston's Smoky Joe Wood and his 1.91 ERA (179 ERA+) in 344 innings would have won it. The team scored the second most runs in baseball and allowed the fewest on their way to a 105-47 record, which took the American League by 14 games. Then they went on to beat a 103-48 Giants team in the World Series. That's a type of domination no Red Sox team has matched before or since.
Certainly any Red Sox fan currently alive and past adolescence would pick 2004 as the best season ever to be a Red Sox fan, and maybe it was. Maybe you give a 20 point bonus for winning after 86 years and another 10 point bonus for coming back to beat the arch-nemesis Yankees after being down three games to none in the ALCS. But as it stands here, there was no better time to be a Red Sox fan than 1912.
It's hard to imagine a better year for Sox fans than 2004, but Smoky Joe Wood must have been fun in 1912. (Getty Images)
Chicago Cubs
Year: 1907
Points: 34
If you were a Cubs fan in 1907, you were in the midst of a three-year period of domination that no other Cubs fan in any other stretch of time could compete with. The 1907 team won the World Series after winning 107 regular season games with just 45 losses, a .704 winning percentage. (The 1906 Cubs were an even more dominant regular-season team with 116 wins, but they lost the World Series to the White Sox.) The '07 team featured four Hall of Famers, with Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown on the mound and the famous double play combination of Tinkers-to-Evers-to-Chance in the infield. They led baseball in pitching and defense, allowing a league-low 390 runs. There were no awards given out that season, nor were there any minor league system ratings to fatten their score. The Cubs were just good, very good in 1907. And in the decades since, well, not as much.
Chicago White Sox
Year: 1917
Points: 32
In 113 years, the Chicago White Sox have made the playoffs nine times, winning the World Series three times. So what makes 1917 better than 1906's 22 points or 2005's 20 points? Chicago won 100 games in 1917, the only time in their history they've done so, and the system gives points for that. They led baseball in runs scored and featured three Hall of Famers (Red Faber, Ray Schalk and Eddie Collins), something that neither other World Series winning White Sox teams can boast.
As with the Red Sox, maybe there should be a bonus awarded to 2005 for being the year that the White Sox won the series after 88 years, but there isn't in the current system. The 1917 team featured better players, and was more dominant, but there is an argument that 2005 was a more joyful for White Sox fans.
Cleveland Indians
Year: 1948
Points: 36
Sometimes these are going to be eye-opening, like the 1912 Red Sox beating out the historic '04 team, but other times the answer will be obvious. The Indians have two World Series wins in their history, 1920 and 1948, so when figuring the best time to be an Indians fan, we're really picking between those two seasons. The system gives 1920 24 points, a full 12 points behind 1948, and the difference between the two is most stark when it comes to Hall of Famers. The 1920 Indians featured one, all-time great Tris Speaker, while the '48 Indians had six with Satchel Paige, Larry Doby, Joe Gordon, Bob Lemon, Lou Boudreau and "Bullet" Bob Feller. Sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one.
Satchel Paige rests in the Indians bullpen during a 1948 game. (Getty Images)
Cincinnati Reds
Year: 1976
Points: 42
By this system, the 1976 Reds were the second-best team to be a fan of in baseball history. The team won 102 games, outscored the second highest-scoring team in baseball by 87 runs and won the World Series for the second consecutive season. Joe Morgan won the NL MVP, Pat Zachry won Rookie of the Year and the team boasted three Hall of Famers in Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, and that would have been four if not for Pete Rose's indiscretions. There was nothing they were bad at. They were dominating, historic and a joy to root for.
Colorado Rockies
Year: 2007
Points: 14
We move from the system's second highest scoring team to its lowest -- well, okay, tied for the lowest. In their short history, the Rockies haven't had lots of success. To date, nobody with a plaque in Cooperstown has ever put on a Rockies uniform. The franchise has one World Series appearance and was promptly swept. I don't want to make it seem like 2007 was a bad time to be a Rockies fan -- it certainly wasn't. The team made the World Series, which is quite an accomplishment, and had good young talent on the major league roster and the second-highest ranked minor league system. The present was fun and the future was promising.
Detroit Tigers
Year: 1935
Points: 32
The system sees three dominating Tigers teams: 1934, 1935 and 1984. The 1934 team won over 100 games, but lost the World Series to the Cardinals. The '84 team won both 100 games (104, in fact) and the Series, but suffers from a profound lack of Hall of Famers. If you agree that Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell should be Hall of Famers, that would vault '84 over the mid-30s. But if we're revising history, then you'd have to take the 1984 Cy Young and MVP away from Willie Hernandez, possibly among the most undeserving recipients of the awards ever. Then things start getting messy. It's at least arguable, and the system only sees a slight difference between the two.
The case can be made that the '30s teams get the edge when you raise the sample above a single season, as the '84 Tigers, great as they were, were a one-season phenomenon. The '35 Tigers were stacked with Hall of Famers. Mickey Cochrane caught, Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer manned the right side of the infield and Goose Goslin patrolled the outfield. Today we'd call that a strong core. While the '35 Tigers didn't win an extraordinary amount of regular season games compared to some of Detroit's other great teams, the fact that they won in the postseason and were coming off a World Series appearance combined with the Hall of Fame talent they had on hand puts them over the top.
1935 Tigers infielders Charlie Gehringer, Billy Rogell, Hank Greenberg and Marv Owen. (Getty Images)
Houston Astros
Year(s): 2005, 1986, 1981, 1980
Points: 16
Considering there is no World Series win yet in the franchise's history, it's tempting to say the early '80s were the best time to be an Astros fan and leave it at that. Nolan Ryan, Joe Niekro and J.R. Richard were strong calling cards for those early 80s teams and the late-career version of Joe Morgan didn't hurt either. Many might prefer the '86 team that featured a less effective Ryan and no Morgan, but a Cy Young-winning Mike Scott. The Craig Biggio/Jeff Bagwell Astros are represented as well in 2005 and that would be my pick for the best season to be a baseball fan in Houston. That wasn't a truly great team, but it had some success in the playoffs, it had Biggio and Bagwell and it had a starting rotation that was incredible. Between them, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt threw almost 700 innings of mid-2.00 ERA ball.
But almost certainly, the best days of being an Astros fan are still ahead.
Kansas City Royals
Year: 1985
Points: 22
You'll be shocked to learn that the system pegs the sole World Series winning season in Royals history as the best time to be a Royals fan, and I doubt that will meet with much controversy. The '85 Royals were a good-not-great pitching team and a mediocre hitting team (though George Brett had an incredible season) that met with success and, Cardinals fans will tell you, not a little bit of luck in the playoffs. That's not a knock, as this is about fan experience. During and following the '85 playoffs, I doubt the organization's ability to maintain success in the coming seasons or the team's overall historic worth were issues occupying Royals fans' minds. Winning the World Series is never not fun.
Los Angeles/California Angels
Year: 2002
Points: 18
For a World Series winning team, 18 points is low. Part of the reason for that in this case is despite winning 99 games (not 100, so no arbitrary four point bonus), the '02 Angels lacked great players. They won the World Series, led the league in fewest runs allowed and that's it. What's more, there aren't going to be any Hall of Famers here, so you can't even fudge it. The closest the team might get is John Lackey, but even if he continues his post-surgery resurgence his chances are very slim. After 2002, the 1979 team comes close with 16 points, but how could you seriously suggest it was better to win 88 games and lose in the ALCS than win the World Series? 2002 it is.
Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers
Year: 1965, '55, '53 (tie)
Points: 32
Since the system is giving us a three-way tie, here's another way to look at it. Essentially there are two multi-year periods from which to pick. The 1952-56 teams went to four World Series in five seasons and won the organization's first-ever World Series in 1955. That team featured Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and at the tail end, Sandy Koufax. Heck, throw Gil Hodges on there too. That team could hit as well as you'd think based on those names and they could pitch a little too. Anytime a team makes the Series four seasons out of five, that's a great time to be a fan.
The other option came after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, so if that matters to you, well then 1962-1966 was certainly the best time to be an L.A. Dodgers fan. That team went to three World Series in four seasons, winning two of them.
Any year that, like the Dodgers' 1955, features Jackie Robinson stealing home against Yogi Berra in the World Series, is a good one. (Getty Images)
Miami/Florida Marlins
Year: 2003
Points: 20
The Marlins have never finished in first place, but they've made the playoffs twice as a Wild Card and won the World Series both times. For 1997 the system gives the Marlins 19 points, just a point behind the 2003 team. Both teams finished with win totals in the low 90s and neither dominated their league in anything. In fact, Pythagorean record shows both to be high-80s win teams by true talent. Still, they both won the World Series, and likely the 2003 season will edge further ahead down the road, when Miguel Cabrera and Ivan Rodriguez are elected to the Hall of Fame.
Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators
Year: 1924, 1925
Points: 26
The World Series winning Twins teams of 1987 and 1991 were both 22-point teams with Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett. The 1987 squad also featured Bert Blyleven. And the greatest regular season team in Twins history is probably the 1965 team that won 102 games and lost the World Series to a probably inferior Dodgers team. (That's what you get when you go up against Sandy Koufax in Game 7.)
However, the 1924 and '25 seasons let Senators fans watch Hall of Famers Goose Goslin, Sam Rice and most of all, Walter Johnson. Johnson won the MVP that season, and it's a fair guess that had the Cy Young award existed then, he'd have won that too. Twins fans may feel differently, but to me, it's hard to argue against MVP Walter Johnson coming in to pitch the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series and then the subsequent three when the game went to extra innings. Despite having thrown a complete game two days earlier, he remained on the mound until his team finally scored to win the Series in the bottom of the 12th inning. There are no points awarded for theater, but I have a hard time arguing against it.
Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers
Year: 1982
Points: 28
For a fan base that has suffered through so much poor baseball, the 1982 season wasn't bad. I mean, okay, it was bad because the Brewers lost Game Seven of the World Series to the Cardinals, but the ride was a good one. And any team with Paul Molitor and Robin Yount at the top of the order is nothing to sneeze at. Also Cecil Cooper. I love Cecil Cooper, as did Brewers fans that year, as Cooper hit 32 homers -- which was only good for third on the team, as Ben Oglivie hit 34 and Gorman Thomas hit 39. Yount managed only 29 but was MVP anyway, maybe because of his awesome mustache. Speaking of mustaches, on the pitching side Brewers fans were treated to maybe the best the game has ever seen (mustache-wise) in Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Don Sutton.
The next highest scoring Brewers season is a full 10 points behind, so if you want controversy I suggest you look elsewhere. Like maybe …
New York Mets
Year: 1969
Points: 28
People love miracles, so it should come as no surprise that following the Miracle Mets in 1969 was the best time to be a Mets fan. The 1986 team is four points behind, but forget the system for a second: The '69 Mets are one of the all-time great teams.
Here's what the Mets did in the seven seasons before 1969: last place, last place, last place, last place, second to last place, last place, second to last place. Then, in 1969, they won 100 games and crushed an Oriole team that had won 109 games and featured three Hall of Famers at the height of their powers. You can have your Darryl Strawberry and your Ray Knight and whatever. I'll take Ed Kranepool, Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones. Oh, and Tom Seaver. I'll take him too.
New York Yankees
Year: 1939
Points: 52
Going back through the list so far, the 1976 Reds were the only team to break 40 points. The 1939 Yankees broke 50. In fact, eight different Yankee seasons are rated at 40 points or more. As for 30 point seasons, there are like a billion or something. The times when it hasn't been great to be a Yankees fan are fewer than the times when it has been.
According to the system, being a Yankees fan during the 1939 season was the best time to be a fan of any team ever. The Yankees won the World Series for the fourth consecutive time that season. Three of those four teams won 100 games, and the one that didn't (1938) won 99. That 1939 team had six Hall of Famers* with Joe Gordon, Joe DiMaggio, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, Bill Dickey and Lou Gehrig. Gehrig only played in eight games that season, and on July 4 of that season, gave his famous "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech; he would be dead in less than two years. That season the Yankees scored the most runs of any team in baseball and gave up the fewest. DiMaggio won the MVP with 30 homers, six triples and a 1.119 OPS. He was 24 at the time.
*The 1930-33 teams had nine Hall of Famers.
There are other sections of Yankee history that could qualify. For example, from 1947 through 1964 the Yankees failed to make the World Series just three times. They made it the other 15, winning an astounding 10. So that was a pretty OK time, too. Just throw a dart at a calendar, or heck, stand there in your underpants eating a popsicle and looking at the wall. That right there was the best time to be a Yankee fan! For this team, this article asks the wrong question. It should be, when wasn't the best time to be a Yankees fan?
Philadelphia/Kansas City/Oakland A's
Year: 1911
Points: 40
The A's have been a team of extremes. The early 20th century was a great time to be an A's fan. So were the late 1920s and early 30s. So were the early 70s and late 80s. Pretty much every other time has been lousy.
If you're only interested in the franchise since they came to California in 1968, there are two eras for you to choose from. 1972, '73 and '74 were great seasons for A's baseball. Three World Series wins makes for a fun time. Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers headed the three Series winners; for many organizations, that might be the top of the heap. Then the late '80s featured Dennis Eckersley and the Bash Brothers, though depending on your feelings about the S word, that team might be more or less legitimate.
But as good as those times were, none were as good as the 1911 season. That season, the A's scored the most runs of any team in baseball and allowed the fewest. They won 101 games, and did it with four Hall of Famers: Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Eddie Collins and Home Run Baker. Then they won the World Series, just as they had the year before. There were no awards to win or minor league systems to gush over at the time, just the best A's team, but that was probably enough.
Philadelphia Phillies
Year: 1980
Points: 26
From the franchise that brought you pitchers Cy Young Blanton and Lefty Grove Hoerst (and also 10,000 losses) comes two World Series winners in 131 years! So, you know, take your pick. The 1980 team had inner-circle Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton, and unless Chase Utley makes it, the 2008 team will oddly be devoid of Hall of Famers. That's the eight-point difference between the two. On paper, the 2008 team was probably better, though marginally so, but the existence of true greatness tips the scales back to 1980. And if you're one of those people who thinks Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame, he played on the '80 Phillies, so there's two more points there.
The 2008 Phillies were great, but Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt helps give the 1980 team the edge. (Getty Images)
Pittsburgh Pirates
Year: 1909, 1960
Points: 30
The Pirates are like the Phillies: decades upon decades of bad baseball punctuated by seasons of true goodness (often surrounded by a few seasons of decency). Hey, smoke 'em if you got 'em, right? 1960 was a moment of blinding light in midst of four decades of cover-your-eyes darkness. That makes it special, if also slightly sad. The 1909 season was a bit happier for Pittsburgh baseball fans, with the Pirates returning to the World Series for the second time in six seasons that saw them not fall below 87 wins. The star in 1909 was Honus Wagner, though Fred Clarke was no slouch either. The Pirates won 110 games that year, still the most (by seven wins) of any Pirates team in the organization's 131-year history. They also boasted the highest winning percentage in Pirates history. The We Are Family teams of the late 70s were great as well, but not on the same level. It's odd to say, but Pirates fans have been waiting 103 seasons to improve on what fans had back in 1909.
San Diego Padres
Year: 1984
Points: 16
It's not been a great run for the Padres. Their uniforms look pre-dirtied, and the system sees just five seasons of 10 or more points in their past. Imagine what would happen if you didn't count Tony Gwynn! The 1984 Padres wore their ugly brown uniforms and lost the World Series. This was not too different than their 1998 descendants, though the Padres did have the good grace to win a single World Series game in '84. If '84 came after '98, then that would be progress, but since the laws of mathematics prohibit it, never mind.
New York/San Francisco Giants
Year: 1905, '22, '24, '33
Points: 32
Surprisingly the four greatest seasons to be a fan of the Giants all happened in New York and all happened before Willie Mays joined the organization. The Giants lost the World Series in 1924, so we can safely eliminate that season, but after that, the choice becomes an exercise in personal preferences. I'd take the 1905 season, as that team was the best on the field winning 105 games, 12 more than in 1922 and 14 more than 1933. The '05 Giants enjoyed Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity and Roger Bresnahan, while the '22 and '33 teams had four Hall members each. (The 1925 Giants had eight Hall of Famers but failed to make the playoffs.)
If we're only looking at the time the Giants have spent in San Francisco (they moved in 1958), we'd have to go with the 1962 Giants, who won 103 games with Willie McCovey, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal, though they lost the World Series.
St. Louis Cardinals
Year: 1944 (1967, 1931)
Points: 36
Following the Cardinals in 1944 must have been peculiar. One on hand, the Cardinals won 105 games en route to their third consecutive World Series appearance and their second win of the three. On the other, the United States was in the depths of World War II. That meant a number of things such as, you know, the future of the world being at stake, but for baseball it meant a depleted workforce as a number of players were off fighting in Asia and Europe. Was following baseball during World War II fun? Can a time when young men around the globe were being killed on a daily basis really be the best time to follow a baseball team? Maybe so, but it seems dubious, so I'm going to pull rank on the system and give the crown to 1967 and 1931.
The system has both seasons at 34 points, just two points behind 1944 for Cardinals fans, so it's almost a judgment call anyway. The Cardinals won 101 games in 1931, were the best at keeping opponents off the scoreboard and did so with Hall of Famers Burleigh Grimes, Frankie Frisch, Jim Bottomley and Jesse Haines. The 1967 and '68 teams were spectacular as well, with two World Series appearances, a 101-win World Series winner in '67, plus Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Lou Brock and Orlando Cepeda. I'll take the '67 team, but take your pick. You can't go wrong.
Seattle Mariners
Year: 2001
Points: 25
This may be obvious but obvious isn't bad, and in 2001 the Mariners were historically good. That they couldn't get it done in the postseason hurts them, but doesn't diminish their regular season success: 116 wins while leading baseball in runs scored and runs allowed. Seattle fans also had the pleasure of watching the international sensation that was MVP, Rookie of the Year and future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki. If you're not going to win the Series, then this is the next best option.
Tampa Bay Rays
Year: 2008
Points: 17
Seventeen points doesn't look like much, but if you judge the '08 Rays in context, you might come away with a score twice as high. Unfortunately the system doesn't take stadium location, organizational resources or the economy of the metropolitan statistical area into account. Maybe next time. For now, Rays fans will have to be content with the fact that, had they won the Series in '08, they'd have had a pretty great score. Somewhere in an alternate universe, Bizzaro Matt Kory is writing an article that includes a 30-point World Series-winning 2008 Rays team.
But the misses of the past aren't what will define the best Rays team to root for. Instead, it will be the fact that the team came seemingly from nowhere, as the Rays had finished last so often (10 of their 11 seasons) it was almost as if they'd bought matching furniture and drapes and just couldn't bear to give the place up. The 2008 season changed all that for Rays fans, and though that doesn't show up on the scoreboard, that doesn't mean it doesn't count.
Washington Senators/Texas Rangers
Year: 2010
Points: 18
Ron Washington might tell you that 18 points don't mean anything, but then he'd probably also tell you to bunt while ordering dinner at a drive-thru. In a world where winning the World Series is the only acceptable outcome before you can claim success, he'd at least be right about the first part. However, that the Rangers spent their first five decades doing no more than existing needs to enter into this. The 2010 Rangers won 90 games and made the World Series. Josh Hamilton won the MVP. They do not qualify as an all-time great team, but judged against Rangers history, they're the '27 Yankees.
Toronto Blue Jays
Year: 1993
Points: 31
Despite a spotty record, the Blue Jays of the early '90s are one of the excellent teams of modern times (non-Yankees division*). Led by a bunch of great players, including Hall of Famers Roberto Alomar and Paul Molitor (Rickey Henderson also joined the team from Oakland at the trade deadline), the Jays won their second straight World Series on the strength of Joe Carter's three-run ninth-inning home run. If memorability garnered points, the Jays would be even higher.
*Sorry, they are in the Yankees' division. Never mind.
Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals
Year: 1979
Points: 14
It's a shame, because the Expos could've been something. When the 1994 players strike wiped out the rest of the season and the World Series, it wiped out an Expos team that was on a 105-win pace. Excluding that potentially playoff-bound '94 team, 1981 is the only season Montreal tasted the playoffs, and still that doesn't get them to the top of the (admittedly meager) list. The '79 group tops them, three Hall of Famers to two (thanks Tony Perez!), and they beat Houston out for the least runs allowed that season by one run.
As for the Nationals, the 2012 season stands at the pinnacle of recent Washington baseball fan satisfaction, but after winning 98 games, the team lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. It was a letdown powerful enough to run an entire city's new television sets (which everyone had to buy after a chucking heavy objects through their old ones). The Nationals have a brighter future ahead for many reasons, but the most basic is that their organizational past has the brightness of a blindfolded man in a cave. |
Adel will utilize the Ardor Blockchain, the newest technology developed by the Jelurida team, in order to tackle blockchain bloat and utilize the various features that Ardor offers
ADVERTISEMENTS
Share with:
Jelurida, the development company behind the Nxt and Ardor Blockchains, and Adel Ecosystem Ltd., a global self-sustained cryptocurrency community, announce today their intention to cooperate to promote the Ardor platform.
advertisement
Adel will implement Jelurida’s newest Blockchain technology to improve the functionality of its platform, which aims to develop, support and fund innovative start-ups using Blockchain technology. Adel will enable new assets and future tokens on the Ardor platform.
Jelurida is responsible for developing Nxt and Ardor, whose tokens are currently trading for a combined market cap of 200 million dollars. Adel successfully raised over €1m during its month long ICO in May using the Nxt decentralised platform. The combination of integrated features, such as asset creation and decentralized voting available on Ardor, meets the requirements of Adel’s Blockchain incubator.
Adel has chosen to upgrade to the Ardor Blockchain for three key reasons:
Enabling a unique parent chain and child chain architecture for project execution
Adel’s project incubation will take advantage of Ardor’s robust voting system
Ardor’s core-level security protects Adel’s intellectual property
Ardor is a Blockchain-as-a-service platform created by Jelurida that allows organizations to create their own Blockchain, known as a child chain. The child chain is secured by the Ardor parent chain and comes with a wide range of features currently found on Nxt.
The main benefit of the parent/child Blockchain structure is that it addresses Blockchain bloat, which makes digital transactions slow. The parent chain takes care of security, while the child chain handles the operation of the Blockchain.
Scalability is addressed with the innovative feature, which regularly removes transactional data from child chains while still maintaining the same security guarantees. By separating security and functions into the parent/child structure, Ardor provides a more useful and scalable Blockchain model compared to existing single token designs.
“We have been consistently impressed with Jelurida’s decentralized platform and development vision,” said Gabriel Dusil, Co-Founder of Adel, “Ardor’s robust security and comprehensive feature-set align well with our strategy. The Ardor platform provides an ideal environment for the Adel community to democratically vote and fund Blockchain start-ups, that will disrupt traditional industries.” “After BitSwift last month, today we are very excited that Adel decided to join the growing Ardor ecosystem and we are confident that Ardor can provide a solid foundation for Adel’s projects and vision,” added Kristina Kalcheva, Managing Director of Jelurida. “Both Adel and Jelurida share the same goals of disruption and transformation within traditional industries and look forward to supporting each other.” |
A 27-year-old woman from Winnipeg and a 22-year-old woman from Britain were found dead in Cambodia on Monday morning, a statement from Kampot’s immigration department confirms.
The bodies of Abbey Gail Amisola and Natalie Jade Seymour were found at the Monkey Republic Guesthouse in the south-western city of Kampot. The two were pronounced dead after arriving at Kampot Provincial Hospital around 4:30 a.m. local time.
A preliminary investigation reportedly found that the women were taking medication after suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting the day before. On the day of their deaths, a large amount of tablets were recovered from one of the women’s rooms.
That discovery has led investigators to believe the two were both killed by overdose, after receiving inaccurate information about their medication and appropriate doses.
Photos shared by the Kampot immigration department online appear to show the passports and rooms of the deceased in the aftermath.
Photo of Britain’s 22-year-old Natalie Jade Seymour, who was found dead alongside Winnipeg woman Abbey Gail Amisola on November 13, 2017. (Instagram)
Global Affairs has yet to confirm Amisola’s death but say are investigating:
“Global Affairs Canada is aware of media reports indicating that a Canadian citizen has died in Cambodia. Consular officials in Cambodia are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information and stand ready to provide consular assistance. Due to the provisions of the Privacy Act, no further information can be disclosed.”
Kampot’s immigration department says they have contacted the relevant embassies to arrange for deporting the bodies.
Amisola’s father did not wish to comment.
Photo provided by the department of immigration in Kampot, Cambodia of the rooms of a Canadian woman and a British woman found dead on November 13, 2017. (Facebook) |
Google Photos already offers tremendous value thanks to its unlimited backup feature, but it could get even better, at least if you’re a Nexus user.
Right now, Google Photos gives you to backup options. The free one gives you unlimited storage, but limits image size to 16MP. This is called “High quality” mode and it means that if you back up images that are larger than 16MP, they are downsized. Google’s smart algorithms also tweak the image quality to reduce the size of the file. In most cases, the result is a slightly smaller image that’s very close to the original.
The second option is “Original,” and it does what the name says. Your files are backed up without any alteration. But Original isn’t free and unlimited – images you upload in this mode count against your Drive storage quota.
In the future, Nexus users may not have to decide between original quality and unlimited storage. Android Police peered into the innards of the latest Google Photos update and found references to unlimited original size backup.
“Unlimited free storage for original quality photos & videos uploaded from your Nexus device,” says the feature copy. It’s not clear whether this will include only images taken with Nexus devices or images taken with other devices (like a DSLR camera) and copied over to the Nexus as well. Let’s just say that, if it’s the latter, professional photographers will have a strong incentive to buy a Nexus.
For users who rely on their phones for picture taking, the change may not seem that important. The resolution of current Nexus devices is smaller than 16MP anyway. But choosing Original has the benefit of preserving the fine details of the original shot, and some people care about that.
Free full size backup could be a permanent perk of owning a Nexus or just a temporary promo. We’ll find out if and when Google makes it official! |
There’s a simple way to resolve potential conflict between Colorado and the federal government now that voters have approved Amendment 64 — and Congresswoman Diana DeGette has hit upon the answer.
The 1st District Democrat suggests adding a phrase to the section of the federal Controlled Substances Act where it talks about federal pre-emption of state law if there is a conflict. At that point — it’s Section 903, to be precise — DeGette would add language that exempts from the act any state provisions “relating to marijuana.”
The language of her proposed amendment hasn’t been finalized yet, but DeGette — who didn’t actually take a position on Amendment 64 during the campaign — has moved decisively. She has already submitted possible language to legislative drafting and hopes to introduce a bill as soon as next week.
We’re also pleased to see she intends to solicit potential support not only from members of the Colorado delegation but also from the state of Washington’s representatives.
Like Colorado, Washington passed a measure legalizing marijuana possession and use, while also permitting its cultivation and sale. Both states obviously have an interest in seeing voters’ wishes fulfilled without provoking a faceoff with the federal government — a faceoff the states would be fated to lose.
We applaud DeGette’s attempts to head off such a confrontation. Nor is she confining her activity to crafting a bill. She went on the record with us in unmistakable terms urging the Justice Department to “show restraint.”
“I’m really quite concerned what the federal response will be” to Amendment 64, she said.
We’d like to see the rest of Colorado’s major political figures take equally clear stands against pre-emptive intervention by the Justice Department. So far, unfortunately, most seem reluctant to do so.
On Friday, Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about 64. “They emphasized the need for the federal government to articulate what its position will be related to Amendment 64,” according to the governor’s spokesman, while agreeing to “continue talking.”
Also when asked Friday, neither of Colorado’s senators was willing to go to bat aggressively on behalf of voters. If they’re interested in an elegant way out of this tangle, however, we’d urge them to take a look at what DeGette is up to in the House. |
Oregon Bigfoot offers the largest collection of purported Bigfoot or Sasquatch sounds on the internet. Many of these sound recordings had never been available to the public before; they were digitized from our private files and are not available anywhere else. We have digitized these recordings in MP3 format especially for this library, and have cleaned up several of the recordings.
This growl/whistle combination was recorded in the High Sierras in California by Alan Berry, 1978. The complete CD collection of bigfoot sounds recorded in that area is available at Ron Morehead's website: www.BigfootSounds.com or on Amazon.com HERE :
A whooing sound recorded by witness Dave Cleveland on his property after a 1972 sighting in Estacada, OR. This is currently the oldest clip in our library.*
In 1973, there were several sightings in a gravel pit in Puyallup, WA. These purported Sasquatch sounds were recorded by Mr. Marlin Ayers. You can hear birdsong, and a train whistle in the background. Known as the Puyallup Screamer, this creature's vocalizations terrorized the residents of the neighborhood*
Snohomish, WA 1978-79 - These sounds were recorded by L.W. She was our neighbor's friend, and our bigfoot encounters were occurring at about the same time in the state of Washington, 50 miles apart. L.W. sat on her porch nightly with her little dog as these screams came from the gravel pit near her house. She recorded the sounds for a total of 9 months. This particular recording shows the frequency and intensity of the sounds well. It is very similar to the Puyallup screams above, and the Klamath screams below, one of three nearly-identical recordings made in three different places over a 20-year period.*
Another clip from the Snohomish recordings, 1978. This sequence of whistles is the only one of its kind, and demonstrates well why the Wild Woman (Dsonoqua or Tsonokwa) is depicted in Native American art with pursed lips.*
This clip of purported Sasquatch sounds, recorded at night by a researcher in the Klamath area of California in 1993, is eerily similar to the Puyallup and Snohomish screams, although MUCH clearer. It is, to date, the cleanest recording of a purported Sasquatch vocalization. John Freitas of BlueNorth.com researched this event, located the witness and digitized the recording. More information can be found on John's website:
Westmoreland County, PA 1973 - A recording of a bigfoot moaning after being fired upon. For more info on the 1973 Bigfoot/UFO sighting flap, see Stan Gordon's website
*Indicates a bigfoot sound recording ONLY available on OregonBigfoot.com... if you find it somewhere else, it came from here. :)
Additional bigfoot sound files, including never-before published recordings and the complete Snohomish audio files, are available in our Oregonbigfoot.com Media Archives.
If any of these recordings sounds familiar to you, please consider submitting a report of your audio experience. Thanks!
If you have an audio recording of what you think may be a Sasquatch, please submit a report, then feel free to email us the file. We've got over 20 years' of experience identifying wildlife sounds and would be happy to help you identify and/or clean up the recording! |
Mommy and Bull leave the safety of their caves to join Sean Patrick Fannon for a sneak peak at the imminently upcoming Savage Worlds RIFTS setting.
During our interview, Sean answers how he got Kevin Siembieda to let his baby go play with the Savage Worlds kids, how the SW version handles stuff like MEGA DAMAGE, what old favorites from the original Palladium line will make their return, where the timeline will start, why “conversion” is the wrong idea, new artwork, and where to follow the progress.
Sean will be back on future shows GMing the RIFTS actual play we recorded and answering our questions on world building, game design, and his history in gaming.
Also on this episode ….
SavageCast joined Kristian Serrano and Ron Blessing on the Savage Bloggers Network [watch the video] [listen to the podcast]. We talked about how the Rocky Mountain Savages came about and the legacy of old pod casts spawning new pod casts and SW groups and the butterfly effect that brings us a large and growing Savage Community across the country and now the world over.
Chime in: Derek Johnson vs. Kristian Serrano – who has the most velvety Savage Worlds podcasting voice?
Olympus Inc. is crowdfunding NOW on IndieGoGo. Support them and get a really interesting campaign setting.
* Weird War I:
GM Screen Inserts
New Adventure: Raid on Fort Douaumont
Pre-order Bundle at Pinnacle store
Player’s Guide, War Master’s Handbook, on discount at DriveThruRPG, Combat Maps also available
*Melior Via continues to expand their Accursed setting with the last PDF in the World of Morden series, Accursed: Bone and Barrow.
* Codex Infernus: The Savage Guide to Hell from Gun Metal Games Now available on DriveThruRPG $14.99
– New Edges, Arcane Backgrounds, Demonic Races
– Guidelines for creating angelic and hell-forged weapons, blessing items, creating cults, demonic
possession and pacts with the devil, a gazetteer and a history of hell according to various cultures
* Primeval Thule Campaign Setting for Savage Worlds from Sasquatch Game Studio PDF $19.95
Primeval Thule is a sword-and-sorcery campaign setting now redesigned for Savage Worlds in conjunction with Ross Watson and Sean Patrick Fannon of Evil Beagle Games!
* Fuhgeddaboudit! from Just Insert Imagination – Pay What You Want
Fuhgeddaboudit! is a mob and road movie, sandbox adventure for Savage Worlds. It is Las Vegas, 1968 and your group has been ordered to make a troublesome accountant disappear. It’s a pleasant drive out to the desert, what could possibly go wrong?
– Make them an offer they can’t refuse
* New banner on the PEG site. Could this be a clue to something coming up real soon?
* Product links on our website are now affiliate links with DriveThruRPG, so if you want to pick up one of the games we mention or anything else at DriveThruRPG, use our link or click through to the site with the DriveThruRPG banner ad and SavageCast will earn credit with the site at no cost to you. You buy games so we can buy games, then we’ll tell you about those games and the circle continues.
Appearing: Christopher Landauer, Chris Fuchs, Sean Patrick Fannon, Carinn Seabolt, Wendy Reischl
Intro: Derek Johnson
Music: Mike Willard
Editing: Chris Sniezak |
New details are emerging on who Christopher Cornell is.
[How could this happen here? Local terror expert says ISIS and al-Qaida are "masterful" at appealing to young people]
In August, a confidential FBI source began to contact Cornell who responded via instant message that he had been contact with individuals overseas, but he did not believe that he would receive authorization to conduct a terrorist attack in the United States.
Cornell told the informant that they should go on with the attack.
"I believe that we should just wage jihad under our own orders and plan an attack," Cornell said to the informant.
Cornell met with the FBI informant Oct. 17 and 18 and again Nov. 10 and 11. Federal authorities say he discussed they would build, plant and detonate pipe bombs at the U.S Capitol. Then, Cornell and the informant would shoot and kill employees inside.
Cornell showed the informant on his computer that he researched how to construct pipe bombs and the cost of the guns they would buy for the attack.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Cornell bought firearms and 600 rounds of ammunition at Point Blank Range and Gun shop on Harrison Avenue in Colerain Township Wednesday.
He walked out of the store and was tackled by an FBI joint terrorism task force in the store parking lot. Federal authorities seized the weapons and ammunition and placed the 2012 Oak Hills High School graduate under arrest.
Cornell publicly displayed anti-American sentiments in 2013 at a 9/11 memorial dedication, according to Green Township Police Chief Bart West.
The crowd blocked Cornell from sight as he held a sign reading "9/11 was an inside job." Chief Bart says officials only asked Cornell his name without further questioning, but that officers identified him from previous encounters. |
Haba Snow Mountain (哈巴雪山) is the massif that forms Tiger Leaping Gorge's (虎跳峡) northwestern wall. It is on the flank of this mountain that thousands of tourists a year walk through the gorge on the high path from Qiaotou (桥头) to Walnut Grove.
From the path the upper reaches of Haba are obscured and it is not until trekkers leave the gorge for Zhongdian (中甸) that the vertiginous final slopes of Haba's east face are visible.
As one travels out of the gorge toward Haba village (哈巴村), the mountain's broad ridge comes into view. Thick forest covers the lower slopes before giving way to grey granite slabs, glaciers and finally the summit, 5396 meters above sea level.
This is the route by which the mountain was first summitted in 1995 and is a straightforward hike with no technical climbing involved. We took walking sticks, cold weather clothing and crampons for the glacier.
GoKunming planned a five day trip to summit Haba, which included round-trip travel to the mountain from Kunming. Weather reports forecasted strong gales the day we planned to hike and our itinerary left us little room for adjustment if things did not go smoothly.
We took the overnight train from Kunming to Lijiang and went straight to the bus station. The morning bus from Lijiang to Zhongdian was booked up, so instead we boarded the one to Baisha. This change of plans took us ten kilometers north of Lijiang and afforded us the opportunity to hike to the 4200 meter south summit of Yulong Snow Mountain.
Eight blister-filled hours later we wearily caught a bus from the trailhead back to Baisha. It was a perfect acclimatization hike before our ascent attempt on Haba three days later.
We returned to Lijiang and boarded the bus to Haba village. The ride takes passengers through Tiger Leaping Gorge via its main road. Tourists must pay the 50 yaun entry fee even when passing through by bus.
When we arrived outside the Snow Mountain guesthouse at 2:30pm the next day, we were told there was no way we were going up the mountain that afternoon. Not only would the trek take seven hours and leave us hiking in the dark, but there were also no guides around to show us the way.
The route from the village to base camp gains 1500 meters of elevation and follows a network of trails through forest, snow and rocks. In bad conditions it could be very difficult to follow. To make things easier, we employed a guide who charged 150 yuan a day.
The hike from guesthouse to base camp took only four hours, and we almost forgot the next day's forecasted gales.
The guide and his dog left us to make their way back to the village, leaving us alone on the mountain. Four derelict stone buildings, one without a roof, comprised the unkempt base camp. The area was littered with garbage and the buildings were falling into disrepair. We set up camp outside and then wandered around the area, enjoying the views and solitude.
Later, we sat down to brew some tea and relax in the afternoon sun, feeling optimistic about our chances the following day. Just three days earlier we had arrived at the top of the south summit of Yulong Snow Mountain, tired and hypoxic despite carrying only light day packs.
We had just covered the same elevation gain with our guide, this time carrying much heavier gear. The acclimatization had paid off better than any of us had expected. After dark the wind began to gust and the temperature dropped quickly.
That night we slept in doorways to hide from the steadily increasing wind, guiltily taking advantage of the shelters we had spent the afternoon ridiculing. In the predawn darkness the next morning we made porridge, ate and set off, our headlamps providing the only light.
From camp the path wends its way over small moraines to the base of a huge granite slab. A well-worn path can be seen cutting up the slope to the left, and we followed it until stepping out on the rock to climb higher. The rock gave way to moraine and a path reappeared to follow a loose rocky ridgeline.
The wind had been a cause for concern since we left camp and now it began to blow with increasing force. We were still relatively sheltered by rock outcroppings and crags and the wind was whipping around and making forward progress extremely difficult. The higher we climbed the more violent and prolonged the gusts became. It made every step frighteningly insecure.
We dropped to our hands and knees to brace against the wind. It was strong enough that we could lean forward at 50 degree angles with no support and not fall. Crawling was the only way to not be bodily pushed backwards. We knew the gales would be much stronger higher up on the flat, unprotected glacier and reluctantly turned back.
It was a long walk down from our high point of 4800 meters, and it was with weary legs that we trudged back to the front porch of our guesthouse. Our lovely hostess greeted us with a beaming smile and three huge bowls of delicious noodles. She said she had been worried about us and thought the wind was far too strong on the mountain for hiking. She pointed out that while we were gone the berries had all been blown off her fruit tree.
Getting there:
Lijiang can be reached by plane, train or bus. Buses from Lijiang to Qiaotou or Haba village (37 yuan) leave from the city's main bus station (丽江汽车客运站). Remember to keep the 50 yuan entry ticket to Tiger Leaping Gorge. This will save having to pay an additional 50 yuan when returning.
Guest houses and home stays in Haba village are easy to find. Our room was 20 yuan per bed.
editor's note: Anyone planning to climb a mountain in Yunnan or elsewhere should be aware of altitude sickness and know the warning signs. Travelers attempting Haba who have not previously acclimated should spend an extra day hiking around base camp.
GoKunming also recommends carefully studying High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). The onset of these conditions can be insidious, and early symptoms of HAPE are often mistaken for a simple cough brought on by cold, dry air.
Weather reports for mountains should also be monitored carefully. Any summit attempts should be postponed or cancelled when forecasts anticipate wind speeds of 50 kilometers per hour or more.
© Copyright 2005-2019 GoKunming.com all rights reserved. This material may not be republished, rewritten or redistributed without permission. |
The city of Lancaster, California announced today its “Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System,” a radar system-camera attached to a single-engine Cessna that’s going to conduct surveillance over the city for ten hours a day. It’s kind of like a drone, only not. From KABC in Los Angeles:
The tool has similar capabilities as drones, which are used by the military to scan warzones and transmit live video from the battle field. However, the difference is that drones are remote controlled, whereas the LEAPS technology will be attached to a plane that will have a Los Angeles County deputy inside.
Surveillance video will be transmitted directly to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, according to Wired, which notes the company providing LEAPS is a local one, Spiral Tech, one the California Commission for Job and Economic Growth has dubbed a "California Innovation All Star," no less.
Government Technology has more on the technology and its capabilities:
LEAPS uses both visible and infrared imagery for tracking. City officials said that at the closest level of surveillance, its new “eye in the sky” can identify the color of a person’s clothing, but facial details and license plate numbers will not be visible.
In an e-mail to Government Technology, Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris touted the crime-stopping and prevention advantages that aerial coverage will provide the city.
“Everyone knows you see more from above, cover a wider range of observance and are capable of more accurate pursuit with an aerial unit,” he said. The real-time value of LEAPS, Parris said, will be the ability to provide ground patrol units information on criminals’ movements.
LEAPS is reported to cost $1.3 million to launch and $1 million a year to operate (for 152 days worth of hours a year). The Lancaster City Council apparently approved it unanimously. Lancaster’s most recent budget (pdf) notes over the last five years "an overall loss of $15 million in the general fund. Public safety costs have risen $6 million over the same period of time." The budget points out transfer and release of state inmates as an example of "a number of challenges imposed by federal, state and Los Angeles County laws and policies that hinder economic development and threaten community safety."
Lancaster has tried to push an “aggressive” aerial surveillance system before. The Los Angeles Times reported on an effort in 2009 which included this choice two cents to close:
Antelope Valley blogs have been ablaze with chatter about the new program, both for and against.
Matthew Keltner, 28, a Lancaster high school teacher, wrote: "If having a measure of surveillance overhead is going to make the criminal-minded uncomfortable, and think twice before settling in Lancaster, or engaging in criminal activity, then what's wrong with it?
"I could care less if someone sees me doing water aerobics in my grandmother's pool," he added.
Until, of course, someone interprets that as a crime!
I’ll be talking about this development in domestic surveillance on RT America at 4pm ET.
Semi-related: Last year Lancaster’s mayor proposed broadcasting bird songs in the city. |
Four female pilots have filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging Frontier Airlines’ policies “discriminate against women by failing to provide accommodations related to pregnancy and breastfeeding.”
According to a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Colorado, and law firm Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP filed the discrimination charges on behalf of the four women: Shannon Kiedrowski, Brandy Beck, Erin Zielinski and Randi Freyer.
The group claims the Denver-based low-cost airline failed to accommodate the women’s breast pumping needs and made it “extremely difficult” for them to continue breastfeeding once returning to work.
The statement also alleges that Kiedrowski was disciplined after a co-pilot complained about her using a breast pump on a plane. Zielinski claims that her work email was cut off after her supervisors inadvertently sent her an email meant for management “accusing her of ‘baiting’ them” when she asked for breast feeding accommodations, and all the women say they suffered from financial harm as a result of being forced to take unpaid leave during the end of the pregnancies.
The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now
“Each of us tried to work with Frontier to find a solution, but unfortunately our efforts went nowhere,” Beck, who was a first officer at Frontier since 2003, said in the statement. “Because of Frontier’s failure to address the needs of pilots who are breastfeeding on a policy level, each of us has been left to figure out these problems on her own.”
Frontier Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contact us at [email protected]. |
Google Confirms Android 5.1 Update for Android One Smartphones With An Animated Cartoon Video News oi-Vigneshwar
Search engine giant Google, has announced the roll out of Android 5.1 Lollipop update for the Android One users in the Indian market in style.
In regards to this update, Google has released a short video as a token of confirmation. The video's background score is the groovy 'Koi yaha naache naache' with the signature Android caricatures having a party announcing that ‘things have just got better' and that ‘Android One (smartphones) upgrade to Lollipop 5.1′.
Recommended: 6 Smartphones with Unique Designs Available in India
As the roll out of this update being carried out in batches, users have to wait for sometime before it shows up on the device. Moreover, you can check the update manually by going to About → System updates in your device.
Android 5.1 is the first big maintenance release for Lollipop, fixing bugs and improving performance and stability over the original 5.0 release.
Recommended: Here are 10 New Smartphones with Android Lollipop to Buy in India in April 2015
Moving on to the features of Android 5.1, the quick settings panel has been polished up a bit in Android 5.1. Also, Android 5.1 also introduces dual SIM support as a built-in Android feature.
Android 5.1 brings some much-needed clarity to Lollipop's somewhat confusing screen pinning feature, which was designed to make it easier to lock kids or guest users into a particular app.
Device Protection in Android 5.1 will help to secure your device even if it's lost or stolen. With this feature enabled, a thief won't be able to use your device, even after factory resetting it without having your Google account login details.
Recommended: HTC One M9 Plus Leaks on Alibaba in China
In this update, Google has made some tweaks to the volume slider and interruptions system. Previously, in the Android, there is no traditional option for Mute.
And some other small features includes New animations in Clock app, Contacts lose colored overlay and Google+ linkage, Sticky soft keys fix, Hide 'Heads-up' notifications without dismissing, A new status bar icon when there's no SIM inserted, NuPlayer now the default streaming player.
<center><iframe width="100%" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kFN8NsgYiD0?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center> |
Healthy soils deliver a wide range of ecosystem goods and services that can be linked to human well-being and national economic status.
At a time when global demand for food is increasing, protecting soil resources is at the heart of future food security, as over 94% of our food comes from soil.
Soil is also the source of fibre, fodder and (bio)fuel production and offers a habitat to diverse flora and fauna that are the foundation of the food chain. Soil stores water to reduce the impacts of flooding and droughts that are predicted to increase under future climate change scenarios.
Soils also hold vast amounts of carbon, which helps mitigate the effect of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming.
In short, our very survival is dependent on this very thin layer of soil that is found in only a small fraction of the earth's surface. Moreover slow rates of soil formation mean soil is effectively a finite and limited resource.
Global soils are under increasing pressure from external drivers such as demands for more food production (quantity, quality and reliability), the intensification of agriculture, urbanisation (leading to sealing of soil surfaces, as well as migration of workers away from agricultural areas), and extreme weather events.
These factors are leading to soil degradation, manifest in processes such as soil erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter and soil biodiversity, and contamination. Every year, an estimated 12 million hectares of agricultural land are lost to soil degradation, adding to the billions of hectares that are already degraded.
Degraded soils deliver fewer goods and services, and are less resilient to external pressures. Hence a damaging, often irreversible positive feedback loop is set up.
The impact of 'land mining' on future food production
Increased agricultural intensification may aggravate the risk of soil degradation. Cropped land is particularly vulnerable to soil erosion, compaction and loss of organic matter and biodiversity.
This is due to the exposure of bare soil for lengthy times of the year, the disturbance of soil structure and biology during farming operations such as tillage, the increasing weight of larger agricultural machinery, the number of repeated passes over a parcel of land and the removal of organic matter during harvests.
Globally, an estimated 2 to 5 million hectares of arable land are lost every year to soil erosion alone. Concerns are growing that soil degradation is reducing the productive capacity of our land, with devastating impacts. Some estimate a 30 % reduction in food production due to degradation of agricultural land by 2040.
This has serious implications for food security worldwide and our ability to produce food that can meet cultural, health and nutritional needs, food that's available, accessible and affordable, both now and in the future.
At present, the evidence base is limited in identifying direct impacts of soil degradation on food production. This is partly because some soil management practices have been used to mask these impacts.
These include adding chemical fertilisers to soil to replace lost nutrients, applying irrigation to compensate for the reduced water holding capacity of thin, eroded soils, or introducing higher yielding crop varieties. Many of these practices rely on finite resources and require large capital investments. They have little effect on the resilience of soil to resist (and recover from) degradation processes.
Incentivising farmers to protect and revive their soils for the long-term
By definition, soil degradation decreases the ability of soils to function, but the corollary is that soil protection and conservation should improve soil condition and enhance the delivery of ecosystem goods and services including food production. Existing and innovative land and water management can prevent and reverse soil degradation.
Many mitigation measures can be effective in controlling multiple degradation threats. For example, increasing soil organic matter content will reduce the susceptibility of soil to erosion and compaction, whilst providing the substrate for an active microbial community.
Organic matter improves soil structure, water holding capacity and resilience to resist and recover from external pressures, such as extreme weather events and overexploitation of land over time.
Farmers can increase soil organic matter content by reducing tillage intensity, planting cover crops, adding organic amendments and composts, and retaining crop residues within the field, rather than removing or burning them after harvest.
However, conserving soil and reversing soil degradation is challenging. The beneficial effects of soil conservation practices on soil condition are often only apparent after several years. Clearly, this is at odds with the much shorter term economic cycle faced by many farmers.
Some practices may result in yield reductions in the short term, which can make farming uneconomic, especially in marginal areas. Nevertheless, the impacts and costs of continuing soil degradation such as food shortages will be felt by society as a whole, not just the farming sector.
So, policies are urgently needed to incentivise farmers to protect soils so this precious natural resource can continue to deliver vital goods and services for generations to come.
Jane Rickson is Professor of Soil Erosion and Conservation in Cranfield University's Soil and AgriFood Institute. She has 30 years experience of research, consultancy and training in land and water engineering, and soil management. Her work has focussed on the causes and effects of land degradation, with particular emphasis on soil erosion and its control.
More information
FAOSTAT.
Rickson et al. (2015) 'Input constraints to food production: the impact of soil degradation'. |
It always seemed rather extraordinary that people around Parliament House were suggesting that the government really needed Barnaby Joyce back in harness to "restore discipline" to the Nats.
Seriously? The deputy prime minister is not the instigator of discipline but a man with a long personal history of creating havoc for the government of which he was a part – dating back to his days as a senator – and now, as leader, engaging in vindictive score settling in cabinet appointments on a scale we have not seen in some years.
Darren Chester has been sacked unceremoniously from cabinet – not even just demoted – because he was a threat to Joyce. There has been no criticism of him as a minister.
Keith Pitt was similarly dumped, for equally pathetic reasons, from his position as a parliamentary secretary.
The possibility of some of the Nationals who are on the wrong side of this internal brawl walking to the cross bench now hovers. You can only hope – in the interests of at least someone demonstrating some discipline and even a little bit of class – that they resist the temptation.
In structuring his front bench Malcolm Turnbull has not followed the advice of John Howard, who always argued that people had to serve their time in junior positions before wending their way up into the cabinet – an argument which kept Turnbull himself in the outer Howard ministry until he bludgeoned his way in.
Instead, the prime minister has promoted two men who would be largely unknown to most voters straight into the cabinet, with Queensland's David Littleproud becoming minister for agriculture and water resources after just 18 months in parliament and John McVeigh – who the prime minister personally rates – coming in as regional development minister (with experience as a minister in Queensland).
Advertisement
All this noise overshadows the two central structural changes in the cabinet, with the final elevation of Peter Dutton as the Minister for Home affairs – with two junior ministers - and Michaelia Cash coming in to the very centre of the government by the grouping into one of the employment and industry portfolios. She also gets a seat on the expenditure review committee of cabinet.
Noise of the Nationals aside, the most striking feature of the cabinet reshuffle is the entrenchment of the power of the two most lethal political operators in the government – and the men on whom the prime minister most relies: Dutton and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
But thanks to the Nats, we finish the year as we have endured most of it: being reminded that it is all about you. |
LOS ANGELES: One of the most celebrated photographers of the US civil rights era, who was part of Martin Luther King jnr's trusted inner circle, has been unmasked as an FBI informant.
Ernest Withers, who died in 2007 at the age of 85, took some of the most famous pictures of King, including him riding one of the first desegregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama.
Trusted ... a photograph of Martin Luther King by Ernest Withers.
Known as the ''original civil rights photographer'', he also captured thousands of images chronicling everyday lives of struggle in the Deep South, along with demonstrations, riots and criminal trials.
One of his most important photographs was taken in 1968 during a Memphis sanitation workers' strike when a crowd stood with placards reading ''I Am a Man''. |
What are virtual currencies?
A virtual currency, such as for example bitcoin, allows you to transfer money without having to use banks. It uses a cryptographic technology called blockchain that builds a shared and publicly verifiable database of transactions to prevent fraud. This creates trust between sellers and buyers, thus eliminating the need for banks to get involved to verify the process.
Benefits and risks
Virtual currencies offer both advantages and drawbacks. Transactions in virtual currencies can be cheaper, faster, more secure and more transparent. During the hearing organised by the economic committee, Primavera De Filippi, a permanent researcher at the National Centre of Scientific Research in Paris, said that the blockchain technology can also be regarded as "some kind of regulatory technology, enabling laws to be enforced more transparently and more efficiently". She added: "It solves the problem of who watches the watcher."
However, there are also risks attached to the use of virtual currencies. Olivier Salles, from the European Commission, said: "They don't really protect the consumer and there are also some risks in terms of stability of the platforms, volatility of the price and also classic cyber-threats like theft, hacking and loss."
Bitcoin has often been associated with illegal activities such as money laundering and the trade in illegal goods, mainly because its transactions can be carried out anonymously. However, experts warned MEPs not to overestimate these risks.
"In fact cash is likely to be a much more anonymous means of transferring value," said Sean Ennis, a senior economist from the OECD. "The ownership string for virtual currency is public and that allows a tremendous amount of analysis of transactions."
This was echoed by Jeremy Millar, a partner with Magister Advisors, who said: "It's easier to detect crime on bitcoin than it is in cash." He added: "Bitcoin is no longer a hacker community. It's run by big companies which try to comply with existing regulation."
Is there a need for EU regulation?
Most of the experts were cautious about expanding EU legislation on virtual currencies. Commission representative Salles said: "One of the big challenges is not how fast and how far to regulate, but how to correctly monitor this fast evolving technology." He told MEPs that the Commission was now considering whether there was a need to regulate virtual currencies as part of the response to last November's terrorist attacks in Paris.
Millar, from Magister Advisors, said: "In my view there is no basis for a generic regulation of Bitcoin." However, he added that as a global network Bitcoin would benefit from some harmonisation of European policy by increasing its reach.
Dr Thaer Sabri, from the Electronic Money Association, said proportional regulation would be highly desirable: "I think industry is supportive of financial crime regulation."
Siân Jones, co-founder of the European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology forum, told MEPs: "If you're minded to propose legislative action, [I recommend] to limit such action to anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing."
Parliament report
As virtual currencies are rapidly gaining in importance, the Parliament is keen to investigate if there are any issues attached to their use. This is why it is currently working on an own-initiative report. German S&D member Jakob von Weizsäcker, who will be writing the report, said: "There are many investors out there who have very high hopes that a particular application of this technology will be what they call a killer application. The real question is if and when one of these breakthroughs comes, how well are we prepared as governments, as legislators for that kind of revolution."
The economic committee is expected to vote on his report in April. After this all MEPs will be asked to vote on the report during a plenary session, probably in May. The adopted report will then be sent to the European Commission for consideration. |
On Saturday, St. Vincent played the Chilean edition of the Lollapalooza festival. And when she was there, she got herself into some trouble, allegedly because she destroyed paintings that were in the dressing room. The paintings in question were the work of the Chilean artist Constanza Ragal Chaigneau, and as MTV points out, La Tercera reports that the artist demanded $4,500 from Annie Clark. Chaigneau claimed in an Instagram comment (below) that the paintings were destroyed with “knives and violence,” so Clark must’ve really hated those things!
According to MTV, Clark stayed in the country a few extra days, and it’s not clear whether she was prevented from leaving Chile or whether she stayed voluntarily to reach some sort of agreement with Chaigneau. Either way, Clark left Chile for Paraguay yesterday, and she’s now free to continue touring South America.
[Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty.] |
The Roman Catholic Church is at the centre of a row after ordering its schools to teach Judaism alongside Christianity in GCSE religious studies – ruling out Islam or other faiths.
The edict was described as ‘very disappointing’ by senior Muslim leaders. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the decision undermined Pope Francis’s message of greater tolerance between the faiths, and urged Catholic leader Cardinal Vincent Nichols to think again.
The Church’s move follows last year’s reforms to the GCSE exam. Under the new rules, schools are required to teach two religions rather than one.
Former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain Sir Iqbal Sacranie said the decision to ban Islam from religious studies undermined greater tolerance between the faiths
Catholic leader Cardinal Vincent Nichols (pictured) was urged to think again by Muslim leaders
The change was designed to drive extremism out of the classroom following the ‘Trojan Horse’ plot, in which individuals were found to have been introducing fundamentalist Islamic teaching into Muslim schools in Birmingham.
Paul Barber, the director at the Catholic Education Service, said teaching about the Jewish faith would ensure schools continued to comply with the stipulations of bishops that pupils are given a solid grounding in Christianity.
He said, however, that pupils would learn about other faiths during normal religious education lessons.
But critics said many of the Catholic Church’s 2,150 primary and secondary schools have a significant number of pupils from an Islamic background, including the Rosary Catholic Primary in Birmingham, where more than 90 per cent of the children are Muslim.
Sir Iqbal said: ‘This is not a good decision. It does not reflect well on the messages that are coming out from the Church for greater tolerance of other faiths.
‘This is a difficult time for religions and the last thing you would expect is a major faith making such a statement. |
I agree with commenter on your question that said "The asset pipeline isn't really meant to be compiling your assets each request in production." -- making it not really possible to do exactly what you ask.
So how about an alternative to accomplish what you're really trying to accomplish here, which is different asset resolution for different subdomains. Put your sub-domain specific assets in sub-directories of your asset folders.
Now, in the view/helpers, when you call asset_path or any other helpers that take a relative asset path, ask it for "#{subdomain}/name_of_asset" instead of just "name_of_asset".
Now, because of the way the asset compiler works, it's possible this subdirectory method won't work, you may have to put the subdomain at the beginning of the actual filename instead. "#{subdomain}_name_of_asset". Not sure.
And this still wouldn't give you a sort of 'default fall through' where some assets in some subdomains don't have subdomain-specific assets, they just 'fall through' to the default. Which would be nice. It's possible a way can be figured out to do that too, not sure.
But at any rate, following this approach of asking for a different asset at display-time using logic in view/helper.... is going to get you further than your original suggested approach, which probably isn't possible. |
Picking a universal remote control is pretty tricky these days. There are plenty of simple, programmable IR blasters out there, but some of the best remotes can control other devices using Bluetooth or even Wi-FI. This week, we’re looking at some of the best universal remotes, based on your nominations.
Earlier in the week, we asked you to tell us which universal remotes you thought were the best. Your nominations ranged from the hilarious to the incredibly useful, and even though it’s been a long time since we looked at the category, many remotes still stand on either side of a huge dividing line: one the one side, there are programmable IR blasters that are cheap and effective for most home entertainment setups. On the other are complex and often more expensive devices that can control all of your IR devices, but also any smart home gear you have and other technologies around the house. Some even let you use your smartphone or tablet as well.
Advertisement
That aside, let’s look at your top five picks from the nominations round:
Advertisement
The Logitech Harmony One, much loved and lauded, but eventually replaced by the Harmony Ultimate One, is a tough universal remote to top. More than a few of you highlighted how much you loved the original Harmony One, its completely programmable buttons and activities, plethora of settings, and durability. Even though it’s discontinued, you can still pick one up—albeit at the hefty price of $349 at Amazon, while its replacement, the Harmony Ultimate One, is a more affordable $209. For its part, the Ultimate One tries to capture some of what people loved about the One, including the adaptable touchscreen, programmable activities, and ability to control all of the devices in your home entertainment center. Both remotes are IR blasters only, meaning RF devices and Bluetooth devices are out, but also trims down the number of buttons on the face of the remote, instead relying a bit more on the touchscreen for a lot of operations and for custom, user-added buttons. The Ultimate One also slimmed the whole thing down to a slightly smaller size. Some people love those changes, others hated them, but at the end of the day you have options.
Those of you who nominated the Harmony One and Ultimate One all praised the device for being able to control virtually everything in your setups, with little real configuration. Everyone (and you’ll see this is a recurring theme with the other Harmony nominees) complained a bit about Logitech’s overly-heavy and complicated desktop programming software, but it’s better than pointing the remote at another remote to learn commands (although the original One was capable of this as well.) Many of you loved the ability to switch between activities and devices to perform specific actions on your devices even if they’re not part of “activities” you program, and many of you loved your original Ones so much that you said you don’t know what you’ll do when it eventually dies. You can read more in this nomination thread, this one, or this one.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Touchsquid isn’t so much a remote control as it’s a remote control app that turns your Android smartphone or tablet into a universal remote thanks to its pre-programmed database of over 700,000 devices. Of course, your device needs to either have an IR blaster of its own for the app to work (and there’s a list of supported phones and tablets here) or it has to be paired up with an external IR blaster that will send the app’s signals to your home entertainment gear. If you’re looking for a quick way to turn your Android phone—especially if you have a device like an HTC One or a Galaxy S5, both of which have IR built-in, into a universal remote (or you’ve upgraded from those phones and want to find a use for them), this is it. Touchsquid’s software comes in two different flavors, the $14 Home version that lets you control up to 6 devices per “room profile,” and the $40 Pro version, which bumps the device limit up to 14 per “room profile,” adds user-programmable macro buttons, nested buttons, and cross-device syncing to the pot. Best of all, if you’re not sure it’ll work for you, you can download a free trial from Google Play. In every case though, you just tell Touchsquid what devices you have in your home theater, which ones you use for what, program your activities (much in a similar fashion to Harmony devices), and you’re off and away.
Those of you who nominated Touchsquid pointed out that it loads quickly and it’s fairly snappy for the features that it offers, and that it’s pretty straightforward to program and operate. You noted that it works well with external IR blasters you can connect to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and that also gives you the freedom to turn any Android device in the house into a universal remote control, and you don’t need line of sight to manage any of your devices. Of course, using your Android device’s touchscreen to control your entertainment center comes with downsides—namely that you don’t have hard buttons or tactile feedback, but if you don’t mind that, it’s worth checking out. You can read its nomination thread here.
Advertisement
Logitech’s Harmony Home and Harmony Smart Control are certainly different, but we’re putting them together in this category because of the one critical feature they have in common: The Home Hub. On its own, this $93 device lets you use your smartphone or tablet as a remote control for not just your home entertainment devices, but other smart home or connected devices around your house. That means thermostats, lighting systems, security systems, and more. It’s all programmable and customizable, and you can manage it all from your phone, tablet, or both. Of course, whether you’re geared more towards controlling entertainment devices or smart home devices will determine whether you want the Harmony Ultimate Home ($287 at Amazon) or the Harmony Smart Control ($100 at Amazon). The Ultimate Home (and the step-down Harmony Home Control) are designed to control everything in your home—not just your multimedia gear, but anything that can be controlled over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RF, or IR. The Harmony Smart Control on the other hand is designed more for closed-cabinet control of all of your entertainment electronics, still works with your smartphone or tablet, and is designed firmly for living room use. It can even be expanded by purchasing extra controls for other rooms in the house, all connected to the same Home Hub. It’s a little confusing (okay, very confusing) but once you spend time comparing the devices at Logitech’s site, you’ll be able to choose which option has the features you’ll need. The big thing here is that all of these revolve around the Home Hub to control multiple devices with your smartphone or tablet OR an included Harmony remote, all capable of managing all sorts of devices in your home, whether they’re traditionally receptive to a remote control or not.
Those of you who nominated the Harmony Ultimate Home, Smart Control, and Smart Home all praised each iteration for giving you just the features you need without forcing you to overspend on a package you didn’t want. For example, the Smart Home might be a great option over the Ultimate Home for those folks not interested in the touch screen on the Ultimate or the extra features, but for those folks just looking for a simpler remote, the Smart Control might be better off. Logitech themselves popped in to nominate the Harmony Ultimate Home, but a few of you had praise for the more modest Smart Control in nomination threads like this, saying it controls all the devices you need it to control without any extra (or pricier) bells and whistles. Some of you even praised the white version of the Smart Home in nomination threads like this one, noting that you liked the color, but also that you could use it to control lots of devices in your home—not just your TV and entertainment gear, and none of it needed line of sight to work. Almost all of you said that once you moved up to these systems and got used to them, you couldn’t see yourself needing another remote system again.
Advertisement
Advertisement
We have to give some love to the simple RCA Universal Remote, which has come in several shapes and sizes over the years. Most of the nominations though were for this four-device model for $9 at Amazon or its smaller 3-device version for $6. In each case, these remotes are much simpler, and harken back to a simpler day of universal remote programming—meaning you’ll need to give it control codes if it doesn’t automatically know the type of device you’re trying to manage—and even then, getting it to work may be hit or miss. That said, if your devices all use common codes, it’s a simple device that can replace your other remote controls for essentially a few bucks out of your pocket. There are RCA universal remote variants available too, some of which are built to replace your cable remote as well as your TV remote, and some are backlit to be easy to find in the dark, but all of them have one thing in common: they’re dirt cheap and get the job done.
Those of you who nominated these pointed specifically to their price point, too—you said that some of you don’t need all the bells and whistles of smart home controls and other widgets and accessories, and you don’t have a massive home entertainment setup that warrants an expensive universal remote. You might have a TV remote, a cable remote, and maybe one other you’d like to replace, and this does the job nicely, is cheap, and you won’t feel bad if you lose or break it. A few of you lamented the fact that these remotes can be tricky to program, don’t work with your specific devices (and when that happens, there’s nothing you can really do), and aren’t as advanced or robust as others, but for others of you, that’s the whole point. You can read more in its nomination thread here.
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Logitech Harmony 650 (and, to be fair, if I added them up, the Harmony 350 and the also-discontinued higher end Harmony 700 or Harmony 880,) were also popular in the nominations round, largely because they represented a somewhat simpler time in universal remote setup and use. These remotes are a bit more durable, have more controls and buttons on the remotes themselves and smaller touchscreens, and while they support fewer devices, they’re also not incredibly expensive. The Harmony 650 is $65 at Amazon, for example, can control eight devices, has a color screen for programmable activities or favorite channels, has one-touch activity buttons, and walks the line between just the options you need and a wallet-friendly price.
This was a recurring theme in the 650’s massive nomination thread. You shared your experiences both with these remotes failing on you and being replaced by Logitech, but many of you pointing out that the 650 does exactly what you needed it to do without costing you a ton of money and requiring you spend a lot of time setting up extra devices, installing apps, or trying to get used to using multiple devices to control your gear. Many of you lamented it being part of an older generation of universal remotes, that it requires line of sight to work, and so on, but others said you didn’t want to spend hundreds just to control everything with one device. You can check out its nomination thread here, peek into the nomination thread for the 350 ($40 at Amazon,) or the Harmony 700 ($145 at Amazon) and Harmony 880 ($290 at Amazon)—both of which are discontinued (which is why they’re not in the top five proper) but still available at Amazon in both refurb and new versions.
Advertisement
Now that you’ve seen the top five, it’s time to put them to a vote and determine the Lifehacker community favorite:
Advertisement
Honorable Mentions
This week’s honorable mentions goes out to the Sony PS3 Media Remote Control, which many of you said you purchased to use with your PS3, but actually use to control your whole home entertainment center. It’s easily programmed, has all the buttons and commands you need, and works pretty well without needing other remotes to step in all the time. Obviously it’s ideal for people with a PS3, as opposed to folks who may not already have one, but it’s definitely a nice universal remote nevertheless.
Advertisement
In more hilarious nominees, we have to call out the Doctor Who 11th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote, or if you’re more of a fan of the 10th, the 10th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote. Funny and jokey nominations aside, these actually got a surprising amount of support in the nominations thread. Here’s to you, whovians.
Speaking of fan nominations, we’ll tip our hats to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Phaser Universal Remote. Because it just wouldn’t be fair otherwise, and who doesn’t like the idea of firing a phaser at their TV to be rid of some annoying program they’d rather not be watching?
Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn’t included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Don’t just complain about the top five, let us know what your preferred alternative is—and make your case for it—in the discussions below.
Advertisement
The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it didn’t get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it’s a bit of a popularity contest. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at [email protected]! |
The 2008 global financial crisis and the worldwide recession that it left in its wake engendered a feeling and great injustice among people across the world. The financial crash directly caused significant hardship to people from all over the globe who have forced face austerity measures and reduced employed while trillions of dollars were poured into propping up the banks who had caused the crisis. It appeared to the world that ordinary people were being made to suffer while the guilty were allowed to continue unhindered and unharmed. However, this might not be the case any longer.
Finally, bankers to go on trial in the UK
Following Iceland’s high-profile prosecutions of criminal bankers, the United Kingdom is to go ahead with its trials into the bankers that contributed to the financial crash. The first group to go on trial are a collection of individuals associated with the collapsed bank HBOS. Two former managers and six other defendants have been charged with fraudulent trading, money laundering and corruption.
The defendants were initially charged in 2013 but bringing the case to court was a frustrating process for the prosecuting lawyers in the CPS who faced a long series of delays. Now they will argue to the court that the former managers received money and high-quality gifts from others from within their organisation and their families to procure financial favours. The allegations stem from a two-year-old investigation by the Thames Valley Police in a dedicated operation which was code-named Operation Hornet.
This is not the first scandal that the troubled bank has endured. The head of corporate lending, Peter Cummings was one of the first bankers to face the music following the crash of 2008. Cummings was fined £500,000 for misconduct and was barred from working in the banking industry again. The bank collapsed in 2008 and was swallowed by the UK-based bank, Lloyds TSB.
It is hoped that the trial, which will be heard at Southwark Crown Court, will open the floodgates and will be only the first in many criminal charges brought against bankers in the UK and, indeed, across the world. |
(CNN) An Army veteran says Sen. Al Franken groped her in December 2003, telling CNN that while she was deployed in Kuwait, the Minnesota Democrat cupped her breast during a photo op.
Stephanie Kemplin, 41, of Maineville, Ohio, is the fifth woman in two weeks to accuse Franken of inappropriate touching, and the second person to allege that such behavior took place while Franken was on a USO tour. Three of the five women have been identified by name.
Kemplin said while she was stationed in the Middle East during the Iraq War, she met Franken -- at the time, a comedian and writer -- as he was visiting American troops with the USO. A longtime fan of "Saturday Night Live," Kemplin got in line to take a photo with Franken.
"When he put his arm around me, he groped my right breast. He kept his hand all the way over on my breast," Kemplin said in an interview. "I've never had a man put their arm around me and then cup my breast. So he was holding my breast on the side."
Kemplin repeatedly used the word "embarrassed" to describe her immediate reaction at the time.
"I remember clenching up and how you just feel yourself flushed," she said. "And I remember thinking -- is he going to move his hand? Was it an accident? Was he going to move his hand? He never moved his hand."
She added: "It was long enough that he should have known if it was an accident. I'm very confident saying that."
Kemplin estimated that the touching lasted anywhere from five to 10 seconds. She said she eventually turned her body to shift Franken's hand off her breast before the picture was taken.
In a photo shared with CNN, Kemplin -- who was 27 at the time and a military police officer -- is smiling widely with the left side of her face pressed against Franken's right cheek. Franken's right arm is wrapped around Kemplin's back and his hand is on her side at chest-level, and does not appear to be on her breast in the photo.
Looking back at the picture, Kemplin said she recalls feeling frozen and numb: "I did not process it in those split seconds."
A Franken spokesperson told CNN Wednesday night: "As Sen. Franken made clear this week, he takes thousands of photos and has met tens of thousands of people and he has never intentionally engaged in this kind of conduct. He remains fully committed to cooperating with the ethics investigation."
'I just feel so sorry for that young girl in that picture.'
In one of multiple lengthy phone calls with a CNN reporter this week, Kemplin repeatedly broke into sobs.
"I was in a war zone... You were on a USO tour -- are you trying to boost the morale of the troops or are you trying to boost your own?" she said. "I just feel so sorry for that young girl in that picture."
Kemplin said she did not say anything to Franken at the time.
"You're immediately put on the spot. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Your mind goes a mile a minute," she said. "Who was I going to tell?"
She also doesn't recall telling any fellow soldiers about the incident afterwards because she felt ashamed and did not have peers she felt she could confide in. But she discussed it with multiple family members and relatives, including her sister, as well as an ex-boyfriend. CNN interviewed both.
Amy Muddiman, Kemplin's older sister, said she remembers Kemplin being excited that Franken was coming to visit because she had grown up watching SNL.
"I just remember her telling me that he grabbed her breast and that she was so shocked about it," Muddiman said. "My sister is pretty bold and assertive and she said that she didn't know what to do."
One of Kemplin's ex-boyfriends was also in the Army and he and Kemplin dated after the two of them returned to the United States. He asked not to be named to protect his privacy. He told CNN that while he did not remember all of the details of what Kemplin described of her encounter with Franken, she said "he went to put his arm around her and copped a feel."
Kemplin's account sounds similar to others
Kemplin's story bears striking resemblance to those of several other women who have accused Franken of groping in recent days.
Lindsay Menz of Frisco, Texas, told CNN last week that Franken grabbed her buttocks while the two took a photo together at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. The Huffington Post also reported that two women, whose identities were not revealed, said Franken touched their buttocks in 2007 and 2008.
These stories came after Leeann Tweeden, morning news anchor on KABC radio in Los Angeles, revealed that Franken groped and forcibly kissed her during a USO tour in 2006.
Kemplin said when she saw Tweeden's story on social media, she "felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath me" because she had tried not to think about her run-in with Franken in years.
Kemplin reached out to Tweeden two days after Tweeden went public with her story, and the two women spoke on the phone a few days later. In one of their subsequent conversations, Tweeden asked Kemplin if she could connect her with a CNN reporter.
Over the past two weeks, Kemplin also wrote about her 2003 meeting with Franken on Facebook in two posts visible to her friends on the social network. One relative, whose name CNN is not using to protect the person's privacy, commented on Facebook that her husband "remembers you telling him about (Franken) years ago."
Kemplin, who now works as a federal contractor investigating Medicare fraud, is a registered Republican and said she voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
Kemplin recounts sexual assault by fellow soldier
One reason Kemplin said the Franken news has hit her especially hard in recent days is because she was the victim of sexual assault while serving overseas.
She said she was assaulted by a specialist with whom she shared a tent in 2003, just months before her run-in with Franken. The details of the assault were shared with CNN but are not being disclosed at Kemplin's request.
CNN has also reviewed Kemplin's military records. She was discharged honorably in 2008.
Sean Chambers, the platoon sergeant who oversaw Kemplin while she was deployed in Kuwait, described Kemplin in an interview as a "model soldier" who was honest, friendly and quiet.
Chambers said she confided in him about having been inappropriately touched by a member of their unit, though she did not divulge to him the full details at the time. An investigation was launched into Kemplin's complaint of "indecent assault."
According to documents viewed by CNN, Kemplin was eventually told that while the whole incident was "totally inappropriate behavior," the accused specialist was not guilty of "indecent assault." In addition, she was told that she was "responsible" for having allowed the male specialist to get close to her.
"I was really pissed off. It was not right," Chambers said. "My reaction was: when is it ever the victim's fault?"
He added: "I believe Stephanie. I believe that something did happen. I've seen sexual assault victims before in my line of work and the trauma that they face and there's no doubt in my mind that something happened."
Re-living her encounter with Franken, Kemplin said, has brought up memories of that assault
Kemplin struggled to re-acclimate when she came home from Iraq. Today she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has trouble sleeping. One of her coping mechanisms since the war, Kemplin said, is to "shut down" and block out certain negative memories, particularly when she is feeling overwhelmed. She has described this in the past as a kind of selective "memory loss."
She said she is certain some people will question her story about Franken, because she is only choosing to speak out years later: "Nobody wants to believe anybody if you don't immediately stand up and say something."
Franken has repeatedly apologized about behavior that he said "crossed a line" for some women. The second-term senator has also said that he has taken thousands of photos with people over the years and that while he doesn't remember specific pictures or campaign events, any inappropriate behavior was unintentional.
Franken faces a potential investigation under by the Senate Ethics Committee, and has said he will fully cooperate with the probe.
In a news conference on Capitol Hill this week, CNN asked Franken why he was unable to answer the question of whether more women could come forward with allegations of sexual harassment.
"If you had asked me two weeks ago, would any woman come forward with an allegation like this, I would have said no," Franken said. "And so I cannot speculate. This has been a shock and it's been extremely humbling. I am embarrassed. I feel ashamed." |
Here are all the times the Conservatives changed election rules without a referendum
Here are all the times the Conservatives changed election rules without a referendum
People who live in glass houses…
The Conservatives continue to insist that any change to Canada’s electoral system requires a referendum.
“When you change the rules of democracy, everyone gets to have a say”, says interim leader Rona Ambrose. “If the Liberals want to make a fundamental change to our country’s voting system, the process must not be dominated by one political party’s interests.”
Let’s review all the times the Conservatives changed the rules of Canadian democracy without a referendum, shall we?
Fixing election dates
In May 2007, the Conservatives passed Bill C-16 which fixed future Canadian elections to the third Monday of October every four years. (Barely a year later, the Conservatives broke the spirit of their own law by calling an election for October 14, 2008).
Eliminating the per vote subsidy
After winning a majority in 2011, the Conservatives introduced the “Keeping Canada’s Economy and Jobs Growing Act”, slipping in changes to the Elections Act that eliminated Canada’s per-vote subsidy which awarded parties $2 for every vote they received.
Critics were quick to point out that opposition parties stood to lose the most from the change.
Adding seats to the House of Commons
Bill C-20, passed in December 2011, legislated a new formula for determining the number of MPs each province would get and the House of Commons grew from 308 to 338 seats.
At the time, critics worried that the new seats would mostly appear in Conservative strongholds.
The Unfair Elections Act
When it comes to changing Canadian democracy without consulting people, this one takes the cake.
The Orwellian “Fair Elections Act” represented a significant overhaul of the way Canadian elections would be run. Its changes were extensive, but here are a few, um, highlights:
Elections Canada was forbidden to run adds encouraging people to vote or distribute kits to schoolchildren designed to educate them about democracy and voting
The annual amount candidates and leadership contestants were permitted to donate to themselves was increased from $1,000 to $5,000 and $25,000 respectively
The personal annual contribution limit to candidates and parties was increased from $1,000 to $1,500
The spending limit for parties in elections was increased
Voter registration cards would no longer be considered appropriate ID at polling stations and vouching would be eliminated
Critics pointed out that the changes to ID rules in particular would make it more difficult for First Nations, youth, and people living in poverty to vote.
The Conservatives not only failed to consult Elections Canada but rammed the bill through Parliament without serious debate.
How quickly some things are forgotten…
Photo: Sharon Drummond. Licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0 license. |
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has tipped promising left-back Luke Shaw to shine in the Premier League this season.
Shaw struggled in his debut season at Old Trafford in 2014-15, with injuries and fitness issues limiting the England international to just 16 league appearances following his big-money transfer from Southampton.
The 20-year-old appears to have put those woes behind him, having featured in all three of United's International Champions Cup fixtures after taking a fitness coach on holiday to Dubai in a bid to stay in shape.
"Luke Shaw is a big talent," said van Gaal. "He's very young so it's not so easy for him to come from Southampton to as big a club as Manchester United.
"He has the benefit that he's an Englishman. Memphis Depay is a Dutchman and it's a different culture, a different rhythm to the game.
"So I think that it shall be the season of Luke Shaw, that I believe. I believe in him and he has to feel that, and I hope he shall show it.
"But he's only 20 years old. How many players of that age are playing in the Premier League?" |
Story highlights Authorities knocked on doors in the middle of night, told people to leave
Mayor says residents should stay away from homes because floodwater is contaminated
(CNN) While floodwaters in the northern California city of San Jose were receding Wednesday, the mayor said they were contaminated and residents of 14,000 households ordered to evacuate should not yet return home.
The residences under the mandatory evacuation are near a creek that appears to have been breached, Mayor Sam Liccardo said. Tens of thousands of more homes are under voluntary evacuation notifications.
One resident slept in his car instead of going to a shelter.
"We woke up at 1:30 in the morning, cops knocked on the door of our apartment. My wife got the dog out of there and I parked in the parking lot. Yeah, I slept in the car," Santos Aguilar told CNN affiliate KGO.
Thousands ordered to #evacuate in #SanJose after flooding, some return home to assess the damage: https://t.co/jY2jOVls0Z — ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) February 22, 2017
Another resident said the water rose fast.
Read More |
Blockbuster matches, Saturday afternoon games and stand-alone Thursday and Friday night clashes in the final round are among the highlights of the last six rounds of the 2013 Telstra Premiership draw released today.
In an exciting countdown to the Telstra Premiership Finals Series:
- The top-of-the table Rabbitohs will feature in a host of Friday night blockbusters, including against the Storm in Melbourne (Rd 22), the Sea Eagles at Gosford (Rd 23), the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium (Rd 24) and the Roosters in the final round (Rd 26) at ANZ Stadium;
- There will be stand-alone Thursday and Friday night matches on Channel Nine in a thrilling final round of action as teams fight to secure top eight positions;
- The Raiders and Dragons will each host Saturday afternoon matches featuring a 3pm kick-off.
“Whether you are attending matches or watching on television, there are some real highlights for fans in the lead-up to the finals,” NRL General Manager of Football Operations, Mr Nathan McGuirk, said today.
“There are great matches every week on both free to-air and subscription television and I would like to thank Channel Nine and Fox Sports for their assistance in the draw process.”
McGuirk said the inclusion of Saturday afternoon provided an opportunity to include additional family-friendly time-slots as the excitement builds towards the finals series.
“At this stage we are not considering making Saturday afternoon football an ongoing part of the NRL match schedule,” Mr McGuirk said.
“There is, however, a curiosity both on our part and of our broadcasters to see how fans respond to the time-slot, both in terms of game-day attendance and TV ratings.”
Click here to view the 2013 draw |
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
President Obama’s administration on Wednesday claimed dominion over all of America’s streams, creeks, rills, ditches, brooks, rivulets, burns, tributaries, criks, wetlands — perhaps even puddles — in a sweeping move to assert unilateral federal authority.
The Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, says it has the authority to control all waterways within the United States — and will exercise that authority.
“We’re finalizing a clean water rule to protect the streams and the wetlands that one in three Americans rely on for drinking water. And we’re doing that without creating any new permitting requirements and maintaining all previous exemptions and exclusions,” EPA head Gina McCarthy told reporters Wednesday.
The moves comes as part of the Clean Water Act and federal officials say they are simply trying to help businesses comply with regulations.
“This rule is about clarification, and in fact, we’re adding exclusions for features like artificial lakes and ponds, water-filled depressions from constructions and grass swales,” McCarthy said. “This rule will make it easier to identify protected waters and will make those protections consistent with the law as well as the latest peer-reviewed science. This rule is based on science.”
PHOTOS: 10 best sniper rifles
The Supreme Court has twice questioned the breadth of powers decreed under the Clean Water Act, prompting Wednesday’s actions.
McCarthy claimed the new powers would “not interfere with private property rights or address land use.”
“It does not regulate any ditches unless they function as tributaries. It does not apply to groundwater or shallow subsurface water, copper tile drains or change policy on irrigation or water transfer.”
Not surprisingly, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, THE top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, loves the plan.
“The Obama administration listened to all perspectives and developed a final rule that will help guarantee safe drinking water supplies for American families and businesses and restore much-needed certainty, consistency, and effectiveness to the Clean Water Act,” she said in a statement.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said:
“EPA’s attempt to redefine ‘navigable waterways’ to include every drainage ditch, backyard pond, and puddle is a radical regulatory overreach that threatens to take away the rights of property owners and will lead to costly litigation and lost jobs. The House is committed to fighting back against this radical policy, which is why we passed bipartisan legislation earlier this month to stop the EPA in their tracks from moving forward with this misguided proposal. It’s time for President Obama’s EPA to abandon these radical proposals, all in the name of protecting wetlands and waterways, that instead will only lead to more American jobs being shipped overseas at the expense of the American economy.”
• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @josephcurl.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
This weekend three new wide releases will debut, two of which have a real shot at dethroning the two-time reigning box office champion Captain America: Civil War. Last time out in Captain America: The Winter Soldier the superhero film saw a 38% decline in its third weekend of release, while Avengers: Age Of Ultron had a 50% drop. Splitting both numbers would see it come in right around the $41 million mark and create an intriguing race between it, Sony’s The Angry Birds Movie video game adaptation and Universal’s Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.
Though sporting the best early buzz and reviews Warner Bros. entry The Nice Guys is expected to bring up the rear in fourth position on the weekend but use that positive word of mouth to have a strong run into June.
The Angry Birds Movie
PROS:
Angry Birds the game is a massive worldwide success, permeating just about every gaming platform and channel.
Equally impressive is its usage by a very wide demographic.
It was reported that the film had $400 million in marketing spend and product tie-ins from major companies around the world.
Social media reception has been strong on the whole, especially on Facebook where it has secured more likes than any other animated film pre-release in all of 2016 so far.
Though sitting at only 56% fresh at RottenTomatoes that is the best rating for any video game adaptation ever.
CONS:
Video game adaptations have been famously hit or miss with a long string of failures, especially in the family space (see this year’s Ratchet & Clank).
The family demographic has been tapped numerous times in 2016 so far with titles such as Jungle Book and Zootopia still in the top 10, not to mention Captain America: Civil War which crosses over to virtually all demographics.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
PROS:
Sequel to the wildly popular 2014 Summer smash which raked in $270 million worldwide.
R-Rated comedies have a long history of strong May returns including the aforementioned first instalment here, The Hangover sequels and Bridesmaids.
CONS:
Social media buzz has been lacking for the film which is troubling, especially since the inclusion of Chloe Grace Moritz should help its appeal to younger women who are generally very active on social media. The film got virtually the same amount of likes by release day of the first film than it has from that release day to present which doesn’t spell good things.
Unless word of mouth and ratings were great for the first film comedy sequels often fall sort of their predecessor.
Both Seth Rogen and Zac Efron saw disappointing returns in subsequent films to Neighbors (Night Before – $43 million domestic total and Dirty Grandpa – $36 million domestic total respectively).
The Nice Guys
PROS:
Early word of mouth and reviews have been spectacular (96% fresh on RottenTomatoes currently).
Its a great counter-programming option for what currently is in release which should connect very well with older moviegoers.
Though waning, Crowe is still one of the more recognizable male leads in the business and with Ryan Gosling along for the ride for good measure to appeal to female audiences the starpower is a definite draw.
CONS:
Social media numbers, especially on Facebook, have been less than stellar which potentially indicates that at the very least its not appealing to many outside of older adults which could severely cap its opening numbers.
Often films that are very well received by critics miss the mark with audiences, especially in this mature target demographic, if their humor doesn’t translate well to a wider audience-base.
Top 10 Forecast
Boxoffice forecasts this weekend’s top ten films will generate around $156.4 million. That would mark a 8 percent increase from the same frame last year when Tomorrowland barely scraped by the second weekend of Pitch Perfect 2, leading to a top ten of $144.6 million.
Check out our complete weekend forecast below.
Title Distributor Weekend Domestic Total Through
Sunday, May 15 Captain America: Civil War Disney $41,000,000 $353,500,000 The Angry Birds Movie Sony / Columbia $39,000,000 $39,000,000 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising Universal $36,500,000 $36,500,000 The Nice Guys Warner Bros. $17,000,000 $17,000,000 The Jungle Book (2016) Disney $10,260,000 $327,000,000 Money Monster Sony / TriStar $6,900,000 $26,000,000 Zootopia Disney $1,800,000 $334,500,000 The Darkness High Top Releasing $1,500,000 $7,650,000 The Huntsman: Winter’s War Universal $1,300,000 $47,100,000 Mother’s Day (2016) Open Road $1,150,000 $31,000,000
Shawn Robbins and Alex Edghill contributed to this report. |
William Pollack, a medical researcher who helped develop a vaccine that virtually eradicated a disease once responsible for 10,000 infant deaths a year in the United States, died on Nov. 3 in Yorba Linda, Calif. He was 87.
He had diabetes and heart disease, his son Malcolm said in confirming the death.
Dr. Pollack was a senior scientist in the research laboratory of Ortho Pharmaceutical Company in Raritan, N.J., in the early 1960s when he began a collaboration with two Columbia University researchers, Dr. Vincent J. Freda and Dr. John G. Gorman, to conceive a novel treatment for erythroblastosis fetalis, a blood disorder commonly called Rh disease. The ailment is caused by seemingly superficial differences in the blood types of pregnant women and their fetuses.
Besides the biochemical traits that define the major blood types — A, B, AB and O — the blood of 85 percent of people carries a cluster of surface proteins known as the Rh factor, named for the rhesus monkeys in which it was first identified in 1940. Blood transfusions between people who have the Rh factor (known as Rh positive) and people who do not (Rh negative) cause severe immune reactions.
Rh disease occurs when a pregnant woman is Rh negative and her fetus is Rh positive. In the mixing of blood between the two during pregnancy, the mother’s Rh-negative blood cells produce antibodies that attack the blood cells of the fetus. Depending on the strength of the mother’s immune response, the effects on the baby can range from mild anemia to stillbirth. |
For most Americans, watching the Las Vegas massacre unfold was horrifying and surreal. For me, however, it felt familiar. Rapid gunfire. Mass panic. Making the potentially life-or-death decision between running or taking cover.
On several occasions, I’ve found myself in similar situations. I have been living and working in war zones for the past eight years. The Vegas shooting bore a remarkable resemblance to war’s banal realities.
The danger of war is not limited to bombs and direct combat, as we often imagine. War’s inevitable side effects- lawlessness, chaos, the proliferation of automatic guns- can result in even more substantial insecurity. As a result, an estimated 80-90% of casualties in war are civilians- ordinary mothers, husbands and children. As a former UN Peacekeeping Operation commander explained, “It is now more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in modern conflicts.”
Why is this comparison relevant in the wake of tragedy? Because millions of Americans are at risk of experiencing similar tragedy in the not-so-distant future.
At this point, it is difficult to deny that there is a legitimate risk of war with North Korea. Top psychiatrists are warning that Trump is “extremely dangerous” and could “order missiles fired at a nation because of his…personal distress.” While there are a variety of possible scenarios, attacks on American soil are likely, and experts warn that escalation into world war is a real possibility.
By comparison: if a credible authority had told Las Vegas concert-goers that a mass shooting might occur, most of them would have undoubtedly left the venue. Yet, most Americans are going about their daily lives as if nothing is amiss. There is more chatter about kneeling than nuclear bombs. Why?
It seems to be a universal human phenomenon: no one thinks that their neighborhood will become a war zone until they hear the first gunshots. I’ve met dozens of Syrian lawyers, doctors and business executives who are now destitute because they didn’t take measures to protect themselves. During the Sri Lankan civil war, an activist told me he wasn’t worried about his safety because he “had been fine so far.” He disappeared the next day. A South Sudanese tribal chief once told me his community was safe because “God would protect them.” A few weeks later, his town was burned to the ground.
This phenomenon: can be attributed to four main causes:
1. Boiled frogs. According to a popular allegory, if you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, its survival instinct kicks in, and it will jump out immediately, saving itself. However, if you put the frog in some nice cool water and then slowly turn up the heat, the frog will sit back, relax, and you’ll end up with frog soup.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
Likewise, human beings’ survival instincts kick in with sudden disasters (such as hurricanes), but we often fail to notice equally dangerous situations when the level of risk has escalated gradually- such as in the lead up to armed conflict. As psychologist Robert Ornstein and Biologist Paul Ehlrich explain, “the human brain operates in the same general way as that of a frog, but frogs are a long way from building thermonuclear weapons.”
2. Denial: even if we intellectually acknowledge the possibility of war, we rarely conceptualize the ground reality. Our imaginations are clouded by the sanitized portrayals we see on TV. To put it bluntly: the nightly news doesn’t show images of the dead, dismembered children that litter the street in conflict zones.
3. A sort of a meta-level bystander effect: when we find ourselves in unfamiliar situations, we are unsure how to react, so observe other people’s behavior for guidance. Unfortunately, in emergencies, everyone else does the same thing, so we all end up just looking around at each other, and nobody actually does anything.
4. Obedience. Stanley Milligram’s landmark obedience experiments showed that about 2/3 of ordinary Americans would electrocute an innocent person rather than disobey authority. Right now, we are continuing to obey authority despite the risk to our own lives. We may rant, protest and even write testy articles (like this one) - but all of these actions are within the confines of political and social normality, and none of them provide sufficient political pressure to extract the nuclear football from Trump’s hands.
What to Do?
In order to extricate ourselves from the brink of nuclear war, we are going to have to muster the courage to engage in collective acts of disobedience that exert real political pressure on politicians to remove Trump immediately. A general strike would be a fantastic start.
Every person - regardless of political affiliation, race or religion - should be part of such a movement. It is in the interest of every person who cares about their family’s safety, or who wants to prevent mass suffering and death.
The good news is that war with North Korea is not inevitable- at least not yet. We can’t prevent hurricanes, and we can’t go back in time to prevent the Las Vegas shooting. But we still have the power to prevent another tragedy of potentially astronomical proportions. |
UPDATE: Boffey is now praising Michael Gove as a ‘big beast’ in the pages of the Guardian. Are there no limits?
(not satire – it’s the Guardian!)
The Observer has a naughty little article today claiming there are “at least” twenty shadow ministers calling for Ed Miliband to stand down.
I say naughty, because the article fails to name even one shadow minister.
And considering there are only about 24 shadow ministers in the entire shadow cabinet, “at least” 20 would have to be just about all of them. Including Ed Miliband himself.
In fact, the whole article is so ridiculous in its anti-Labour spin and propaganda, it’s exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to see in the Daily Mail.
Which is not very surprising considering the journalist who wrote the Observer piece – Daniel Boffey – used to write exactly the same kind of political smear articles for the Mail on Sunday:
Miliband and his £18m holiday villa
Fury over Gordon Brown’s ‘cynical’ letter to murder victim’s local paper
Jacqui Smith’s cleaner hasn’t had a pay rise for five years
Labour’s army of spin, G20 summit is ‘choreographed’ by private firm
We reveal explosive report Ed Balls refused to make public
So why is the Lib Dem Guardian/Observer employing a hack who has a history of writing anti-Labour articles for the Tory Mail?
Another example of the Lib Dem /Tory coalition in action perhaps?
.
PS. It seems to have escaped some people that my final line was written in Ironic Bold font. But just to clarify – no – I don’t believe there’s an open conspiracy between the Mail and the Guardian to discredit Ed Miliband. However, I do believe in shoddy journalism to make cheap partisan political points. And I do believe hacks of a feather like to scratch each other’s backs. But I have genuinely no idea whatsoever why the Guardian would want to employ a right-wing former Mail hack …..
.
Please feel free to comment. And share. Thanks: |
The joint-duty assignment requirements that help define modern military officers' career tracks have inadvertently fueled the Defense Department's bloated bureaucracies and should be fundamentally reformed, a top defense expert told lawmakers Tuesday.
The long-standing joint-billet requirement for senior officers has forced the Pentagon to maintain large headquarters structures, said John Hamre, the head of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an influential Washington think tank.
"They need that headquarters structure to get joint-duty billets for everybody," Hamre told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "There just are not enough jobs without it."
"It's very hard to get through the system now," he said. "And so the personnelists have kind of engineered pathways through this complexity, and it's created an excessively large headquarters structure."
Influential lawmakers are considering a massive overhaul of the 1986 law known as the Goldwater-Nichols Act. It created the requirement that all general and flag officers serve in a joint-service position outside their own military service.
The rule was originally drawn up after the Vietnam War, intended to force parochial officers to communicate more effectively across service lines. B ut critics now say the joint-billet requirement has achieved its goal, and that it should be reformed or removed to help make today's military more flexible.
Those critics say that the requirement forces some troops to waste time in a joint billet that does not comport with their personal career goals or maximize their technical expertise. Under current laws, promotion boards are required to look unfavorably on officers who do not fulfill the joint-billet requirement.
The law is hindering the Pentagon's effort to reduce the size of its headquarters structure, a longstanding goal cited as a necessary budget-cutting measure but encountering stiff bureaucratic resistance.
× Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for the Early Bird Brief
"We've got to figure out … how do we take pressure out of the system so we're not feeding big headquarter structures that are really doing too much micromanagement?" said Hamre, who helped author the Goldwater-Nichols law three decades ago.
Some of the Pentagon's top civilians are eager to scale back the joint-billet requirements as part of a broader push to reform the military personnel system.
Some experts suggested eliminating the geographical combatant commands or vastly reducing their size because they no longer actually fight wars.
"The reality today is that we are war fighting with joint task forces," said Jim Thomas, a defense expert with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. 'We're not war fighting with those combatant commands. "
Thomas said that scaling back today's massive military headquarters structures is ultimately about optimizing readiness.
"You do it partly maybe to save money, but really the bigger reason is you do it to gain back your agility as an organization," he said.
"We are losing the command-and-control competition against all of our adversaries today," Thomas said. |
Fun Fact: Part of this story was written on a smartphone while standing in line at the Cape Town police station, and the remainder was drafted on a rented computer in a hotel room. Long story short, luggage belonging to Senior Road Test Editor Ari Henning and Video Producer Spenser Robert was stolen during their trip to South Africa, leaving them without laptops, clean underwear, and half of their video equipment. But thanks to the help of Honda personnel and lots of caffeine and pizza, the boys were still able to bring you this First Ride report and the forthcoming Africa Twin episode of On Two Wheels.
Honda says: Ride anywhere. Motorcyclist says: As comfortably and capably as the competition, but for a lot less!
Americans have been waiting a long time to ride Honda’s all-new Africa Twin adventure bike. Fresh in our memory is the year of announcements and carefully timed info leaks (see Africa Twin Patent Photo Leaks story here), and beyond that there’s the fact that the original XRV650 Africa Twin—first sold in Europe in 1988—was never brought to the US of A. American dual-sport riders were on the outside looking in throughout the ‘90s on up until 2003, when production of the Africa Twin ceased and the last glimmer of hope for a North American model finally faded. Or so we thought. But with the recent explosion in interest in adventure bikes Honda saw fit to bring the Africa Twin back, and moreover, they’re bringing their new ADV to America. And after spending two days aboard the new CRF1000L Africa Twin (including the Dual Clutch Transmission variant) on the tip of the continent that gave it its name, we’re here to tell you that it’s been worth the wait.
Honda Africa Twin ©Motorcyclist
DON'T MISS: Special On Two Wheels video review of the 2016 Africa Twin We’ve detailed the CRF1000L’s specs and features before (see our First Look here) so we won't rehash that here. Rather, let’s get right to the riding impressions while I still have South African dust behind my ears.
Honda says the CRF1000L dash is derived from racing. It positions a digital bar-graph tach above a large speed readout, with a fuel gauge positioned vertically along the right. The circular T symbol and the bars to the right represent the HSTC setting. A large square button to the right of the dash disables rear ABS. Front ABS can’t be turned off. ©Motorcyclist
One of the things we love about ADV bikes are their roomy ergos, and the Africa Twin fits the mold nicely. The riding position keeps your spine straight and the bike is slim between your knees, so it’s easy to plant your feet on the ground. Honda lists a curb weight of 511 pounds, but the bike feels lighter than that, both when you lift it off the sidestand and while underway. The CRF1000L is certainly a full-size machine with a tall appearance, but it’s not so large that it’s intimidating for someone without pro-level balance and not so tall that it’s unapproachable for shorter riders. Honda lists the basic seat height as 33.5 inches in the lower of two positions, but the Africa Twin doesn’t feel that tall in use. It doesn’t look like that little windscreen or those radiator shrouds would do much in the way of blocking the wind, but they do. A 45-minute downpour painted a clear picture of the Honda’s aero—despite the steady rain my torso and thighs remained dry, as did my hands behind the stock brush guards.
The Tri-Color Africa Twin has race-inspired red/white/blue graphics and gold wheels, just like the original 1988 model. It’s a stunningly good-looking bike, but sadly, that colorway isn’t coming to the US for 2016. Geez, is it 1988 all over again?! North American dealers will carry the CRF1000L in Rally Red and Digital Metallic White. Of the two, we prefer the red. ©Motorcyclist
While most manufacturers are equipping their ADV bikes with 1,200cc engines (or larger, in the case of KTM’s new 1,301cc Super Adventure), the Africa Twin’s parallel-twin displaces just 998cc. Its listed output of 94 horsepower and 72 pound-feet of torque (that’s for the European model since Honda doesn’t divulge power figures for US bikes) is well below the status quo, but it’s more than enough to get the job done. (In case you’ve forgotten, BMW lists the R1200GS engine at 125 hp and KTM says the 1190 Adventure twins make 150 hp.) Even better, the engine has good character, makes totally linear power, and spins smoothly until just before the rev limiter kicks in above 8,000 rpm. Honda says the bike gets about 50 miles per gallon, which means the 4.9-gallon tank should net a range of over 200 miles.
While all previous Africa Twins were powered by V-twins (first in 647cc and later in 742cc), the new machine is powered by a 998cc parallel-twin engine. Honda chose a parallel-twin design due to the packaging benefits, and a 270-degree crank is employed out of appreciation for the layout’s power characteristics and sound. The engine has a Unicam head design (as seen on the CRF motocrossers) and houses the oil and water pumps within the cases to reduce engine width and shield the components from damage. ©Motorcyclist
Handling is stable (as tested at over 220 kph [138 mph]), but perhaps too stable. The Africa Twin doesn’t display the quick-flick, happy-to-lean characteristics that we’ve come to expect from tall, relatively narrow-tired ADV bikes. It’s a bit slow to lean over, and in tighter turns the front end felt numb enough that I decided to slow my pace. It might be something as simple as tire choice or suspension settings, or it could be the result of using dirt-friendly wheel sizes—the Africa Twin wears a 21-inch front, where most of the big ADVs have 19s. But whatever the case the Honda wasn’t as enjoyable in the twisties as I’d hoped, even though the brakes and motor are definitely up to the task.
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Anyone willing to shell out another $600 and deal with an additional 23 pounds can get the Africa Twin with a DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission), which does away with the clutch and shift levers in favor of automatic, computer-controlled shifting based on several selectable parameters. The system works well most of the time—freeing the rider to relax and focus on other things, says Honda—but once the pace picked up on a twisty road the shift timing was off and downshifts were more abrupt than they would have been if I was in control. There are triggers by the left grip that you can use to override the computer, however, and they’re actually pretty fun to play with. DCT might not suit my style of riding (admittedly, I tend to ride quite aggressively), but if it makes motorcycling more accessible and draws more folks into the fold then it’s alright with me.
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
We rode some graded gravel roads on our first day, and I used the opportunity to assess the bike’s standard ABS and HSTC (Honda Selectable Torque Control, which is Honda speak for traction control). A button on the dash disables rear ABS (you have to be stopped first) and the HSTC has three levels plus off, which are selectable on the fly. The HSTC modes are quite distinct, with Level 1 (the most permissive) allowing a high level of wheelspin. Being able to slide and spin the rear tire while still having front ABS is hugely beneficial, and the Honda system is calibrated to keep you safe but also let you ride hard and have a good time. Annoyingly, both ABS and HSTC reset themselves every time you turn the bike off.
Here’s the left switch cluster on the DTC bike. DTC does away with the shift lever (though a parking-brake lever takes its place, albeit well out of reach while riding), but adds two shift paddles, a mode selection button, Drive/Sport/Neutral toggle, as well as a “G-Mode” button on the dash. The “SEL” switch (for select) allows you to navigate the various dash menus. Just beyond that rocker is the HSTC trigger, which you can pull on the fly to change TC modes. ©Motorcyclist
Switchable ABS and HSTC are both strong indicators that Honda actually wants owners to take the Africa Twin off road, and Honda joins big timers BMW and KTM in offering highly useful off-road electronics. Throughout the press launch Honda personnel reiterated that the Africa Twin is meant to be a do-it-all bike, and that includes legitimate adventure riding. To that end, on the second day of the launch they outfitted the bikes with Continental TKC 80 knobbies and released us on a loop route on a large farmstead. Once again I was pleased with the Africa’s low seat, high bar, narrow waist, and contoured tank since they let me move around freely, whether seated or standing. The bike’s massive amount of steering lock also became evident off road, and should be a big plus in suburbia as well. Engine power and character are well suited to off-road work—torque is strong right off idle but there’s not so much power that the tire spins up uncontrollably, and big, lurid power slides are a cinch on this bike because the engine is so tractable. I’ll admit, though, that with its modest power it’s not easy to wheelie the Africa Twin with the manual trans, so adventurers will need to seek an alternative route if they encounter a line that requires lifting the front wheel.
Just like the original, the new Africa Twin has dual headlights peering out from a flat, tall fairing. The new bike’s fairing is supported by a lightweight nylon subframe, with a tubular-steel structure bracing the windscreen. Headlights are ultra-bright LED, as are the tail lights. Turn signals will be incandescent on US-market bikes. ©Motorcyclist
The bike’s light and compact feeling transfers to the dirt, and I had a great time sliding, jumping, and generally riding the bike as hard as I felt comfortable considering the distance to the nearest hospital. With 9 inches of fork travel and 8.6 inches of rear-wheel travel the Africa twin tracks true over rough surfaces, so I never felt the need to steer around ruts, sand, or rubble while flying across the desert. And no matter how hard I ran it into rain bars and dips I wasn’t able to bottom the suspension. It’s safe to say that when it comes to off-road riding, the Africa Twin is no poser. Watch The Africa Twin In Action With This On Two Wheels Video Review
Both front and rear suspension are adjustable for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping. The shock offers a hydraulic-preload knob accessible via the right side of the bike. For off-road riding, we added 4 clicks of rebound damping to the shock to reduce kickback and removed ½ turn of spring preload from the fork to increase small-bump compliance. ©Motorcyclist
After a stint on the standard bike I took a DCT machine out for a lap. I wasn’t thrilled with the technology on the street, but I was surprised by how beneficial it was in the dirt. In fact, I rode faster with the DCT than I did with the standard clutch! For me, the biggest benefit was in tight corners following fast straights, where the automatic transmission made initiating slides (with aggressive downshifts via the shift trigger) effortless. It also made the transition from sliding the rear tire to spinning the rear tire much easier since all you have to do is lift off the rear brake and roll on the throttle. You can’t stall the DCT bike and throttle pickup is very consistent, so slow-speed maneuvers are less stressful as well. However, even in the most aggressive mode the transmission often upshifted earlier than I would have liked, while other times I would spin tire into the rev limiter and the system wouldn’t upshift until I rolled out of the throttle.
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
If I were buying an Africa Twin though, I would still go for a manual-trans bike simply because I like being engaged with the motorcycle. Even so, I think it’s great that this technology is so helpful off road, even for an experienced rider like myself. And it’s sure to be a benefit to riders just joining the ADV craze who have relatively little off-road experience.
The original 1988 XRV650 was bred from strong stock. It’s predecessor was the works NXR750 racer, which won the gruelling Paris Dakar Rally four times in a row starting in 1986. The street-going XRV650 was watered down not a bit, and proved its mettle by winning the Paris Dakar Production class in 1989. ©Motorcyclist
Speaking of buying an Africa Twin, you’ll be able to pick one up in June. The standard bike is listed at $12,999, while the DCT-equipped bike is $13,699. In case you need some perspective, the next cheapest bike in the big-bore ADV class is Yamaha’s $15,090 Super Ténéré, and that machine isn’t nearly as good off road. (Although it does have cruise control and a center stand standard.) Power figures notwithstanding, this is one of the more capable and well-rounded bikes in the ADV category, and it’s also the most affordable. Yes, we’ve waited a long time for the Africa Twin, but it’s finally coming to North America, and it’s better than we ever imagined.
Even a cursory review of the Africa Twin tells you it means business. First there are the spoke wheels in traditional 18/21-inch sizes, there there’s that large expanse of space between the ground and a substantial aluminum skid plate. Not visible are the adjustable ABS and TC, both of which are tuned for off-road riding. Some bikes are only meant to look like they’re ready for adventure. This one is actually ready for it. ©Motorcyclist
tech SPEC EVOLUTION Honda applies the legendary Africa Twin name to an all-new ADV. RIVALS [Aprilia Caponord][] Rally, [BMW R1200GS Adventure][], [Ducati Multistrada 1200 Rally][], [KTM 1190 Adventure R][], [Moto Guzzi Stelvio][], [Triumph Explorer XC][], [Yamaha Super Ténéré][] TECH PRICE $12,999 ($13,699 with DCT) ENGINE 998cc, liquid-cooled parallel-twin TRANSMISSION/FINAL DRIVE 6-speed/chain CLAIMED HORSEPOWER 94.0 hp @ 7,500 rpm CLAIMED TORQUE 72.0 lb.-ft. @ 6,000 rpm FRAME Steel semi-double cradle FRONT SUSPENSION Showa 45mm fork adjustable for spring preload, compression and rebound damping; 9.0-in. travel REAR SUSPENSION Showa shock adjustable for spring preload, compression and rebound damping; 8.6-in. travel FRONT BRAKE Nissin four-piston calipers, 310mm discs with ABS REAR BRAKE Nissin two-piston caliper, 256mm disc with ABS RAKE/TRAIL n/a WHEELBASE 62.0 in. SEAT HEIGHT 33.5/34.3 in. FUEL CAPACITY 4.9 gal. CLAIMED WEIGHT 511 lb. wet (534 lb. wet with DCT) AVAILABLE April 2016 CONTACT [powersports.honda.com][] VERDICT A worthy successor to the legendary Africa Twin, a terrific motorcycle, on road and off, and a good value on top of all that.
Feet up and sliding! Senior Road Test Editor Ari Henning tests the steering sweep on Honda's new DTC-equipped CRF1000L Africa Twin during the bike's press introduction in South Africa. Would you ever have guessed that a bike with an automatic transmission would excel off road? ©Motorcyclist
Honda Africa Twin ©Motorcyclist
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
The Tri-Color Africa Twin has race-inspired red/white/blue graphics and gold wheels, just like the original 1988 model. It’s a stunningly good-looking bike, but sadly, that colorway isn’t coming to the US for 2016. Geez, is it 1988 all over again?! North American dealers will carry the CRF1000L in Rally Red and Digital Metallic White. Of the two, we prefer the red. ©Motorcyclist
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Here’s the left switch cluster on the DTC bike. DTC does away with the shift lever (though a parking-brake lever takes its place, albeit well out of reach while riding), but adds two shift paddles, a mode selection button, Drive/Sport/Neutral toggle, as well as a “G-Mode” button on the dash. The “SEL” switch (for select) allows you to navigate the various dash menus. Just beyond that rocker is the HSTC trigger, which you can pull on the fly to change TC modes. ©Motorcyclist
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda says the CRF1000L dash is derived from racing. It positions a digital bar-graph tach above a large speed readout, with a fuel gauge positioned vertically along the right. The circular T symbol and the bars to the right represent the HSTC setting. A large square button to the right of the dash disables rear ABS. Front ABS can’t be turned off. ©Motorcyclist
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
Honda Africa Twin Photo: Honda
While all previous Africa Twins were powered by V-twins (first in 647cc and later in 742cc), the new machine is powered by a 998cc parallel-twin engine. Honda chose a parallel-twin design due to the packaging benefits, and a 270-degree crank is employed out of appreciation for the layout’s power characteristics and sound. The engine has a Unicam head design (as seen on the CRF motocrossers) and houses the oil and water pumps within the cases to reduce engine width and shield the components from damage. ©Motorcyclist
Both front and rear suspension are adjustable for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping. The shock offers a hydraulic-preload knob accessible via the right side of the bike. For off-road riding, we added 4 clicks of rebound damping to the shock to reduce kickback and removed ½ turn of spring preload from the fork to increase small-bump compliance. ©Motorcyclist
The original 1988 XRV650 was bred from strong stock. It’s predecessor was the works NXR750 racer, which won the gruelling Paris Dakar Rally four times in a row starting in 1986. The street-going XRV650 was watered down not a bit, and proved its mettle by winning the Paris Dakar Production class in 1989. ©Motorcyclist
Honda is supporting the CRF1000L with a full assortment of accessories including hard side and top cases, a larger windscreen, lower seat, center stand, heated grips, and more. The aftermarket is surely going to go to town on this bike. Give it a year or two and we’re sure you’ll be able to get everything from a cup holder to big-bore kits. ©Motorcyclist
Even a cursory review of the Africa Twin tells you it means business. First there are the spoke wheels in traditional 18/21-inch sizes, there there’s that large expanse of space between the ground and a substantial aluminum skid plate. Not visible are the adjustable ABS and TC, both of which are tuned for off-road riding. Some bikes are only meant to look like they’re ready for adventure. This one is actually ready for it. ©Motorcyclist |
Affirmations are powerful methods for self-improvement because it has the ability to reprogram our brains. Just like exercise, they increase the level of feel-good hormones and push our brains to form new clusters of “positive thought”. Through the sequence of thought-speech-action, affirmations play an essential role by breaking patterns of negative thoughts, negative speech which result in reduction of negative actions.
My ability to overcome any challenges is limitless. I am a positive thinker and my life is plentiful with prosperity. I am indestructible. My dreams will manifest into reality if I work towards them. Nothing is impossible if I put my mind into it. No obstacles can stop me from achieving greatness. I have no fear, fear only exist if I believe in it. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning of something great. I may be one in 7 billion but I am also one in 7 billion. I refuse to give up because I haven’t tried all possible ways.
5 Powerful Motivational Music That Will Get You Moving. Click on the image below and be motivated.
Share the positivity; Make your friends and family smile and brighten up their day.
[tell-a-friend id="1" title="Share the positivity with a friend"]
Like this: Like Loading...
Related
Comments
comments |
Coming Soon
Paskal
Naval unit PASKAL is among the most elite special forces in Malaysia. But all bets are off when one of its own stages a hijacking. Based on true events.
Amy Schumer Growing
Amy Schumer talks marriage, pregnancy, politics and more in a new stand-up special filmed at the Chicago Theatre.
Rhythm + Flow
Judges Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. search for the next breakout hip-hop star in this music competition series.
Tuca & Bertie
Two bird women -- a carefree toucan and an anxious songbird -- live in the same apartment building and share their lives in this animated comedy.
If I Hadn't Met You
Eduard, a husband and father who loses his family in a tragic accident, travels to parallel universes to seek a better fate for his beloved wife.
THE STRANGER
Secrets, violence and a conspiracy send family man Adam Price on a desperate quest to uncover the truth about the people closest to him.
Warrior Nun
A young woman wakes up in a morgue with inexplicable powers and gets caught in a battle between good and evil. Inspired by the manga novels.
The Eddy (Working Title)
A jazz club in the heart of multicultural Paris faces danger in this musical drama series from "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle. |
Tale World Entertainment's Mount & Blade will officially have its first esports event on May 20, as that's when the best European players will clash for a prize pool of $10,000 USD in an event known as the Battle of Bucharest.
The Battle of Bucharest is organised by the Lithuanian Esports Federation alongside the developer, and will be held at PGL Studio in Bucharest, Romania, where two categories of matches will be played, those being 5v5 and 1v1. From May 12 to 14 qualifying rounds will be held, and on May 20 the best of those will face off.
Registration is now open, and you can sign up here until tomorrow, so you'd best be quick. You can also check the rules of the competition on this website too, but it's important to know the event will be played in Mount & Blade: Warband.
Sergei Klimov, Managing Director of the LEF, stated: "Battle of Bucharest is a stepping stone for Mount & Blade esports events. We plan to develop this format to include other regions in the future, increase the prize pool and of course jump to Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (the new game in the series) when it's released".
Ali Erkin, Managing Director of TaleWorlds Entertainment, added: "[TaleWorlds] has been looking for great ways to engage with our active community at a live event, and this cooperation presents a fantastic opportunity. We are looking forward to meeting the players in Bucharest - one of the top esports hubs in the world".
How well-suited is Mount & Blade to esports? |
"How can we communicate?" the alien being asks Captain James Kirk in a vintage edition of Star Trek. "My thoughts . . . you are hearing them? This is interesting."
Kirk can hear them because he's got a handy little voice translation gizmo, just perfect for communication with extraterrestrials, and apparently an inspiration for the Pentagon. The government is now testing something like this gadget to aid US forces in Afghanistan.
One of the biggest challenges for troops in that region is the language barrier. To overcome this problem, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been evaluating a trio of new, portable handheld devices that record and then transmit voice translations of that country's two most popular languages.
How do they work? Project manager Craig Schlenoff explains: "An English speaker talks into the phone. Automatic speech recognition distinguishes what is said and generates a text file that software translates to the target language. Text-to-speech technology converts the resulting text file into an oral response in the foreign language. This process is reversed for the foreign language speaker."
The users can both speak into one device, or call each other on their own copies of the handheld.
Afghanistan has two official languages: Pashto and Dari—respectively spoken by 35 and 50 percent of the populace. Then there are the Turkic languages: Uzbek and Turkmen, spoken by another 11 percent. And a small but not insignificant portion of the country speak Baluchi, Pashai, or Nuristani.
These TRANSTAC devices ("spoken language communication and TRANSlation system for TACtical use") are intended to fill the enormous communications gap that US forces presently face. Local human translators are in short supply, and take huge risks when offering their services.
"And, sometimes, translators may have ulterior motives," warns Brian Weiss of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is running the program for DARPA.
In the past, soldiers have tried to make do with microphones hooked up to software empowered portable computers. But those arrangements are pretty clunky. The Pentagon tested voice devices shown in this YouTube video which indeed look like handheld mobile phones. So far they can hear and understand Pashto, Dari, and Iraqi Arabic.
There are already a wide variety of speech-to-speech translators out there, but these DARPA machines are clearly pushing the envelope in terms of functionality. At least that's the hope. NIST has tried these gadgets out in about thirty situations, including vehicle check points, building inspections, and Afghani-US military training events.
The exchanges have been filmed, and a team of judges are evaluating the results. |
Every year, the cemeteries are filled with the families of fallen IDF soldiers who come to visit their loved ones' place of rest and to commemorate their memory, but the grave of the late Maj. Moshe Ze'ev Breuer remains bereft of visitors.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
Breuer, an ultra-Orthodox officer and graduate of the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem, died in 1956 in a reprisal operation in Qalqilya. He was 29. He was buried in a civilian cemetery in Bnei Brak and his family, which does not recognize the state, refrains from visiting his grave on Memorial Day, but rather holds a memorial service only on the anniversary of his death.
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
Only one person would show up: Pinchas, Breuer's cousin, who also fought in that operation and decided that if the family didn't come to the grave on Memorial Day, he would be the one to visit the gravesite and give his cousin the honor he deserved, like the other fallen soldiers of Israel.
But the years have passed, and a stroke left Pinchas, now 81, confined to a wheelchair and physically unable to reach the cemetery. He said, "Since the incident, I can't go. There is sand in the cemetery, and I can't go in. Before the incident, I went every year, and it hurts me that I can't go there. He's my cousin and there's no one to go, only me. This is a civilian cemetery in Bnei Brak, so nobody recognized it. They buried him, and that was it."
He recounted how, over the years, when he came to the grave of the late Breuer at the Zichron Meir cemetery in Bnei Brak, he would be attacked by ultra-Orthodox Jews. "The ultra-Orthodox would attack me and throw me out. There was a siren, and I stood at attention and they circled me and shouted and pushed me. They were against everything related to the army," he said.
Maj. Breuer
Students from Amit High School in Modi'in decided to pitch in so that Breuer's gravesite would be surrounded by people standing at attention during the Memorial Day siren, commemorating his memory. "It's hard to accept a situation when there is no one to go up on Memorial Day to Moshe's grave and say Kaddish (a memorial prayer) for an outstanding officer who sacrificed himself for the sake of the state," said Omer Avidar, a sophomore. "We feel that this is a significant Zionist act … This is a very sad story, but we are happy that this year there will be someone to stand next to his grave."
"This act expresses our shared destiny," said Rabbi Itamar Chaikin, the principal of Amit Modi'in. "Even if people deny it, the country and the people have mutual responsibility. And in Bnei Brak as well, they should remember the soldiers who make it possible to continue studying Torah and living in the State of Israel. It is only right that the residents of Bnei Brak pay last respects to a soldier who had given his life and no less respect to the living soldiers. We at the school teach to remember, especially those who have been forgotten by their own community."
(Translated and edited by N. Elias) |
Sandy • Don’t call Denver Snuffer Jr. a prophet and don’t view his Remnant movement as a church.
Of course, it was the Sandy lawyer’s account about a face-to-face meeting with Jesus that branded him a prophetic figure in the first place. And his 2013 excommunication from the LDS Church for “apostasy” — arguing that after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the faith he founded no longer had the exclusive truth or divine authority — seems to have made Snuffer more popular with segments of dissatisfied Mormons.
Before long, hundreds of like-minded seekers traveled to hear him speak — in St. George, Phoenix and Boise — and poured out of their respective LDS pews to form “fellowships,” or small groups, usually gathering in houses and yearning for, well, something more.
They were mostly super-Mormons, zealots who gave their all to the faith. They taught in the LDS Church Educational System or worked at church-owned Brigham Young University. They served in temples. They dissected the scriptures looking for potent but hidden clues to Jesus’ Second Coming or keys to salvation. Some devotees delved into holistic healing, piled up excessive food storage or launched apocalyptic preparations. Others found mainstream Mormon services too boring, too shallow to feed their spiritual hungering. They ached for more celestial manifestations, more holy works, more Holy Writ.
Whatever his listeners’ personal issues, Snuffer’s message seemed to hit home: Mormonism’s hierarchical and bureaucratic structure had abandoned Smith’s heavenly visions and clarion calls to build Zion. Anyone, he said, could a have mystical encounter with deity — like early Latter-day Saints trumpeted — not just the guy at the top.
The Remnant, as some began to call themselves, would be radically democratic, a “federation of fellowships” with no clear leader, no rigid rules, no prescribed offices, no formal organization — setting themselves apart from what they see as the ultracontrolled and controlling LDS administration operating out of a grand old building and a skyscraper in downtown Salt Lake City.
By some estimates, the schismatic movement now includes between 5,000 and 10,000 followers in 49 states and several countries — mostly former or current members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some have been disciplined by the church; others continue to participate in the Utah-based faith, while sneaking off to fellowships on the side.
On Labor Day weekend, Snuffer will be in Boise at what the group is calling a Doctrine of Christ Conference, where hundreds of voters are expected to canonize a new set of scriptures, including a reworking of Mormonism’s foundational text, the Book of Mormon, and its Doctrine and Covenants, a collection mostly of Smith’s revelatory writings.
“The last known major canonization was in 1672 by the Eastern Orthodox Church, so nothing like this has been seen in orthodox or Protestant Christianity in nearly 350 years,” Chris Hamill, a spokesman for the project, says in a news release. “Not even the Mormon church, or any of its offshoots, ever formally canonized (or accepted by common consent of the membership) all of their scriptures. … This is a very important historical development.”
“Things are happening fast,” says Remnant participant Ken Jensen of Sandy. “The work of God is afoot.”
Article continues below
How worried are Mormon higher-ups?
The LDS Church declined to comment on Snuffer or his movement, but an internal 2015 presentation to the faith’s apostles (as provided by the website MormonLeaks) lists the Sandy attorney — along with Ordain Women, excommunicated podcaster John Dehlin, nagging church history questions and some church policies — among the individuals and issues leading some members away from the religion.
And many Mormons, especially in places such as Utah County, Davis County, Mesa, Ariz., and Boise, where Latter-day Saints are in the majority, are seeing formerly active members tear up family unity by joining the Snufferites. Their absence in their congregations is obvious and far more dramatic than others who simply slip away.
These folks challenge core Mormon principles and precedents — established over nearly two centuries of LDS expansion — and any notion of inspired organization.
Though theirs is still an all-male priesthood, they reject the Mormon notion that ties it to church office or leadership. Baptism is not about joining a church. They have created a GoFundMe account to buy land for a future temple, though it is unclear exactly what rituals might take place there. Tithing monies remain in local fellowships, used for the poor in their midst, and are not sent to any central headquarters. There isn’t one. They don’t believe polygamy — as Mormons understand it — came from God.
In fact, Snuffer denounces plural marriage and insists Smith never fully practiced it — even in the face of generally accepted historical evidence stating otherwise — though some polygamists belong to fellowships.
The 60-something Snuffer and these believers advocate “a new tide of open religious thought and worship that is highly individual,” Brent Edward writes in a news release about the Boise conference, “involving no paid clergy. … The faithful in this new school of thought believe that God is capable of revealing his word to anyone who earnestly seeks it, and when truth is discovered, it should be added to the canon of inspired writings.”
Still, the movement’s language and direction are far from clear.
“Remnant of what?” asks Daymon Smith, a Utah Valley University anthropologist who has studied Snuffer’s writings and assertions. “Many different Mormons finish that sentence in often divergent ways, generally in opposition to a larger church; and yet still seem to be part of a single movement.”
Remnant believers are found in two places, Smith says, “on social media, where many ideas can be discussed and wrestled over, or left vague, and in face-to-face meetings, where the rituals and practices of the emerging movement provide a sense of unity, of preserving something.”
Though Snuffer urges all to have their own pipelines to God, he is still the one they look to and quote. They refer to scores of his books, his lectures on Mormonism, his running commentary and blog, and his public speeches.
“Denver’s words are highly regarded, not because he is the leading authority or single prophet to be submitted to,” Smith says, “but because he voices their own sentiments, aspirations and long-running criticisms of the LDS Church.”
Some Remnant adherents believe Snuffer might be the “one mighty and strong” described in Mormon scripture as a powerful figure who will come in the last days to set God’s house in order.
Forty years in the faith
As a young Air Force cadet in New Hampshire, the nonbelieving Snuffer found Mormonism and was entranced by founder Smith’s words in D&C 76, offering a glimpse of three heavens in the eternities.
“Here in majestic simplicity was a vision of things which had never been revealed about the afterlife,” he writes in a description of his conversion, “and the definition of ‘many mansions’ which was both clear and soul stirring,”
On Sept. 10, 1973, Snuffer, a self-confessed sinner and skeptic, plunged into the waters of LDS baptism and soon began an intense study of Mormon beliefs. For the next few decades, he taught the weekly Gospel Doctrine class in six wards (or congregations) in four states, plus spoke at BYU Education Week and at the University of Utah’s LDS Institute of Religion.
Meanwhile, he earned a law degree from BYU, married, divorced, remarried and reared nine children from both marriages. Along the way, he was drawn to Mormonism’s more esoteric theories.
In 2006, the lawyer published “The Second Comforter: Conversing With the Lord Through the Veil,” which became an overnight sensation with Mormons who desired more mystical interactions. Within four years, he was attracting hundreds to his speeches up and down the Mormon corridor.
At least two volumes and many sermons after his foray into deep theological waters, the now-ponytailed preacher produced “Passing the Heavenly Gift,” a tome which spells out Snuffer’s reading of Mormon history based on scripture, including his hypothesis about the church losing its way after Smith perished. The future Remnant leader’s Mormon stake (or regional) president demanded that he pull back the book. The writer refused.
He learned he had been excommunicated by his ecclesiastical leaders in Sandy on Sept. 10, 2013 – 40 years to the day after his baptism.
“I was not a rebel,” he says in a recent interview. “I suspect there are people in my home ward and stake today who are unaware that I’ve ever written a book.”
Being exed didn’t change his commitment to Mormonism, Snuffer says. He continued to attend LDS services with his wife, Stephanie, while stepping up his speaking schedule — and telling everyone who would listen, as he wrote on his blog at the time: “I will not start a church. Period. Won’t. Not now. Not later. Never.”
Now the couple are all in with the Remnant.
Two years or so after the LDS Church booted him out, Snuffer joined forces with some followers who wanted to expunge Mormon scriptures of anything that they couldn’t trace explicitly to Smith. Gone were D&C sections that talked about church organization, priesthood offices and polygamy, replaced by a package of Snuffer revelations and tucked into a new volume known as Teachings and Commandments.
“Conspiracies have corrupted the records beginning among the Jews, and again following the time of my apostles, and yet again following the time of Joseph and Hyrum [Smith],” Snuffer says God told him. “As you have labored with the records, you have witnessed the alterations and insertions, and your effort to recover them pleases me and is of great worth.”
Wine and worship
On a recent Sunday, a dozen members of a Remnant fellowship lounge on couches in Ken Jensen’s Sandy living room, with about the same number of children, some in arms, some sprawled across laps and some crawling on the floor. Print shirts, pants on women, and flip-flops give it a casual feel.
A large staircase snakes up to the second floor, with black letters affixed to the wall, saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them — I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
The bearded dad, a father of 11 who was excommunicated from the LDS Church in 2015 for apostasy, suggests they sing hymns, beginning with children’s pieces. So Taylor Child moves to a piano and plays “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” After that, it’s the Mormon classic “I Am a Child of God” and “Jesus Once Was a Little Child.”
While waiting for one woman to go to a nearby store for a baby bottle, the group discusses a Remnant baptism from the previous night. By now, scores of former Mormons have been rebaptized as a symbol of their newfound beliefs, but not to become a member of a church.
Child, who has been with the movement for three years, conducted the ritual for his 8-year-old son, Aidan, and invited his Mormon parents to attend. It took place at a Saratoga Springs hot spring, by full immersion.
“There was a really good spirit there,” he says before quipping: “It was good exposure for my parents so they could see we are not all Satan worshippers.”
At 79, LaPrele Jordan has been looking for a spiritual home in various faith groups. She left the LDS Church in 1990 to join James Harmston’s breakaway — and eventually polygamous — sect in Manti, but fled that, too.
“It’s been a long, long, long journey to find you guys,” says Jordan, who was among those baptized the day before. “I’ve finally found where I belong, and it’s so wonderful.”
More singing and then comes the sacrament.
Two piano benches are placed in the middle of the room. Bottles of wine (with grape juice for the children) and baskets of artisan bread are set upon them. They kneel and close their eyes. Some hold their hands with upturned, cupped palms or reach their arms heavenward.
Child offers traditional Mormon communion prayers, except saying “wine” rather than water — as modern Latter-day Saints do. He and others tear slabs of the bread. Each worshipper takes a hunk. The wine and grape juice are poured into plastic cups and served.
After all partake, they move on to discuss the new scriptures as well as a draft of the movement’s emerging “guidelines and standards.”
Jensen found Snuffer’s work in 2010, back when he was a practicing Latter-day Saint, and felt it was “over my head.”
Now the insurance salesman grasps Snuffer’s message and says he is amazed at “how incredibly patient and long-suffering Denver has been … and how willing to let others grow in understanding.”
As religious movements go, this one is in its infancy. Now comes the hard part: finding a balance between individuality and organization.
What’s the appeal?
It was the Book of Mormon that propelled Jeff Savage into the Remnant movement.
Savage was born and reared in the LDS Church in California, often serving in leadership positions. He spent two years proselytizing for his faith in southern Chile, met his wife, Emily, at BYU, and then married her in a Mormon temple.
When Savage went to the University of Illinois for graduate work, he discovered Snuffer’s “Second Comforter.”
“It was like finding a drink of water in the desert,” the gentle scholar says. “Denver interweaves scripture and prose together and does so masterfully.”
Savage returned to the Mormon scripture he had read maybe 25 times before. This go-around, he saw things he had never before noticed.
“It talks about the last days before Christ’s return,” Savage says. “It describes people who care about appearance and riches and churches ‘built up unto themselves.’ It says those churches have gone astray.”
Reading along with his wife, Savage says, the couple concluded such verses were “talking about us. Our church.”
They didn’t want to abandon the only faith they had ever known, so they kept their observations private and, after moving to South Carolina, took in both Mormon and Remnant services.
Meanwhile, Savage was asked to oversee the effort to create some “guidelines and standards” for the burgeoning movement.
Fast-forward to a hot summer night in early August at Salt Lake Community College’s Sandy campus. There, Savage presents his draft to a group of about 40 representatives — about half are women — from fellowships across Utah, with others tuning in via Skype.
Though there is a patina of civility, collegiality and cohesion, serious divisions percolate beneath the surface and occasionally erupt, including after a kneeling prayer to discover God’s will.
It’s not surprising, though, given that, to these believers, words matter — a lot — and each is entitled to hear heaven’s promptings.
Debating revelation
During the nearly five-hour meeting, every word in Savage’s document is scrutinized, assessed, challenged and voted upon.
The first long debate is about whether to allow the words “or grape juice” to be included in the section describing how the fellowships should perform the sacrament.
Snuffer says it should be “wine,” one attendee argues, so why allow grape juice? Another woman insists that those coming out of Mormonism or conservative traditions might be uncomfortable with wine. Why not allow grape juice? After more than 20 minutes, it is added.
For these representatives, the LDS health code known as the “Word of Wisdom,” which forbids alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea, is just that — wisdom, counsel, advice. It is not a requirement as it has become in Mormonism.
The longest and most vociferous debate is over the inclusion of four words: “Thus saith the Lord.”
Savage, who sits patiently by like a modern-day Thomas Jefferson watching others rip apart his Declaration of Independence, defends his use of those words, noting they were dictated by God.
Smith used the same “thus saith the Lord” phrase in sections of Mormonism’s D&C, but he was believed to be the only “prophet, seer and revelator” who could speak for God to the whole church.
In this case, these words came exclusively to Savage. Could his personal revelation stand for the collective fellowships, they wonder, or only for him?
After some time, Savage acknowledges to the group that the first attribution to the Lord is a passage that came to Snuffer. Savage was reluctant to make that known because Snuffer has declared he was not involved in the guideline-writing process.
After more than an hour, the group votes on the phrase, and, though not all agree, no one opposes it. Other parts of the document are approved, disapproved or tabled
During the lengthy discussions, Snuffer’s name is invoked again and again as authoritative.
The notion of all fellowshippers getting their own revelations, including ones that may contradict others, is still an unsettling, new idea, Savage says. ”We are transitioning out of revering the LDS hierarchy but some still feel they can only trust Denver.”
Though he maintains he is just one voice among many, Snuffer will lay out what the group’s approach to history and scripture should be going forward in his “Prayer for Covenant.”
The words of it, Snuffer writes on a recent blog, “came by revelation from the Lord to me alone.” |
CENSORSHIP? Julian Assange Vanishes Off Twitter
The Twitter account belonging to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange vanished off Twitter late on Sunday evening, while many were celebrating Christmas Eve.
It is unclear whether he deactivated or if he was suspended, but given Twitter’s new pro-censorship rules, many are speculating that it is the latter. A source who works closely with WikiLeaks told the Gateway Pundit that they were not aware of any plans for Assange to deactivate his account on his own.
Twitter set new rules in place on December 18 which stated they may remove any individual who is associated with hate groups either on or off their platform. Assange surely would not fall under that category.
At least three masked intruders broke into the Madrid office of Baltasar Garzón, the head of WikiLeaks’ legal team, during the early hours of Monday morning — in what police are calling a “very professional” operation.
As CIA threats against @WikiLeaks heat up, at least three masked men dressed in black have broken into @WikiLeaks chief counsel Baltasar Garzón's legal office, blinding security cameras with tape, in a "very professional" operation say police. https://t.co/ao3nD3bk2c — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) December 19, 2017
Tweeting about the incident on Tuesday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange wrote that the security cameras were taped over and no money was taken during the break in.
Assange entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 19, 2012, where he applied and was granted political asylum. Since that time, the building has been encircled by police waiting on standby to arrest him. He has never been charged with any crime by the US government.
In 2016, after 16 months of investigation, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) concluded that Julian Assange is the victim of arbitrary detention. Not only did the group, made up of lawyers and human rights professionals, release an opinion that Assange should be released, they reported that he should be compensated by the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom for “deprivation of liberty.”
Assange was once held in the absolute highest regard by the left for his publishing of the Iraq and Afghan War Logs, which crippled the agenda of the war hungry swamp and dealt a massive blow to the Bush administration. At the time, he was branded by establishment Republicans as an enemy of the state who was simply seeking to hurt their party. However, Assange proved beyond a shadow of a doubt over the years that his loyalty was not to a party, but to the truth. This was especially true when he published the emails from the Democratic National Committee last year.
We have reached out to Assange for comment and will update this article if one is made available. |
The twenty-second Agda Implementors' Meeting will take place in Leuven 2015-09-16 to 2015-09-22 (Wed to Tue). The meeting will be similar to previous ones:
* Presentations concerning theory, implementation, and use cases of Agda. * Discussions around issues of the Agda language. * Plenty of time to work on or in Agda, in collaboration with the other participants.
Location
The meeting will take place on campus Arenberg in building 200S, around 2,5 km from the center of Leuven. The building is in between two larger ones (L and M). The entrance is hidden somewhat behind a hedge and a bike shed (see OpenStreetMaps).
Coffee breaks will be provided, as well as WIFI through eduroam. Lunch is available at De Moete (sandwiches and soup) or Alma III (warm meals).
From the central train station, you can go to campus Arenberg by bus. Bus 616 takes you there in about 15 minutes, number 2 does the same in 27 minutes. You can also go by bike, which takes 10-15 minutes. See below for information on renting a bike.
Excursion
On Sunday (20/8), there will be a guided walk through the historical center of Leuven. We will meet at noon at the Ladeuzeplein (at the university library) for lunch in De Appel. At 2 p.m., the guide will meet us at de Grote Markt. After the tour, we could go for some drinks in The Capital (selection of over 2000 Belgian beers).
Dinner
On Monday (21/8), there will be a conference dinner at Bistro Lust (http://www.bistrolust.be). We have a reservation at 7:30 p.m.
Daily Schedule
09:30 - 11:00 Session 1: Talks & Tutorials 10:45 - 11:15 Coffee 11:00 - 12:30 Session 2: Talks & Discussions 12:30 - 13:30 Lunch 13:30 - 15:00 Session 3: Code Sprints 15:00 - 15:30 Coffee 15:30 - 17:30 Session 4: Code Sprints 17:30 - 18:00 Wrap-up meeting: Results, Demos
Preliminary program
Wed, September 16 09:30 Welcome 10:00 Nils Anders Danielsson: Higher and/or dependent lenses 10:45 Coffee 11:15 Discussions / code sprints 12:30 Lunch 13:30 Code sprints 15:00 Coffee 15:30 Code sprints Thu, September 17 09:30 Philipp Hausmann: The Agda UHC backend 10:15 Wolfram Kahl: Towards Verified Graph Transformation as Basis for Code Generation 10:45 Coffee 11:15 Discussions / code sprints 12:30 Lunch 13:30 Code sprints 15:00 Coffee 15:30 Code sprints Fri, September 18 09:30 Ulf Norell: Escaping from record hell 10:45 Coffee 11:15 Discussions / code sprints 12:30 Lunch 13:30 Code sprints 15:00 Coffee 15:30 Code sprints Sat, September 19 10:00 Andreas Nuyts: Directed homotopy type theory with an enhanced variance system 10:45 Coffee 11:15 Happy hacking! 12:30 Lunch 15:00 Coffee Sun, September 20 12:00 Lunch at De Appel 14:00 guided walk through Leuven's historical center Mon, September 21 09:30 Thomas Winant and Jesper Cockx: STAMP: Strongly Type-sAfe Meta-Programming for Haskell in Agda 10:45 Coffee 11:15 Discussions / code sprints 12:30 Lunch 13:30 Code sprints 15:00 Coffee 15:30 Code sprints 19:30 Conference dinner at Bistro Lust Tue, September 22 09:30 Happy hacking!
Travel to Leuven
By plane: from Brussels airport, you can reach Leuven by train in about 15 minutes.
By train: most international trains stop at Brussels South (Bruxelles Midi), from where the intercity train takes you to Leuven in about 30 minutes. Further information about train service in Belgium can be found at https://www.belgianrail.be/en.
Getting around in Leuven
Leuven isn't very big, so it's easy to get around.
By bus: Bus service is handled by De Lijn (https://www.delijn.be/en/). You can buy tickets at the Lijnwinkel, located next to the station (on your right).
By bike: You'll notice that most people in Leuven go everywhere by bike. You can rent a bike for a week for 24 euro at the Bike Point (http://www.kuleuven.be/velo/fietspunteng.html), which is also located next to the train station (on your left).
Accommodation
Registration
Officially, registration is now closed. If you wish to attend and haven't registered yet, please contact the organizers by sending a mail to jesper [DOT] cockx [AT] cs [DOT] kuleuven [DOT] be.
Participants
Andreas Abel, University of Gothenburg
Stephan Adelsberger, WU Wien
Guillaume Allais, University of Strathclyde
James Chapman, University of Strathclyde
Jesper Cockx, KU Leuven (organizer)
Nils Anders Danielsson, University of Gothenburg
Dominique Devriese, KU Leuven (co-organizer)
Philipp Hausmann, Universiteit Utrecht
Víctor López Juan, Chalmers University
Wolfram Kahl, McMaster University (from Sept. 17)
Steven Keuchel, Universiteit Gent
Sergey Kotikov
Fredrik Nordvall Forsberg, University of Strathclyde
Ulf Norell, University of Gothenburg
Andreas Nuyts, KU Leuven
Paolo Torrini, KU Leuven
Andrea Vezzosi, Chalmers University
Talks
Wolfram Kahl: ``Mouldable Code'' for Correct-by-Construction SW Needs Nested Theories
Ulf Norell: Escaping from record hell
Philipp Hausmann: The Agda UHC backend (slides)
Nils Anders Danielsson: Higher and/or dependent lenses
Andreas Nuyts: Directed homotopy type theory with an enhanced variance system
Jesper Cockx Thomas Winant: STAMP: Strongly Type-sAfe Meta-Programming for Haskell in Agda (slides)
Pre-meeting Code Sprint Proposals
Wolfram Kahl: Make --sharing work
Wolfram Kahl: Get sharing into the back-ends
Philipp Hausmann: Port some optimizations to MAlonzo / UHC from Epic
Philipp Hausmann: New FFI for Agda
Jesper Cockx: Records with individually level-polymorphic fields (see http://homotopytypetheory.org/2015/07/05/modules-for-modalities/)
Jesper Cockx: Thinking about shape-irrelevance
Ulf Norell: Improving efficiency of scope checking
Nils Anders Danielsson: Blocking instead of abstract |
Updated at the bottom with confirmation from the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner. KCET will honor him on-air tonight. First posted around 12:17 p.m.
See also:
Continue Reading
Huell Howser Videos: A Top 5.
See also:
*Top 5 Huell Howser Food Episodes: In Memoriam.
Huell Howser, longtime host of the public television show California's Gold, has died, our sister publication OC Weekly reports.
Howser retired from broadcasting unexpectedly last year. He produced the show at facilities at L.A. station KCET.
According to OC Weekly ...
The news will come as a shock to his legions of fans, all who were puzzled when Howser announced his retirement late last year ...
His show was a folksy look behind the scenes at some of the icons of the California landscape, from farms to beaches, hot dog stands to museums.
The beloved personality died at the age of 67.
[Added at 12:55 p.m.]: KPCC (89.3 FM) also confirmed Howser's passing and published this brief bio snippet from his own website:
Huell Howser moved to Los Angeles in 1981 from his home state of Tennessee to become a reporter for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, he had no idea he'd fall in love...with California. His enthusiasm for his new home inspired the idea for the television series that started it all, California's Gold. Huell had a simple idea: if he traveled the state with an open heart and an open mind, a microphone and a camera, he would uncover a treasure of California stories.
We spoke to Howser last year and one thing that stood out from our conversation was his pride over having produced California's Gold himself. He raised his own funds from viewers (and, apparently, some underwriters) for the endeavor, he told us.
[Update at 1:17 p.m.]: KCET director of communications Ariel Carpenter told LA Weekly that Howser died of natural causes last night overnight.
She said the KCET "SoCal Connected" would honor Howswer with a segment tonight (at 5:30 p.m., with a rebroadcast at 10 p.m.).
Courtesy Howser family.
Past episodes of California's Gold would be continue to be broadcast on KCET, Carpenter said.
The station invited viewers to post about him on its site.
After the jump: More confirmation -- from a family friend and from the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's office. Also, the mayor of Los Angeles reacts:
[Update at 2:30 p.m.]: Ryan Morris, a producer for Howser, a friend, and a spokesperson for the family, told us he died early this morning at his home.
Courtesy Howser family.
He said a caretaker told him of Howser's passing.
An official at the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's office told the Weekly Hauser's death of natural causes in the Palm Springs area was reported to them about 2:35 a.m. today.
KCET, meanwhile, issued a statement, sent to the Weekly and other outlets, this afternoon:
Courtesy Howser family.
We are deeply saddened by the news of Huell's passing. This is a tremendous personal and professional loss to his friends and colleagues, as well as his legions of fans. Huell elevated the simple joys and undiscovered nuggets of living in our great state. He made the magnificence and power of nature seem accessible by bringing it into our living rooms. Most importantly, he reminded us to find the magic and wonderment in our lives every day. Huell was able to brilliantly capture the wonder in obscurity. From pastrami sandwiches and artwork woven from lint to the exoticism of cactus gardens and the splendor of Yosemite--he brought us the magic, the humor and poignancy of our region. We will miss him very much.
[Added at 3:12 p.m.]: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa sent this statement to the Weekly and other outlets:
I'm saddened to hear of the death of my friend Huell Howser, a Los Angeles treasure and California icon. Although he was originally from Tennessee, Huell loved California more than most natives. His long-running television program, California's Gold, shared with audiences the best our state has to offer. Huell would travel anywhere to show viewers the beauty and variety of the Golden State, from its most famous landmarks to the least known sights. And his boundless enthusiasm and curiosity was infectious, making us all see these places with the same amazement he did. His death is a loss that will be felt throughout Los Angeles and California. He will be greatly missed.
L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge sent us this statement:
A great Californian left us today. Huell Howser was my friend for over three decades, and no one knew this state better. He had a great ability to find fresh faces in old places, and he paid tremendous attention to our incredible California infrastructure. Huell was an advocate for good. I remember introducing him to Charlie Turner, the honorary mayor of Griffith Park, back when Huell was working at KNXT (now KCBS) on human interest stories. I remember seeing him at Musso and Frank's. But I most remember the day in 2001 when Huell swore me in as a new Councilmember. Just last night, I was watching Huell's segment on a lighthouse in Del Norte County, which he described with incredible joy. No one can replicate that amazing enthusiasm. We've really lost the mother lode of California gold.
[Added at 3:23 p.m.]: KCET this afternoon issued some details about its "dedication" to Howser's memory on "SoCal Connected" tonight (at 5:30 p.m. with a repeat at 10 p.m.):
Tonight, SoCal Connected will air a special dedication in memory of Huell Howser (67), longtime host of KCET's California's Gold as well as Visiting with Huell Howser, California's Golden Parks and California's Green. For nearly three decades, Howser shone light on some of California's most interesting and notable landmarks, events and destinations, from the celebrated to the obscure.
Special guests, the station says, will include:
Al Jerome, President and CEO, KCET Mary Mazur, COO, KCET Phil Noyes, Producer, Huell Howser Productions Louis Fuerte, Cameraman, Huell Howser Productions DJ Walde, Los Angeles historian, author and SoCal Connected contributor
[@dennisjromero / [email protected] / @LAWeeklyNews] |
For the last several months, conservative opponents of the Affordable Care Act, including congressional Republicans, have encouraged Americans to contact the GOP with “Obamacare horror stories.” The more the right can highlight those adversely affected by the law, the argument goes, the more ACA critics can undermine public support for reform.
To that end, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the House Republican Conference chair, used her party’s official response to the State of the Union to highlight a woman in her home state who, she claimed, was better off before the law.
“Not long ago, I got a letter from Bette in Spokane, who had hoped the president’s health care law would save her money, but found out instead her premiums were going up nearly $700 a month…. No, we shouldn’t go back to the way things were, but this law is not working.”
Almost immediately, red flags went up among those who follow the health care debate closely. And for good reason: over the last several months, Republicans and their allies have put a spotlight on quite a few “Obamacare victims,” but the stories invariably fell apart after modest scrutiny.
With this in mind, it was only natural to wonder about the circumstances surrounding “Bette in Spokane,” who presumably represented the single best piece of anecdotal evidence McMorris Rodgers could find as part of her ACA indictment. Fortunately, we now have a better sense of the relevant details, which, like so many “Obamacare horror stories,” don’t help the Republicans’ case at all.
The local newspaper, the Spokesman-Review, tracked down Bette Grenier, who wrote the letter used in McMorris Rodgers’ remarks.
[T]he “nearly $700 per month” increase in her premium that McMorris Rodgers cited in Tuesday night’s GOP response to the State of the Union address was based on one of the pricier options, a $1,200-a-month replacement plan that was pitched by Asuris Northwest to Grenier and her husband, Don. The carrier also offered a less expensive, $1,052-per-month option in lieu of their soon-to-be-discontinued catastrophic coverage plan. And, Grenier acknowledged the couple probably could have shaved another $100 a month off the replacement policy costs by purchasing them from the state’s online portal, the Health Plan Finder website, but they chose to avoid the government health exchanges.
In a familiar situation, the horror story isn’t as horrible as we’d been led to believe. In this case, “Bette in Spokane” didn’t have a health care plan so much as she had insurance that covered catastrophic coverage – and nothing else – with a $10,000 deductible.
Because the law transitions consumers from these bare-bones plans to actual coverage – plans that offer meaningful health care security – she had to choose real insurance. For reasons that are unclear, “Bette in Spokane” refused to check the exchange marketplace to see if she could find a good deal and instead chose an expensive plan from her existing insurer.
Also note, it’s not too late for “Bette in Spokane” – the state insurance commissioner said his office can help her and her family review the available options.
In the official Republican Party’s SOTU response, all of these relevant details were ignored. Viewers were led to believe the law forced higher premiums on this consumer as part of some kind of inherent flaw in the system, but that’s not at all what happened in reality.
And circling back to the last time we talked about a story like this, it’s worth emphasizing that there are Americans who’ve been adversely affected by health care reform. In a nation of 314 million people, it will be possible to find some who didn’t benefit as much as everyone else. In fact, it’s inevitable.
But in the rush to condemn the law, the public has been confronted repeatedly with anecdotal evidence that’s completely fallen apart. Worse, consumers invariably hear more about the horror stories than the follow-up reports proving the horror stories wrong. |
Photo by Jim Watson/Getty Images
On Wednesday morning, a former Florida governor named Jeb Bush posted a holiday-themed Facebook post that, aside from reminding us of how even politicians are somebody's dad, announced he would "actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States." Along with being a particularly impressive exercise in Playing It Cool — "hey girl, you want to actively explore the possibility of getting a cocktail?" — Jeb's announcement might've set off some jingle bells in your brain. That guy's last name, it sure does sound familiar.
Jeb, of course, is a Bush, son of George H.W. and brother of George W., the 41st and 43rd presidents of the United States. If he does decide to actively explore running for president, and then actively runs for president, Jeb would be bidding to become the 45th president. Then we'd get another one-president break, after which the Bush family would have to trot out someone else, and, locked into this pattern, we'd repeat ourselves ad nauseam until constant email leaks destroyed the country entirely.
It's been over 20 years since H.W. was in office, but the memory of W. is still fresh in the minds of most voting-age American citizens — and there's a good chance those memories aren't all warm and fuzzy ones. W. left office in 2009 with a cellar-floor approval rating (although President Obama's isn'tmuch higher these days); and, for what they're worth, polls of presidential scholars tend to place #43 in the bottom-ten of American presidents, where he joins history-class inside-jokes like Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, James Buchanan, and Warren G. Harding.
This raises a question for Jeb: despite his high approval ratings as governor in Florida, would having W. as a brother be a major hit to his chances of becoming president? And is W. still the albatross that some Americans, particularly those on the left, are convinced he might be?
Although conservative analysts I spoke with were reluctant to discuss the relationship between 61-year-old Jeb and his 68-year-old brother George, there's a decent amount of evidence on the record to suggest that it isn't super-tight. In May, Politico's Maggie Haberman wrote that some insiders had suggested W. was "ambivalent" about Jeb running, and that the two have never been "deeply close" or "formed a reliance on each other as confidants." And in 2008, Slate editor Jacob Weisberg, author of The Bush Tragedy, painted a picture of the pair as siblingrivals, suggesting that jealousy of Jeb "was a factor in George's effort to pull his life together at age 40, when he found God and quit drinking," and that George had "torpedoed" his younger brother's presidential aspirations.
Two details from Weisberg's piece are particularly illustrative. First: "In the hotel suite in Houston where George was celebrating [his win in the 1994 race for Texas governor], his aunt, Nancy Ellis, heard him speaking to his father over the phone. 'Why do you feel bad about Jeb?' he asked his dad, according to one biography of the family. 'Why don't you feel good about me?'"
Then: "While Jeb seems resigned to abandoning politics, family friends have described his parents as devastated that the older son spiked the chances of the younger one. In December 2006, the former president gave a glimpse of this when he paid tribute to his second son at a ceremony to mark the end of Jeb's two terms as governor. Bush began to crack when talking about Jeb's 1994 defeat, and how his son didn't whine or complain about the unfair attacks on him in the election. 'The true measure of a man is ... ' Bush tried to say, now openly sobbing as Jeb approached to comfort him, ' ... is how you handle victory ... and also defeat.'"
But American memories can be both impressively long and shockingly short, and in somewhere in the middle, minds change. Among conservatives, the opinion of W. has risen steadily since he left office—a combination of reassessment, wounds healed, and personal affection for the folksy president. Plus, in the harsh light of the Obama presidency, the right has reason to look back fondly on the last time their party held the White House.
"I think George is viewed very differently now than he was in 2008, and we can thank Barack Obama for a lot of that," Florida GOP consultant Rick Wilson told me. W., he said, "is a smart guy in many ways, even if they aren't Harvard Law professor ways. He understands people, and he knew to stay out of the game last time around. But I think W. will benefit Jeb if he does choose to run."
"We haven't won the White House since 1928 without a Bush or a Nixon on the ballot," Wilson added. "That's kind of a big deal, and we're fresh out of Nixons."
Plus, in light of the fact that Democrats will almost certainly be fielding their own heir apparent in 2016—who, as Wilson says, comes from a political family Republicans view on par with the Lannisters—Jeb's own heredity seems less concerning.
Jeb has plenty of high bars to hurdle going into the primaries. Much of the party's right-wing thinks he's a centrist throwback—just look at the deluge of hits Breitbart has put out on him since Tuesday—and he hasn't run a campaign in 14 years. Even if he isn't a boon for the general voting public, W. might be the least of his problems.
Follow Kevin on Twitter |
House Republicans are turning to a reliable villain to rev up their listless base: Nancy Pelosi.
Afraid of the ripple effect of President Donald Trump’s early scandals, the GOP is looking to motivate conservative voters by painting all Democratic candidates with Pelosi’s “San Francisco liberal values.” It’s an old standby for Republicans, which they’re testing out again in special House elections in Montana and Georgia, where Democrats are running unexpectedly strong in GOP-friendly districts.
Story Continued Below
“I think we’ll see if it works. I believe it still works,” National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Steve Stivers of Ohio said of the GOP focus on Pelosi.
Pelosi remains a deeply unpopular figure among GOP voters. She has only a 14 percent favorability rating with Republicans, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday. And she doesn’t do much better with independents — just 20 percent of those voters view her favorably.
But in what’s shaping up to be a tough environment for Republicans driven by Trump’s tumultuous administration, some Democrats are starting to think, or at least hope, that the Pelosi-bashing trick might be growing old.
“A national campaign, using her as the boogeyman, I don’t think it’s going to work anymore,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). “It’s a playbook that worked for them. And people tend to stay with what works until it doesn’t. … But I think it’s a hopeful smokescreen on their part that maybe [they think] will deflect from Trump.”
Republicans have long demonized Pelosi, even before she won the speaker’s gavel in 2006, in a strategy that her supporters say reeks of sexism. But the plan for the most part has been wildly successful, with the GOP controlling the House since 2010 and likely for the foreseeable future. And with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton gone but Pelosi still House minority leader, she’s Republicans’ primary Democratic punching bag.
This time, Republicans aren’t the only ones tuning in to see whether vilifying Pelosi is still a winning strategy. Pelosi’s caucus, restless after years in the minority under her leadership, is watching what happens now more than ever. And some are already privately demanding change if Democrats don’t pick up one of the special election seats up for grabs.
Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
“There’s a real widespread sense if the Republicans’ only attack on us is Nancy Pelosi, why are we leading with our chin?” said one House Democrat. “There’s a greater and greater sense that it’s time for a change in leadership.”
Pelosi’s advocates say any talk of a change in leadership is minor at most and completely unrealistic. And, they argue, Republicans are only targeting her because they have nothing to show for having all the power in Washington.
“The GOP brand is in tatters, and their top legislative priority, Trumpcare, polls at 17 percent,” said Jorge Aguilar, executive director of Pelosi for Congress. “The tired, rehashed strategy of attacking Pelosi doesn’t work and demonstrates just how bankrupt of ideas House Republicans are.”
“Clearly, House Republicans recognize they have no message to run on in the midterms and they’re desperately grasping at straws,” said Tyler Law, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman.
While the special election for Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s old seat in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District pits Republican Karen Handel against Democrat Jon Ossoff, Republicans in Georgia and Washington have tried to shove Pelosi front and center, peppering mentions of her name and her picture into paid ads for months.
Republicans have used the Pelosi strategy so frequently that many Democratic strategists working on House races now bake in an assumption that they’ll have to defend against that attack into their initial game plan. And that pattern has continued in the closing days of the race for Montana’s at-large district, which was vacated by now-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
A recent spot run by the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC affiliated with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), for example, closes by placing pictures of Democratic candidate Rob Quist and Pelosi next to each other.
“Quist doesn’t stand with you, and in Washington Quist would stand with Nancy Pelosi and her liberal, out-of-touch agenda, not Montana,” the narrator says. “You wouldn’t trust Pelosi with your vote. Why trust Rob Quist?”
In a new robo-call running in the state, Vice President Mike Pence also gets in on the action, urging voters, “Don’t let Nancy Pelosi and the liberal Democrats take this seat out of Republican hands.”
One sign outside of Helena even included the words: Quist + Pelosi = GUN CONTROL.
Pelosi has appeared far more than any other national figure in Republican advertising in the two marquee special election races — even though Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders spent the past weekend in Montana campaigning for Quist, and Pelosi’s personal involvement has been minimal. The ads paint her as too liberal and too out-of-touch for the voters in the districts.
And that’s been a cause for consternation among Democrats involved in both campaigns, as well as for those thinking about the party’s broader strategy as it looks to win over the kind of Republican-leaning and independent voters it will need to seize the House in 2018.
Several rank-and-file Democrats said there have been quiet, small-group discussions recently about whether there should be a leadership shakeup ahead of the 2018 midterms, and, if so, when.
Still, it seems unlikely that House Democrats, long publicly resistant to the party change that many privately say is needed, would choose now to turn their caucus upside down.
Even members who say it’s time for a fresh leadership slate — Pelosi and her deputy, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), have led the caucus since 2003 — say the intracaucus tensions aren’t as discernible right now. And they’re generally happy with the way Pelosi has challenged Trump, called attention to his potential ties to Russia and united the caucus to fight GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare.
But there is an increasing awareness within the caucus, lawmakers and operatives say, that Pelosi’s image could haunt them in ways it never has before. If Democrats have a real chance to take back the House by making the midterms a referendum on the president — a luxury they didn’t have in the Obama era — could Pelosi stand in the way?
“Watching these specials, I’ve thought the name Nancy Pelosi could be the finger in the dike that prevents a wave from taking over,” said one long-time Democratic consultant. “And I think Democrats are silly not to think that’s an issue.”
To hear Republicans tell it, using Pelosi as their main cudgel is an obvious play. After Pelosi was reelected Democratic leader, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tweeted, “What a relief. I was worried they had learned from the elections & might be competitive and cohesive again.”
And since Pelosi is not perceived as a “resistance” figure in the same national way that Obama or Sanders are, tying Democratic candidates to her doesn’t lend them the kind of anti-Trump feeling that might appeal to some women and independents in these suburban districts, according to national operatives and pollsters.
Many Democratic strategists dismiss the idea that Pelosi’s image is a serious drag on the party, noting that Trump is far better known and more controversial, and that Republicans have been running on an anti-Pelosi line long enough that they’ve figured out how to combat it.
“This is what Republicans do because they’re pathetic little frat boys who don’t have policies to run on,” said one Democratic aide.
But within the House Democratic Caucus, some members have grown concerned that Republicans see a chance to replicate their success from previous midterm cycles — chatter that only grew last month after Ossoff missed a chance to avoid a runoff in his race by 2 percentage points, after months of being hammered as a Pelosi lackey.
“We should all be concerned,” said one House Democrat, “that this could be a political liability for us to pick up seats.”
John Bresnahan contributed to this report. |
On Wednesday, the Associated Press published an explosive story alleging that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had struck a deal with Iran to allow the country to run the inspection of its own facility, an explosives test building shorthanded as Parchin that is believed to have been used for nuclear weapons research in the early 2000s. The report was based on what the AP's anonymous source claimed was an early draft of the agreement.
The story came under intense criticism from arms control experts, who said the AP's reporting did not back up its allegations. They said the story exaggerated the information it contained and misled readers on the very nature of how nuclear inspections work.
On Thursday, as the AP came under increasing pressure, it published what it said was the full text of the draft IAEA agreement. The arms control experts were not convinced: Jeffrey Lewis, of Middlebury College, called the draft "way too vague to support that story." Cheryl Rofer, who has previously worked alongside the IAEA, tweeted that there were "several things wrong" with the draft, for example that "the whole thing is far too vague. It has no resemblance to a sampling plan."
What follows is the alleged draft IAEA agreement, annotated by Tariq Rauf, the former head of verification and security policy coordination at the International Atomic Energy Agency and now a think tank nuclear nonproliferation scholar.
Rauf, who originally published his annotations through the organization Atomic Reporters (they are reproduced here with its permission), concluded that he suspected the draft may be fake. I am not convinced this is necessarily the case: Rauf bases this in part on several odd errors in the draft, such as misidentifying Iran's formal country name, but I suspect this may be because the AP reporter was required to copy down the draft agreement text by hand.
So I would not read too much into those smaller errors, which I would attribute to the handwriting equivalent of typos, although it does raise questions about whether there could be more substantial errors as well. Still, Rauf's annotations of the technical aspects of the agreement are helpful in understanding what this document says and does not say. In the aggregate, if we assume the document is broadly accurate, it still seems oddly bereft of details on how the IAEA will monitor any sampling processes, which, as Lewis explained, is a crucial detail in evaluating the strength of the agreement.
What follows is the full text of the draft IAEA agreement, according to the AP, along with annotations provided by nuclear nonproliferation expert and former IAEA official Tariq Rauf:
Separate arrangement II agreed by the Islamic State of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency on 11 July 2015, regarding the Road-map, Paragraph 5
Iran and the Agency agreed on the following sequential arrangement with regard to the Parchin issue:
1. Iran will provide to the Agency photos of the locations, including those identified in paragraph 3 below, which would be mutually agreed between Iran and the Agency, taking into account military concerns.
2. Iran will provide to the Agency videos of the locations, including those identified in paragraph 3 below, which would be mutually agreed between Iran and the Agency, taking into account military concerns.
3. Iran will provide to the Agency 7 environmental samples taken from points inside one building already identified by the Agency and agreed by Iran, and 2 points outside of the Parchin complex which would be agreed between Iran and the Agency.
4. The Agency will ensure the technical authenticity of the activities referred to in paragraphs 1-3 above. Activities will be carried out using Iran's authenticated equipment , consistent with technical specifications provided by the Agency, and the Agency's containers and seals.
5. The above mentioned measures would be followed, as a courtesy by Iran, by a public visit of the Director General, as a dignitary guest of the Government of Iran, accompanied by his deputy for safeguards.
6. Iran and the Agency will organize a one-day technical roundtable on issues relevant to Parchin.
For the International Atomic Energy Agency: Tero Varjoranta, Deputy Director General for Safeguards
For the Islamic Republic of Iran: Ali Hoseini Tash, Deputy Secretary of Supreme National Security Council for Strategic Affairs |
At least in America, the authorities feel a need to lie to the public while engaging in invasive and tyrannical warrantless surveillance. In Australia, a nation in which you are more likely to die by hitting a kangaroo with your car than in a terrorist attack, government officials have no qualms with doing it right in your face.
We learn from the Sydney Morning Herald:
The digital privacy of Australians ends from Tuesday, October 13. On that day this country’s entire communications industry will be turned into a surveillance and monitoring arm of at least 21 agencies of executive government. The electronically logged data of mobile, landline voice (including missed and failed) calls and text messages, all emails, download volumes and location information will be mandatorily retained by Australian telcos and ISPs. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies will have immediate, warrantless and accumulating access to all telephone and internet metadata required by law, with a $2 million penalty for telcos and ISPs that don’t comply. There is nothing in the Act to prevent investigative “fishing expeditions” or systemic abuse of power except for retrospective oversight by the Commonwealth Ombudsman. That’s if you somehow found out about an agency looking into your metadata – which is unlikely, as there’s a two-year jail sentence for anyone caught revealing information about instances of metadata access.
Pretty soon, the penalty will be beheading. That’ll show ISIS!
Over time, your metadata will expose your private email, SMS and fixed-line caller traffic, consumer, work and professional activities and habits, showing the patterns of all your communications, your commercial transactions and monetized subscriptions or downloads, exactly who you communicate with, and how often. People are being asked by the Federal Parliament to accept that this regime of agency access is vitally necessary for national security at a time of geo-political tension, jihadi recruitment and the war on terror. But in a country where the biggest terrorism threat comes from lone wolves and random acts of terror, it’s a system that appears singularly ill-equipped to catch terrorists. What it does is render privacy a thing of Australia’s past. In the US the recently passed Freedom Act constrains security agencies’ access to call records not considered essential for preventing terror attacks. In Israel, facing far more immediate security concerns than Australia, there is no mandatory metadata retention law as it is not seen as a proportionate response to the security threats the country faces.
Can people really be so completely stupid to think this has anything to do with terrorism?
But not everyone is convinced that scooping up everyone’s metadata is the way to catch terrorists. Former National Security Agency analyst Thomas Drake, who preceded Edward Snowden in blowing the whistle on unconstitutional surveillance in the US, last year told a Walkley Foundation seminar in Sydney that the NSA’s massive data surveillance vacuum cleaner had not exposed or thwarted any terror plots.
Eh, just a minor inconvenience. Move along serfs.
In Australia, a policy launched in confusion – infamously catching out Attorney General George Brandis who was unable to explain exactly what metadata was – is still crammed with contradiction and obfuscation now it’s written in law. Web browsing history – the record of actual sites visited – is excluded from the metadata to be stored: a strange omission, from a national security perspective. “For many telcos, they will likely start storing destination IP addresses from October 13 because it will be difficult for them to remove (this data) in many cases, especially for mobile carriers due to the way their systems are designed,” Grubb said.
So, the fact that you visited a porn site or infidelity site Ashley Madison or “jihadi” content sites, may in effect be discoverable without the need for a warrant. The Privacy Act allows a citizen to access and correct their metadata if he/she is interested so to do. However, you will not be informed if it has been viewed by ASIO or any other agency. There is a two-year prison sentence for disclosing any information about authorised access to your data. The information being kept may also be accessed for civil litigation but only if the Attorney General creates regulations to allow it. You are not given notice and consent options for the commercial use of your metadata as you are with personal information. Baker & McKenzie’s Fair told Fairfax Media a person’s metadata can be reviewed at any time by agencies without that person’s knowledge and it might be used for or against you in court. The new law does not allow any agency at unauthorised will to tap your phone, read your texts or watch you in real time as you use email, do your online banking or browse the internet. While technology now being implemented by the industry will have this invasive real-time capability, it is not lawful in Australia without a court-ordered warrant. But if the digital footprint you are creating raises suspicion after an examination of your metadata, the retained evidence may be grounds for a digital surveillance or phone tap warrant to be issued. The Telecommunications Interception Act requires all communications providers to have a real time interception capability. So it is one small (lawful) step from metadata collection to interception and continuous surveillance. For obvious operational reasons surveillance warrants issued by the courts are top secret. Now here’s the best part mates. YOU get to pay for it! And there is a confrontation coming between the government and the industry over the cost of compliance. While Treasurer Joe Hockey’s May budget stumped up $131 million to be shared by the industry to cover compliance, industry leaders say this will not cover the enormity of the task and that consumers will have to pay more for services. Inevitably consumers will call this a “surveillance tax”. Because of the complexity of compliance, a new “industry” is being created with many registered service providers seeking to outsource their compliance obligations to specialists approved by the CAC. This necessarily will broaden the entities with access to your metadata. Again Australian subscribers will be left to trust in the integrity of not just the government agencies but the outsourcers who will have access to their metadata. What do you expect when this guy is your Prime Minister.. For more from “down under,” see: Australian Senate Kills Civil Liberties with Draconian New Anti-Terror Law in Orwellian Orgy of Baseless Fear-Mongering Australia’s Prime Minster Admits Metadata Collection is for “General Crime” Not Terrorism Video of the Day – Meet Australia’s Creepy Prime Minister, Tony Abbott Anti-Protest Law Passes in Australia – Punishment Includes Fines and Imprisonment Australian Government to Seize Cash from Inactive Bank Accounts Australia’s New Law Destroys Internet Freedom
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
Donate bitcoins: Like this post?Donate bitcoins: 3J7D9dqSMo9HnxVeyHou7HJQGihamjYQMN
Follow me on Twitter. |
Ultra-thin quantum LEDs could accelerate development of quantum networks (Nanowerk News) Ultra-thin quantum light emitting diodes (LEDs) made of layered materials just a few atoms thick have been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Constructed of layers of different ultra-thin materials, the devices could be used in the development of new computing and sensing technologies. The ability to produce single photons using only electrical current is an important step towards building quantum networks on compact chips.
Microscope image of a quantum LED device showing bright quantum emitter generating a stream of single photons. (Image: Mete Atature)
The devices are constructed of thin layers of different materials stacked together: graphene, boron nitride and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The TMD layer contains regions where electrons and electron vacancies, or holes, are tightly confined. When an electron fills an electron vacancy that sits at a lower energy than the electron, the energy difference is released as a photon, a particle of light. In the LED devices, a voltage pushes electrons through the device, where they fill the holes and emit single photons.
A computer built on the principles of quantum mechanics would be both far more powerful and more secure than current technologies, and would be capable of performing calculations that cannot be performed otherwise. However, in order to make such a device possible, researchers need to develop reliable methods of electrically generating single, indistinguishable photons as carriers of information across quantum networks.
The ultra-thin platform developed by the Cambridge researchers offers high levels of tunability, design freedom, and integration capabilities. Typically, single photon generation requires large-scale optical set-ups with several lasers and precise alignment of optical components. This new research brings on-chip single photon emission for quantum communication a step closer. The results are reported in the journal Nature Communications ("Atomically thin quantum light-emitting diodes").
Ultimately, we need fully integrated devices that we can control by electrical impulses, instead of a laser that focuses on different segments of an integrated circuit, said Professor Mete Atatüre of Cambridges Cavendish Laboratory, one of the papers senior authors. For quantum communication with single photons, and quantum networks between different nodes, we want to be able to just drive current and get light out. There are many emitters that are optically excitable, but only a handful are electrically driven.
The layered nature of TMDs makes them ideal for use in ultra-thin structures on chips. They also offer an advantage over some other single-photon emitters for feasible and effective integration into nanophotonic circuits.
With this research, quantum emitters are now seen in another TMD material, namely tungsten disulphide (Ws 2 ). We chose Ws 2 because we wanted to see if different materials offered different parts of the spectra for single photon emission, said Atatüre, who is a Fellow of St John's College. With this, we have shown that the quantum emission is not a unique feature of Ws 2 , which suggests that many other layered materials might be able to host quantum dot-like features as well. |
Raúl Castro
If there had been a military coup in any other Latin American or Caribbean country, even a fairly small or obscure one, I think it safe to say that it would have made the front page of the newspapers. But the military coup in Cuba—a nation linked to ours in many vital and historic ways—has not been reported at all. Indeed, in “Castro’s Younger Brother Is Focus of Attention Now,” by Anthony Depalma and James C. McKinley Jr., on Page 8 of the New York Times of Aug. 3, the very possibility of such an event was even denied:
[O]ne of the most telling aspects of his career is that in the nearly five decades that Raúl Castro has led the Cuban armed forces, there has never been a coup attempt or an uprising of rank-and-file soldiers against their officers.
Thus did the newspaper of record digest the interesting novelty that the new head of government in Cuba was, in fact, the five-decade leader of the Cuban armed forces! In other words, an overt military takeover was the main evidence that these things don’t happen in Havana. Perhaps Raúl Castro’s accession doesn’t count as a “coup attempt” (since it was successful), let alone a “rank-and-file” mutiny, but the plain fact remains that, for the first time in a Communist state since Gen. Jaruzelski seized power in Poland in 1981, the army has replaced the party as the source of authority.
The even more grotesque fact that power has passed from one 79-year-old brother to a “younger” one who is only 75 may have assisted in obscuring the obvious. So may the fact that—continuous babble about his “charisma” notwithstanding—Fidel Castro has never taken off his uniform (except for the tailored suits he dons for appearances at international conferences) since the day he took power. Even my distinction between the army and the party may be a distinction without much of a difference. Cuba has been a garrison state run by a military caudillo for most of the past half-century. More than anything, the maximum leader always based his legitimacy on his status as commander in chief. The dynastic succession of his brother only formalizes the situation. As was once said of Prussia, Cuba is not a country that has an army but an army that has a country.
Nor does this army confine itself to the stern questions of political and military power. Under the stewardship of Raúl Castro, it has extended itself to become a large stakeholder in the few areas of the Cuban economy that actually make money. A military holding company known as “La Gaviota” oversees perhaps as much as 60 percent of Cuban tourist revenues. Large farms and resorts are operated by serving and retired officers reporting to Raúl, and according to the Depalma/McKinley story, he has also “sent officers to business schools in Europe to learn capitalist management techniques.”
Awareness of all this makes it the more surprising that everyone seems to have forgotten the highly charged moment in 1989 when there did appear to be an important rift within the Cuban armed forces. On June 12 of that year, Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez was placed under arrest and accused of extreme corruption, dereliction of duty, and narcotics trafficking. Ochoa was no small fry. He had belonged to the original band of guerrillas in the Sierra Maestra, was a member of the 26th of July Movement that formed the inner core of the revolution, had been among those Cuban internationalists who tried to raise the flag of revolt in Venezuela and the Congo in the 1960s, and had headed the Cuban military missions to Angola, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua. (To mention something of which Cubans can be proud, I should add that he was prominent in the military defeat of South African forces at the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in 1987, which contributed handily to the independence of Namibia and the ultimate defeat of apartheid itself.) Perhaps he had seen too much of the outside world. Perhaps, in that year of 1989, he was one of many Cubans who saw promise in Mikhail Gorbachev’s program of glasnost and perestroika. Or perhaps he was simply guilty as charged—of colluding with the Colombian drug cartels in order to enrich himself and others. We shall never really know (or then again, we may be just on the verge of finding out), because the entire interval between his arrest and his death, and those of his associates, was a matter of four short weeks. His execution by firing squad was announced—after a special court martial—on July 13, 1989.
The man who made the long, rambling speech justifying the arrest and prejudging the verdict was Raúl Castro. Awarded the sort of TV time that was normally reserved for his brother, the head of the Cuban armed forces addressed the nation for two and a half hours instead of the allotted 45 minutes (one hopes he does not now fall into the habit of doing this) and amazed many Cubans who had been brought up to think of Ochoa as “sea-green incorruptible.”
The moment was a significant one, because, in general, Cuba had been able to avoid the spectacle of the Communist “show trial” that had been inaugurated by Stalin in Moscow in the 1930s and pursued in even more grotesque form in Prague, Budapest, and Sofia after World War II. The only arraignment of a “factional” group in Havana had been in the mid-1960s, and it was paradoxically directed at a bunch of Moscow-line Stalinists allegedly led by Anibal Escalante. However, the show trial of Ochoa in 1989 was not a protracted ideological inquisition. It was a swift, ruthless business that produced immediate confessions, was conducted by a military “honor court,” and concluded with an expeditious death sentence. All was decided within the framework of the military high command. Perhaps that should have been a warning of what was to come.
On the “new calendar” date of 18 Brumaire in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte used his troops to seize power in Paris, proclaimed himself the nation’s first consul, and soon after announced that the French revolution had come to its end. (Karl Marx’s celebrated essay on “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon,” lampooning a much later and lesser French monarch than Bonaparte, gave us the overused jest about the relationship between tragedy and farce.) Now the 26th of July Movement has arrived at its own belated historical terminus. The new pretender, once again, is much less flamboyant and impressive. If we cannot yet say that Castro is dead and we cannot decently say “long live” to the new-but-old Castro, we can certainly say that the Castro era is effectively finished and that a uniformed and secretive and highly commercial dictatorship is the final form that it will take. |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.