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Armed Mexican troops and police regularly stray across the U.S. border, according to statistics the Department of Homeland Security provided to Congress on Tuesday that indicate more than 500 of them have jumped the border in the past decade.
Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a letter to Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, that, in many of those cases, the armed Mexican military or law enforcement personnel ended up in confrontations with American authorities, and 131 people were detained.
The revelations come as U.S. officials are trying to secure the release of Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, who has been held by Mexican authorities since the beginning of April, when he drove through an official port of entry into Mexico while carrying firearms.
“While the number of unauthorized incursions by Mexican authorities is relatively few, it is imperative for our officer safety to handle each situation assertively but with sensitivity and professionalism,” Mr. Kerlikowske said.
But Mr. Hunter disputed the commissioner’s evaluation that dozens of incursions a year was rare.
“DHS states that the number of incursions is ‘relatively few,’ but that is a misrepresentation of the frequency of these occurrences, which Mexico invites through its activities along the international border. Also, there is a clear lack of consistency among DHS in handling these incidents, especially in cases of unauthorized incursions with armed authorities,” Mr. Hunter said.
PHOTOS: Awesome rifles: The best and the baddest
According to Homeland Security numbers, there have been 300 incursions by Mexican police or troops since Jan. 1, 2004. The Mexicans were armed in slightly more than half of those incidents, totaling 525 people. There was a verbal or physical altercation between U.S. authorities and the Mexicans in 81 instances — totaling 320 Mexican police or troops.
In the case of Sgt. Tahmooressi, Mexican officials said he didn’t immediately identify himself as a member of the U.S. military when he drove across the border and into Mexico through an official port of entry.
A petition on the White House website demanding Sgt. Tahmooressi’s release earned nearly 125,000 signatures in May, or more than enough to force a White House response — though when that will come is uncertain.
The debate over incursions comes even as tensions on the U.S. side of the border have escalated amid a surge of children from Central America trying to cross the border, fleeing violence and poverty at home and hoping to reunite with families here.
President Obama and his top lieutenants are trying to figure out a strategy to halt the flow while struggling with how to care for the children who have already reached the U.S.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden will travel to Guatemala later this week to urge parents not to send their children on the treacherous journey, and the administration insists the kids will not be eligible for either Mr. Obama’s nondeportation policy for young adult illegal immigrants nor the path to citizenship contained in the immigration bill that passed the Senate last year.
But some politicians want the administration to be more definitive and ensure the children will be deported quickly.
On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton added her voice to those calls for clarity.
“They should be sent back as soon as it can be determined who the responsible adults in their family are because there are concerns about whether all of them can be sent back, but I think all of them that can be should be reunited with their families,” she said at a town hall hosted by CNN.
She said the U.S. must do more to confront violence in Central America and must stiffen border security here but insisted a stern approach to sending the children home will also be needed.
“We have to send a clear message that ‘Just because your child gets across the border, that doesn’t mean your child gets to stay,’” she said. “We don’t want to send a message that is contrary to our laws or encourage more children to make that dangerous journey.”
For its part, the White House was accused of stoking mixed messages when it hosted 10 of the young adult illegal immigrants, who call themselves Dreamers, at an event Tuesday. They are in the U.S. under Mr. Obama’s “deferred action” policy, which has granted more than 500,000 of them amnesty from deportation and has given them work permits.
“These eligible young people are American for all intents and purposes other than the country where they were born,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.
The children pleaded with Mr. Obama, who was not present, to extend his policies so their parents will also be free from danger of deportation or can come back to the U.S. to reunite with their children.
“This year it’s going to be nine years that I have not seen my mom,” said Sarahi Espinoza, who choked up as she recalled her own story of family separation from her mother, who is back in her home country of Mexico.
Critics, though, said giving the children a platform at the White House will lead to more children trying to jump the border.
“How can we expect to dispel rumors throughout Central America that children who enter America illegally will be allowed to stay while simultaneously touting the success stories of a few illegal immigrant children granted de facto amnesty by the administration?” said Rep. Candice S. Miller of Michigan, a senior Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. |
UPDATE: Sony has insisted it hasn't announced The Last of Us for PS4 - accidentally or otherwise - but stopped short of denying the game will be released for the console.
"At no time have we announced that The Last of Us is coming to PS4 and therefore, have nothing to say on the subject," a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesperson told Eurogamer.
ORIGINAL STORY: Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic masterpiece The Last of Us will be ported to PlayStation 4 this year, a Sony employee has revealed.
Speaking during an interview on Turkish CNN, PlayStation's Eurasian Software Market Manager Sercan Sulun said that a PS4 port would launch this summer.
"There is no information about a new The Last of Us game but I can share this knowledge; as of this summer, The Last of Us will be on the PS4. Both on PSN and physically," Sulun said (translated by IGN).
"The PS4 version will also include the DLC so you will be able to play 'Left Behind' as well."
Sony has yet to formally announce the existence of a PS4 port, but Sulun - an employee since 2012 - should know what he's talking about.
We've contacted Sony UK to find out the official line.
When questioned in the past about the possibility of a PS4 version, Naughty Dog has always been coy on the subject.
"We're just getting our Naughty Dog engine up and running on PS4 as we work on the next Uncharted project," community manager Eric Monacelli said back in February. "We will see what the future brings!" |
UNIONS have called off the next Arriva workers strike as members consider a new pay deal offer from the bus company.
The strike scheduled for Tuesday (December 12) has been cancelled after Arriva brought a two-year pay agreement to the table during talks on Friday.
Unions will take the offer to a ballot today (Monday) and Tuesday.
Drivers have held several strike days over recent weeks, with more planned actions in the lead-up to Christmas.
A strike scheduled for last Thursday had been called off after fresh talks with unions were agreed to.
Following Friday's talks with Unite and GMB, Phil Stone, managing director of Arriva North West Bus said: “Arriva North West has today tabled a new two year pay agreement with the unions, which the unions will now take to a ballot next Monday and Tuesday.
"We are pleased that the unions have agreed to cancel strike action on Tuesday, December 12.
“We believe our latest offer guaranteeing a two year pay rise represents a fair and decent deal for our drivers and hope the pay offer is accepted by our staff and we can return to delivering the best possible service to our passengers and the local economy.”
As it stands, more planned strikes have been set for Wednesday, December 13; Thursday, December 14; Wednesday, December 20; Thursday, December 21; Friday, December 22 and Saturday, December 23.
If the pay dispute is not resolved, unions say action will still go ahead.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) has also confirmed that staff from Merseyrail will take 24 hours of strike action on Friday, December 22, the same day an Arriva walk-out is set to go ahead. |
The Afghan Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Persian: جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt-i Afghānistān), was a united military front that came to formation in late 1996[1] after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took over Kabul. The United Front was assembled by key leaders of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, particularly president Burhanuddin Rabbani and former Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud.[2] Initially it included mostly Tajiks but by 2000, leaders of other ethnic groups had joined the Northern Alliance. This included Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Qadir, Asif Mohseni and others.[3]
The Northern Alliance fought a defensive war against the Taliban government.[4] They received support from Iran, Russia, Turkey, India, Tajikistan and others,[5] while the Taliban were backed by Pakistan.[6] By 2001 the Northern Alliance controlled less than 10% of the country, cornered in the north-east and based in Badakhshan province. The US invaded Afghanistan, providing support to Northern Alliance troops on the ground in a two-month war against the Taliban, which they won in December 2001.[7] With the Taliban forced from control of the country, the Northern Alliance was dissolved as members and parties joined the new establishment of the Karzai administration.
Commanders and factions [ edit ]
The United Front was formed in late 1996 against the Taliban government by opposition factions. Since early 1999, Ahmad Shah Massoud was the only main leader able to defend his territory against the Taliban, and as such remained as the main de facto political and military leader of the United Front recognized by members of all the different ethnic groups. Massoud decided on the main political line and the general military strategy of the alliance. A part of the United Front military factions, such as Junbish-i Milli or Hezb-e Wahdat, however, did not fall under the direct control of Massoud but remained under their respective regional or ethnic leaders.
Military commanders of the United Front were either independent or belonged to one of the following political parties:
Military commanders and subcommanders of the United Front included
The two main political candidates in the Afghan Presidential Elections of 2009 both worked for the United Front:
Abdullah Abdullah (was a close friend of Ahmad Shah Massoud and the foreign minister of the alliance)
Hamid Karzai (his father was killed by the Taliban, he subsequently went on a diplomatic mission to gather support for Massoud in Europe and the U.S in 2000/2001)
History [ edit ]
Background [ edit ]
Afghanistan after the Soviet retreat. Shura-e Nazar /Jamiat-e Islami (blue), Hezb-e Wahdat and Harakat-e Islami (yellow), Ittihad-i Islami (violet), communist groups including Junbish-i Milli (red), Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin (dark green), Hezb-i Islami Khalis (white-green striped), Harakat-i Inqilab including many later Taliban (light green).
After the fall of the Soviet-backed communist Najibullah government in 1992, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accords). The accords created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period to be followed by general elections. According to Human Rights Watch:
The sovereignty of Afghanistan was vested formally in the Islamic State of Afghanistan, an entity created in April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government. [...] With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties [...] were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992. [...] Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, for its part, refused to recognize the government for most of the period discussed in this report and launched attacks against government forces and Kabul generally. [...] Shells and rockets fell everywhere.[8]
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar received operational, financial and military support from Pakistan.[9] Afghanistan expert Amin Saikal concludes in Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival:
Pakistan was keen to gear up for a breakthrough in Central Asia. [...] Islamabad could not possibly expect the new Islamic government leaders [...] to subordinate their own nationalist objectives in order to help Pakistan realize its regional ambitions. [...] Had it not been for the ISI's logistic support and supply of a large number of rockets, Hekmatyar's forces would not have been able to target and destroy half of Kabul.[10]
In addition, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as competitors for regional hegemony, supported Afghan militias hostile towards each other.[10] According to Human Rights Watch, Iran was backing the Shia Hazara Hezb-i Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari in order to "maximize Wahdat's military power and influence".[8][10][11] Saudi Arabia supported the Wahhabite Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and his Ittihad-i Islami faction.[8][10] A publication by the George Washington University describes:
[O]utside forces saw instability in Afghanistan as an opportunity to press their own security and political agendas.[12]
Conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war.
Due to the sudden initiation of the war, working government departments, police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals of the different armed factions while Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos as described in reports by Human Rights Watch and the Afghanistan Justice Project.[8][13] Because of the chaos, some leaders increasingly had only nominal control over their (sub-)commanders.[14] Human Rights Watch writes:
Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was under the control of local leaders not affiliated with the central government in Kabul. In 1994, the Taliban – a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan – also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force.[15] In November 1994 they took control of the southern city of Kandahar and subsequently expanded their control into several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan not under the central government's control.[14]
Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996; Massoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories.
In late 1994, most of the militia factions which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily by forces of the Islamic State's Minister of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt.[13][16][17] The Islamic State government took steps to restore law and order.[18] Courts started to work again.[18] Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation and democratic elections, also inviting the Taliban to join the process but they refused as they opposed a democratic system.[19]
The Taliban started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under Ahmad Shah Massoud.[16] Amnesty International, referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:
This is the first time in several months that Kabul civilians have become the targets of rocket attacks and shelling aimed at residential areas in the city.[16]
The Taliban's early victories in 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses which led analysts to believe the Taliban movement had run its course.[14] At that point Pakistan and Saudi Arabia drastically increased their support to the Taliban.[10][20] Many analysts like Amin Saikal describe the Taliban as developing into a proxy force for Pakistan's regional interests.[10] On September 26, 1996, as the Taliban with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia, prepared for another major offensive against the capital Kabul, Massoud ordered a full retreat from the city.[21] The Taliban seized Kabul on September 27, 1996, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Creation of the United Front [ edit ]
Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum, former enemies, created the United Front (Northern Alliance) against the Taliban that were preparing offensives against the remaining areas under the control of Massoud and those under the control of Dostum. The United Front included beside the dominantly Tajik forces of Massoud and the Uzbek forces of Dostum, Hazara troops led by Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq and Pashtun forces under the leadership of commanders such as Abdul Haq and Haji Abdul Qadir. Notable politicians and diplomats of the United Front included Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Masood Khalili. From the Taliban conquest of Kabul in September 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population in provinces such as Badakhshan, Kapisa, Takhar and parts of Parwan, Kunar, Nuristan, Laghman, Samangan, Kunduz, Ghōr and Bamyan.
Pakistani military interference [ edit ]
Due to the involvement of Indian intelligence (RAW) in supporting the Northern Alliance, Pakistan looked to neutralise this threat by cultivating the Taliban.[22] In 2001 alone, according to several international sources, 28,000–30,000 Afghans, which took refuge in Pakistan during Afghan jihad, 14,000–15,000 Afghan Taliban and 2,000–3,000 Al Qaeda militants were fighting against anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan as a roughly 45,000 strong military force.[19][23][24][25] Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf – then as Chief of Army Staff – was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistanis to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud.[19][20][26] Of the estimated 28,000 Afghan refugees returned from Pakistan fighting in Afghanistan, 8,000 were militants recruited in madrassas filling regular Taliban ranks.[23] A 1998 document by the U.S. State Department confirms that "20–40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers are returned Afghans from Pakistani refugee camps".[20]
Human Rights Watch wrote in 2000:
Of all the foreign powers involved in efforts to sustain and manipulate the ongoing fighting [in Afghanistan], Pakistan is distinguished both by the sweep of its objectives and the scale of its efforts, which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and ... directly providing combat support.[27]
On August 1, 1997 the Taliban launched an attack on Sheberghan, the main military base of Abdul Rashid Dostum. Dostum has said the reason the attack was successful was due to 1500 Pakistani commandos taking part and that the Pakistani air force also gave support.[28]
In 1998, Iran accused Pakistan of sending its air force to bomb Mazar-i-Sharif in support of Taliban forces and directly accused Pakistani troops for "war crimes at Bamiyan".[29] The same year Russia said that Pakistan was responsible for the military expansion of the Taliban in northern Afghanistan by sending large numbers of Pakistani troops, some of whom had subsequently been taken as prisoners by the anti-Taliban United Front.[30]
In 2000, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo against military support to the Taliban, with UN officials explicitly singling out Pakistan. The UN secretary-general implicitly criticized Pakistan for its military support and the Security Council stated it was "deeply distress[ed] over reports of involvement in the fighting, on the Taliban side, of thousands of non-Afghan nationals".[31] In July 2001, several countries including the United States, accused Pakistan of being "in violation of U.N. sanctions because of its military aid to the Taliban".[32]
In 2000, British Intelligence reported that the ISI was taking an active role in several Al Qaeda training camps.[33] The ISI helped with the construction of training camps for both the Taliban and Al Qaeda.[33][34][35] From 1996 to 2001 the Al Qaeda of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri became a state within the Taliban state.[36] Bin Laden sent Arab and Central Asian Al-Qaeda militants to join the fight against the United Front among them his Brigade 055.[36][37]
With the fall of Kabul to anti-Taliban forces in November 2001, ISI forces worked with and helped Taliban militias who were in full retreat.[38] In November 2001, Taliban, Al-Qaeda combatants and ISI operatives were safely evacuated from Kunduz on Pakistan Air Force cargo aircraft to Pakistan Air Force bases in Chitral and Gilgit in Pakistan's Northern Areas in what has been dubbed the "Airlift of Evil".[39]
The role of the Pakistani military has been described by international observers as well as by the anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud as a "creeping invasion".[40] The "creeping invasion" proved unable to defeat the severely outnumbered anti-Taliban forces.[40]
Taliban massacres [ edit ]
According to a 55-page report by the United Nations, the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians.[41][42] UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001.[41][42] They also said, that "[t]hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [Taliban] Ministry of Defense or to Mullah Omar himself".[41][42] Al Qaeda's so-called 055 Brigade was also responsible for mass-killings of Afghan civilians.[23] The report by the United Nations quotes eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters "carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people".[41][42]
Ahmad Shah Massoud [ edit ]
The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud.[43]
After longstanding battles especially for the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Abdul Rashid Dostum and his Junbish forces alongside allied Hezb-e Wahdat forces were defeated by the Taliban and their allies in 1998. Dostum subsequently went into exile. Ahmad Shah Massoud remained the only major anti-Taliban leader inside Afghanistan who was able to defend vast parts of his territory against the Pakistan army, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud money and a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined. He explained in one interview:
The Taliban say: "Come and accept the post of prime minister and be with us", and they would keep the highest office in the country, the presidentship. But for what price?! The difference between us concerns mainly our way of thinking about the very principles of the society and the state. We can not accept their conditions of compromise, or else we would have to give up the principles of modern democracy. We are fundamentally against the system called "the Emirate of Afghanistan".[44]
There should be an Afghanistan where every Afghan finds himself or herself happy. And I think that can only be assured by democracy based on consensus.[45]
Massoud wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards democratic elections in a foreseeable future.[44][46] He also stated:
The Taliban are not a force to be considered invincible. They are distanced from the people now. They are weaker than in the past. There is only the assistance given by Pakistan, Osama bin Laden and other extremist groups that keep the Taliban on their feet. With a halt to that assistance, it is extremely difficult to survive.[45]
In early 2001 the United Front employed a new strategy of local military pressure and global political appeals.[47] Resentment was increasingly gathering against Taliban rule from the bottom of Afghan society including the Pashtun areas.[47] In total, estimates range up to one million people fleeing the Taliban.[48] Many civilians fled to the area of Ahmad Shah Massoud.[49][50] National Geographic concluded in its documentary "Inside the Taliban": "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud".[26] In the areas under his control Massoud set up democratic institutions and signed the Women's Rights Declaration.[51] At the same time he was very wary not to revive the failed Kabul government of the early 1990s.[47] Already in 1999 the United Front leadership ordered the training of police forces specifically to keep order and protect the civilian population in case the United Front would be successful.[19] In early 2001 Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed the European Parliament in Brussels asking the international community to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan.[48] He stated that the Taliban and Al Qaeda had introduced "a very wrong perception of Islam" and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year.[48] On this visit to Europe he also warned that his intelligence had gathered information about a large-scale attack on U.S. soil being imminent.[52]
On September 9, 2001, two Arab suicide attackers, allegedly belonging to Al Qaeda, posing as journalists, detonated a bomb hidden in a video camera while interviewing Ahmed Shah Massoud in the Takhar province of Afghanistan. Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to a hospital. He was buried in his home village of Bazarak in the Panjshir Valley.[53] The funeral, although taking place in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people.
The assassination of Massoud is considered to have a strong connection to the attacks in the U.S. two days later, which killed nearly 3,000 people and which appeared to be the terrorist attack that Massoud had warned against in his speech to the European Parliament several months earlier. John P. O'Neill was a counter-terrorism expert and the Assistant Director of the FBI until late 2001. He retired from the FBI and was offered the position of director of security at the World Trade Center (WTC). He took the job at the WTC two weeks before 9/11. On September 10, 2001, John O'Neill told two of his friends,
We're due. And we're due for something big. ... Some things have happened in Afghanistan [referring to the assassination of Massoud]. I don't like the way things are lining up in Afghanistan. ... I sense a shift, and I think things are going to happen. ... soon.[54] O'Neill died the following day, when the south tower collapsed.[54]
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, United Front troops ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul with American air support in Operation Enduring Freedom, using intelligence reports offered by Iran during the Six plus Two Group meetings at the United Nations Headquarters. In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country and played a crucial role in establishing the post-Taliban interim government of Hamid Karzai in late 2001.
Post 9/11 [ edit ]
After the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, the United Front succeeded in retaking Kabul from the Taliban with air support from US-led forces during Operation Enduring Freedom. Despite fears of a return to the chaos similar to that of the 1992–1996 civil war, all the Afghan leaders met in Germany to create a new government. Hamid Karzai was chosen to lead the country and most key positions were given to Tajik members of the Northern Alliance. This created a major international issue. While Pakistan has always favored Afghanistan's major ethnic group, the Pashtun, India saw an opportunity for increasing its regional power by jumping on board with the support of the Northern Alliance in the early days of the war.[55] With both nations seeking to increase or maintain their regional power through opposing factions on the ground, the conflict in Afghanistan has increasingly been seen by observers as a proxy-war between these powers.[56][57]
From 2002 to 2004 Afghanistan witnessed relative calm. By 2006, however, with the support of Pakistan, a Taliban insurgency was increasingly gaining strength. In 2010, Afghan President Karzai decided that the only way to end the Taliban insurgency is to call for peace. This process became accepted and supported by all international partners of Afghanistan, except by several key figures of the Northern Alliance such as Abdullah Abdullah, Ahmad Zia Massoud, Mohammad Mohaqiq, and others. The opposition, by then splintered into several parties, warned that Karzai's appeasement policy could come at the cost of Afghanistan's political and economic development, and the progress made in areas such as education and women's rights. As the opposition leaders were excluded from secret talks with the Taliban by NATO and the Karzai administration and Karzai's political rhetoric was increasingly adjusted to Taliban demands, United Front leaders, in late 2011, regrouped to oppose a return of the Taliban to Afghanistan.
Legacy [ edit ]
Between 1996 and 2001, the Northern Alliance blocked the Taliban and al-Qaeda from gaining control of the entirety of Afghanistan. Many internally displaced persons found shelter in areas controlled by Ahmad Shah Massoud. After the September 2001 attacks in the United States, U.S. air raids followed by ground troops of the United Front ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul. Between November and December 2001, the United Front gained control of most major Afghan cities. Had it not been for the United Front, the U.S. would have needed to deploy large number of ground troops, as was done in the Iraq War.
The United Front was influential in the transitional Afghan Government of Hamid Karzai from 2001 until 2004. Notably, Mohammed Fahim became the Vice President and Defense Minister, Yunus Qanuni became the Minister of Education and Security Advisor and Abdullah Abdullah became the Foreign Minister. Most foreign observers expected this dominance to continue and for Fahim or Qanuni to be selected as Karzai's Vice President in the 2004 elections. However, Karzai instead selected Ahmad Zia Massoud, younger brother of the former United Front leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Karzai easily won the 2004 Presidential election with 55.4% of the vote, followed by three former leaders of the Northern Alliance, Quanuni (16.3%), Mohaqiq (11.7%) and Dostum (10%).
Some of the military strength of the UIF has now been absorbed into the military of Afghanistan, while many of the remaining soldiers were disarmed through a nationwide disarmament program. The existence and strength of the Afghan National Army has significantly reduced the threat of the former UIF elements attempting to use military action against the new NATO-backed Afghan government. Most of the country's senior military personnel are former members of the UIF, including Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi.
Some members of the alliance are now part of the United National Front (Afghanistan) which is led by Rabbani and includes some former leaders of the UIF such as Yunus Qanuni, Mohammed Fahim, and Abdul Rashid Dostum. The United National Front has positioned itself as a "loyal" opposition to Hamid Karzai. Others like Abdul Sayyaf claim to be loyal to Hamid Karzai while, however, following their own agenda.
Abdullah Abdullah, a doctor of medicine and one of Ahmad Shah Massoud's closest friends, ran as an independent candidate in the 2009 Afghan presidential election and came in second place. On November 1, 2009, Abdullah, however, quit the runoff election because of widespread allegations of election fraud. Some of his followers wanted to take to the streets but Abdullah called for calm. Massoud Khalili, another of Ahmad Shah Massoud's close friends, became ambassador to India and subsequently to Turkey, while the younger brother of Massoud, Ahmad Wali Massoud, serves as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Massoud's ex-commander Bismillah Khan Mohammadi was chief-of-staff of the Afghan National Army, then as Minister of the Interior followed by Minister of Defense. One of Massoud's close intelligence agents, Amrullah Saleh, became director of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in 2004 but had to resign in 2010.
Reformation (2011) [ edit ]
The National Front of Afghanistan, which was created by Ahmad Zia Massoud, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Mohammad Mohaqiq in late 2011 to oppose peace talks with Taliban, is generally considered as a reformation of the military wing of the United Front.[58] Meanwhile, much of the political wing has reunited under the National Coalition of Afghanistan led by Abdullah Abdullah.[59][60]
Former head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Amrullah Saleh, has created a new movement, Basej-i Milli, with support among the youth. It mobilized about 10,000 people in an anti-Taliban demonstration in the capital Kabul in May 2011.[61][62][63] Former Northern Alliance strongman Mohammed Fahim, Vice President of Afghanistan, remained in an alliance with Hamid Karzai until Fahim's death in 2014.
Human rights issues (1997–2001) [ edit ]
The human rights situation during combat was heavily dependent on the specific commander and his troops. The situation for different leaders and their troops of the United Front thus shows sharp contrasts. Also, the quality of life of the Afghan population was heavily dependent on the specific leader that was directly controlling the area in which they lived. Sharp contrasts could also be witnessed regarding life and structures in those areas.
Area of Ahmad Shah Massoud [ edit ]
Ahmad Shah Massoud controlled the Panjshir area, some other parts of Parwan and Thakar province. Some parts of Badakshan were under his influence while others were controlled by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Badakshan was the home region of Rabbani
Massoud created institutions which were structured into several committees: political, health, education and economic.[19] In the area of Massoud women and girls were allowed to work and to go to school,[19] and in at least two known instances Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage.[64] Women also did not have to wear the Afghan burqa.[19] While it was Massoud's stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights, he also had to deal with Afghan traditions which he said would need a generation or more to overcome. In his opinion that could only be achieved through education.[19]
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled from the Taliban to the areas controlled by Massoud.[65] There was a huge humanitarian problem as there was not enough to eat for both the existing population and the internally displaced Afghans. In 2001, Massoud and a French journalist described the bitter situation of the displaced people and asked for humanitarian help.[65]
Area of Abdul Rashid Dostum [ edit ]
Northern Alliance troops under General Dostum's command in Mazar-e Sharif , December 2001
Until the conquest of Balkh by the Taliban in 1998, Abdul Rashid Dostum controlled the following provinces: Samangan, Balkh, Jowzjan, Faryab, and Baghlan provinces. According to Human Rights Watch many of the violations of international humanitarian law committed by the United Front forces date from 1996–1998[66] when Dostum controlled most of the north.
According to Human Rights Watch in 1997, some 3,000 captured Taliban soldiers were summarily executed in and around Mazar-i Sharif by Dostum's Junbish forces under the command of Abdul Malik Pahlawan. The killings followed Malik's withdrawal from a brief alliance with the Taliban and the capture of the Taliban forces who were trapped in the city.[27] With the U.S. War on Terror, troops loyal to Dostum also returned to combat. In December 2001, during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, between 250 and 3,000 (depending on sources) Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal truck containers. The prisoners were killed while being transferred from Kunduz to Sheberghan. This became known as the Dasht-i-Leili massacre[67] In 2009, Dostum denied the accusations.[68][69][70]
Dostum belonged to those commanders making their own, often draconian, laws. Human Rights Watch has released documents alleging widespread crimes targeted against the civilian population.[27] Human Rights Watch asked to actively discourage and refuse support in any way to any group or coalition that includes commanders with a record of serious violations of international humanitarian law standards, specifically naming Abdul Rashid Dostum; Haji Muhammad Muhaqqiq, a senior commander of the Hezb-i Wahdat; Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, leader of the erstwhile Ittihad-i Islami; and Abdul Malik Pahlawan, a former senior Junbish commander.[27]
See also [ edit ] |
KRIS BOYD reckons ex-team-mate Darlington Nagbe would be a Celtic sensation — revealing he urged RANGERS to sign him.
Boyd played with the Hoops target when he was at MLS outfit Portland Timbers in 2012.
PA:Press Association 2 Darling Nagbe in the stands for Barcelona clash
As SunSport revealed yesterday midfielder Dagbe, 26, was in Scotland for talks with Brendan Rodgers.
The USA international was given the VIP treatment at the Champions League clash with Barcelona.
And Boyd said: “Darlington is a top player — he’d be a great signing for Celtic if they could get him. I played with him for a season and, for me, he’s ideally suited to the British game.
“He’s a real athlete and has all the attributes needed for the top level.
“When I went back to Rangers I spoke to the coaching staff about him.
News Group Newspapers Ltd 2 Boyd played with Hoops target at Portland Timbers in 2012
“I said he was a player they should look at, but nothing came of it. Maybe it was not the right time with everything going on at the club.
“To be fair, Darlington also didn’t have his American citizenship by then so it would have been complicated to get him over.
“Celtic will be doing well if they can sign him because he’s class.”
Nagbe was clearly impressed by his first view of Celtic Park, tweeting a video pre-match with the caption “Wow!!!!” |
In this week’s politics chat, we look at the war between President Trump and the media. Is the war real? And, if so, who’s winning? The transcript below has been lightly edited.
natesilver (Nate Silver, editor in chief): Hello, chatters. Micah went to the Jersey Shore this weekend and, unlike Gov. Chris Christie, hasn’t been seen or heard from since. So I’ll be filling in as moderator. Did everyone see some good fireworks last night?
clare.malone (Clare Malone, senior political writer): I watched some excellent East River fireworks drinking from an open container. New York is a great city.
natesilver: I was in Peekskill, New York, which has pretty damned good fireworks, I must say. Although my pictures of them didn’t turn out very well.
But today we’re here to talk about another sort of fireworks, and one which is always a pleasure to discuss. That is, the ongoing clash between President Trump and “the media.”
clare.malone: 👏 segue
natesilver: There have been two major storylines on this front recently. President Trump has been feuding with the hosts of “Morning Joe,” including making some (IMO) sexist comments about co-host Mika Brzezinski. And then on Sunday, Trump tweeted out a meme (this is a very 2017 sentence) that showed … I’m not quite sure how to describe it. It was a clip of Trump from his wrestling days, and it showed Trump body-slamming a man who had a CNN logo superimposed over his head.
clare.malone: I love this synopsis of our age by Nate Silver.
natesilver: But as absurd as this all seems, if you’ve been watching cable over the past few days, or reading political Twitter, you’ve probably seen more about these stories than about the GOP’s health care bill, or about the emerging diplomatic crisis in North Korea. These stories are getting a lot of attention.
harry (Harry Enten, senior political writer): There’s nothing more that the media likes to talk about than the media.
clare.malone: But, yes, I think you’re right, Nate — the idea that Trump is starting a media fight at a time when his party is pushing a particularly unpopular bill is striking. It’s a classic Trump move of distraction.
natesilver: So here’s my first question: Are Trump and the media actually at war? Or is this, to borrow a wrestling term, kayfabe? (Staged conflict?)
clare.malone: There is most definitely a real conflict going on here.
perry (Perry Bacon Jr., senior writer): I think so. I think we have an administration that at times does not respect the authority of any potential checks on it: the FBI, the special counsel’s office, the Congressional Budget Office, federal judges and, yes, the media. This is not the first administration to take this tack, but I think it’s gone the furthest since Nixon. I think it’s important to distinguish between “Morning Joe” and the investigative team at The Washington Post. But Trump casts all of the media as “fake news.”
harry: I think you can have a real conflict that is beneficial to both sides. Joe Scarborough saw record ratings after his tussle with Trump. But that doesn’t mean he likes Trump.
clare.malone: I think we have to separate a couple of things out: Trump sees hating on the media as a useful tool to gin up support from his base, to try to control a narrative. The media isn’t so much out to get Trump as to save itself from immolation during the Trump era when trust in the institution of the press is taking a nosedive.
I think some media organizations would love to see Trump out of office, but by and large, it’s the principle that he’s sowing seeds of distrust in the news that makes reporters’ blood boil.
harry: Look, most Americans don’t trust the news, so Trump is playing off of that. Trump, of course, isn’t popular either. The attacks keep the focus from being on him. It’s the same thing that worked to his benefit in the final days of the campaign, when we were talking about Clinton’s emails.
natesilver: It’s probably worth mentioning here that the two media entities that were in the news this week, CNN and “Morning Joe,” were very heavily invested in Trump throughout the Republican primary — CNN by featuring him on TV very, very, very, very often and Scarborough by being a big backer/admirer of Trump’s when Trump was having trouble winning much support in establishment circles.
So I can’t bait anyone into taking a more cynical view here? That “Morning Joe” and CNN are playing up the conflict for ratings?
clare.malone: Sure, I’ll take that.
Who runs CNN? The same guy who hired Trump to do a reality show. They realize that this stuff is good for making people watch their news shows, which used to be a lot more crusty and about stuff like European economic policy.
perry: I might give a simpler answer: This conflict is more interesting/colorful/easy to watch on TV than health care, which is super complicated. I would argue that TV was not covering health care that well/much before these CNN and “Morning Joe” stories broke either.
clare.malone: But I would argue that a lot of times, politicians and people in certain industries that are regulated by the government (health care, finance) relish in the confusing nature of their industry. It keeps people from understanding some basic truths that they might not like. See: mortgage-backed securities.
natesilver: We see that Google searches for “health care” — although not a perfect proxy for media coverage — have spiked for about a week at a time, only to fall back down again. Which could reflect the media’s short attention span for the story, or the public’s. At the same time, do we really think the public gives a damn about Joe & Mika’s conflict with the president? We know that senators who went to Fourth of July parades were hearing all about health care instead.
perry: But I thought Trump’s comments about Mika Brzezinski were played big for a different reason: It brought back the story of how he talks about and treats women, which was a huge theme of the campaign but not as much during his presidency.
clare.malone: I’ll agree that the Brzezinski episode brought back the visceral responses that people had to Trump’s “character.” Particularly GOP allies. Whenever a woman’s honor is involved, people feel more free to comment on what they see as bad behavior. I find it fascinating.
perry: Well, the Brzezinski comment drew lots of GOP senators/House members slamming Trump. Members of his own party attacking the president will always get attention.
harry: It allows Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse to go out and slam Trump … and then vote with him anyway. Media loves a bipartisan story, so that may be part of it.
natesilver: So that seems like kayfabe, right? It allows Republicans to show how “concerned” they are about Trump?
clare.malone: Virtue signaling, right? Isn’t that what we’re calling it these days?
It sort of is a steam valve for them to let off anger/frustration they have about him in other areas.
perry: I don’t think it’s a “kayfabe.” Ana Navarro, a CNN commentator, tweeted a particularly egregious example of the kind of hate mail some journalists are getting. I don’t know Ana well, but I don’t want to dismiss her concern that Trump’s comments on the media, particularly CNN, inspire more unhinged people to write nasty stuff to CNN reporters. I know this came up with Katy Tur, who covered Trump for NBC during the campaign. Trump supporters made threatening comments to her.
clare.malone: What’s fascinating about the adversarial attitude toward the media that Trump is fostering in his supporters is their view toward seeing any and everything that is produced by certain media organizations as being toxic — when NPR tweeted out the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth and people thought it was an anti-Trump screed, for instance.
natesilver: How widespread are those attitudes really, though? Are we getting a false impression because people are nutpicking on Twitter? Harry, how do you make sense of the polling data on this?
harry: The polling indicates that more Americans trust the media than trust Trump, but it’s also the case that Republicans trust Trump over the media. So it’s kind of beneficial in that way for both.
clare.malone: Are we seeing crazy voices amplified by Twitter? Probably yes. But the adversarial nature is certainly there. And I think the empowerment of the crazies on Twitter is alarming.
I’ll also point out the obvious that Ana Navarro and Katy Tur are both women, leading to a particularly noxious twinning of harassment: being picked on because you’re in media and because you’re a woman.
perry: So to jump back: Do I care that Donald Trump is in a feud with Scarborough? Not really. Do I think it matters that the Trump administration is blocking people from seeing the White House visitors logs or not taking questions when he meets with foreign leaders. Yes.
clare.malone: Right, the talk-show feuds are the most visible element of this media hate that Trump has, but they won’t have the most meaningful effect long-term.
perry: Yeah, I might say there is a semi-fake feud (the wrestling stuff) and a real feud (calling some of the Post’s reporting “fake news”).
natesilver: So should The Washington Post be annoyed with CNN for playing up the wrestling stuff?
clare.malone: Yeah, I think so. The wrestling stuff is sort of puerile.
harry: Without any context (and context is always needed), I thought the CNN wrestling GIF was just so ridiculous. Pro wrestling is, of course, fake. That said, there was the Greg Gianforte incident, when a politician body-slammed a member of the media.
clare.malone: And I think people frankly get a little annoyed when CNN or New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet says that Trump tweeting this out is making the media environment poisonous — it already was before he did it. It does make it look a little bit like CNN is taking pleasure in finding itself an object of the president’s hate.
natesilver: We talked about the notion of “virtue signaling” earlier, insofar as it applied to Republican members of Congress. But what about for the press itself? Do you agree or disagree with this observation from Jamelle Bouie, for example?
Outrage about, say, Trumpcare is coded as "partisan," whereas outrage about Trump's misogyny isn't. https://t.co/DEMon3726y — Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie) June 29, 2017
perry: I agree with that idea, and I think it’s super-important.
The Trump voter commission story, I thought, was huge — in some ways as important as health care. But I think it got nowhere near the coverage of Trump’s talking about Mika Brzezinski. Republicans could easily criticize Trump on that tweet, while the voter commission story was more complicated and has more of a partisan tinge.
harry: I think that’s part of the same point as before. Trump being a misogynist is something fellow Republicans are willing to critique. If fellow Republicans are, the media feels free to do so as well.
clare.malone: Right, as I said above, the only time this happens is around women. It’s this chivalry DNA popping up. Does that actually surprise you guys?
natesilver: I think we can all imagine a certain type of reporter/pundit who would vigorously denounce Trump for his behavior to the media but would be reluctant to imply that the GOP health care bill is bad public policy — or good public policy, for that matter.
perry: I’m going to defend the traditional reporters here. I think there is a difference between believing that no one should be on Medicaid (a radical one, but still a policy view) and believing it is appropriate to mock someone’s plastic surgery publicly. I think the former is more important, but there is virtually no defense for the latter.
clare.malone: I think, to Nate’s point, that’s something that’s incredibly damaging about the increasing partisanship in America: There is no longer a place where we all see a voice being the “voice of trust.” The discombobulation that we all have with facts is most damaging because we no longer can agree on any sort of north star of morality or even a place of valid critique. There is only black and white now.
natesilver: Do we all agree that this is is something new? Or at least, something worse than we had before?
harry: I’m not sure how many viewers notice the difference between something like policy and something like misogyny. If you look at the latest Suffolk University poll, for instance, the “nonpartisan” CNN is pretty much exclusively trusted most by Democrats. That trend has been developing over the last 20 years by the way.
clare.malone: The vehemence with which people are disbelieving news sources increased during the 2016 cycle, but it was there before. I think more mainstream Republicans are now subscribing to the Breitbartian view of things and more people on the far left distrust mainstream media since Bernie Sanders has often cast doubt on its motives.
perry: Yeah, I think this level of press-bashing and bashing of any independent entity that questions the president/administration is new. I just don’t think there is any analogy to this from George W. Bush or Barack Obama. So I think media-president tensions are high.
natesilver: To the extent you feel comfortable talking about it, have the three of you personally noticed an increase in abusive behavior?
perry: I have not personally experienced much of this. I think there is something about being a woman in this era; that is where I have seen the most venom from Trump supporters and to some extent Trump. I guess Trump made fun of Chuck Todd’s eyes, but the Megyn Kelly and Mika Brzezinski stuff was more personal.
clare.malone: I guess I don’t really have much of a comparison because I wasn’t really on Twitter that much pre-election. But on certain topics, I will get emails or tweets calling me dumb or commenting on looks when there are videos of us posted. But I think the dumb stuff probably happens to most writers, right? At one time or another?
harry: I do really think women receive more abuse than men. I’m not sure there’s much doubt about that?
natesilver: We’ve got to start wrapping up soon, so I want to close with two quick-ish questions. First, if Trump and the media really are at war, who’s winning? Would Trump be better off politically if he took a more conciliatory approach to the press?
perry: I don’t think either side is winning. Trump is going down, taking media credibility down with him.
clare.malone: I don’t know if there’s anyone who’s winning. What I will say is that the press, while doing some really great work during the Trump administration, isn’t necessarily losing but it’s not necessarily winning. We’ve still got major credibility issues, whether they’re our fault or not, and they make it difficult to pierce through at least some layers of American society.
natesilver: So do we think Trump deliberately picks fights with the press so as to distract from his other problems? Lightning-round answers, please.
harry: I just think Trump likes fighting.
clare.malone: Yes. He does. It’s effective because TV always takes the bait and everyone else follows.
perry: No — I think he hates being criticized and the media is criticizing him.
natesilver: So here’s the last question: Once Trump finishes being president — whether that’s in 2025 or sometime next year because he resigns from office — will the media be better or worse off than it would have been under President Hillary Clinton?
clare.malone: Worse off.
harry: Worse.
perry: Not sure. Trump will have eroded a ton of media norms. On the other hand, let’s not pretend here: a Clinton administration with a GOP Congress? Boring. Trump is driving up ratings/clicks.
clare.malone: Clicks don’t necessarily mean stories that are “good” for journalism. I think that’s what I mean — there’s a hit that the institution of the press is taking.
natesilver: My thinking is more along the lines of yours, Perry. I think the media was going to go through a really rough stretch either way, in terms of public trust. There were all sort of problems that it had covering Clinton, too. And I think Trump creates a lot more attention to politics, which is good for media jobs, even if they’re swimming against the current.
harry: I think television ratings are definitely up. I just don’t think for the long-term health of the media it’s a good thing to see even more erosion of trust.
perry: I’m pretty worried about this Trump-media conflict. I’ve always thought of journalism as a noble enterprise and in theory one that can reach everyone. I think he’s turning the media into the enemy for a lot of conservatives. That was already happening, but having that kind of effort led from the Oval Office I think is a big shift. |
CONTACT:
Contact Elizabeth Arey at [email protected] or 858-204-1238 mobile
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Articles about owning your own private Maine island New! Down East Magazine January 2019 — Islands You Can Afford
Down East Magazine January 2019 — Islands You Can Afford New! Portland Magazine Summer 2018 - Islands for Sale - Read more (pg.158-160)
Portland Magazine Summer 2018 - Islands for Sale - Read more (pg.158-160) TIME Magazine, March 10, 2008 - How to Buy Your Own Island - Read more on Time's website or download PDF
Portland Magazine, Summer 2007 Issue - "Dream Islands"
DownEast Magazine, July 2006 Issue - Own a Maine Island
New York Times, September 2005 - The Allure of Buying Your Own Private Island (PDF) |
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Fields are saturated, combines have come to a halt and harvest is at a standstill across Saskatchewan and in southern Alberta because of snow.
Murray Taks farms near Crossfield, Alta., northeast of Calgary, and said he recently got about five to 7.5 centimetres of snow, which came after rain.
He hasn’t been out in the field for at least 10 days, he said, and even then it was only for a couple of hours.
“We’re way behind. I think last year, on today, we were just finishing up,” Taks said Tuesday.
READ MORE: Bad harvest conditions hurting western Canadian farmers
Taks added that he got half of about 2,400 hectares of crop off — mostly wheat and barley, but his canola is still out and it’s wet.
Some neighbours aren’t even that far along, he said.
“I just got a bad feeling that a lot of crop in this area is going to lay out. I’ve never seen so much crop at this time of year either standing or, there’s places you go by, there hasn’t even been a combine in some fields,” said Taks, who has farmed for 45 years.
“I don’t know how it’s going to all turn about really, unless we get a real weather change.”
But Taks said the long range forecast is not good and that’s what concerns him most right now.
The Alberta government crop report said that, as of Oct. 4, harvest was up to 69 per cent complete “before wet weather again enveloped the province.”
A similar situation has sprouted in neighbouring Saskatchewan.
Daphne Cruise, a crop specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said farmers have not been able to get into their fields for about a week because of rain that turned to snow. And it’ll likely take another week or more before they can go back.
“So that puts us into probably the end of October before, I think, most of our guys are going to be back in the field, if the weather co-operates,” Cruise said.
READ MORE: Prairie farmers take financial hit as oil and gas slowdown stalls drilling rigs
Saskatchewan Agriculture reports that 80 per cent of crops had been combined as of Oct. 3, down from the five-year average of 86 per cent.
Cruise said it’s not a first to harvest late into fall. About 20 per cent of crops was still in the fields on Nov. 1, 2009.
“A lot of that did get combined,” she said. “It’s not under ideal conditions, of course, and a lot of that grain got taken off tough and damp, but it did get taken off.”
Arlynn Kurtz, a director with Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, was helping a neighbour combine in the Stockholm area, north of Whitewood, until about a week ago. He said that since then “there hasn’t been a wheel that has turned.”
Kurtz said he’s still optimistic.
“I still think there’s a good chance, but the weather has to change drastically,” he said.
“If we have two weeks of cloudy, overcast with some snow showers or rain showers for another two weeks, then it is going to become very doubtful.” |
The Linux Foundation is targeting drones through a project building a reliable open-source software platform for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The Dronecode Project is due to be announced today at the embedded Linux Conference in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Dronecode Project is founded on the APM UAV software and code that had been hosted by project co-founding member 3D Robotics – until now. Other founding members include Box, DroneDeploy and jDrones.
The Foundation said Dronecode would help advance technologies in data analysis, storage and display for drones and accelerate adoption of more affordable and – ahem – more reliable open-source software for UAVs.
Drones are enjoying a mainstream renaissance in acceptance and application thanks to unending automated war in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and since Jeff Bezos told prime-time US TV of his dream for packaged deliveries from above.
But, building drone systems often sees drone makers building their own software systems. This can mean greater cost and potential problems in the code while throwing up a hurdle to those building drone hardware and apps.
All this is a problem not just for drone makers but also for customers looking for affordable and reliable flying machines – customers like Bezos.
The Linux Foundation is normally associated with its work on extending the presence of the Linux kernel and in more Earth-bound locations.
Dronecode becomes a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project, same as the merged Mego and Tiezen efforts for Linux in devices, the Xen hypervisor, and Open Daylight for software-defined networking (SDN).
The Linux Foundation apparently believes it can bring the same process, order and buy-in to drone software that it has on other projects.
Dronecode will be governed by a Linux Foundation Technical Steering Committee, which will become the primary decision-making group.
Falling under the Linux Foundation means Dronecode can scale and be developed in a vendor-neutral environment.
The project will be headed by rsync author and Samba co-lead Andrew Tridgell – also lead maintainer in the development of APM. ("Tridge", along with Autopilot brain surgeon Linus Penzlien, is also helping The Register's LOHAN team with custom Pixhawk parameter wrangling for our spaceplane's hardware-in-the-loop simulations. For more on the LOHAN project, click here.)
Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation, said in a statement the Dronecode community would now “receive the support required of a massive project right at its moment of breakthrough.”
“The result will be even greater innovation and a common platform for drone and robotics open source projects,” he said. ® |
Mark Cuban bet on the wrong horse and now he’s out in the wilderness, or maybe not. He appears to be deleting his anti-Trump tweets.
A friend posted some research in which he uncovered showing missing anti-Trump tweets (see them at the end).
Cuban removed his anti-Trump tweets.
We did some further research, taking Mark Cuban’s most infamous anti-Trump tweets and sure enough, they’re missing.
Tweet #1
Hey Donald, you do realize that with $11b you should be able to rig the system? After all no one knows the system better than you. Right ? https://t.co/yocO2jT1aS— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 23, 2016
This is what is there now.
Tweet #2
Then there is this one from October 10th.
When you don’t practice , you don’t know how to hold the mic. Sniffle distance is important— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 10, 2016
This is what is taking its place.
Tweet #3
Wow !!! Trump won’t put his name on new hotels. Even he knows his brand is over. Say goodnight Donnie. https://t.co/ue9erP8Dnh— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 19, 2016
You won’t find it now.
Tweet #4
If @realDonaldTrump loses this election, im betting he personally goes bankrupt w/in 7 yrs. Thats how toxic his brand now is.— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 29, 2016
This is what is there.
Tweet #5
.1) @realDonaldTrump $10mm to the charity of YOUR choice if you let ME interview you for 4 hrs on YOUR policies and their substance.— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 16, 2016
It’s no longer there.
One thing about tweets though, they’re never really gone.
Our friend’s research tweets: |
“Are you gay?” my 12-year-old self asked, as if asking about the weather.
We had stopped in the deli section of a supermarket near my father’s home in metro Detroit to pick out some meat for a party. Dad must have said something, done something, that pricked my subconscious.
My father gave me a look of pure astonishment. “We’ll talk about it later,” he finally said.
The year was 2004, the month November, that dreary time when Michigan can’t decide whether to clothe itself with leaves or snow. We were both about to have a rough night.
I had never considered my father’s sexual orientation before. As a seventh grader, I was more concerned with school and acne and the cute boy in my English class. And Dad had always been a man’s man. He once drove from Detroit to Chicago overnight to buy a 1966 Chevy Corvair that he named Veronica. He spent years rebuilding our house, immersing himself in everything from electrical wiring to tile flooring. He dressed smartly but not fashionably, and his favorite store was Home Depot, which we visited multiple times a week.
So I had no basis to ask the question I did. It was only six months since I’d even understood the word “gay.” But somehow, I knew.
Later that night, my father, sitting on his bed, revealed his secret to me. “So you are gay?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered. The rest was a blur. I screamed at him and sobbed. I wanted to know how I would be affected by this change. Was homosexuality genetic? Did this mean I had to be gay, too? I was too hysterical to consider his feelings. I found out later that my sister, age 9, had heard my crying through the thin walls that separated her bedroom from my father’s. She knew everything. I regret that she had to find out so soon, overheard instead of explained.
My parents had divorced five years earlier, when I was 7. “Irreconcilable differences” was the legal cause, as it is for so many other couples, and it described my parents perfectly. Dad was the extrovert who worked long hours and surprised us with gifts and vacations. Mom was the introvert who preferred immersing herself in the beauty of nature and spending time with friends and family. They’d gotten engaged only three months after meeting each other. They’d also gotten divorced, after almost 12 years of marriage, before he realized he had a preference for men.
After coming out to me, Dad made an appointment with Mom to tell her, too. I don’t know how she reacted; her main concern was for my sister and me. In April 2005, Dad finally told my sister he had a partner. She had found a pair of unfamiliar shoes in his closet.
The first time I’d met this partner, I didn’t know my father was gay. Dad had taken me to an arts-and-crafts show to say hi to some friends and introduced me to one of them, a tall guy in his 20s with bleached-blond hair and a high voice. He was selling candles. I smiled and nodded, but this wasn’t my scene, and I didn’t think anything of it.
A few weeks after my dad’s conversation with my sister, Dad reintroduced his partner to us during a Sunday brunch. This man, 16 years younger than my father, was our stepfather now, Dad said. And he’d be a big part of our lives, joining us on our annual camping weekends at Cedar Point amusement park and our 10-day summer vacation. Dad said his partner would be moving in with him in the fall, but we soon found out that the partner had already moved in.
I threw tantrums; my sister retreated into herself. My mother told my father he had to give his daughters time to adjust and understand before they could process having a new stepparent. Dad interpreted our reactions as homophobia and suspended our fortnightly weekend stays with him.
Meanwhile, insomnia took hold of me, and I would stare at the ceiling as minutes turned into hours, my thoughts wrestling in the darkness. Would my life ever be normal? Where had my father gone, and who had given him this new identity? My sister—normally a chatterbox—had gone mostly silent, speaking only to communicate basic needs. After a few months of unsuccessful sporadic day visits working to rebuild his relationship with his daughters, Dad felt he had waited long enough. He wanted to live his life in daylight, and he wanted to resume our regular visitation schedule. That December, he took my mother to court.
One requirement of the court was that my sister and I attend therapy sessions. In my memory, our therapist is the mirror image of Professor Trelawney, Harry Potter’s divination teacher as played by Emma Thompson. Her hair wasn’t as frizzy, and her woolens were less threadbare, but she had the same dazed, helpless look about her—as if a storm were coming, and she could do nothing but wait for it. She would start each weekly session with mundane questions about school and life and then move on to Dad-related drama. I worked my way through Kleenex boxes, crying in anger.
I didn’t like that Dad was gay, but that wasn’t my main concern anymore. It was that I never felt as if he listened or tried to understand. Sometimes, in an obvious plea for conversation with him, I’d lock myself in my small square room at his house, emailing and messaging friends on my computer. Dad would turn off the electrical breaker, forcing me to open the door and giving me the opportunity I wanted to talk. Yet I always ended up screaming at him instead, trying to break through his calm and patronizing answers. I wanted him to be as angry as I was or, at least, to feel something.
Looking back, I’m sure he did feel something. I imagine that all the fears he felt of being rejected by his own family were turning into reality, and he was furious about it. But it was also causing him to lose sight of what to expect from ordinary people, and especially kids, confronted by major change. Even a new woman in Dad’s life would have been hard on us, let alone a new man.
Dad’s efforts to place his partner in more of a parenting role just made things worse. If I wanted to see a movie, or make some food, Dad would tell me to ask my “stepfather” for permission. But only Dad was my dad. This new person, who listened to techno and swore at me when I made salads in a way he was not accustomed to, was not my dad, or stepdad, or even someone I could think of as a credible authority figure.
I was desperate for Dad to convey that he was fundamentally the same man I’d known and loved and to whom I’d been so close in both appearance and manner. Instead, the changes in his personality and behavior grew more pronounced. When I was younger, Dad took us to Episcopal Church services every Sunday morning and even taught Sunday school. After Dad’s coming out, his religion became invisible. Home furnishings began to consume more of his budget. My father was never one to skimp on a product that could last a long time if chosen wisely (we still have his now 20-year-old stereo), but he never took much interest in feng shui or vases full of marbles. That had started to change. One day, I noticed that the two sconces on the living room wall had undergone a transformation. Previously their lampshades had been an unremarkable gray. Now they were hunter green, with gold beads dangling from the sides. It may seem like a trivial change, but I found it horrifying and burst into tears. Who was this man with frilly, beaded lampshades?
The constant emotional tension and financial strain was taking a toll on all of us. We were drained of will and tired of fighting. Eventually, we stopped trying to put the brakes on my father and surrendered to his wishes. My sister and I visited him every other weekend, at least until my senior year, when I had a weekend job at the library, which gave me an excuse to stay home with Mom.
Gradually, I grew more comfortable with the change in Dad and even told certain confidantes, usually in an exchange of secrets—one friend’s dad was a pothead, another had cut himself amid severe depression. Mutually assured destruction gave me a sense of security and comfort in what was a small, conservative, upper-middle class town.
After high school, I ran off to the East Coast for college, creating some distance for me to start anew. My sister pasted on a smile and forged a new relationship with my father and his partner. She’s now a senior in high school, and I’m a junior in college. All of my friends in college know about my dad, and I no longer have a teenage need to conform.
Because my dad became gay so late in life, I’m sometimes asked if I think homosexuals are born gay or lesbian, or if it’s something they become over time. I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters, either. Attraction is not something people can choose or control. It chooses them, not the other way around. I’m happy that my dad has found happiness and love.
But I do wish he had introduced his new life more sensitively. I wish he hadn’t thrown accusations at my mom for trying to protect her children. I wish he had tried to explain to us that our own identities wouldn’t change just because his did. And I wish he had tried, despite my frustrating insolence and anger, to see things through his children’s eyes.
Coming out stories so often seem to fall into simple categories. Either everyone accepts the person who comes out and there’s a group hug, or family members reject the person and cut off all contact. But I think stories like mine are far more common. Anytime someone comes out, it’s going to be hard. It’s even harder when children are involved. I don’t think my dad handled things right, but I also don’t think there was a “right” way to handle it. There were just bad and less-bad options.
Today, rainbow is supposed to be the new black, and I’m happy about that. If society had been this enlightened when my dad was young, maybe he would have become aware of his latent feelings sooner. I like to think that the next generation of Americans will feel less tortured about their sexuality, so that, unlike my father, they’ll take the right path to start with, instead of painfully changing course. |
DeAndre Levy started with the Detroit Lions at the very bottom, coming off the 0-16 season in 2008 with a new team president in Tom Lewand, a new general manager in Martin Mayhew and first-time head coach Jim Schwartz.
As Levy leaves the team after being released Thursday, he’s seen it evolve and improve, much like the city of Detroit itself. He just knows he won’t be around to see if the transformation is completed.
Levy said he wants to keep playing. He wants to return to his old form. But he leaves the Lions with no regrets.
“You know, the past couple of years turned it around and it’s been night and day, and they are not all the way there but we made progress,” Levy told ESPN after his release. “I don’t think that’s something that should be overlooked. It’s hard to go from 0-16 and to be what we were last year, 9-7. It feels different, man, and I think they made tremendous steps in the right direction in this organization to be a Super Bowl caliber team. That takes time.
Since signing his contract extension with the Lions during training camp in 2015, DeAndre Levy was healthy for only one quarter of one game. Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire
“That’s kind of one of the biggest things that I always thought is seeing the team my first year and seeing the team maybe my fourth or fifth year, starting to feel like a professional team, like a team that could do something. It’s been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of chaotic games, a lot of heartbreaking losses, a lot of gut-wrenching wins. It’s been fun. I don’t take any moment for granted.”
Levy knew he wouldn’t be coming back to Detroit with an $8.39 million cap number after two seasons of inaction due to injury. He doesn’t know if he would have accepted a pay cut, something he said the Lions never approached him about.
Yet he admits he thinks about the what-ifs of his time lost due to hip and knee injuries. Since signing his contract extension during training camp in 2015, he was healthy for one quarter of one game, the first quarter against Indianapolis.
“Those 26 to 28, 29, those are really the years and I really felt everything was coming together and kind of derailed with the injuries,” Levy said. “I had a lot of miles on my body. I know that I gave everything I had in preparing and taking care of my body and trying to get back healthy.
“Sometimes it’s out of your control. You play football and it’s a violent sport and it’s a taxing sport. Sometimes you can do everything in your will to be prepared, to be ready, to be available, and at the end of the day, you’re still playing a very physical, a very violent game and sometimes those things catch you. But I know that I don’t have any regrets because I know I didn’t sell myself short any day that I was a part of the Detroit Lions.”
His 2015 hip injury cost him all but one half of one game after he had 151 tackles in 2014 -- second in the NFL -- and was a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker.
This season’s knee injury -- one that left him criticized heavily in Detroit -- came on a leg whip against the Colts. He thought it was a thigh bruise and played every snap the rest of that game. Then during the week after the Lions’ win, the swelling and bruising on his right thigh and IT band (a ligament that runs down from the hip to the shin) remained. A couple of weeks later, a scan revealed a torn meniscus and some other damage, resulting in a small procedure.
Levy thought he’d be out six weeks. but the injury lingered. Fluid built up when he jogged. It sidelined him for 11 weeks. Even when he came back, he wasn’t the same. Had the Lions been out of the playoff picture, he would have been placed on injured reserve. But the chance to play meaningful games kept him on the roster.
He started practicing in Week 11, but his conditioning was off. The knee struggled. He started off strong on Mondays, but by Fridays, he was “significantly worse.” So it took three weeks to get back in a game.
Even then, he compensated and played limited snaps. Was he close to healthy then?
“Hell, no,” Levy said Thursday. “I wasn’t even close.”
Levy said he felt good for a majority of the snaps, but there clearly were periods when the knee forced him to adjust. Even during a good stretch in Week 15 against the Giants, he came out because of a strict snap restriction.
“It was forcing myself to be patient and be a little bit more cerebral about my approach to training and preparing,” Levy said. “Kind of doing it a different way so I could end the season where I couldn’t maybe punch a lineman how I needed to. I needed to find different ways, different angles.
“It was kind of just one of the things I always embraced about football, just finding a strategy from week to week, day to day, recovering, get prepared and learn a new part.”
A lot of what Levy, who has never been a free agent, is about to experience is new after feeling at home in Detroit. While other players leave town, he spent his offseason in the city rehabbing and working on charity projects. Eight years, he said, made him connected to the city.
Detroit is where he discovered himself as a player and grew as a person eventually comfortable enough to question the NFL about CTE research and call out other athletes to help stop domestic violence and sexual assault.
It’s why, when asked about his legacy, he pointed to the work he did off the field, work he plans to continue. Another fundraiser for Enough SAID, the organization that tests and tries to help solve crimes of forgotten rape kits, is in the works for April. In October, Levy raised $30,000 for the organization with an "Our Issue" T-shirt campaign.
“The last couple years especially are really the things that I look back on and hope last longer than what I did on the field because that’s very fickle,” Levy said. “You have good games, bad games, good years, bad years.
“But the things I did off the field I hope will be lasting for the people I was able to try my best to help and bring light to.”
And that, no matter how things ended in Detroit on the field for Levy, is not a bad legacy at all. |
Just when we thought liberalism can’t get any more authoritarian, the Obama administration reminds us that it can.
Yes, that’s right. If you happen to disagree with the administration’s views of global warming, you could face a civil suit accusing you of fraud and corruption.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently confirmed that she had “referred” the “matter” of whether climate change “deniers” should be brought to court on racketeering charges to the FBI.
Yes, that’s right. If you happen to disagree with the administration’s views of global warming, you could face a civil suit accusing you of fraud and corruption.
This represents a breathtaking corruption of the law. Laws designed to catch mafia figures on corruption charges could be twisted to punish Americans whose only crime is to contest the Obama administration’s view of climate change.
>>> Pre-Order Kim Holmes’ New Book, “The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who asked Lynch about climate change at last week’s hearing, has been at this game for some time. He has long accused the fossil fuel industry of falsifying scientific research. He wants to target oil companies with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization, or RICO, laws, in the same way they were used against the tobacco industry.
Where to begin? First of all, it was a travesty to apply RICO laws to the tobacco industry. They were designed to catch murdering mafia bosses, not scientists or private companies engaged in research.
Even so, there is a huge difference between the health impacts of smoking and climate change.
The former is well documented, while the latter is not even remotely established as a scientific fact. What is more, where do Whitehouse and the others get off assuming that funding influences only one side of the argument? They argue that scientists supported by oil companies are corrupt, but why is a pro-global warming scientist receiving funds from a pro-global warming organization any less corrupt? The climate change world is awash in millions of dollars of politically motivated research in favor of global warming. What is the difference?
Might the answer be that Whitehouse prefers funding only for his side of the argument?
Whitehouse is not alone in waging an official crusade against so-called climate change “deniers.” Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., a ranking member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, once demanded information on the financial records of certain professors who were skeptical of climate change orthodoxy.
Let’s pause a moment to reflect on what this means. A government official demands the private records of an American citizen solely on the basis of where that person stands on a political issue. The professor has committed no crime, but merely holds a scientific view opposed, for political reasons, by a congressman.
So who is manipulating science here? A scientist who has the credentials to draw a scientific conclusion, or a congressman with no scientific credentials at all questioning the integrity of a scientist?
And then there are the actions of the attorney general’s office in New York. It has launched a sweeping probe of ExxonMobil to determine whether ExxonMobil hid risks of climate change from investors. Using a broad interpretation of the state’s consumer protection and securities laws, the attorney general is also investigating a leading coal company, Peabody Energy, for the same reason.
All of this is truly Orwellian. As I explain in my forthcoming book, “The Closing of the Liberal Mind”:
The intent could not be clearer: the state should suppress any questions about the reliability of climate change findings or data. In other words, a court should be invited to silence one side of a public policy debate.
This is official harassment, pure and simple. It is intended to stifle free and open debate and inquiry.
Thus do threats by federal officials, congressmen, and state prosecutors to silence people join campus radicals in the closing of the liberal mind. It’s a sad day not only for freedom of thought and expression, but for the rule of law. |
A Wellington West chocolatier who once prided himself on treating customers as guests in his home has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teen employee.
Omar Fares was found guilty Thursday in a judge-alone sexual assault trial.
The allegations against the then-36-year-old owner and operator of A Thing for Chocolate on Wellington Street West were made by a high school employee who was 17 at the time. The girl had been an employee at the café for just four days.
The teen said Fares held her tightly after what started as a consensual hug inside the café. He then kissed her neck repeatedly without her consent.
Fares denied holding or kissing the girl.
The victim is now 19 and in university.
In the days before the Mar. 20, 2016 assault, she had been looking for a job and handing out résumés when she happened upon Fares’s café.
Fares began focusing on her clothing and said he was sexually attracted to her. The girl phoned police after the unwanted kissing when the sexual comments didn’t stop and she felt increasingly unsafe.
Inside the shop was a back room with a privacy curtain that shielded those in it from the view of anyone in the seating area of the café.
Ontario Court Justice Mitchell Hoffman said Fares took advantage of his position of authority over the girl. Fares sexualized their workplace encounters whenever he thought he could get away with it when customers weren’t able to see.
Fares had been married for 18 years and had four children at the time of the assault. He opened the chocolate shop and café in 2014. Fares met an older woman in his hometown of Beirut, Lebanon who needed help with her own chocolate shop. In exchange for his help, the woman taught him how to make chocolate, according to a Citizen feature on Fares’s business in 2016.
That same feature referred to the father of four as a “gregarious and kind” man who used high-quality ingredients to make and sell fine chocolates at the shop.
Fares is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
[email protected]
twitter.com/shaaminiwhy |
One of the three East London schoolgirls who left the UK to become 'jihadi brides' in Syria has confirmed that she is now living in the Islamic State - by tweeting a picture of chicken and chips.
Amira Abase, 15, left Bethnal Green with Shamima Begum 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, in February, and is believed to be living in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
Now, nearly two months after her departure, Amira has shared a snippet of life in the Islamic State - posting an online photo of her enjoying a takeaway dinner with another teenage 'jihadi bride'.
Scroll down for video
ISIS spread: London schoolgirl Amira Abase, 15, has tweeted from inside the Islamic State for the first time (above), bragging about a Western-style takeaway dinner of fried chicken, chips, pizza and kebab meat
Until recently, the Twitter account of 15-year-old Amira was set to private. The recent public tweet from the radicalised teenager gives a unique insight into the life of the British runaways.
It shows a huge Western-style takeaway, including fried chicken, chips, pizza and kebab meat.
Amira - tweeting under the name Bintt Abbas - captioned the photograph 'dawla takeaway w/ @um_ayoub12'. 'Dawla' is another name for the Islamic State, which is also known as Isis.
'Um-ayoub12' is the name of another Twitter user, who describes herself as a '16-year-old muhajirah'. She believed to be another of the dozens of western teenagers who have travelled from Europe to join Isis.
Amira's dinner companion uses the same profile picture as the 15-year-old from Bethnal Green. Earlier this year the older girl tweeted: 'uh wanna behead some kafirs [non-Muslims] now'.
Amira Abase, pictured last September, has tweeted from inside the Islamic State for the first time
Disturbing minds: Amira uses the same Twitter picture as another Western teen runaway, known only as Um Ayoub, who tweeted earlier this year that she wanted to 'behead some kafirs [non-muslims] now'.
'Jihadi brides': This picture is thought to show Amira and her fellow runaways - Bethnal Green Academy students Shamima Begum, 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, in a London park
Amira's Twitter account shows pictures of Amira's everyday life as a teenager in East London in the months before she left for Syria.
They include snaps of her building a tower out of neon highlighter pens during a revision session at Bethnal Green Academy as well as several pictures of the London skyline, which appear to have been taken from her family home.
The GCSE pupil also shares her love for Vans and Nike trainers and Chelsea FC.
She also appears to be a fan of the Cookies & Cream dessert cafes, tweeting a picture taken in its Whitechapel branch and declaring it has 'the best waffles'.
Before her departure to Syria, she tweeted a poignant picture of herself with two friends, believed to be fellow runaways Shamima Begum and Kadiza Sultana, before their departure. It shows the trio sitting in a London park, and is captioned 'Akhwaat', meaning 'sisters' in Arabic.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Abase and her two classmates had joined the fearsome group of British female jihadis who run Isis's ultra-religious police force.
Normal teen: As Amira's Twitter account has become public, it also gives an insight into her life as a normal 15-year-old girl in East London, posting about shoes, waffles, sunsets and Chelsea FC
Shoe fan: Several of Amira's tweets from before her departure reference her love for trainers, such as Nike Air Force. In one message she asks her followers whether she should buy a new pair of Vans
Sweet tooth: The 15-year-old posted about her visit to a London branch of Cookies & Cream in December
Runaways: Amira, left, and her classmates Kadiza Sultana,16 and Shamima Begum, 15 are caught on CCTV at Gatwick airport before they boarded their flight to Turkey two months ago
Londoners Kadiza Sultana (left) and Shamima Begum are thought to be in Raqqa too, along with Amira
Concerns: The three East London schoolgirls are believed to have joined the fearsome group of British female jihadis who run the al-Khansa brigade - Isis's ultra-religious police force
Shamima Begum has forged social media links with three of the British leaders of the al-Khansa brigade – an all-women militia set up by the terror group a year ago. It is understood the trio are now training with one of the notorious female arms of Isis.
Covered in black from head to toe and wielding automatic weapons, the group has been accused of doling out savage beatings on the streets of Raqqa, and spying on its citizens.
They are said to mercilessly patrol the streets of the terror group's adopted capital, and have previously declared that children as young as nine should be married. They say women should obey men – who are their masters – and remain 'hidden and veiled' at all times.
The group operates as an ultra-oppressive police force, monitoring the behaviour of females in the city and dishing out brutal punishments to anyone wearing shoes that aren't black or veils made from the 'wrong' material. |
Young black and Hispanic women may be screened at higher rates for the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia than young white women, a study finds.
The study included 40,000 young women ages 14 to 25, and researchers looked not only at screening rates, but also at what types of health insurance the study participants had.
More black and Hispanic young women were tested for chlamydia compared with white young women -- the numbers were 65%, 72% and 45%, respectively. Black young women were 2.7 times as likely and Hispanic women were 9.7 times as likely to be screened for the diseased as their white counterparts
Insurance also played a role in who got screened. Young women with public and public pending insurance had a better chance of getting screened for chlamydia than those who were privately insured. When researchers looked at screenings based on public or private insurance status only, they found that young black and Hispanic women still had a greater chance of being screened than young white women. |
Over 300 civilians killed in 3 weeks of violence in Aleppo: monitor
Aleppo, Syria: More than 300 civilians have been killed in a three-week surge of fighting and bombardment in Syria’s devastated Aleppo city, a monitoring group said today.
The battle for Syria’s second city has killed 333 civilians since July 31, when rebels launched a major push to break a government siege of districts under their control.
The toll includes 165 civilians – among them 49 children – killed in opposition fire on the city’s government-held western districts.
Another 168 civilians died in Russian and regime air strikes and shelling on its rebel-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, the Observatory said.
Russia has been carrying out air raids in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria since September 2015.
Another 109 people were killed in bombardment across the rest of Aleppo province during the same period, the Britain-based monitoring group said.
Once Syria’s economic hub, Aleppo city has been ripped apart by violence since mid-2012, with warplanes bombarding the east and rockets raining down on the west.
Air strikes pounded Aleppo’s southern edges on Saturday, and the intense battles there could be heard throughout the city, AFP’s correspondent in an eastern neighbourhood said.
The violence rendered the rebel route out of the city – via the southern district of Ramussa – temporarily unusable, and trucks of food and other produce could not be brought into the city, the correspondent said.
Approximately 250,000 people live in the city’s eastern districts, while another 1.2 million live in its western neighbourhoods.
While rebel groups are accessing the city via Ramussa, the regime is using the Castello Road to the north of the city to reach areas it controls.
According to the Observatory, regime forces seized territory on the city’s southern edges today.
“There are a lot of clashes and air strikes, and the regime made modest advances. They are trying to reinforce their positions,” Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The Observatory – which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its information – says it determines what planes carried out raids according to their type, location, flight patterns and the munitions involved.
More than 290,000 people have been killed since Syria’s conflict started in March 2011 and international efforts at putting an end to the war have faltered.
AFP |
Well Ohioans, you’ve been hoodwinked. You thought you were stopping gays from getting married last November when you voted for that amendment. Apparently, you were all too damn lazy to read the language or listen to the debate. Bottom line: it affects more than gays according to an Ohio Court.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a judge struck down part of the state’s domestic violence law today based on the “gay marriage” amendment:
Ohio voters who approved a constitutional amendment last fall that denied legal recognition of unmarried and gay couples probably didn’t envision the measure being successfully used as a defense in domestic violence cases. But that became a reality Wednesday when Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman ruled that the amendment, approved by voters as Issue 1, made part of the state’s domestic violence law unconstitutional. Friedman said that because Ohio’s domestic violence law recognizes the relationship between an unmarried offender and victim as one “approximating the significance or effect of marriage,” it represents a direct conflict with the amendment’s prohibition against such recognition and is thus unenforceable.
It’s a matter of time before other Ohio laws are challenged based on this amendment.
The ironic thing here is that gays didn’t really lose anything under the amendment. See, gays can’t get married anyway. It’s those straight Ohioans who voted against their own interests….again. Who knew they’d be supporting domestic violence? Who knows if they also voted to end divorce? We’ll see. |
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange vowed on Tuesday to step up the website’s release of secret US cables as his defence team warned he could face the death penalty if he is extradited from Britain.
Lawyers for the Australian released documents outlining their case after a brief court appearance in London during which a judge ruled that Sweden’s bid to extradite him would be heard in full on February 7-8.
Swedish authorities want to question Assange about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them, but the 39-year-old insists the extradition attempt is politically motivated and linked to WikiLeaks’ activities.
“Our work with WikiLeaks continues unabated and we are stepping up our publishing for matters related to ‘cablegate’ and other materials,” Assange told reporters after the hearing at the high-security Woolwich Crown Court.
“Those will shortly be occurring through our newspaper partners around the world, big and small newspapers and some human rights organisations,” added the former computer hacker, wearing a dark suit and tie.
He said he was “happy” with the outcome of the 10-minute hearing.
District Judge Nicholas Evans also agreed to change Assange’s bail conditions for the full hearing, allowing him to stay at the Frontline Club, a media club in London, on the nights of February 6 and 7.
Assange has been living at the country estate of Vaughan Smith, one of the Frontline Club’s founders, in eastern England since being released on bail on December 16, nine days after his arrest by British police on a Swedish warrant.
Despite the intense interest in the case, with more than 100 journalists from around the world packed into the court, Assange appeared relaxed in the dock, joking with two female prison officers.
Among the spectators in court were two of his high-profile supporters, socialite Jemima Khan and human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger.
Hours after the hearing Assange’s lawyers released documents containing their draft argument, in which his barrister Geoffrey Robertson accused Swedish prosecutors of “corrupt” behaviour.
The papers claimed the main Swedish prosecutor did not have the right to issue a European arrest warrant as only Swedish police can do so, and argued that it should not have been issued when Assange was only wanted for questioning.
But the documents also repeated Assange’s argument that the allegations against him are linked to the WikiLeaks’ disclosures about the United States, where he faces a widening criminal probe as well as widespread vilification.
If Assange is extradited to Sweden there is a “real risk” he will face extradition or illegal rendition to the United States “where there will be a real risk of him being detained at Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere,” they said.
“There is a real risk that he could be made subject to the death penalty. It is well-known that prominent figures have implied, if not stated outright, that Mr. Assange should be executed,” the papers added.
The whistleblowing website has also released classified documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cables were allegedly obtained by a renegade US soldier, Bradley Manning, now in custody.
A US court has reportedly subpoenaed the Twitter accounts of four WikiLeaks supporters as part of a criminal investigation into the leaks.
US Vice President Joe Biden last month described Assange as a “hi-tech terrorist.”
In a statement overnight, Assange condemned the violent rhetoric against him by a number of US politicians and media commentators and demanded that those responsible face prosecution.
He drew parallels between the language used against him and WikiLeaks and accusations that similar rhetoric led to the shooting of Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona at the weekend.
“When senior politicians and attention-seeking media commentators call for specific individuals or groups of people to be killed, they should be charged with incitement — to murder,” Assange said. |
Any state, no matter how powerful, cannot not rule solely through the use of brute force. There are too few rulers and too many of us for coercion alone to be an effective means of control. The political class must rely on ideology to achieve popular compliance, masking the iron fist in a velvet glove. Violence is always behind every state action, but the most efficient form of expropriation occurs when the public believes it is in their interest to be extorted.
Mythology is necessary to blunt the violent nature of state power in order to maximize the plunder of property — and, most importantly, provide an aura of legitimacy. The perception of legitimacy “is the only thing distinguishing a tax collector from an extortionist, a police officer from a vigilante, and a soldier from a mercenary. Legitimacy is an illusion in the mind without which the government does not even exist.”
State authority, and public obedience to it, is manufactured through smokescreens of ideology and deception. These myths sustain the state and offer an illusion of legitimacy, where orders, no matter how immoral or horrific, are followed because they are seen as emanating from a just authority. The state cannot implement violence against everyone everywhere and overwhelm the host, so the battle is waged against the hearts and minds of the public. Fear is exploited, language is distorted, and propaganda is spread, while narratives and history are tightly controlled. The gulag of state power, first and foremost, always exists in the mind.
If the mythology of state power is smashed, then the state is exposed for what it is: institutionalized violence, expropriator of the peaceful and productive, and entirely illegitimate.
The Myth of the Rule of Law
In order for a society to have peace and order, there needs to be a set of largely uniform and neutral laws in which the vast majority of the public agree are fair and just. Throughout the history of Western law, a decentralized process of trial-and-error, competing courts, and private arbitration achieved these rules. A monopoly power was not necessary, nor desirable. Before the rise of the modern bureaucratic, democratic nation-state, the monarch was the symbol of monopolistic order, and his power consisted mostly in enforcing the private common-law tradition that had already developed over centuries.
Eventually, the nation-state model we see today grew and absorbed this decentralized tradition into a monolithic, top-down coercive regime imposed by legislatures, state police, and bureaucracies. The “rule of law” became the propaganda term used to justify this radical departure from the Western tradition of common-law and private arbitration. The law was now political in nature, subject to the usual array of corruption and disincentives inherent in any political order. With the monopoly state now in charge of law, the idea that a coercively imposed system of justice — in which everyone is governed by neutral rules that are objectively applied by judges — became a powerful myth for states to exert control over society.
As a myth, however, the concept of the rule of law is both powerful and dangerous. Its power derives from its great emotive appeal. The rule of law suggests an absence of arbitrariness, an absence of the worst abuses of tyranny. The image presented by the slogan “America is a government of laws and not people” is one of fair and impartial rule rather than subjugation to human whim. This is an image that can command both the allegiance and affection of the citizenry. After all, who wouldn’t be in favor of the rule of law if the only alternative were arbitrary rule? But this image is also the source of the myth’s danger. For if citizens really believe that they are being governed by fair and impartial rules and that the only alternative is subjection to personal rule, they will be much more likely to support the state as it progressively curtails their freedom.
The rule of law, imposed by the state, is simply a myth. There is no such thing as “a government of laws and not people.” Legislative edicts are always subject to the biases and agendas of those who interpret them, and will be imposed in this manner by whoever currently wields the power of the monopoly state over society.
For example, despite the US Constitution’s very clear language in most of its passages (there are some dangerously vague sections, of course), the most trained and brilliant legal minds can come to completely opposite conclusions over the exact same clause. Whether it is a particular amendment in the Bill of Rights or the particular language of executive or legislative power, a liberal and conservative judge could use sound reasoning and cite historical precedent to make their case — and they would both be right. “[B]ecause the law consists of contradictory rules and principles,” argues John Hasnas, “sound legal arguments will be available for all legal conclusions, and hence, the normative predispositions of the decision makers, rather than the law itself, determine the outcome of cases.”
The law, then, is not a neutral body of rules to help keep order and govern society; it is merely an opinion with a gun. Whenever the state is in charge of anything, the outcomes, process, and administration are always political in nature. There can never be a system of definite, consistent rules that produce determinate results because these laws, no matter how they are written, will always be subjected to the biases, prejudices, and discrimination of those who interpret and enforce them.
The idea that the law is not neutral or determinant is not a revolutionary doctrine and should not be entirely shocking. Over a century ago, former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes argued that certainty in law is an illusion; judicial decisions rely more on the language of logic than they do on objective enforcement. Since at least the 1970s, the Critical Legal Studies movement has recognized this, and even they are just reviving the legal realists who made these same insights decades before them. The idea of determinate law is actually an undesirable feature — even if we were to overcome the impossibility of making it so — as the strength of an effective legal system lies in its ability to have certain amounts of flexibility. This is why the decentralized, private law tradition was able to produce several codes of uniform laws — do not murder, steal, assault, or initiate aggression in general — while providing the room to adapt to social change and distinct cultures.
When the law is under the dominion of a top-down, coercive state it is transformed from a system of governance to a body of expropriation. Whether through the use of logic or emotional appeals, whoever wields the state apparatus says what the law is and they will dispense their armed enforcers to make sure their law is fulfilled.
If an objective rule of law is impossible, then why does this myth persist? To ask the question is to answer it. “Like all myths,” notes Hasnas,
it is designed to serve an emotive, rather than cognitive, function. The purpose of a myth is not to persuade one’s reason, but to enlist one’s emotions in support of an idea. And this is precisely the case for the myth of the rule of law; its purpose is to enlist the emotions of the public in support of society’s political power structure.
If the public views the law as a neutral and objective arbiter, then they are more willing to support state power and its violent expropriation and parasitism. We are more willing to accept the comfortable delusion of objectivity and the need for predictable laws than deal with the frightening alternatives of supposedly unpredictable anarchy. “Once they believe that they are being commanded by an impersonal law rather than other human beings,” people “view their obedience to political authority as a public-spirited acceptance of the requirements of social life rather than mere acquiescence to superior power,” notes Hasnas. Tyrants of the past used to claim that their rule was inspired by Divine Right to mask the fact that their rule was an exercise of naked aggression over their subjects. When this doctrine became discredited, a new myth was needed, and the rule of law was born.
No matter how impossible the rule of law may be, the state has a heavy interest in promoting this myth.
Before the rise of legislative law, the private, decentralized, and polycentric common-law system was effective at promoting peace and public order because it lacked the monopoly power of a centralized state. Under both models, laws are never determinate or universally objective. But under a private law system, bad decisions that were not accepted by the public or viewed as overreaches could not be coercively imposed on society. This system of checks and balances allowed laws beneficial to the protection of private property to flourish while weeding out the bad laws.
Under a state system, however, it is much harder, if not impossible, to fix bad laws as there now exists a political incentive to keep the law on the books, while most judges serve lengthy or even life terms. If the judge, legislature, and police are all part of the state apparatus, they will tend to find expansive definitions for state power with limited definitions of individual freedoms.
“The myth of the rule of law does more than render the people submissive to state authority; it also turns them into the state’s accomplices in the exercise of its power,” concludes Hasnas. “For people who would ordinarily consider it a great evil to deprive individuals of their rights or oppress politically powerless minority groups will respond with patriotic fervor when these same actions are described as upholding the rule of law.” While the state does indeed provide some law and order under its jurisdiction, the “rule of law” has been used as a propaganda tool in order to help cement and legitimize state power. |
The Little Girl lyrics - John Michael Montgomery
Her parents never took the young girl to church
Never spoke of His name
Never read her His word
Two non-believers walking lost in this world
Took their baby with them
What a sad little girl
Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs
Never wanted to play
Or give kisses and hugs
She'd watch the TV and sit there on the couch
While her mom fell asleep
And her daddy went out
And the drinking and the fighting
just got worse every night
Behind their couch she'd be hiding
Oh what a sad little life
And like it always does, the bad just got worse
With every slap and every curse
Until her daddy in a drunk rage one night
Used a gun on her mom and then took his life
And some people from the city took the girl far away
To a new mom and a new dad
kisses and hugs everyday
Her first day of Sunday school the teacher walked in
And a small little girl
Stared at a picture of Him
She said I know that man up there on that cross
I don't know His name
But I know He got off
Cause He was there in my old house
and held me close to His side
As I hid there behind our couch
The night that my parents died
[Thanks to Karalyn for corrections]
Montgomery John Michael Chords
Montgomery John Michael Chords Merchandise:
• John Michael Montgomery Sheet music |
A clock that is so accurate it will lose just one second in 16 billion years has been created by scientists.
The device, made using super-cooled atoms held within a lattice of laser beams, is around 1,000 times more precise than the atomic clocks currently used to define time.
Researchers say clocks with this level of accuracy could open up new areas of science by allowing tiny changes fluctuations in the strength of gravity to be measured.
Scientists used laser beams to create a lattice that traps single atoms of super-cooled stontium (above)
This is because time in a powerful gravitational field will move more slowly than in a weaker field - a gravity induced time dilation predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
HOW IT WORKS Atomic clocks operate by means of atoms oscillating between two energy levels. In an optical lattice clock, millions of strontium atoms are held in a column of laser optical traps. Scientists detect the clock's 'ticks' - 430 trillion of them a second - by bathing the atoms in very stable red laser light. The precise frequency of the laser trigger prompts the switch between energy levels.
By placing these hyper-accurate clocks at various depths around the world, it will be possible to measure tiny changes in the Earth's gravity.
It could help geologists understand some of the processes that drive events like earthquakes and may even make it possible to predict them.
Dr Hidetoshi Katori, head of the quantum metrology laboratory at the RIKEN Centre for Advanced Photonics in Japan, said the clock could also be used to develop a new international standard for the second.
He said: 'If we can miniaturize this technology further, it would have useful applications, since tiny fluctuations in gravitational potential could be used to detect underground resources, underground spaces, and the movement of lava.
'We also hope that in the future, this will accelerate the movement toward a new definition of the international second, based on optical lattice clocks, to an even more stringent standard than the current definition of the second.
The lasers beams are used to create an egg-box lattice with each cup holding an atom of strontium (above)
Currently seconds are defined using International Atomic Time, which uses the oscillation of electrons within a cesium atom when it is cooled to almost absolute zero.
As these electrons oscillate they emit microwaves each time and these can be measured.
The best caesium atomic clocks are accurate to around one second in every 100 million years.
However, Dr Katori and his colleagues have created two optical lattice clocks using atoms of strontium that are held in a laser-generated egg-box shaped lattice.
The new clocks could help to measure gravity induced time dilation as predicted by Albert Einstein (above)
A single atom is held within each 'cup' of the lattice within a container cooled to -180 degrees C.
By then measuring the frequency of light absorbed by millions of these atoms, scientists are then able to use this to monitor time.
Scientists have been trying to improve the accuracy of these clocks for years but until now it has been hard to produce any that out perform current atomic clocks.
However, Dr Katori has found that using laser of a specific wavelength and cooling the atoms can improve their accuracy.
In a study published in the journal Nature Photonics, Dr Katori and his colleagues compared two of these clocks over the period of a month to confirm their accuracy.
According to the scientists, if their clocks had been running since the beginning of the universe around 13.8 billion years ago, they would have lost less than a second in time.
Dr Katori added: 'It was a great feeling to have shown this excellent agreement between the clocks.' |
Source: TomBham / Alamy
Providing adequate healthcare to those who need it is a massive challenge for any region or country. In many places worldwide, public healthcare providers are struggling to meet the needs of patients, and the demands of an ageing and increasingly morbid populace will only set to put further pressure on healthcare systems. The strain is already starting to affect patients. In the UK, waiting times are getting longer and costs are rising[1].
Although the demand for treatment is increasing, not all the tests conducted, treatments initiated or surgical procedures performed are necessary, appropriate or beneficial. In fact, one estimate puts up to 20% of healthcare to offer little or no benefit[2]. Fear of uncertainty and death by patients and clinicians is one of the proposed reasons for some of this extensive overuse in healthcare[3].
Many factors contribute further to a culture of excessive testing and treatment. These include: limited time in a busy environment; organisational and financial incentives towards risk aversion rather than risk management; inadequate training so that clinicians can address the issues of waste and overuse and have an informed discussion with their patient; easy access to testing; and defensive practice because of fear of litigation[3],[4].
Waste in healthcare exists across professions, specialties and sectors. For example, 5.5% of hospital admissions, 14% of hysterectomies and 10–20% of antibiotics prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections are unnecessary and could be avoided[5]. This is just the tip of the iceberg. With every medical intervention there is a price to pay beyond financial costs.
We have joined an international ‘Choosing wisely’ campaign that is challenging the belief of “more is better”. It was initiated in 2012 by the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIMF) in collaboration with Consumer Reports, an independent consumer organisation. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is now leading the UK leg of the campaign and the aim is simple: to initiate a conversation between patients and the public about the value of treatments and to tackle overuse.
Unnecessary tests and medicines
All medicines come with the risk of side effects. Tests and procedures can be painful and distressing to the patient and his or her family. Minor inexpensive interventions, while offering little or no benefit to the patient, can lead to adverse effects and have a financial and environmental cost. The cost of unused prescription medicines in the UK alone was estimated to reach £300m in 2010, and half of this sum is potentially avoidable[6].
In an era of an under supply of healthcare, as highlighted in NHS England’s ‘Five year forward view’, it is important to minimise these low-value, wasteful interventions and free resources so that they can be used in high-value, effective interventions and invested in research and innovation[7]. By reducing unnecessary elective procedures and medication, the NHS could gain financial savings of up to £1.8bn each year, which could be used to support essential services[8].
We need to address overuse in healthcare, and move away from a culture of “more is better” to offering optimal care for every patient.
Choosing wisely
The ‘Choosing wisely’ international initiative brought attention, for the first time, to tests, procedures and interventions that are not well supported by evidence and are of questionable value.
The initiative’s main aim was to bridge the gap between professional responsibility to act as a steward of resources and actual physician behaviour, as highlighted by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Institute for Health Policy, Boston[9]. In a 2007 survey in the United States, although the majority of physicians were in agreement with the principles of waste and stewardship, 36% reported that they would order an unnecessary test to accommodate a patient who wanted it badly[10].
To change this behaviour the ABIMF, through ‘Choosing wisely’, invited professional societies to review their clinical practice and produce a list of the ‘Top five things physicians and patients should question’. So far, 70 medical and other clinical professional societies have participated in the United States and nearly 400 recommendations were produced.
The campaign in the United States is estimated to have reached 375,000 physicians and, in a recent survey, one in five physicians are aware of the campaign[11]. In addition, those who were unaware of the initiative were more likely to offer unnecessary tests and procedures to their patients[11].
Studies are currently under way to measure the large-scale effect of the campaign in reducing the number of unnecessary interventions in the United States, specifically measuring the effect on magnetic resonance images requested for lower back pain, routine chest X-rays on admission and antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections. Quality improvement projects inspired by ‘Choosing wisely’ have already led to significant results, with one medical centre in Washington state reducing antibiotics prescribed inappropriately for upper respiratory tract infection by 50%[12].
Since 2012, ‘Choosing wisely’ has spread around the world and inspired multiple similar campaigns, with Canada, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands launching similar campaigns. In Canada, within just one year of the campaign’s launch, 45 specialty societies have joined the campaign, representing 71,000 of the 77,000 physicians in Canada (92%)[13]. In addition, more than 40 providers are now participating in the campaign’s Early Adoption Scheme, putting the recommendations into practice at a local level[11]. One participating hospital in Ontario has reduced laboratory testing in the emergency department by 40% without any observable change in outcomes[14].
Several other countries around the world are also planning their own campaigns, including France, Austria, South Korea and New Zealand, and an international working group has been established to share experience and ideas between different countries[12]. Now, the time has come for a similar initiative in the NHS in the UK. Bringing together multiple organisations across healthcare, such as medical royal colleges, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK health technology appraiser), National Voices (a coalition of health and social care charities in England formed in 2008), patient lay groups, NHS Confederation and The BMJ, the academy is leading the ‘Choosing wisely’ initiative in the UK.
Taking action
In the coming months, AoMRC will ask its 21 member royal colleges and faculties to begin an audit across different areas of clinical practice, where each invited college or professional association will review the evidence and produce a list of five treatments or tests of questionable value. At the same time, the academy will work closely with partners across healthcare to develop a strategy of implementing these changes in clinical practice, embedding a culture of shared decision making in the NHS.
‘Choosing wisely’ goes beyond being a medical initiative in the UK. It is an initiative that will bring together all healthcare professionals with patients to have discussions and make informed decisions about value. The role of pharmacists is essential to the success of this campaign through participation in producing ‘Choosing wisely’ recommendations and also implementing them. Challenging unjustified prescriptions, performing regular medication reviews and, most importantly, engaging patients in a conversation regarding their medicines, are just a few examples of how pharmacists could help reduce overtreatment.
All healthcare professionals share values and responsibilities and we all can and should act as responsible stewards of resources. ‘Choosing wisely’ is just the beginning of a conversation we should all be having, with the ultimate aim of improving patient care and clinical outcomes. |
Pakistani Al-Qaida Leader Killed In U.S. Strike In Afghanistan
Enlarge this image toggle caption Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
The Pentagon announced Saturday that it had killed a Pakistani terrorist leader with ties to al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban.
In a statement, the Pentagon said that Qari Yasin was killed in a U.S. airstrike on March 19 in Afghanistan's Paktika Province. It said he was a "senior terrorist figure" and that he had plotted the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad.
Reuters reports that Yasin was killed in a drone strike.
The 2008 suicide truck bombing in Islamabad killed more than 50 people. As NPR's Philip Reeves reported then:
"There have been many suicide bombs in Pakistan in the last year and a half, but few more devastating than this. Hours after the blast, the Marriott Hotel continued to burn with such ferocity that it was in danger of collapse. Tired, dazed-looking rescue workers were still searching for trapped people and coming out with charred corpses. The Marriott is one of only two five-star hotels in Pakistan's capital. It's a favorite with Western journalists, diplomats and wealthy Pakistanis. It's usually well-guarded. The explosion happened just after Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims end the day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Hotel owner Sadaruddin Hashwani says a truck laden with explosives pulled up at the security barrier at the front of the hotel."
The 2008 attack killed two American service members, Air Force Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez and Navy Cryptologic Technician 3rd Class Petty Officer Matthew J. O'Bryant.
In the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, gunmen ambushed the team's bus, firing on it with grenades, assault rifles and missiles. That attack led to Pakistan's being excluded from hosting major international cricket matches, and the nation now plays most of its "home" games in the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters reports that Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department had offered a 2 million rupee ($19,000) bounty for Yasin.
"The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice," said Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in the statement.
Paktika Province, where Yasin was killed, is an area where Pakistani Taliban operatives have been since 2014, according to The New York Times:
"The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, are part of a loose and increasingly divided umbrella organization that once represented roughly 30 groups of militants. The organization was officially founded in 2007 by a prominent jihadist commander, Baitullah Mehsud, and for years it and allied groups like Al Qaeda have been based in the Pashtun tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan, particularly in North and South Waziristan. The movement shares a close relationship with the Haqqani network, the most hard-core affiliate of the Afghan Taliban, which have been behind repeated suicide attacks in and around Kabul and eastern Afghanistan. The groups also cooperate and provide haven for Qaeda operatives, including Al Qaeda's leader, Ayman al-Zawahri."
The Pakistani Taliban were also responsible for shooting Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was attacked by Taliban militants for promoting education for girls. Yousafzai went on share the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, becoming its youngest-ever recipient. |
A/N: Trigger warning - Contains references to rape.
Pain ripples through Anna's face as she lunges headfirst into the ice wall. Shards of ice spray in all directions, but the girl stares directly into Rapunzel's red eyes, pulsating with a dark energy. Leaping again, Anna slams into Rapunzel with gargantuan force, sending the pair smashing through the wooden flooring.
"Why?" Anna screams, picking Rapunzel by the neck and slamming her into the ground. Tears spring from her eyes as she unleashes a flurry of punches into Rapunzel's face, until all that's left of her is a crumpled body lying in a crater of shattered wood. Dashing back through the icy fog, Anna slides beside her sister's limp body and cradles her head.
"No, no!" Anna shrieks, watching Elsa's eyes roll back in her skull. The warmth of her body she had been so accustomed to had given way to a lifeless cold, and there wasn't a shred of movement within her. Clutching at Elsa's rapidly melting gown, Anna's heart is crushed when the magnitude of what happened slams into her like a freight train.
Elsa is dead. Her sister, her lover, the one glittering light in her life had just been snuffed out in an instant.
The windowpanes rattle when Anna cries out again. An immeasurable anguish cripples the girl as she clutches Elsa's corpse to herself. The beautiful, blonde woman, who had been the source of her hope, joy, dread and confusion, now finally struck her with grief. Pure, liquid grief which flowed through her veins and paralyzed Anna in her contorted position amongst the shattered ruins.
"Please, Elsa, please, I'm sorry for everything. J-just..wake up?" Anna pleads, each word filling her soul with more and more pain. In the distance, she hears helicopters swooping down on the palace, but none of that matters anymore. They could shred her into a million pieces with their guns and dogs and it wouldn't come close to the crippling agony raging within her. A flurry of emotions tear at Anna: one part of her longs to charge into the inevitable torrent of bullets and end her wretched life, the other side of her wants to shield Elsa's body from the hatred about to rain down upon them, spending her last moments protecting the woman who went through so much for her.
But wasn't she here to go after Hans? The architect of all their misery?
Above the sounds of her own sobbing, Anna hears a whimper. She jerks back from her sister, only to have her heart crushed when Elsa's lifeless head flops back in her arms. But there it was again! A high, unmistakably female voice whimpering. Anna turns and notices Rapunzel's hand still scratching at the floor.
"Rot in hell," Anna snarls, the magnitude of her grief seeping through each word.
Anna ignores the whimpering as the sound of stomping boots gets louder and louder, until she hears her name.
"Anna," Rapunzel whimpers, her voice broken like it were a fragile lily trampled by a bull.
Anna turns, expecting to find glowing red eyes taunting her to the grave. Instead, she sees turquoise ones fluttering shut - no different than her own.
"Anna, please," Rapunzel pleads. There's something in Rapunzel's voice that tugs at Anna, and it isn't the flecks of blood bubbling from her lips.
"You know my name," Anna says, still cradling Elsa in her arms, "how?"
"She l-loved you, Anna, like no one s-she had ever loved before," Rapunzel stutters, each word shifting the shattered bones in her face and causing her to tremble in pain, "including me-"
Silently, Anna lays her sister down, and shifts to Rapunzel's stricken body. Whatever bitterness she held towards Rapunzel dissipates when she sees just how badly she had pummeled her face into the floor.
"You and Elsa were-?"
"It was a-always you," Rapunzel says, "y-you gave her what I c-couldn't."
Anna could see Rapunzel's arm broken in two places, yet the woman still grits her teeth and grabs at Anna's wrist with blood-soaked fingers.
"I'm sorry," Rapunzel sputters, her voice shaking like each word is about to be her last, "f-forgive me-"
"No, it wasn't you, I know it-"
"M-my tears," Rapunzel begs, her hand gripping Anna's in a desperate bid to stay alive, just so she could utter two more words, "save her-"
Rapunzel's hand slips as her eyes flutter shut; bringing with it a tear running down her cheek. The setting sunlight catches in the teardrop, painting the floor in a dazzling rainbow. Anna imagines seeing a ray of pure golden light streaking across the room, but the shifting clouds snuff it out, though her hope remains.
That mere silver of hope is enough to send Anna into a flurry. A rumble echoes through the hallway, followed by the noise of shouting. Anna looks up to see the enormous mahogany double doors trembling as soldiers on the other side pry at it. She touches a palm to Rapunzel's blood-splattered cheek, and wipes the tear into her palm. Sliding over to Elsa, Anna smears a wet palm upon her sister's face.
Anna recoils from the sudden warmth blossoming through her hand, and shields her eyes from the tendrils of pure light radiating from Elsa's face. Blinding heat sears into Anna's skin, before the ground trembles as alternating frost and fire emanate from Elsa's body. Crawling away from the spectacle developing before her, Anna gasps at the enormous angel-like wings sprouting from her sister's shoulders.
At last, Elsa's eyes open to the rays of light still streaking from her body, curls of fog swirling around her blue irises.
"Elsa!" Anna shrieks, ignoring the biting cold as she throws herself over Elsa's body, "I-I thought I lost you-"
Anna's heart explodes with joy as she clutches Elsa to herself so tightly that snow spews out of her nostrils. Digging her icy nails into Anna's forearms, Elsa feels the infectious joy vibrating within her bones, but try as she might, fails to make sense of the situation.
"What just...happened?" Elsa slurs, clutching at her forehead. She spots Rapunzel's body a foot deep in the broken ground, and flinches at the zing of a bullet zipping past her head.
"Get them!" voices echo through the hallway, cut off by the noise of gunfire. A craggy ice wall erupts from the ground as Elsa drags her stricken body away from the stomping boots approaching them. She tries to stand, but slumps into Anna's arms.
"C'mon Elsa, we've got to get away-"
"I can't...I can't feel my legs-"
With a grunt, Anna flings Elsa over her shoulder and charges out the room, ignoring the sudden pang of agony rippling through her belly. She makes it several yards down another corridor before catching her foot in a rug and tumbling to the ground. A scream escapes her lips when she hears the sickening thud of Elsa's head hitting the wall and leaving a dent in the mahogany paneling.
"No!" Anna shrieks when she sees Elsa's eyes fluttering shut. A sudden crack echoing through the corridor sends Anna whirling around, and she resists the urge to scream at the sight of soldiers hammering away at the bottom corner of Elsa's ice wall. Before long, a hole appears through the wall, and the snout of a dog appears. To her horror, the beast rips through the wall like it were made of plywood. Staggering backwards at the sight of three more dogs appearing through the hole, a stifled shriek catches in her throat when the beasts catch wind of her blood and streak towards her. Their fangs glint in the setting sun; shimmering saliva dripping from their canine jaws.
Within seconds, the first dog slams into Anna and lunges for her throat. She rips its jaws apart a split-second before another sinks its teeth into her leg. A burst of fiery pain spurts up Anna's shin, sending her brain into a blur. All of a sudden, memories of her dark days strapped to a chair surge through her mind. She barely comprehends her own hands tearing apart bits of genetically mutated dog flesh before staggering backwards from the shredded animals in front of her.
Gasping for air, Anna reels from the vivid memories ebbing through her head. She slumps to the ground, dragging her bleeding leg. The sight of Elsa stirring from her haze steadies her breathing.
"Anna, Anna," Elsa gasps, looking at the trail of her sister's blood slick against the floor, "you're hurt-"
"Um, hello? Didn't you just like, I don't know, died?" Anna shoots back.
"I'm ok, I'm ok, I just need a second, my head hurts," Elsa whines, clutching her head.
"We don't have a goddamned second, or third, or fourth!" Anna snarls, before hitting the ground when bullets whizz over them. Unlike Anna, the noise of gunfire sharpens Elsa's instincts. She crawls beneath the hail of bullets and touches Anna's ankle, freezing her wound solid. Flipping her sister over, she grimaces at Anna's eyes screwed shut in a contorted panic attack; hands clamped over her ears. Elsa drags her sister away from the field of fire right before a blast of cold wind sends them buckling over. Silhouettes of soldiers emerge through the hole they had blown into Elsa's ice wall, right before a wave of ice slams into them.
Fastening a hand on Anna's clothes, Elsa's pulls her sister into her arms and swoops into the air on her wings.
"Please, please, hold me," Anna begs in a panic-induced delirium. Every trace of Anna's disgust and grief from earlier melts into comfort as she wraps her arms around Elsa's warm body. It takes a moment for the utter feeling of safeness to wrap around Anna's mind, but when it does, she can't resist but shed a tear at the relief it brings. The sensation lasts for mere seconds before she feels her feet being placed onto the ground again.
Wincing at the hurt, Anna stares as Elsa walks up to a large door and kicks it open. The windowed corridors from earlier are gone, replaced with black marble walls, illuminated by chandeliers. They must be in the very heart of the palace.
"Hans's office, he should be cowering in there somewhere," Elsa snarls, "can you walk?"
"Yes, I'm alright," Anna mutters, putting some weight on her hurt leg and trying not to let it show when pain flashes through her brain. She'd have thought the luxuries from earlier would've numbed her brain, but the opulence of Hans's office takes her breath away one more time. Mahogany bookshelves line the walls, crammed to the edges with books and papers. Gold-lined teak desks fill the centre of the room, each one lit by crystal lamps. Everywhere, stacks of overturned papers and partially burnt books flutter across the tables and floor.
"Shit, they must've left in a hurry," Elsa mutters, pointing at a half-eaten breakfast on the table, "he's probably not here either."
A gust of wind fills the room as Elsa flies to the very end of the office and blasts open the door to Hans's study. Turning from its emptiness, she recoils at the sight of a chair moving on its own accord.
"What, what is it?" Anna shouts across the room. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she trots over to the chair and flings it away, revealing a state bureaucrat hiding beneath his desk. She reaches for his collar and yanks him from his hiding place. The man's glasses fly from his face and clatter across the floor when Anna slams him onto the table.
"Where is Hans?" Anna screams, her shrill voice echoing across the room. The desk crackles with frost as Elsa freezes him in place.
"I don't-I don't know!"
A crunching sound reverberates in Anna's ears as icy thorns emerge from the table. Anna turns to see a wild look flashing through Elsa's eyes.
"I'm going to crucify you right here if you don't tell me now, don't make me do this-"
"I-I will never betray the great leader!" the man shouts at the top of his voice, before tilting his eyes towards his right hand. At once, Elsa spots him gesturing at the fireplace, and she releases him.
"The lab," Elsa mutters, striding towards the fireplace, "it's underground."
Pulling aside a candle-stand, the fireplace rumbles and gives way to a white marbled elevator car.
"U-underground?" Anna stammers, clasping her hands together. Elsa notices the apprehension in her eyes.
"Look, you don't have to follow me," Elsa says, clutching her shoulders, "you're hurt enough as it is, and...this was my fight anyway."
Anna looks at the elevator, and then into Elsa's eyes. She swallows the lump forming in her throat.
"You're doing this for me, the least I could do is help," Anna mutters, looking at the ground, "besides, you might need your life saved more than once today."
"Alright then," Elsa replies, stepping into the elevator. The car lets out a lurch; Anna yelps and throws her arms around Elsa.
"Shh, it's ok," Elsa whispers, soothing her sister's back. Amidst the elevator's rumbling as it takes them deeper into the heart of Hans's palace, Elsa detects a snivel, and feels a tremble emanating from the pit of Anna's chest.
"I'm s-sorry," Anna stammers, "about earlier-"
"No-"
"I don't care about what you are to me, I shouldn't have went off at you like that," Anna whispers into Elsa's hair, "there's no place I'd rather be than in your arms."
Elsa bites down on her lower lip as she feels Anna's arms tightening around her waist.
"I don't want to know what it's like to go on living without you," Anna continues with trembling lips, "not again."
"Look, you don't have to. I'll be right here by your side," Elsa answers, "always."
"After this is over-"
Elsa pulls herself from Anna's arms, and wipes the tears from her eyes.
"Always the optimist, aren't you?" Elsa smiles, "if this is over."
"Yes, then, if this is over, I'd like to-"
The elevator screeches to a halt, and the doors open. Elsa spots the five gun barrels pointing at them right as five gloved fingers pull on their triggers. In a split-second, bullets streak towards them, before everything in front of Elsa disintegrates into snow - the men, their guns, helmets, and an entire armored vehicle. The blast of cold sends Elsa slamming back into the elevator, her chest heaving from the sheer amount of power that's been released from her being.
"They know we're coming," Elsa spits, holding out her arm when Anna stomps past her, "get behind me, we don't know what horrors Hans has hidden down here."
The void of frosty ruin Elsa had wrought lends a chill to their bones as they step past the piles of snow. Severed electrical cables dangling from the ceiling punctuate the darkness with sparks, lending an ominous aura to the wreckage. In the distance, the sudden sound of crashing metal sends them flinching. Unbeknownst to Anna, Elsa's head begins to spin under increasing strain as Hans's impending presence bears down on her. Clenching her fists, Elsa steps forward through the snow, her feet leaving icy thorns as they pass surgery tables and vats filled with acid. One particular tank of liquid holds a craggy four-legged beast, clad in thorns and bathed in a lime-green aura, no doubt another vile creation destined for Merida's control.
"The ground is moving," Elsa whispers.
"No it isn't," Anna answers. She turns to look at Elsa, her gleaming head of blonde hair unprotected against the terrifying, unreal presence of Hans settling around them.
"Oh, no, he's trying to get into your head, isn't he?"
Elsa's clenched fists make little white bumps in the darkness. She bites down hard on her lip as whispers flood her brain, inaudible at first, before taking on an accusatory tone. The world around Elsa begins closing in on her until she finds it hard to separate the real darkness from the darkness in her head.
You left her to die. Murderer.
"Elsa, Elsa!" a shrill voice fills Elsa's ears. She looks up to see Anna's blue eyes, vivid with fear.
"What the-" Elsa mutters, before wiping the blood leaking from her nose, "oh god, how long was I-"
"Just a few seconds," Anna replies, hoisting her sister up from the fetal position she had curled herself into the floor, "which was still a few seconds too long."
Elsa stares at her sister's face, trying to make sense of he panic written all over it. Nothing comes to her, however, besides the incessant throbbing in her brain. When the whispers come again, it hits her like a tsunami, instead of the gentle breeze from earlier.
The spinning stops as Elsa stood in a living room. Not just any living room, but the one she lived in as a child. Try as she might, she's unable to move an inch. Not to stop the flames from creeping beneath her and streaking towards the cradle in the bedroom. Elsa clutches at her hair as the gravity of what's happening strangles her cold. She screams, but it's unable to prevent the soldiers from stomping through the flames.
"Sir! Sir!" a soldier cries from the bedroom, "There's another child in the bedroom, just a baby-"
"Kill it," another voice orders, "we're only after the older daughter."
Elsa sucks in a breath, before hearing a gunshot that shatters the very fabric of reality around her.
"No!" Anna screams, clutching at Elsa as she foams at her lips. In her panic, Anna comes close to taking off her own helmet and putting it on Elsa's head, but hesitates knowing they'd both be dead in an instant. Terror overwhelms Anna, barely soothed by the rapid throbbing in Elsa's chest and the icy sweat on her skin.
"Please, please, don't leave me here alone-" Anna begs, unable to convince the lifeless eyes to break free from the prison Hans had cast over her mind.
A maniacal laugh breaks Anna's grief. At once, an indescribable rage boils beneath her skin and she leaps to her feet, dashing to its source. In her livid rage, Anna fails to spot a mess of electrical cables on the floor; it ensnares her feet and she comes down hard on the concrete.
It takes Anna a split second to notice the helmet flying from her head, and another to realize that the end had come; both hers and Elsa's. At once, a searing numbness creeps up her neck as she feels her own free will ebb away into the darkness. Her hands convulse with wild abandon, desperate to cling onto the final shreds of her own identity. As her eyes flash between blue and red, Anna grabs hold of the cables around her and snaps them like cobwebs. The severed high-voltage cables illuminate her face with a deathly glow as they crackle and pop with electricity.
"Never-" Anna growls. Right as her eyes go blood red, Anna stabs herself in the thighs and screams in agony at the thousand volts of electricity surging through her body.
And brain.
The few seconds of unbearable, glowing hot pain feels like an eternity, but it gives Anna enough respite to gain back her senses. With her skin still sizzling, Anna rolls over and manages to get the helmet over her head in time to avoid the sickening numbness stabbing through her neck. Anna leaps to her feet, ignoring the burning pain in her thighs and narrowing her vision at the singular point of light in the distance. A man comes into view as she approaches him, unshaven and slumped in a swivel chair. Before him laid an array of empty syringes and bottles on a steel table.
It takes Anna several seconds to recognize him as the ruler of Arendelle.
"Why?" Anna screams, her voice shaking the very earth around her, "Why would you destroy the countless lives in Grimfold. Elsa's life. Over what?"
Hans ignores the girl's venomous rant, pulling another empty syringe from his arm. He slumps further into the chair, defeat in his eyes.
"This, ends, now!" Anna snarls, gritting her teeth. She rips off a table leg and hurls the jagged piece of metal at him. The glinting aluminium shaft flickers before her eyes for a split-second before she's sideswiped with ice magic. The frost eats into Anna's flesh and sends her flying into a metal cabinet.
A pair of glowing red eyes burn through the darkness, before Elsa emerges from the fog, her gritted teeth snarling mist. The blonde gives her sister a venomous stare, before summoning a virulent cold into her hands, and rears up to strike Anna one more time. Before she does, the hideous red light in her eyes fades, replaced by blues filled with horror when the image of a frost-stricken Anna enters her vision.
The realization of what she's done sends Elsa staggering backwards. Noticing Hans before her, she stabs a quivering finger into the fog and screams.
"You! You did this! What kind of sick monster are you?"
Hatred blazes within Elsa and materializes in the form of an icy mace held aloft in her right hand, studded with thorns. She had never felt this intensity of hatred within herself before, so intense and fervent is her desire to inflict pain on Hans that she charges towards him without thinking. A booming voice in her head stops Elsa dead in her tracks, and the mace clatters against the floor.
You killed her.
Elsa finds herself on her knees when she comes to, looking back at Hans's burning red eyes searing into her skull. Her eyes flicker at the concentrated guilt crippling her body. Every wrongdoing she had ever committed, real or imagined, burns into her consciousness with such intensity that it stifles the very breath in her lungs and threatens to strangle her soul.
"How?" Elsa stutters, tears streaming from her eyes as she's forced to relive every bad experience in her life repeatedly, all within a matter of seconds, "H-have you, h-have you been injecting yourself w-with the accelerant?"
Hans flings the syringe on the table and continues staring at Elsa, burning his voice into her mind.
I will make you endure countless atrocities until your soul eats itself from the inside. You will live forever with the memory of being violated innumerable times, over and over again. Your eyes will burn as you watch Anna get raped until she begs for her life to be taken from her. Every breath you take will be laced with the knowledge that you murdered your sister in cold blood.
Buckling over, Elsa vomits on the floor as the first images flash through her mind. Raking her nails against the concrete, Elsa utters a feral cry as her consciousness is assaulted by indescribable acts of violence. Icy thorns sprout around Elsa, crackling and shattering of their own will. Elsa makes a vain attempt to freeze her mind over, but finds herself unable to control anything; not her breathing or the violent spasms wracking her body or the screams echoing through every corner of the lab.
Staring at Elsa writhing on the floor, Hans's lips curl into a smile.
Elsa's screaming stirs Anna from her stricken state. She regains her consciousness moments before jarring pain eats into every bone in her body. The entire right side of her body burns with searing cold. Despite having grown up with barely enough heat to get by, the cold chills right into Anna's heart, and it does nothing to alleviate the pain. Her attempts to untangle herself from the twisted wreck of metal are met with an involuntary groan of agony as bits of metal stab into her flesh, but worse to come is the sight of her own sister thrashing about on the floor as she's assaulted by Hans.
"Fuck you," Anna snarls. Every movement she makes grates more of the broken glass and metal against her flesh and bone. Pushing against the wrecked cabinet, Anna bends the frame until she pries it apart, sending a shard of glass into her elbow in the process. By the time she emerges from the wreckage, the grey cabinet had been stained red and white with blood and ice. Struggling to stand with her right leg frozen stiff, Anna limps forward, uttering a slew of vulgarities beneath her breath as Hans stares down on his hapless victim.
The dictator fails to spot Anna approaching him from behind, jerking in his chair when she clutches him by the head. With a swift tug, Anna pulls his head off like a rag doll and drops the hideous parcel on the floor. At once, Elsa stops thrashing and goes still, her screams from earlier replaced by tearful sobs.
"Elsa, Elsa," Anna pleads, pain incinerating every nerve in her body as she crumbles to the ground in agony. It takes Anna forever to crawl to her sister's body, still heaving in the aftermath of her mental assault. When she reaches her, Elsa reacts with violent abandon, slapping and kicking away Anna's attempts to hold her.
"No!" Elsa screams, "Get the fuck off me!"
"Listen!" Anna shrieks, summoning all her strength to hold down her sister, "It's me, it's all over. Everything's going to be alright."
Elsa stares back into the blue eyes hovering over her, barely able to contain the shaking in her arms.
"He's gone?" Elsa asks.
"Yes."
The revelation brings no comfort to her. Within seconds, Elsa crumbles to the memory of her assault, and begins sobbing uncontrollably. Burying her face into Anna's shrapnel-ridden body, Elsa's tears mingle with her sister's blood, leaving a pink trail running down her gown. The train of Elsa's gown hisses as it solidifies into a single pane of ice, and soon, cracks begin to appear. It occurs to Anna that she's holding onto Elsa in her most fragile state, ready to shatter at any moment.
"Y...you'll be alright," Anna whispers, smoothening her sister's blood-stained hair, "I'll piece you back together."
"R...really?"
"Yes," Anna sighs, taking one more look at Hans's severed head on the floor, before removing her helmet, "I promise." |
Abuja, Nigeria: On November 1st, the world (well vegans anyway) celebrated World Vegan Day. The day marks the beginning of World Vegan Month. Established in the United Kingdom in 1994, the day’s celebrations usually calls for activities such as tree planting, vegan food festivals, events and shows.
In my country, Nigeria, the day was not marked by any special events, seminars, lectures or even talks that I know of. However, it is entirely possible that there were such events and I simply wasn’t aware of them because there isn’t much awareness or information available for these kinds of events. (You may want to read my previous article about how little information is actually produced in Africa). This is because there are no national discussions about vegans and vegetarians. If vegans (who consciously choose to be vegan, and identify as vegan) do exist here, they are the minority of the minority.
There is a simple explanation for this. In Nigeria, across Africa and most other parts of the developing world, the emphasis is on eating, not necessarily about what you eat. Just eat. The average citizen is often hard-pressed to put three square meals on his or her table. Therefore, to tell a person here not to eat any type of food, for any reason short of certain death, is a stretch.
Nigeria has one of the highest poverty rates in the world with about 67 percent of the population of about 200 million people living below the poverty line. These figures are however according to Western standards. Most Nigerians fall into the fast disappearing middle class. This middle class feed very well, live comfortably but cannot afford any form of luxury. Luxury in this case includes owning a car.
The average Nigerian would be quick to declare that he or she is not a vegan and would regard a vegan with a certain amusement, seeing it as another vicissitude of the lives of the white man. This declaration is made with a certain pride that seems to say that we are lucky to be immune to such issues. I for one, am not vegan or vegetarian.
However, in recent times it dawned on me that I and my fellow Nigerians are more vegetarian than we’d care to admit. In examining what I eat, I have come to realize that the diet we Nigerians consume the most, are vegetarian diets. (I have restricted this article to the dietary facets of veganism as it pertains to meat as this applies most to Nigerians.)
The staple foods in Nigeria are rice and fufu, which is made from processed cassava. The fufu is eaten with a soup prepared with vegetables. These vegetables and other ingredients are all organic and are purchased from a nearby market from traders who grew them in their own farms. This soup is customarily cooked with fish and meat. However, for a huge part of the population, if there is no meat or fish, the food is still eaten happily.
The rice is often imported from Thailand and other Asian countries. There is however a local alternative which is grown by farmers in various coastal areas. This local variety has gained prominence as the government tries to encourage local production and as the prices of the imported variety skyrockets. The rice is prepared in various forms – the most popular being jollof rice. This is once again prepared with locally grown organic vegetables and condiments.
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In a case where a person does not eat fufu, generally referred to as “swallow”, the person can go for months without eating meat.
Do not get me wrong, Nigerians eat a lot of meat. Meat features in almost every meal. But it features as an add-on, as a luxury. It is not the food itself. Meat or not, the food will be eaten without a second thought. There are few meat-based meals such as steaks. When you do not consume meat in this way, there is little chance of inadvertently eating meat by mistake. Nigerians are not big on hamburgers or other meat based pastries. Meat rolls often have an alternative which contains diced potatoes rather than meat.
So what I’m trying to say is that even though we may not be vegan, we aren’t exactly non-vegans either. What this means is that we usually do not consciously make a decision to go vegan. I am what I have decided to call Vegan by Chance.
We in Nigeria are vegans and vegetarians, not because we want to, not because we choose to, but because that is the way it has happened.
Being vegan is a conscious choice. Most Nigerians simply cannot afford the luxury of that choice.
We are vegans by chance. |
Sixty-one percent of voters nationwide say Republican Roy Moore should be expelled from the Senate if he wins Tuesday’s election in Alabama, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll reveals.
The poll found 17 percent of voters believe Congress should not expel him.
Moore has been accused of pursuing and molesting teenage girls while he was in his 30s, Politico noted.
Here is how the poll breaks down:
45 percent of Republicans polled favored expelling him if he wins, while 29 percent were against it
77 percent of Democrats say he should be expelled compared to 7 percent who opposed it
59 percent of independents favored expelling him, while 16 percent were against it
20 percent of all those polled say the Republican National Committee’s decision to reinstate its support for Moore was the right thing to do, while 52 percent say it was wrong
"The RNC’s decision to back Roy Moore could have a negative impact on voter support down the road," said Morning Consult Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer Kyle Dropp. "That being said, most voters still say they vote more based off a candidate's policy positions than his or her character."
The poll, conducted Dec. 8-11, surveyed 1,955 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. |
Marrakech, Morocco (CNN) He has claimed that climate change is a "hoax" being led by the Chinese and promised to "cancel" the historic Paris Agreement . So it should come as little surprise that there is trepidation surrounding President-elect Donald Trump's views on what one expert describes as the "biggest future instability" facing the planet.
As the world's leading experts on climate change meet at COP22 in Marrakech to discuss the future of the planet, some are beginning to fear that Trump could yet derail plans aimed at ensuring the future safety of the global environment.
Trump has been clear in his opposition to the deal struck in Paris last year; he has also been a fierce critic of the Clean Power Plan.
He has said that he would scrap the program which is meant to target existing coal-fired and natural gas power plants, with a goal of reducing greenhouse emissions in the US by as much as 32% by 2030.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
His victory has been greeted with dismay by those in the Moroccan capital.
'Rhetoric'
"I hope that his rhetoric doesn't match his actions," senior climate change specialist Rasmus Lauridsen, at European Investment Bank, told CNN.
"I've read an analysis saying that people take what he says seriously, but not him seriously. Maybe we should do the opposite and disregard what he says."
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One of Trump's primary targets is the Clean Power Plan which President Obama unveiled to transform the US electricity sector, but is seen by many of its critics as a "war on coal."
Many of those who oppose the plan in the coal sector have been boosted by Trump's support for the industry.
At a time where coal production is decreasing and businesses struggling, those who have opposed Obama's plan have backed Trump into the White House.
'Bluster'
But should the plan be overturned, it would represent a huge setback for those pushing the case of tackling climate change.
"Trump's election has been met here by Americans and the international community with a great deal of concern for what it means for our climate, our environmental quality and the safety and well-being of people around the world," Mike Burger, executive director at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law told CNN.
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"Trump's campaign position on climate change was that it was a Chinese hoax -- an irrational, nonsensical idea, that is also plainly wrong.
"He also made a number of bold statements about his plans to set climate policy back by a decade and to undo all of our domestic and international commitments to climate action.
"Let's hope that he sees things differently when he is responsible for leading our country, and that these -- and so many of his other statements over the last year -- were just bluster."
'Tears'
For Henry Dallal, photographer and author of "Addressing Climate Change" , the election of Trump comes as a bitter blow.
Dallal was at COP21 in Paris last year when President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry both attended, giving "great momentum" to the summit.
"It's very sad. It's an absolute shock," Dallal told CNN.
"I still don't believe it ... I was also told that America cannot withdraw from the Paris agreement.
"The idea of them pulling out sends such a negative message."
'Billions'
In Paris last year, the world agreed to do everything possible to limit harmful warming to at most 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The agreement, which became international law last Friday, has been ratified by the US, China, India and Brazil -- representing between them nearly 70% of the world's emissions.
According to Lux Research, Trump's policies would lead to US emissions being 16% higher after two terms of office than they would have been after two terms of Hilary Clinton being in charge.
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That would amount to 3.4 billion tons of greater emissions over the next eight years.
"As independent analysts, we don't endorse candidates, but the data and analysis clearly show that energy policy and the resulting emissions will go in very different directions under Clinton and Trump," said Lux research analyst Yuan-Sheng Yu.
'Instability'
The US is the world's second-largest greenhouse gas polluter after China and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement would leave the rest of the world facing a losing battle.
"America has established itself as a leader, if not the leader, in solving some of the biggest environmental problems in the world," Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund in the US, told CNN.
"It has done so out of the recognition that whatever happens in the world affects it. My biggest concern is that we maintain that leadership position because we know we won't solve the problem without the US."
According to the United Nations Environment report published last week , the world is still heading for a temperature rise of 2.9 to 3.4 degrees Celsius this century, even with Paris pledges.
The withdrawal of the US would only serve to exacerbate the problem.
"The biggest source of future instability is climate change," Roberts added.
"You don't have to be a scientist to see there's a connection between climate change, drought, food prices going up, instability in the Middle East and the enormous immigration and refugee pressures which have been created.
"But I fundamentally believe that so many parts of American society are working on this issue that the momentum of their work will continue."
'Hope'
In Paris last year, Obama promised to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by between 26-28% by 2025 from their levels in 2005.
According to data from the US Environmental Protection Agency, emissions were down 9% in 2014 compared to 2005.
While many experts are wary of Trump's policies on climate change, there are some who are refusing to give up.
Meteorologist and host of the Our Warm Regards podcast, Eric Holthaus, says he will not abandon hope but adds that he's not "not naïve enough to think this won't be bad" for climate change campaigners.
"I think Trump will be a setback for climate change for sure but it's not game over -- but it will be as if the US has no climate policy for four years," he told CNN.
"I think the most immediate thing is that he has said that the progress made under Obama will be reversed if possible for him to do that.
"But it is clear he won't follow the commitment the US made to the Paris agreement."
A Trump spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. |
PRINCETON, NJ -- Mississippi is the most religious U.S. state, and is one of eight states where Gallup classifies at least half of the residents as "very religious." At the other end of the spectrum, Vermont and New Hampshire are the least religious states, and are two of the five states -- along with Maine, Massachusetts, and Alaska -- where less than 30% of all residents are very religious.
Gallup classifies 40% of Americans nationwide as very religious -- based on their statement that religion is an important part of their daily life and that they attend religious services every week or almost every week. Another 32% of Americans are nonreligious, based on their statement that religion is not an important part of their daily life and that they seldom or never attend religious services. The remaining 28% of Americans are moderately religious, because they say religion is important but that they do not attend services regularly or because they say religion is not important but still attend services.
Religiosity varies widely across U.S. states and regions, with Mississippi in the deep South and Vermont in New England providing the most extreme example of the disparity. Fifty-nine percent of Mississippians are very religious and 11% nonreligious, while 23% of Vermonters are very religious and 58% are nonreligious. Although New Hampshire ties Vermont with 23% of its residents classified as very religious, slightly fewer (52%) residents in the Granite State are classified as nonreligious.
More generally, eight of the 10 most religious states in 2011 are in the South (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia), with one straddling the line between the South and the Midwest (Oklahoma), and one in the West (Utah). None of the most religious states are in the Middle Atlantic, New England, or West Coast regions.
By contrast, six of the least religious states in 2011 are in New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island) and four are in the West (Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington), with the District of Columbia and New York rounding out the list.
These state-by-state patterns in religiousness have remained stable in recent years. Southern states have traditionally been the most religious, and states in New England and in the West have been the least religious.
The complete state-by-state breakdown on this religiosity measure, based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted throughout 2011, appears on page 2.
State Cultures Appear to Influence Religiosity
Gallup research has shown that these state differences appear to be part of a "state culture" phenomenon, and are not the result of differences in the underlying demographics or religious identities in the states. For example, while Mississippi has the highest percentage of blacks of any state in the union, and while blacks are the most religious of any major race or ethnic group in the country, the Magnolia State's white residents are highly religious on a relative basis compared with whites in other states. And, Vermonters who identify as Catholics or with Protestant denominations are less religious than Southern state residents who identify with the same religions. It appears there is something about the culture and normative structure of a state, no doubt based partly on that state's history, that affects its residents' propensity to attend religious services and to declare that religion is important in their daily lives.
Bottom Line
America remains a generally religious nation, with more than two-thirds of the nation's residents classified as very or moderately religious. These overall national averages, however, conceal dramatic regional differences in religiosity across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Residents of Southern states are generally the most religious, underscoring the validity of the "Bible Belt" sobriquet often used to describe this region. Coupled with the Southern states in the high-religiosity category is Utah, the majority of whose residents are Mormon -- the most religious group in America today. On the other hand, residents of New England and a number of far Western states tend to be the least religious.
Religion is related to politics in today's America, and it is clear from a glance at Gallup's State of the States map that the most religious states in the union generally are the most Republican, while the least religious states skew more toward the Democratic Party. This means that the most divided states -- and thus, those where most of the heavy-duty campaigning in this year's presidential election will be taking place -- are the ones where residents tend to be neither at the very religious nor at the nonreligious end of the spectrum.
Gallup's "State of the States" series reveals state-by-state differences on political, economic, and well-being measures Gallup tracks each day. |
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ReadySHARE® Printer – USB printers plugged into the NETGEAR N900 can be accessed by any computer linked to the home network. There's no need to buy a new printer with built-in WiFi to print wirelessly.
Guest network access. Through the browser interface or the NETGEAR Genie utility, it's simple to set up a guest network, so visitors can go online without having to be given the home network password and without gaining access to computers, printers, storage drives and other home-network devices.
DLNA. A USB hard drive plugged into the router becomes a powerful DLNA media server for sharing entertainment content stored on the drive – such as video, music and photos – to DLNA-certified, Internet-ready consumer electronic devices including televisions, Blu-rayTM players and game consoles.
Advanced Quality of Service. By prioritizing video streams over other home network traffic, advanced Quality of Service (QoS) provides the best possible viewing experience for online video.
Gigabit wired Ethernet. There are four high-speed gigabit Ethernet ports for ultra-fast wired connections.
Security. The router supports WPA and WPA2 protocols for WiFi, has double firewall (SPI and NAT) protection against Internet threats, and provides Denial of Service (DoS) attack prevention.
Scheduled WiFi off. To conserve power, the WiFi radios inside the N900 can be turned off on a custom schedule. In an office setting, for example, WiFi could be turned off automatically during weekends.
Access Point mode. Through the browser interface, the N900 can be set to function as a WiFi access point, which can be connected to any router. This allows the N900 to connect to a gateway from an Internet service provider, for example, to expand household WiFi coverage and significantly increase home network speed among networked devices.
Usage meter. Monitors Internet data consumption and can send customized alerts when usage is close to monthly bandwidth limits, avoiding costly overage fees for those with metered service plans.
"NETGEAR is very proud to introduce the world's most advanced wireless home router," said Sandeep Harpalani, Senior Product Line Manager for Wireless Networking at NETGEAR. "The NETGEAR N900 stands alone in delivering ultimate wireless speed, range and premium features, while the router's easy-to-use browser-based installation and NETGEAR Genie will help even the most non-technical users explore and enjoy all the possibilities of a modern home network."
Pricing and Availability
The NETGEAR N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (WNDR4500) is available now in the United States at $179.99 and will be available worldwide this winter.
More information
To learn more about the NETGEAR N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router, please visit http://www.netgear.com/ultimatewifi.
The new NETGEAR N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router delivers the fastest WiFi speed, at up to 900 megabits per second combined, along with maximum wireless range and premium featuresSAN JOSE, Calif. – September 14, 2011 - NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, is setting a new benchmark for speed, range and premium features in home wireless routers with the N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router (model number: WNDR4500). The NETGEAR N900 router, available now, leaps ahead with up to 900 megabits per second of combined WiFi speed and greater WiFi range for maximum performance with even the most demanding tasks, such as wireless 3D and HD video streaming, multiplayer gaming and backing up big files.With up to 50 percent more speed in the 2.4 GHz band than the current generation of 750 Mbps routers, the NETGEAR N900 can support a full 450 Mbps in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The NETGEAR N900's six highly sensitive internal antennas, boosted by ultra-high-power radio amplifiers, provide more WiFi range – and more wireless speed at any given distance – than any other competing home router available today.Beyond speed and range, the NETGEAR N900 offers a long list of advanced features that make home networks more useful and easier to manage. There are two USB ports, for example, to simultaneously share a printer and a USB hard drive or flash drive across the home network. Saving and retrieving files through the network from a USB drive is up to 30 percent faster with the NETGEAR N900 than any router now on the market, thanks to a more powerful processor.Setting up the NETGEAR N900 is quick and easy. There's no CD required for installation, and the router can be configured through a browser on PCs, Macs, smartphones, the iPad and other tablets.Also bundled with the NETGEAR N900 WiFi router is the NETGEAR GenieTM, a free utility for PCs and Macs, that presents a simple dashboard for monitoring, controlling and repairing home networks; viewing devices connected to the router through a network map; and accessing many router features.NETGEAR Live Parental Controls on the NETGEAR N900 give parents a centralized, flexible and reliable way to establish what web sites their children visit and what times of day they can go online for all devices on the network, including Windows PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets. Children and teenagers no longer need Mom and Dad looking over their shoulders, parents have peace of mind and – best of all – it comes absolutely free, with no subscription fee.Among the additional premium features of the NETGEAR N900 are: |
Companies are afraid to hire, even if business is improving
Economists see a vicious cycle: The economy won't improve until businesses hire, but many won't hire without consumer demand, which is weak because of the slack job market and concerns about the future.
"I hear politicians say that businesses have money and they should be hiring," said Riddle, a tall, distinguished-looking man who might be cast as the president if he were an actor. "But if you don't have the demand, you don't hire the people."
But this bustling workplace isn't likely to add new employees soon, said Ross Riddle, the president of the small family business. Though South Coast Shingle Co. is in the black for the first time in a few years, Riddle is fearful of hiring more people in what he believes is a shaky economy.
"It's pretty busy now," Murillo said. "We could use another guy in the yard."
Supervisor Miguel Murillo pauses in the commotion and wipes his hands, his sweat-spotted shirt showing the day's toil. A year ago, things were so slow he'd often take a day off without pay. Recently he's had to work a few Saturdays.
The roofing supply yard in Long Beach is rumbling with activity these days, thanks in part to a wet winter that has property owners eager to make repairs before fall. Men drive humming forklifts around the site in a cacophony of engine noise, delivering shingles and plywood to flatbed trucks for the next day's deliveries.
South Coast Shingle in Long Beach is in the black for the first time in a few… (Luis Sinco, Los Angeles…)
Business owners across the country are thinking the same way. Although the recession technically ended in June 2009, unemployment remains at 9.1% nationally and 11.8% in California.
That high unemployment rate is one of the key factors underlying the recent turmoil on Wall Street, which many believe is largely a reflection of the uncertain state of the economy.
Economists say the nation is stuck in a Catch-22 scenario: The economy won't improve until businesses hire, but many won't hire without consumer demand, which is weak because of the current state of the job market and concerns about the future.
"It's sort of this chicken-and-egg problem," said Gregory Daco, principal economist of IHS Global Insight. "We are at a point where companies will only hire individuals if they absolutely have to. They'd rather ask someone to work a little more in this environment when people aren't spending."
Money itself isn't the problem. As of March 31, the blue-chip companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index were sitting on nearly $1 trillion in cash, a record sum.
"For big companies, we've seen relatively healthy profits. These companies are looking to reach certain targets, and one way to reach these targets is to cut down on labor costs," Daco said.
At South Coast Shingle, Riddle says he'd like to hire — but he can't forget the listless days of 2009, when the bursting of the housing bubble nearly brought business to a halt.
During those dark days, his sales guys would spend hours making cold calls or studying Spanish from a Rosetta Stone kit. He'd have workers sweep the yard one, two, three times a day, wash the trucks, paint buildings in the company's 3-acre facility, anything to keep them busy.
Through the recession, Riddle tried to keep up his regular schedule: golf on Thursdays, dinner Wednesday nights with his 28-year old daughter. He paid for her wedding as he saw his company dip into the red.
"It was the worst I've ever seen," said Riddle, who has worked for the company since 1968, when he was still in college. Riddle's wife is a real estate agent and the family felt the housing downturn in its pockets when a vacation home in La Quinta plummeted in value. |
As Jake Knott prepares himself for the upcoming NFL season with the Miami Dolphins, he finds himself back in the place where his college career began. When I asked him why he decided to return to Ames, Iowa for his offseason training, his answer made a lot of sense.
“I tried working out with the Eagles last year, but it was pretty difficult because the NFL has a lot of rules in place where you can’t get much coaching or help. So I decided to come back and get the help and training from Clayton Oyster (Iowa State University’s Director of Strength and Conditioning). He’s really gotten my body back in shape, and I appreciate everything he’s done. He really knows my strengths and weaknesses as a player, and if I had gone anywhere else, they would have to take the time to get to know me. Since I already have that relationship with Clayton; it just made things a lot easier.”
Now Jake has dedicated this offseason to turning his weaknesses into strengths.
“Once I got to the NFL, I really saw the ‘why’
behind everything I did, and how I was getting prepared for the season, which also prepared me mentally."
Jake’s football career really took off in high school where he graduated from Waukee, Iowa, back in 2009. His senior year of high school he was the 9th ranked football prospect in the state and was also named to the Elite All-State Team in class 4A. He recorded 99 tackles (7 for a loss) 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Not only was he a star on the football field, but he also lettered in track & field and baseball, where he had offers from both University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. With great numbers like Jake had, you’d probably think he had some great offers from some big time schools; but that wasn’t the case at all.
“I had offers from just about all of the Division 1 AA schools like Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota, but I wasn’t excited or anxious to go to any of those schools. I also had the offers from Iowa and UNI for baseball, and Nebraska told me they would give me a scholarship if I went and played at a JUCCO for a year. I really wanted an offer from Iowa or Iowa State, and my mind was set to go to either of those schools, depending on who offered first.”
During his high school senior year, Jake was left with a huge decision on whether he wanted to play baseball or football, and what school he wanted to attend.
“Baseball is definitely a passion of mine and I enjoy playing it, but the way football is scheduled and the amount of games per year, and the following of fans and the action on the field; I could imagine myself without baseball, but not the other way around. It was always a factor of which one could I not live without, not which sport I enjoyed most at the time. I do miss baseball. In fact I was hitting the other night in our practice facility where the softball team practices. I started out a little rusty then finally got in a little groove.”
With just two weeks before national signing day for college football, Jake was scheduled to meet with new Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads.
“I didn’t have a scholarship yet that I was very interested in taking and was definitely freaking out a bit. When I met with coach Rhoads he offered me a scholarship and I automatically idolized this guy for giving me this opportunity. I would definitely do anything for him because it took this huge weight off my shoulders. That meeting with him was a great first impression. I went through college doing what he told me to do because I knew this was a guy who had given me an opportunity of a lifetime, so I needed to treat it as such and make sure I was always doing what he wanted and try to lead the team in the best way possible because I was one of his first recruits.”
Another big factor that weighed into Jake’s decision was being able to stay in Iowa.
“Looking back now , it was awesome to play at Iowa State being from Iowa. I don’t think it could have been any better with the support system I had, and knowing people I went to high school with who now attended the same college as me.”
One of the best parts about Jake’s career at Iowa State came during his senior year when his younger brother Luke, was offered a scholarship to play at Iowa State as well. Even though the brothers never had the chance to play in an actual game together, since Luke redshirted his freshman year, Jake did say it was a great experience to have his brother at ISU with him.
“We have an interesting story on how we moved up to Iowa from Kansas City, and I decided to stay in Iowa for my senior year of high school, while my parents moved back to Kansas City. It really separated me and my family when Luke went back to school at Le e’s Summit West High School, so we never had a chance to play sports with each other. When he got the scholarship offer to come to Iowa State, I was the proudest big brother ever. I was finally going to be able to spend time with him, and if anything, make his college experience a little bit better. This is something that I had already lived and I tried to help him out because that kind of stuff makes me happy and I enjoy doing that for him even though I’m tough on him sometimes, like any big brother. It was definitely an awesome experience, and it’s been awesome to be able to come back and watch him play, which makes me appreciate Iowa State and the game of football even more.”
Jake first started offering his brother advice on certain workouts his brother should do to prepare himself for college. Once Luke got to ISU, Jake even helped Luke by telling him the best places to eat, where to park for certain classes, and the fastest route to take for his classes.
“It started in high school where I would always stay on top of him about working out and how important it was to do certain types of workouts to get ready for college, so it wasn’t such a big transition. I think his senior year he really took that to heart and started doing all the hard things that suck, but the things you have to do to be successful. He really changed his mind set and became an extremely hard working player.”
When Jake first arrived at Iowa State he only wanted to play on special teams. It was coaches like Paul Rhoads, Wally Burnham, and Clayton Oyster who had a huge impact on Jake’s football career.
“It was because of them that I realized I had a shot to play in the NFL. In high school I couldn’t have imagined that. I started to spend more time focusing on football once I got to college.”
As a true freshman Jake played in every game for the Cyclones.
“My sophomore year I wanted to play a lot more on defense instead of special teams. When I first started and did pretty well, then I really wanted to start understanding everything there is to know about defense. My junior year it got even more advanced, and my senior year was when I finally realized I can play with these guys in the NFL. I watched them and I understood what they were doing on defense, and why they were doing it.”
All of this came from the strength and conditioning from Clayton, and the mental side of the game from Wally and coach Rhoads. Playing against the great Big 12 competition year after year, and some of the country’s best athletes like Robert Griffin III who was the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, DeMarco Murray who was just named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, and Justin Blackmon who was the Biletnikoff Award winner two consecutive years helped prepare Jake for the NFL.
Iowa State fans might recall the 2011 Oklahoma State game, which is the biggest football upset in Cyclone history. In the second overtime of that game, Jake deflected a pass intended for OSU’s Justin Blackmon that was intercepted by I SU’s Ter’Ran Benton. That tip and interception helped seal the victory over the nation’s 2nd ranked Cowboys.
As great as the upset over Oklahoma State was, Jake’s favorite game as a Cyclone was against Iowa his senior year; where he intercepted a pass with only 1:11 left in the game to help guarantee yet another Iowa State victory.
“Being an in-state guy and knowing the importance of the rivalry between Iowa and having the interception at the end of the game just made it even sweeter.”
The University of Iowa flirted with Jake throughout his recruiting process, when they began recruiting him as a sophomore in high school.
“They told me they wanted to offer me, and that they would eventually offer me, but I just kept waiting and nothing happened. I always thought an offer would come, which it never did, but I couldn't be happier on how things turned out.”
As Jake made his transition from college to the NFL he quickly saw the huge difference .
“My first season with the Eagles was a lot of fun, it was stressful . I met a lot of great people, but I grew a lot as a person and a football player. I really started to see the business side of football, and with that you start making decisions like coming back to Iowa State to train in the off-season. I realized that now you’re competing with other guys for a spot, but a paycheck as well. I had to be able to put food on my family’s table, and also realized I could be taking away food from some guy’s family basically. So it was a lot more intense."
One of the coolest moments Jake talked about was how the Eagles then-quarterback; Michael Vick knew his name by the second day of camp.
“Here I am, an undrafted guy sitting in the locker room, and Mike walks by and was just like ‘Hey Jake, what’s up man?’ He’s probably the nicest guy in the world. You see all these NFL players on TV and you have a media impression of these guys , then you finally get to see how they really act.”
Probably the biggest change in Jake’s life after Iowa State is his engagement with his now fiancé , Johnnie Jindrich.
“It’s definitely different to think of yourself as becoming a married man soon, but she is handling most of the wedding planning, and I’m nodding yes to everything she suggests.”
Jake proposed on Johnnie’s birthday while the two were on vacation in the Turks and Caicos. Their wedding is planned for June and Jake said he was more nervous for the proposal than he was for his first NFL game.
“Football I love, but she is part of my life, and football is just a game. If you go drew something up on the field, it sucks but you get over it and make up for it on the next play. This is our life together, and was something I did not want to mess up. I wanted it to be as perfect as it possibly could be for her because she deserves it. I didn’t want to have to tell our kids someday that I did something stupid or said something stupid during the proposal.”
Johnnie has now become one of Jake’s biggest motivations as he focuses on his upcoming season in Miami with the Dolphins.
“I have a drive to succeed and the fear of failure. Now failure means I’m out of a job and on the streets and I don’t want that to ever happen. I don’t want to put my fiancé or have my family not have the income I was hoping to have, but I also want to keep playing the game of football because it’s awesome.”
The Iowa State football team has lost some of its glory day swagger since Jake and his fellow teammates A.J. Klein and Josh Lenz graduated to the NFL. The Cyclones have really struggled in their last few years to put together a winning season and return to a post-season bowl game. So what will it take for Iowa State to get back to being a competitive football team in the Big 12? Jake thinks the players are hungry again and it’s just a matter of time before the Cyclones have a positive season.
“They saw a little bit of success my junior and senior year, and some of the guys coming in didn’t realize what it took right away. Now these guys are getting a better grasp on that and hopefully see that change and turn it around this year. They’ve had this losing taste in their mouth for so long, and I can tell that this is a very hungry group of individuals who are sick of losing. Once they work a little harder and put in the extra time and effort the wins will come.”
It’s safe to say that Jake’s biggest focus right now is on his NFL football career and his approaching wedding and married life with Johnnie in Miami. He hasn’t given much thought on what he’d like to do professionally after his NFL football career is over, but when that time comes, you can be sure that it will again be something he’s extremely passionate about.
“It’ll be an interesting decision, once the time comes.” |
JAISALMER: A woman's in-laws beat her and threw her out of the house with her husband and children on Tuesday. The victim reached the police station along with her husband and children.The police have asked her to settle the case in the woman advisory and consultancy centre at the district SP office. She said that her in-laws forcing her to evacuate the house , beat her up and said that she only gives birth to girls and not boys.Victim Pappu Devi, wife of Gopal Desantri, has given birth to eight girls till now, out of whom two have died. She is now forced to roam the roads with her daughters.The victim reached the woman advisory centre where she met consultant Shobha Gaur and narrated the entire incident.Gaur said that the woman was beaten one year back too and a case is lodged with Kotwali police station. Her husband is a labourer.It is to be seen whether the administration can get her justice and shelter. |
8 years ago
Washington (CNN) – As Sarah Palin continues to ponder a possible bid for the Republican presidential nomination, she is embarking this weekend on a major overseas trip visiting two key U.S. allies.
Her first stop is New Delhi, India where she is the keynote speaker at a dinner of a major conference, the India Today Conclave. Her paid speech to the forum, sponsored by an Indian communications company, comes Saturday night.
Palin is quoted in Friday's India Today newspaper as saying she is "very excited to visit India. Americans have a great respect for the world's largest democracy."
"India and the United States are partners in trade and business affairs, and working together our two nations can build a more peaceful and prosperous world," she is quoted in the publication telling the organizers of the event.
After India she heads to Israel where she will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Her brief visit, scheduled just to last two days, is also expected to include meetings with other Israeli politicians as well as stops at some landmarks, according to the Jerusalem Post.
In a message posted on her political action committee's website, she said "As the world confronts sweeping changes and new realities, I look forward to meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the key issues facing his country, our ally Israel."
Several other prospective GOP candidates - Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and Mike Huckabee - recently visited Israel.
"She has to be able to say in case she hops in she went through the motions like the other guys," GOP consultant Ford O'Connell, who worked on the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008, told CNN.
Palin's foreign trip is expected to help her bolster her foreign policy credentials. O'Connell said that issue is probably Palin's weakest. He pointed out with the recent events in Japan, Libya and Egypt international are back in the forefront.
"Foreign policy is moving up the ladder. If you want to be president you have to have a good understanding of the global economy in the 21st century" as well as these issues, he said.
Such a trip, as the one she is undertaking, is a must for someone considering a run, he said. "If she doesn't do it, it will hurt her," he said.
As she has for the past months, Palin continues to say she is "contemplating" a presidential run last week telling Fox News, where she is employed as a political analyst, "It's obviously, a huge life-changing decision to be made. But there are some extremely, extremely difficult situations that our country is facing today.
"And unless I have the confidence that we have a GOP candidate who is out there willing to tackle these issues, regardless of what perhaps some special interests or ties they may have had in the past to these special interests...unless I'm confident there is a GOP candidate who can tackle these things and provide solutions, then, yes, seriously, I will continue to think about it."
Asked if she could wait longer than some other prospective candidates to see who her competitors might be, she said in the interview "I've never waited for anybody else to line-up and then I jump in at the end. In fact, in my races over the last 20 years, I've usually been the first to jump in. But in this case, because it is so monumental and so affecting on a family, I probably would wait to see who is willing to put their name forward in the hat in terms of serving this country."
The former Alaska governor enjoys large support among Republican voters and her speeches draw large crowds, but her disapproval numbers among GOP voters continue to rise. There is mixed opinion among many unaligned Republican consultants on whether she will end up actually launching a bid for the nomination.
She visited the key early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina last year during her book tour and recently hired a political veteran as chief of staff for her political action committee. She is not known however to have taken any other concrete steps that might indicate a possible campaign, such as trying to recruit key activists and consultants in those crucial states as others are actively doing. She has also declined invitations to address some political gatherings. |
Subaru of America, Inc. today reported 55,120 vehicle sales for September 2017, a 0.4 percent increase over September 2016. The automaker also reported year-to-date sales of 478,848 vehicles, a 7.2 percent gain over the same period in 2016.
September marked the 43rd consecutive month of 40,000+ vehicle sales for the company. Crosstrek and Impreza sales were notably strong as each model achieved its best September ever. BRZ also enjoyed gains over September 2016. Crosstrek sales for September 2017 increased 51.2 percent over the same month in 2016 and marked the second time that Crosstrek has topped 12,000 units in a month.
"Subaru sales continue to expand despite the overall decline in the market," said Thomas J. Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "The Subaru franchise is on-track to achieve its ninth consecutive year of record sales in 2017."
"September marks 70 consecutive months of yearly month-over-month growth for our organization and our retailers," said Jeff Walters, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. "Traffic to our retailers remains strong and it is encouraging to see sales of the all-new Crosstrek continue to grow," added Walters.
Carline Sep-17 Sep-16 % Chg Sep-17 Sep-16 % Chg
MTD MTD MTD YTD YTD YTD Forester 13,262 15,883 -16.5% 132,030 130,652 1.1% Impreza 6,324 4,786 32.1% 64,589 45,070 43.3% WRX/STI 2,510 2,683 -6.5% 24,156 25,171 -4.0% Legacy 3,902 6,027 -35.3% 37,461 47,396 -21.0% Outback 16,330 16,978 -3.8% 140,491 126,426 11.1% BRZ 301 300 0.3% 3,307 3,362 -1.6% Crosstrek 12,491 8,261 51.2% 76,814 68,810 11.6% TOTAL 55,120 54,918 0.4% 478,848 446,887 7.2%
Also in September, the 2017 Impreza was named to Wards 10 Best User Experience list for intuitive and effective interior features including connectivity, infotainment, controls and driver-assist technology as well as overall value. WardsAuto, a leading provider of automotive reporting and insights, evaluated 23 vehicles for the 2nd annual competition. The vehicles were tested and rated by editors on their ability to enhance an individual's lifestyle and make technology easy to use.
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $120 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Michael McHale
Subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-3326
[email protected]
Diane Anton
Subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-5093
[email protected]
SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.
Related Links
http://www.subaru.com |
Getty Snowden: No way Hillary’s private server was secure
Edward Snowden blasted Hillary Clinton's assertion that her State Department emails were secure on a private server, calling the notion "completely ridiculous" in excerpts of an interview with Al Jazeera English published Thursday.
“This is a problem because anyone who has the clearances that the Secretary of State has, or the director of any top level agency has, knows how classified information should be handled," the former NSA contractor who leaked thousands of classified national-security documents said in an interview with the network's "UpFront" program.
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Snowden continued his blistering criticism of the former secretary of state and current Democratic front-runner, concluding that if a typical employee at the State Department or the Central Intelligence Agency "were sending details about the security of embassies which is alleged to be in her email, meetings with private government officials, foreign government officials and the statements that were made to them in confidence over unclassified email systems, they would not only lose their jobs and lose their clearance, they would very likely face prosecution for it.”
“When the unclassified systems of the United States government, which has a full-time information security staff regularly gets hacked, the idea that someone keeping a private server in the renovated bathroom of a server farm in Colorado, is more secure is completely ridiculous," Snowden said, referring to the physical location of the server hosted by Denver-based Platte River Networks. |
DNAinfo.com/Chicago
Chicago has two baseball teams: the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are in the postseason, while the White Sox aren't. Each team wants to be the king of Chicago, so when one makes it, the other isn't happy.
Well, speaking for fans here.
White Sox fans are apparently showing no love to the Cubs. In fact, one pro-White Sox bar is giving away free beer when the St. Louis Cardinals hit a home run off the Cubs.
Yeah, it's real.
McNally's is offering this unusual deal when the Cubs take on the Cardinals in the NLDS. In reality, it doesn't matter if you're a Cubs fan, White Sox fan or even a baseball fan: Go to this bar.
[DNAinfo.com Chicago, via For The Win] |
When I was a teenager, the three-year-old boy from next door came visiting with his insatiable curiosity about life.
“Why is there clouds?”
“So it can rain.”
“Why is there rain?”
“Because all these plants are thirsty.”
“But why are they thirsty?”
Etcetera. The why never stopped.
I would have done better with how – I had a thing for science at the time. But even so, science runs out of answers, because it has turned its back on the most fundamental of all forces.
Consciousness.
Science is like a boy trying to light a fire. Up until mid-nineteenth century the boy had only one piece of kindling – the fundamental force of gravity. Then the boy found the electromagnetic force, and after that the strong and weak nuclear forces. Four pieces. So, science improved its ability to describe how the fire (the universe) should work.
But still no fire. It’s missing something. The world’s most famous living physicist, Stephen Hawking agrees. He says, “What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe?”
It’s consciousness.
Consciousness is the breath that generates the four fundamental forces and every object in the universe. All humans, animals, birds, plants, minerals and even the air molecules that passes through your lungs are a projection of consciousness and have their own levels of awareness.
Consciousness is the breath that maintains the shape of your body, taking in elements of the earth to make new cells, replace the old and returning their elements to the earth. You replace your entire body at least once every two years, until you lay it down and move on.
Consciousness is the breath science must use if it wants to throw a full light on the universe. So far it has refused, because the great drama of consciousness is subjective. But then the whole universe is literally a subjective experience. There is no objective universe to discover.
When science folds consciousness into its view of the universe, it will grow. It will know the why of existence as well as the how. Then – maybe – it will tackle the Five Universal Truths of existence.
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Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Sunday announced it has commercially deployed LTE-Advanced (4G+) in Kerala, which enables the operator to provide data speeds of up to 135 mbps.
"Bharti Airtel Ltd has become the first mobile operator in India to commercially deploy LTE-Advanced (4G+) technology on a LIVE 4G network," the company said in a statement here.
"This is a game changer for mobile broadband in India. Airtel has pioneered 4G deployment in India and we are delighted to raise the innovation benchmark to deliver a world-class experience to our customers," said Bharti Airtel chief executive (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal.
Airtel has partnered with Nokia Networks to deploy the carrier aggregation technology in Kerala.
The LTE Advanced network was deployed on a live 4G network, while the company said data speed of 135 mbps was witnessed on a 4G mobile phone during the commercial launch.
LTE Advanced is a technology where different 4G bands can be aggregated to get better spectrum efficiency as well as to offer very high-speed data.
The deployment is a part of Airtel's Project Leap network transformation programme, under which Airtel plans to invest Rs. 60,000 crore over the next three years. |
These are stories Report on Business is following Monday, Feb. 10, 2014.
Follow Michael Babad and The Globe's Business Briefing on Twitter.
Toronto prices a concern
The surge in Toronto prices is shaping up as a major economic threat, Bank of Montreal warns in a new report.
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In an economic forecast for North America released today, the bank noted three "risks," including those from newly embattled emerging markets, the continuing tussle over the U.S. government debt ceiling and, on the domestic front, residential real estate in Canada's biggest city.
"In Canada, accelerating home prices in Toronto (7.1 per cent year-over-year in January) risk straining affordability further, causing a correction when interest rates normalize and the market is trying to absorb a record number of newly built condos," said senior economist Sal Guatieri.
Mr. Guatieri's comments follow last week's report from the Toronto Real Estate Board, which showed the average selling price in January surged more than 9 per cent to $526,528 from a year earlier. The so-called benchmark price rose 7.1 per cent, as the BMO economist noted while warning that real estate price growth is outpacing family income.
On the home front, this is one of the bigger risks, more so to the local economy, Mr. Guatieri added in an interview. But because the local economy is such a big part of the national scene, there's an impact, he noted.
Mr. Guatieri doesn't see a near-term threat, but one that could spark trouble over the next few years as interest rates rise.
Consider, too, that according to the latest report from Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp., also released today, showed Toronto bucking the national trend when it comes to residential construction starts.
While those across the country edged down, housing starts in the Toronto area climbed to an annual pace of 36,186 units in January from 32,281 in December.
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The six-month moving average puts the number at 36,367, up from December's 35,547.
"Apartment starts remained high as the relatively high number of projects which began selling in 2011 reached sales targets that allow construction to begin," CMHC said of the Toronto market.
Across Canada, housing starts slipped to an annual pace of 180,248 in January from 187,144, the agency said, with the six-month moving average declining to 191,456 from 194,518.
"The decline in starts is an indication of housing supply falling into alignment with demand in most major markets (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City)," said economist Connor McDonald of Toronto-Dominion Bank.
"We've yet to see the same trend in Toronto, where new home sales have lagged due to limited supply," he added in a research note.
"However, we expect Toronto to follow suit as homes under construction reach completion and more supply comes online. Over all, the recent cooling of housing starts supports our view for a soft landing of the Canadian housing market in 2014 and 2015."
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Mr. Guatieri noted how the boom in Canadian housing is largely over as potential home buyers adjust to tighter mortgage insurance rules brought in by the government to head off a bubble, and with prices is several areas following the course of household income.
"Not so in Toronto, however, as its prices continue to outrun median family incomes, which averaged slightly over 2-per-cent growth from 2001 to 2011," the BMO economist said.
"Consequently, affordability continues to deteriorate even with relatively steady and low interest rates. While Vancouver remains the least affordable city in Canada, some softening in prices there has allowed Toronto to rapidly narrow the gap."
Here's what analysts said today about the Canadian total:
"A third consecutive monthly decline brought housing starts to their lowest level since April 2013, though bad weather in January and December may have weighed on readings in those months. As such, we may see some recovery in the next few months as weather normalizes … However, we expect modestly higher interest rates as 2014 progresses will weigh on housing affordability and lead to some moderation in residential building activity going forward. We forecast housing starts of 182,000 in 2014, down only slightly from the 187,000 units in 2013 though well below the 195,000 average seen in the second half of last year." Josh Nye, Royal Bank of Canada
"Underperformance of the Canadian economy relative to the U.S and the likely gradual increase of interest rates through 2015 will take some steam out of the demand for Canadian housing. We suspect that the pace of housing starts will continue their trek downward toward the demographically-supported level through 2015 … Over all, the recent cooling of housing starts supports our view for a soft landing of the Canadian housing market in 2014 and 2015." Connor McDonald, Toronto-Dominion Bank
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"It wasn't a good start to the year for residential construction with this below-consensus report for January. The decline in [multiple-unit building] shouldn't be surprising considering the accumulating inventories of unsold condos in some parts of the country. Considering the plunge in residential building permit applications towards the end of last year, it's unlikely that we'll get a quick rebound in starts in the current quarter." Krishen Rangasamy, National Bank Financial
"The data were a bit more encouraging in terms of GDP contribution, as the drop was all in multi-unit housing, with single starts rising more than 3 per cent. The last two months readings are actually reasonably healthy given a harsh winter in some parts of the country, and roughly in line with the demand associated with population growth. Still, housing no longer looks to be a source of growth, and we will see the evidence of that in GDP reports as the large numbers of condos still under construction reach completion in 2014, and are replaced by a lower number of new starts." Avery Shenfeld, CIBC World Markets
30 from Heenan to join BCF
Thirty lawyers from the Heenan Blaikie LLP law firm will follow prominent Quebec lawyer Marcel Aubut and join Montreal-based group BCF, The Globe and Mail's Sophie Cousineau reports.
While competing firms have recruited a number of star Heenan lawyers, this is the largest reshuffling since the Montreal-firm decided last week to dissolve its partnership, leaving more than 540 law professionals to find new homes.
A group of 60 lawyers in Toronto had looked into joining U.S.-based legal giant DLA Piper, but those talks have collapsed.
With close to 200 lawyers, BCF focuses on corporate work in Quebec. "They have an entrepreneurial spirit and I can identify myself with them," Mr. Aubut said in a phone interview from Sotchi, where he is attending the Olympic Games as president of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
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Separately, The Globe and Mail's Jeff Gray writes, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien is joining the Canadian arm of Dentons.
Toyota pulls out of Australia
The retreat of the world's major auto makers from Australia is now complete.
Toyota Motor Corp. said today it would end production of autos and engines in the country by the end of 2017.
"We believed that we should continue producing vehicles in Australia, and Toyota and its work force here made every effort," president Akio Toyoda said in a statement.
"However, various negative factors such as an extremely competitive market and a strong Australian dollar, together with forecasts of a reduction in the total scale of vehicle production in Australia, have forced us to make this painful decision."
Toyota employs some 2,500 people in the country, which has already seen Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. decide to quit Australia, as well.
Concerns mount
Developments in Canada and Switzerland over the past few days highlight how concerns over foreign workers are growing louder.
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The issues in the two countries are different but nonetheless underscore a backlash in this post-crisis era of still-high unemployment.
In Canada's oil sands, a company at the centre of a controversy pledged late Friday to bring back dozens of iron workers who said they were replaced by temporary foreign workers.
Under Canada's Temporary Foreign Workers Program, such employees cannot be hired if there are Canadians for those jobs. The government moved to investigate the controversy swirling around Pacer Promec Joint Venture and the construction work at the Kearl oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, The Globe and Mail's Carrie Tait, Josh Wingrove and Joe Friesen report.
"On behalf of PPJV, I regret that our actions, which we believe are consistent with the legislation, led to the current controversy," managing partner Paolo Cattelan said in a statement on Friday.
"These temporary workers should have been assigned to other projects where there is an existing labour shortage."
Canada's unemployment rate stands at 7 per cent, and is forecast to hover around that level for some time yet amid a modest performance in the country's labour market.
In Switzerland, where unemployment is enviably low, the slimmest majority of voters decided in a referendum yesterday to limit immigrants from the European Union, of which it is not a member.
The issue is more one of identity in Switzerland, where more than one-quarter of the population is reportedly foreign-born.
But there are issues surrounding work, as well, as the outcome would bring in job-related quotas and, as in Canada, see Swiss nationals favoured in job applications.
The Swiss government did not back the move, which was pushed by a right-leaning political party, has sparked outrage across Europe, as it will change the nature of a deal with the EU under which workers flowed freely.
According to Bloomberg News, some companies are worried about the possibility of a program under which businesses have to ask for approval.
Swiss banks, in particular, rely on foreign workers, Reuters reports, and there are now concerns over how the move could affect economic growth going forward.
"The effects of the vote will take a long time to feed through but can't be good for growth," said Kit Juckes, the chief of foreign exchange at Société Générale, noting that the vote had a limited, and only temporary, impact in currency markets.
"Maybe more important is that the result will make sterling-watchers look at the slender lead of the anti-independence vote in Scotland in a new light," he added.
HudBay goes after Augusta
HudBay Minerals Inc. has launched an unsolicited bid for Augusta Resource Corp.
It's an all-stock offer – 0.315 of a HudBay share and worth what the company says is $2.96 a share – that aims to grab control of Augusta's Rosemont copper project near Tuscon.
"Given the fundamental value of Rosemont and the significant share price re-rating we expect upon securing the project's two remaining major permits, we view HudBay's unsolicited takeover offer to be low," said analyst Christopher Change of Laurentian Bank Securities.
"In our view, a positive permitting decision alone should improve Augusta's share price by more than 18 per cent."
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is embraced by U.S. President Barack Obama as she arrives onstage at the end of his speech on the third night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young
Will a large enough segment of the millennials who turned out to vote for Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primaries and caucuses be willing to vote for Hillary Clinton in November? Has Clinton done enough to reach out to Bernie millennials, many of whom took to the streets of Philadelphia to express their massive disappointment and anger with their candidate’s defeat? Or were those who freaked out and cursed millennials at the news in Thursday’s New York Times/CBS poll which showed the election being divided four ways among younger voters — with a third of them voting for either Jill Stein or Gary Johnson — reacting to a big nothing?
Eight years ago, when Barack Obama was running to be the first black man elected as president of the United States, his campaign was credited with building a coalition that comprised, according to the NY Times, the “majorities of women, independent voters, political moderates, Hispanics, African-Americans, people of most income groups and education levels and voters under age 45.” But, going into the convention, only 57% of 18-29 year-old voters had favorable views of Clinton. The debate about whether she has been effective in reaching out to younger voters began that night.
When Obama ran in 2008, he ran on a campaign that emphasized “hope” and “change.” While self-professed pitbull Sarah Palin used to openly mock the concepts of hope and change, those words resonated with the young. In 2008, 75% of those who voted for Obama said the country was on the wrong track, and 90% thought the economy was in bad shape. Even though they acknowledged that McCain was the more experienced candidate, they opted for Obama’s message, which emphasized positivity and as Michelle Obama recently described it in Philadelphia, “going high when they go low.”
According to FiveThirtyEight, Hillary Clinton is not associated with change. She is perceived as the candidate who will continue to govern as Obama has governed, which nets her a mixed result. Older millennials (25-35) prefer Clinton to Trump, and younger millennials approve of Obama’s performance as president. But at this point in time, while their margin of support for Clinton over Trump is still 13 points, it’s the smallest margin of the groups who are supporting Clinton. The youngest millennials are more likely to be undecided or voting for a third party candidate.
Arguments as to why Clinton is not generating as much enthusiasm as Obama did range from the pop cultural — that Clinton asked the too-commercial Katy Perry to perform as a means of attracting youth, when the vibe around the Bernie supporters was more original “I Kissed a Girl” Jill Sobule and the artists associated with “My Song is My Weapon” — to the lack of emphasis on issues that are having particular impacts on millennials.
Of these, perhaps none is more pressing to new college graduates than student loan burdens. Data published in 2015 is sobering.
Seven in 10 seniors (69%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower. Over the last decade—from 2004 to 2014—the share of graduates with debt rose modestly (from 65% to 69%) while average debt at graduation rose at more than twice the rate of inflation. (emphasis added)
Seven out of ten graduates of nonprofit colleges are leaving college with debt that they have to start paying back less than a year after graduation. Starting salaries for new college grads varying widely, but for many graduates, before they can even begin saving for a house (and housing prices are so far out of reach for those starting salaries that it’s almost a moot point) those loan payments are significant enough to affect quality of life issues. But the average salary out of college is around $50,000, and the average cost of a new house in July 2015 was $295,000. Those numbers are clearly incompatible. How do you sell hope to a generation that can only see college debt and never being able to own a home in their future?
One of Bernie Sanders’ most popular proposals was his plan to make college “tuition free and debt free.” While there was some mocking of the proposal as “pie in the sky,” for a lot of desperate college students, it represented some relief from the impending burden of debt, or the debt that recent graduates had found themselves under. Even as a college professor, I had witnessed a change. In the early 2000s, I was used to dealing with seniors who couldn’t wait to graduate and get out into the world. In the last few semesters I taught, up until December, 2015, I dealt with increasing numbers of second-semester juniors and older students who came to me to talk about their fear of graduating, and how much they were dreading having to leave school. For many, the fear was that student loan payments would force them to live with their parents because they would not be able to afford rent.
You would think that Hillary Clinton is not offering any kind of debt relief to students. But she is. On her campaign website, she offers students and current student loan holders a tool to show them how much money they will save with Clinton’s plan for ameliorating student loan debt. But in her campaign economic speeches, while she makes reference to making college debt-free for middle class families, she has pitched much of her economic message at the “working class” that the media insists Donald Trump has turned himself into a champion of. And when Clinton suggests that not all young people should “have to go to college” to get the types of good-paying jobs that the unions were able to demand in manufacturing before the manufacturing base was gutted by right-to-work laws and moving factories overseas, that message is not being delivered to the millennials who might get enthused about it.
The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement breaks down the millennial vote on ethnic and gender lines, and finds that Clinton polls higher among women and people of color in millennial age groups. But they point to voter turnout as essential.
“The youth electorate in recent general elections has been more diverse than this year’s Democratic primary youth electorate, which may benefit Hillary Clinton given her relative strength—and Donald Trump’s significant weakness—with young women and youth of color. Much will depend on how many young people turn out to cast their ballot this November While Secretary Clinton moves into the general election with a large number of young liberal and Democratically inclined potential voters, her campaign has a long way to go to both persuade and mobilize many of these youth.”
The voters who turned out to vote for Obama seemed driven by a sense of mission. They were electing the first black president of the United States, and many expressed a sense that they wanted to be part of history. If she wins, Hillary Clinton will be the first woman president, and yet the enthusiasm, that sense of mission, doesn’t seem to be there. I spoke to two young women, one who had been a Bernie supporter through the primaries, one who had supported Hillary, about what they thought about this upcoming election, and what they saw happening in their dorms.
Both of them agreed that the “excitement” about voting for Hillary doesn’t seem to be there, even if “all of their friends” are voting for Clinton. Caoily Andrews, 19, is a sophomore at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. When Bernie Sanders spoke in downtown Binghamton in April, Andrews was among a large group from her dorm who left the dorm before 5 a.m. to stand in line for Sanders’ 10 a.m. speech. She says that now, all that same group is voting for Clinton because “she’s experienced, and they’d rather a toilet seat be president over Trump.” She says that her dormmates’ excitement for Clinton has “increased since the primaries, but I think people are just really focused on not having Trump for president.” And what does she think is the objection to Donald Trump? “He’s a xenophobic, under qualified, narcissistic, liar,” Andrews says.
Elise Reynolds, who is also 19, is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. She supported Hillary through the primaries. She thinks that Clinton stands for a different approach to politics than Sanders did. “I think a lot of millennials aren’t enthused about Hillary because they haven’t actually taken the time to look into her platform and see what she stands for,” Reynolds says. “When you get into it, you see that her platform does include policies tackling issues that directly concern us, such as debt-free college and campus sexual assault. I also think a lot of millennials struggle with the idea that she’s more of a “within the system” than a “burn down the system” democrat, but in an already fractured political landscape I would argue that incremental change will ultimately be the most effective.”
She also thinks that her cohort have expectations of politicians that someone like Hillary Clinton are just not going to meet:
“Growing up in a media age, I think we have come to see politicians as we see celebrities whose entire lives are/should be accessible to us,” Reynolds says. “This explains a lot of the success of the Obamas. Hillary is a more traditional politician in the sense that her private life is much more private, and this can make her seem inaccessible and aloof. This may be less off-putting to previous generations, who are used to seeing politicians more as professionals than celebrities.”
So, does this mean that Clinton needs to start playing saxophone on the late night shows, like her husband did on Arsenio Hall? Or do Carpool Karaoke with James Corden the way Michelle Obama recently did? Reynolds thinks it’s up to her peers to do their research, to investigate Hillary’s position for themselves so they can get more enthusiastic on supporting her. Andrews agrees that she needs to do more reading about Hillary’s policies, although she’s committed to voting on Election Day.
As Clinton’s campaign staff goes forward, it should be asking itself if it has done enough to reach out to millennials, to up the “wow” factor so that they will be excited about voting. It’s not likely that millennials will vote for Trump, but they may stay home.
Bernie and Obama provided a model for how to excite the young crowds. Is there anyone to blame that the level of enthusiasm for Hillary is not approaching those heights? |
18 March 2014
98 times capped Irish scrum-half Peter Stringer has signed a new one year contract with Bath Rugby, the Club are delighted to announce.
Still playing with the same tenacity and quick-thinking he displayed on the international stage for so long, Stringer has put his experience to good use this season, particularly in guiding the talented young backline with expert precision.
“Bath is a great place to be at the moment”, commented Stringer. “There’s a lot of hugely exciting young players in the squad, and it’s a group that’s really building towards a bright future. I feel I still have a lot of rugby in me, and still enjoy getting out there and training and playing with the lads. I’m looking forward to the rest of this season and next, and seeing how far we can go.”
Mike Ford, Bath Head Coach, added: “Strings brings a lot of experience to our relatively young squad, and his absolute professionalism sets a great example to them. He’s not lost any of his enthusiasm or ability, making him a real asset for us, and we’re thrilled he’s agreed to stay for another year.” |
It’s functional, it’s object-oriented, it’s everything you never knew you wanted and more! In this post we’ll introduce Scala and give you the tools to build a Scala application that can send text messages using Twilio from the command line. Scala is a JVM language that is notable for its combination of Object Oriented and Functional programming styles. Over the last fifteen years it’s gained popularity with use cases ranging from web programming to data engineering to distributed systems. Companies like Twitter, Stripe, and Twilio have all built large systems on top of the language. Hello World Let’s dive in. Here’s what you’ll need: Java JDK 8
SBT, I’m using version 0.13.6
Text editor (I highly recommend using an IDE like IntelliJ, the community edition is free and fully supports Scala)
A Twilio account (you can sign up for a free account if you don’t have one)
A Twilio phone number that can send and receive SMS messages Check that you have Java and SBT installed:
~ $ java - version java version "1.8.0_151" ~ $ sbt sbtVersion [ info ] ... [ info ] 0.13.6
With SBT installed, you can now access the Scala REPL with sbt console , try that now. Here’s a good cheat sheet for working in the REPL. Some things you’ll notice right away is that every value in Scala has a return type, and that those types can be inferred:
scala > 1 + 1 res0 : Int = 2 scala > val greeting = "hello" greeting : String = hello scala > def add ( x : Int , y : Int ) : Int = x + y add : ( x : Int , y : Int ) Int
I recommend the Tour of Scala for a great introduction to the Scala syntax. SBT is useful for more than just the console; it’s the tool that will manage your dependencies, execute your project, and run your tests. A neat feature was added last year that also makes it easy to build new projects from templates. The directory structure isn’t strict, but there are some best practices for organizing your files and project templates will set that up for you. You can read more about SBT’s templates here. I created a template for our project so head over to your terminal and type the following. When it asks for the name of the project, you can name it whatever you like, I named mine hello .
~ $ sbt new robinske / hello - world . g8 .... name [ Hello World template ] : hello Template applied in . / hello
After you cd into the directory, you can now run the project:
hello $ sbt > run
This will take a while to download all of the dependencies the first time you run it. Once the dependencies are downloaded, you’ll be prompted for your name:
What is your name ? Kelley Ahoy , Kelley !
Pretty neat, you’ve just set up your first Scala project! We’ll use this base for the rest of our application. Sending Text Messages with Scala Now that you have a Hello World project in Scala you can extend that to send text messages. For the messaging, we’ll use the Twilio API. Twilio doesn’t have a specific Scala SDK but we don’t need one — the Java SDK works swimmingly. To add a dependency, you’ll need to edit your build.sbt file, which is in the top level of your project. You’ll see a section for libraryDependencies that already contains the config library. Add another line for the Twilio library, which I found in the SBT tab on Maven.
libraryDependencies = { Seq ( "com.typesafe" % "config" % "1.3.2" , "com.twilio.sdk" % "twilio" % "7.15.5" ) }
Before you can use the Twilio library, you’ll need set up the SDK with your credentials. Sign up for a Twilio account if you don’t already have one and grab your Account SID and Auth Token from twilio.com/console. Save your account credentials as environment variables and overwrite the placeholder configuration in src/main/resources/application.conf with the following code.
twilio { account_sid = $ { TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID } auth_token = $ { TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN } from_number = $ { TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER } }
As you’re adding code, you can run sbt ~compile . The ~ tells SBT to incrementally compile your project every time you save a file and will help catch errors in your program early and often. In the src/main/scala/Main.scala file, we can replace our greeting example with our Twilio code. First we’ll need to grab some necessary imports for the Twilio library. These can be placed at the top of your file with the existing imports.
package hello import com . typesafe . config .{ Config , ConfigFactory } import scala . io . StdIn . readLine import com . twilio . Twilio import com . twilio . `type` . PhoneNumber import com . twilio . rest . api . v2010 . account . Message
Now you can initialize the Twilio client with our Account SID and Auth Token. Since you already have our config defined, you can fetch your credentials.
object Main extends App { val config = ConfigFactory . load () val ACCOUNT_SID = config . getString ( "twilio.account_sid" ) val AUTH_TOKEN = config . getString ( "twilio.auth_token" ) Twilio . init ( ACCOUNT_SID , AUTH_TOKEN ) }
As with Java, Scala is strongly typed. A method’s type signature provides documentation for the parameters and I often reference source code for this information. As we see below, the MessageCreator class requires two PhoneNumbers and one String . Our from number is one of our stored config variables, so we can grab that and wrap it in the PhoneNumber data type that Twilio provides. Let’s hard-code our to number and body for now:
object Main extends App { val config = ConfigFactory . load () val ACCOUNT_SID = config . getString ( "twilio.account_sid" ) val AUTH_TOKEN = config . getString ( "twilio.auth_token" ) Twilio . init ( ACCOUNT_SID , AUTH_TOKEN ) val from = new PhoneNumber ( config . getString ( "twilio.from_number" )) val to = new PhoneNumber ( "+12315551234" ) // change this to your personal number for testing val body = "Do you wanna do something fun? Wanna go to Taco Bell? \uD83C\uDF2E" }
Now that we have the necessary inputs, we can use those to construct and send our message.
object Main extends App { val config = ConfigFactory . load () val ACCOUNT_SID = config . getString ( "twilio.account_sid" ) val AUTH_TOKEN = config . getString ( "twilio.auth_token" ) Twilio . init ( ACCOUNT_SID , AUTH_TOKEN ) val from = new PhoneNumber ( config . getString ( "twilio.from_number" )) val to = new PhoneNumber ( "+12315551234" ) // change this to your personal number for testing val body = "Do you wanna do something fun? Wanna go to Taco Bell? uD83CuDF2E" val message = Message . creator ( to , from , body ). create () println ( s "Message sent to $to with ID ${message.getSid}" ) }
At this point, we can try running our program from the command line with sbt run – try that now and you should see a message come through. Accepting User Input Let’s make a few improvements to our design so we don’t have to rely on those hard-coded values. To accept user input in Scala, we’ll use the readLine method from the standard library’s IO package. The method returns a String and we can save that to a variable for something like:
object Main extends App { val config = ConfigFactory . load () val ACCOUNT_SID = config . getString ( "twilio.account_sid" ) val AUTH_TOKEN = config . getString ( "twilio.auth_token" ) Twilio . init ( ACCOUNT_SID , AUTH_TOKEN ) val from = new PhoneNumber ( config . getString ( "twilio.from_number" )) val to = new PhoneNumber ( readLine ( "Who are we texting? " )) val body = readLine ( "What do you want to say? " ) Message . creator ( to , from , body ). create () println ( s "Message sent to $to with ID ${message.getSid}" ) }
Try running the program again and texting yourself and your friends different messages.
hello $ sbt [ info ] ... > run [ info ] Running me . krobinson . twilio . Main Who are we texting ? 2315551234 What do you want to say ? Happy Monday ! Message sent to 2315551234 with ID SMcxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [ success ]
Adding Resiliency Let’s improve our message sender by handling errors better.. Because we’re using the Java SDK, most of the methods will throw Exceptions when they encounter an error. For example, here’s what happens if we try to send a text to an invalid number:
> run [ info ] Running me . krobinson . twilio . Main Who are we texting ? 12345 What do you want to say ? Hello ! [ error ] ( run - main - 1 ) com . twilio . exception . ApiException : The 'To' number 12345 is not a valid phone number . < long stack trace >
There are a lot of ways we can handle this error in Scala and we’ll be using Scala’s Try and pattern matching to catch this one. For our program, runtime exceptions would happen in Message.creator(to, from, body).create() so that’s what we want to focus on error handling. First we’ll import some utilities.
import com . typesafe . config .{ Config , ConfigFactory } import scala . io . StdIn . readLine import com . twilio . Twilio import com . twilio . `type` . PhoneNumber import com . twilio . rest . api . v2010 . account . Message import scala . util .{ Failure , Success , Try }
Wrap your message creation in a Try ; this type will either return a successfully computed value ( Success ) or result in an exception ( Failure ).
object Main extends App { val config = ConfigFactory . load () val ACCOUNT_SID = config . getString ( "twilio.account_sid" ) val AUTH_TOKEN = config . getString ( "twilio.auth_token" ) Twilio . init ( ACCOUNT_SID , AUTH_TOKEN ) val from = new PhoneNumber ( config . getString ( "twilio.from_number" )) val to = new PhoneNumber ( readLine ( "Who are we texting? " )) val body = readLine ( "What do you want to say? " ) Try ( Message . creator ( to , from , body ). create ()) match { case Success ( message ) => println ( s "Message sent to $to with ID ${message.getSid}" ) case Failure ( error ) => println ( s "Encountered an exception: n${error.getMessage}" ) } }
Now when you try to send a message to an invalid number you’ll receive a more friendly error message that you can customize.
> run [ info ] Running me . krobinson . twilio . Main Who are we texting ? 12345 What do you want to say ? Hello ! Encountered an exception : The 'To' number 12345 is not a valid phone number .
Neat! Next Steps Congratulations! You’ve successfully built a Scala application that can send custom text messages. There are many ways you can extend this project, like easily adding emojis! There are many other reasons to continue exploring what’s possible with Scala. You might be interested in using Scala to take advantage of the JVM ecosystem with less verbose code. Perhaps you’re looking to process terabytes of data using Apache Spark, a popular library written in Scala and with Scala APIs. Whatever your need may be, the Scala community has grown to support the breadth of applications developers are building. You can find a completed version of this application over on my github: https://github.com/robinske/hello-twilio-scala. Hopefully you’re inspired to learn a bit more about Scala and if you’re looking for additional resources, I can recommend the following: Coursera Scala courses – learn about functional programming, concurrency, big data and more in these courses developed by the Scala Center.
Scala exercises – challenge yourself with introductory puzzles in the browser for Scala and popular Scala libraries.
Scala eBooks – read more in these free eBooks from Underscore.io, a Scala consultancy. For more information about the language and its features, including a more in depth look at why (and why not) to use Scala, I talked about this at the GOTO Chicago conference last year. If you have any questions or comments about Scala, I always love hearing from you! Have fun getting started and I can’t wait to see what you build.
Authors Kelley Robinson
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Abstract
Background. Depression is identified as a risk factor for dementia. Little research has been carried out on the importance of anxiety, despite strong evidence of co-morbidity with depression. Objective. To examine the association of anxiety and depression with future dementia diagnosis. Methods. This case-control study was set in the Consultations in Primary Care Archive. Cases (n = 400), were patients aged >65 years old. About 1353 controls were matched to cases by gender, practice, age group and year of case diagnosis. Read codes of risk factors for dementia were searched in patient records. The associations of prior consultations for anxiety and depression, with future diagnosis of dementia were determined using multivariable logistic regression. Results. A past anxiety diagnosis was associated with a future dementia diagnosis [odds ratio 2.76 (95% confidence interval 2.11–3.62)]. The association of depression with dementia was attenuated by the high prevalence of anxiety within those who have depression. Including an interaction of depression and anxiety showed that having only depression was associated with future dementia diagnosis but a diagnosis of depression alongside anxiety did not increase the likelihood of a dementia diagnosis compared to having just an anxiety diagnosis. Conclusion. Prior diagnosis of anxiety was strongly associated with dementia diagnosis after adjustment for other risk factors. The independent effect of depression was weaker compared to anxiety. Given the higher prevalence of anxiety primary care physicians should consider anxiety as well as depression as premorbid risk factors of dementia to improve early recognition and facilitate greater access to services.
Introduction
The term ‘dementia’ describes a ‘collection of symptoms including a decline in memory, reasoning and communication skills and a gradual loss of skills needed to carry out every day living.’1 Approximately 700 000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, costing the economy £17 billion a year.1 Over the next 30 years the number of people with dementia is forecast to double, with costs trebling to over £50 billion a year.2 The rate of diagnosis of dementia is low and variable in the UK.3 Estimations suggest that only one-third of people with dementia receive a formal diagnosis leading to a lower level of access to management interventions such as medication and social support that could improve outcome.1,4 As there is no known cure for dementia the aim of current clinical management is to reduce the risk of developing dementia and minimise its consequences. This principle underpins the National Dementia Strategy’s public health campaign.3
Many risk factors have been identified in the literature.5 One strong risk factor is premorbid depression. Prospective studies show an increase in risk for dementia if the person has or reports they have depression.6–8 However, contradictory evidence exists on whether the relationship between depression and later dementia is similar in men and women. The PAQUID study found a positive association between dementia and depression in men only.9 The CHSA (Community Health Status Assessment) however found that depression increased the risk of vascular dementia in both sexes.10 Less is known about the role of premorbid anxiety despite evidence of close co-morbidity with depression and evidence that anxiety may be a predisposing factor for depression.11,12 One recent prospective cohort study (Gallacher et al.13) reported that after adjustment for age, vascular risk factors and premorbid cognitive function, higher anxiety levels were significantly associated with cognitive impairment and non-vascular dementia in a male population. However they did not adjust for possible co-morbid depression and comment that further study is required to distinguish whether the association between anxiety and dementia is independent of the relationship between depression and dementia.
This study aimed to examine relative associations of a prior anxiety diagnosis, or a prior depression diagnosis, with future diagnosis of dementia in primary care. Recognition of predisposing factors for dementia should alert primary care physicians to the increased risk of dementia, in order to facilitate the early recognition and management of this disease.
Methods
Setting
The setting for this study is the Consultations in Primary Care Archive (CiPCA). CiPCA is a high quality, validated database, containing recorded consultation data from 13 general practices in North Staffordshire, UK from 1998. Ethical approval for the use of CiPCA was granted by the North Staffordshire Research Ethics Committee.14,15 CiPCA contains information on all primary care consultations with these practices. CiPCA practices utilise Read codes to record consultation data, a common method in UK primary care. Read codes are used to record categories of symptoms and diagnoses. They make up a hierarchical ‘thesaurus’ stored by the computer. Clinical information is stored as data which is retrievable and analysable.16
Participants
Cases and controls were identified from the 10 practices which contributed consultation data to CiPCA for the entire study period (2000 to 2008). In 2008, the 10 practices had a registered population of 96 618 patients. Dementia cases were identified by a Read coded (codes available on request) primary care consultation (or documentation from specialist services) in the period 2003–08, with no prior Read code for dementia, from 2000 onwards and were aged 65 years or more at time of first diagnosis. Patients had to be fully registered at least 3 years prior to the date of dementia diagnosis and have consulted a primary care physician in the year preceding their diagnosis. This timeframe was chosen to allow for a 3-year run-in period (2000 to 2003) to ensure that only people with a newly coded diagnosis of dementia were included. Research has shown that patients may wait up to 3 years before consulting a primary care physician after their initial symptoms appear.3
Exclusion criteria for cases
The lower age limit of 65 years was chosen to coincide with the International Classification of Disease Version—10 definition of late-onset dementia. Patients with diagnostic Read codes of dementia subtypes including Lewy Body dementia, frontotemporal dementia and HIV associated dementia were also excluded as they have potentially different aetiologies.
Controls
Patients in the control group were randomly selected via The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (random number generation command, version 20, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). A ratio of between three and four controls to one case were frequency matched by age group at diagnosis, gender, practice and consultation in the same year as the case’s first dementia diagnosis. The controls had no dementia diagnosis for the entire time period 2000–08, had to have registration at the practice for at least 3 years prior to the year of diagnosis of their matched case and had a recorded consultation in the year of diagnosis of the matched case. Matching factors were age and gender, due to the differences in the risk factors for dementia by gender and the rising incidence of dementia associated with age, and GP practice, due to possible differences between practices in socio-economic status and diagnosis or recording practice.
Risk factors
A review of the literature on risk factors for dementia was completed by the first author (CB). Two practicing primary care physicians (first author and last author) independently reviewed the risk factors to identify those factors accessible within routinely collected primary care records. The two reviewers then discussed the inclusion of the risk factors at a final consensus meeting. Read codes for each risk factor (available on request) were identified using the UKTC (UK Terminology centre) Clinical Terminology Browser. The Database of Raw Read codes was also hand searched for relevant Read codes to ensure that categories of codes were not missed. The risk factors identified using the above methods were alcohol misuse,17–19 smoking,20 obesity,21,22 hypertension,23 ischemic heart disease,8 cerebrovascular disease,24,25 hypotension,5,26 dyslipidaemia,27 diabetes,8,28–30 anxiety13 and depression.7,9–11 The ‘lifestyle’ variables including alcohol misuse, smoking and obesity were found to be poorly coded (e.g. only 4 people had a Read code for smoking) and were not included in further analyses. Risk factor information was extracted from the primary care records for each case and control from 1 January 2000 up to the date of diagnosis for the cases.
Analyses
Unconditional logistic regression was used to assess both the unadjusted and adjusted association of each risk factor with dementia after controlling for the matched criteria, with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals reported. All risk factor variables were then entered in the fully adjusted analysis. Finally an interaction term of anxiety with depression was included in the adjusted model due to evidence that anxiety and depression often coexist clinically.11,12 Multivariable analyses were also stratified by gender to assess whether any association between anxiety and depression with dementia was consistent between genders. The analyses were conducted using SPSS version 20.
Results
Four hundred cases of patients with a new dementia diagnosis were identified with 1353 controls. All cases were frequency matched with at least three controls (mean number of controls per case was 3.38); this number varied due to differences in number of eligible controls between practices particularly for the 92+ year group. The mean ages were 80.87 (SD 6.19) for controls and 81.40 (SD 6.5) for cases, 63% of the controls and 62% of the cases were female.
One hundred and twenty two (31%) of cases had a prior diagnosis of anxiety compared to 14% of controls. Prior diagnosis of depression was also higher in some cases (10% versus 5%). Half of those with a depression diagnosis also had a recorded diagnosis of anxiety. Unadjusted analysis showed the presence of a prior Read code for anxiety [OR 2.76 (95% CI 2.11–3.62)], depression [OR 2.19 (95% CI 1.44–3.31)] and cerebrovascular disease [OR 1.97 (95% CI 1.42–2.73)] and increased the odds of a later dementia diagnosis. An anxiety diagnosis remained significantly associated with future dementia [OR 2.67 (95% CI 2.01–3.54)] after adjustment, but depression was not significantly associated [OR1.54 (95% CI 0.99–2.39)], (Table 1). However examination of the interaction analysis showed that having a depression diagnosis alone was significantly associated with dementia [OR 2.54 (95% CI 1.39–4.63)] compared to those with neither anxiety or depression but that this association was less strong than the effect of having depression with anxiety [OR 2.85 (95% CI 1.60–5.07)] or having only anxiety [OR 2.97 (95% CI 2.21–4.00)], (Table 2).
Of the other risk factors, a previous diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease [OR 2.18 (95% CI 1.55–3.07)] increased the odds of dementia but a previous diagnosis of hypertension or dyslipidaemia decreased the odds of dementia [adjusted OR 0.69 (95% CI 0.54–0.87)] and [adjusted OR 0.68 (95% CI 0.46–0.99)] respectively.
Stratification by gender (Table 3) indicated that the association of depression only with dementia was higher in males than females. There was less of a difference between genders on the association of anxiety only and both depression and anxiety with future dementia.
Discussion
This study considered the association of diagnoses of anxiety and depression with the future outcome of a dementia diagnosis. A history of anxiety independently increased the odds of being diagnosed with dementia in a primary care setting. Having depression without anxiety was also significantly associated with being diagnosed with dementia, however, having a diagnosis of depression alongside anxiety did not increase the likelihood of a dementia diagnosis compared to having just an anxiety diagnosis.
Interpretation
Anxiety was independently associated with a future dementia diagnosis and was more prevalent within the cohort compared to depression. Half of those with depression also had anxiety diagnoses. This is suggestive that anxiety represents a more important risk factor for dementia than had been previously thought, and along with depression represents an affective risk component that could be screened for within primary care.
One potential explanatory factor is that anxiety was being diagnosed by primary care physicians in patients experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), preceding a later diagnosis of dementia. This concurs with previous work, which suggested that anxiety in patients with MCI does strongly predispose to progression to a dementia diagnosis.31 Gallacher et al. also showed that high trait anxiety was an independent risk factor for developing cognitive impairment and non-vascular dementia.13 In contrast a study by Bierman et al., did not find a long-term effect for cognitive decline in patients with anxiety.32 They measured self-reported symptoms of anxiety using HADS-A (The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—Anxiety). However their analysis used the scale score of the HADS-A which may not be reflective of the clinically relevant levels of anxiety that may incur a Read code from a primary care physician.
One physiological explanation why chronic anxiety may contribute to cognitive decline is Sapolsky’s glucocorticoid cascade hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that high levels of glucocorticoids, brought about by prolonged stress from anxiety and depression, can lead to neurotoxicity and atrophy within the hippocampus which is associated with memory processes.33 It seems clinically reasonable to postulate that, in a similar way to depression, patients may experience and present with anxiety symptoms as a direct cause of the insight they have into their early experiences of MCI. Gallacher et al. however felt that the long run-in period of their study meant that their results were unlikely to be explained by this hypothesis and prefer an explanation including a common biological pathway linking anxiety, depression and dementia (possibly serotonergic).13
This study demonstrated differences in the association of dementia and depression between male and females. Prevalence of depression in the male control group was lower than in the female controls. Lower consultation rates and later presentation of depression in men may be a confounding factor, as the severity of depression in females and males may differ. A male patient presenting with depression may therefore be a ‘red flag’ when considering a possible diagnosis of dementia. ‘Vascular depression’ has been postulated as an accelerant of dementia and cardiovascular disease being more common in men may explain this study’s finding. As depression in women is more common and the cause of their depression more heterogeneous, such an association in this group would be masked.9 Cerebrovascular disease was a significant risk factor for dementia as would be expected from previous studies.24,25 Hypertension and dyslipidaemia appeared to decrease the odds for developing dementia, an unexpected result although the results were close to non-significance. It is likely that the patients identified had controlled disease (unlike in population studies) and were on medication that may represent a confounding factor.34–38 As expected, ischemic heart disease was not a significant risk factor.8 The results for diabetes (a well recognised independent risk factor)8,30 were also unexpectedly non-significant.
Strengths and limitations
By setting the study in the consulting primary care population, using routinely recorded data, the findings are applicable to the primary care population. The sample size was large however, it did not include patients who do not use primary care services. This study is based on anxiety and depression presented by patients rather than self-reported. It is possible that some diagnoses were not coded or mis-coded, although the quality control measures in place around the database should decrease this risk. Due to the nature of the Read code system and the anonymised dataset we were unable to obtain information on the severity of dementia or risk factors such as lifestyle variables, as well as background information such as socio-economic status.
The selection criteria for the study subjects were specific to ensure only patients with late-onset dementia were included; however it was not possible to differentiate between dementia subtypes. To reduce the chance of risk factor variables not being identified in the premorbid time frame, the cases had to have at least 3 years registration prior to the date of dementia diagnosis and had to have consulted in the year preceding the dementia diagnosis, as did the matched controls. A total of 662 people with a dementia code had to be excluded from the cohort as they lacked 3 years continuous registration prior to their diagnosis. This loss of potential cases decreased the sample size but increased the internal validity of the study as only people with a theoretically ‘new’ diagnosis of dementia were included. The majority of these 662 would likely have a prior history of dementia. This patient movement is likely to represent the migratory nature of patients with dementia and reflect the findings of Rait et al. where more than twice the number of people with dementia than without dementia moved between practices.39 It is possible that the study could have excluded patients with the more severe and advanced cases of dementia (i.e. those not able to function in their own homes and needing to move into residential or nursing care) and hence not be entirely representative of the true community sample of people with dementia.
This study also only looked at co-morbidities in the recent past (up to 8 years) before dementia was diagnosed, meaning it could not look at long-term effects of disease. It was also not possible to analyse all recognised risk factors due to lack of Read coded data found in primary care records, such as Apolipoprotein E 4 status. Furthermore even though this study used at least a 3-year exposure timescale before diagnosis, we cannot be completely certain of the temporal relationship between exposure and disease outcome using a case-control design because of the insidious and latent aspects of dementia.22 Further prospective studies are needed to investigate the influence of prior depression and anxiety as a cause for dementia. The findings presented are based on the frequency matching of cases and controls rather than perfect matching for two reasons. First, the frequency matching selection increased the power and efficiency of the study. Second, previous studies40,41 found that unconditional logistic regression with adjustments of match variables can derive similar estimates with the conditional logistic regression where perfect matching of cases and controls were required.
Conclusions
This study supports observations that anxiety independently increases the likelihood of later being diagnosed with dementia. In order to support current national guidelines and strategies to improve the rate of earlier diagnosis of dementia and hence access to holistic management, clinicians should be vigilant to symptoms of cognitive impairment especially in older patients with a past history of anxiety, depression and cerebrovascular disease.
Table 1 Risk factor Cases with risk factor present n (%) Controls with risk factor present n (%) Odds ratio (95% confidence interval)* Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Anxiety 122 (30.5) 192 (14.2) 2.76 (2.11–3.62) 2.67 (2.01–3.54) Depression 41 (10.3) 67 (5.0) 2.19 (1.44–3.31) 1.54 (0.99–2.39) Cerebrovascular Disease 66 (16.5) 127 (9.4) 1.97 (1.42–2.73) 2.18 (1.55–3.07) Diabetes 51 (12.8) 162 (12.0) 1.08 (0.77–1.52) 1.20 (0.84–1.71) Dyslipidaemia 43 (10.8) 200 (14.8) 0.69 (0.48–0.99) 0.68 (0.46–0.99) Hypertension 174 (43.5) 720 (53.2) 0.68 (0.54–0.85) 0.69 (0.54–0.87) Hypotension 10 (2.5) 31 (2.3) 1.04 (0.50–2.17) 0.87 (0.40–1.88) Ischemic heart Disease 68 (17) 249 (18.4) 0.93 (0.69–1.26) 0.89 (0.65–1.22) Risk factor Cases with risk factor present n (%) Controls with risk factor present n (%) Odds ratio (95% confidence interval)* Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Anxiety 122 (30.5) 192 (14.2) 2.76 (2.11–3.62) 2.67 (2.01–3.54) Depression 41 (10.3) 67 (5.0) 2.19 (1.44–3.31) 1.54 (0.99–2.39) Cerebrovascular Disease 66 (16.5) 127 (9.4) 1.97 (1.42–2.73) 2.18 (1.55–3.07) Diabetes 51 (12.8) 162 (12.0) 1.08 (0.77–1.52) 1.20 (0.84–1.71) Dyslipidaemia 43 (10.8) 200 (14.8) 0.69 (0.48–0.99) 0.68 (0.46–0.99) Hypertension 174 (43.5) 720 (53.2) 0.68 (0.54–0.85) 0.69 (0.54–0.87) Hypotension 10 (2.5) 31 (2.3) 1.04 (0.50–2.17) 0.87 (0.40–1.88) Ischemic heart Disease 68 (17) 249 (18.4) 0.93 (0.69–1.26) 0.89 (0.65–1.22) View Large
Table 1 Risk factor Cases with risk factor present n (%) Controls with risk factor present n (%) Odds ratio (95% confidence interval)* Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Anxiety 122 (30.5) 192 (14.2) 2.76 (2.11–3.62) 2.67 (2.01–3.54) Depression 41 (10.3) 67 (5.0) 2.19 (1.44–3.31) 1.54 (0.99–2.39) Cerebrovascular Disease 66 (16.5) 127 (9.4) 1.97 (1.42–2.73) 2.18 (1.55–3.07) Diabetes 51 (12.8) 162 (12.0) 1.08 (0.77–1.52) 1.20 (0.84–1.71) Dyslipidaemia 43 (10.8) 200 (14.8) 0.69 (0.48–0.99) 0.68 (0.46–0.99) Hypertension 174 (43.5) 720 (53.2) 0.68 (0.54–0.85) 0.69 (0.54–0.87) Hypotension 10 (2.5) 31 (2.3) 1.04 (0.50–2.17) 0.87 (0.40–1.88) Ischemic heart Disease 68 (17) 249 (18.4) 0.93 (0.69–1.26) 0.89 (0.65–1.22) Risk factor Cases with risk factor present n (%) Controls with risk factor present n (%) Odds ratio (95% confidence interval)* Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Anxiety 122 (30.5) 192 (14.2) 2.76 (2.11–3.62) 2.67 (2.01–3.54) Depression 41 (10.3) 67 (5.0) 2.19 (1.44–3.31) 1.54 (0.99–2.39) Cerebrovascular Disease 66 (16.5) 127 (9.4) 1.97 (1.42–2.73) 2.18 (1.55–3.07) Diabetes 51 (12.8) 162 (12.0) 1.08 (0.77–1.52) 1.20 (0.84–1.71) Dyslipidaemia 43 (10.8) 200 (14.8) 0.69 (0.48–0.99) 0.68 (0.46–0.99) Hypertension 174 (43.5) 720 (53.2) 0.68 (0.54–0.85) 0.69 (0.54–0.87) Hypotension 10 (2.5) 31 (2.3) 1.04 (0.50–2.17) 0.87 (0.40–1.88) Ischemic heart Disease 68 (17) 249 (18.4) 0.93 (0.69–1.26) 0.89 (0.65–1.22) View Large
Table 2 Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a No anxiety or depression 258 (64.4) 1129 (93.4) 1.00 Anxiety alone 101 (25.3) 157 (11.6) 2.97 (2.21–4.00) Depression alone 20 (5.0) 32 (2.4) 2.54 (1.39–4.63) Anxiety and depression 21 (5.3) 35 (2.6) 2.85 (1.60–5.07) Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a No anxiety or depression 258 (64.4) 1129 (93.4) 1.00 Anxiety alone 101 (25.3) 157 (11.6) 2.97 (2.21–4.00) Depression alone 20 (5.0) 32 (2.4) 2.54 (1.39–4.63) Anxiety and depression 21 (5.3) 35 (2.6) 2.85 (1.60–5.07) View Large
Table 2 Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a No anxiety or depression 258 (64.4) 1129 (93.4) 1.00 Anxiety alone 101 (25.3) 157 (11.6) 2.97 (2.21–4.00) Depression alone 20 (5.0) 32 (2.4) 2.54 (1.39–4.63) Anxiety and depression 21 (5.3) 35 (2.6) 2.85 (1.60–5.07) Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a No anxiety or depression 258 (64.4) 1129 (93.4) 1.00 Anxiety alone 101 (25.3) 157 (11.6) 2.97 (2.21–4.00) Depression alone 20 (5.0) 32 (2.4) 2.54 (1.39–4.63) Anxiety and depression 21 (5.3) 35 (2.6) 2.85 (1.60–5.07) View Large
Table 3 Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Female No anxiety or depression 152 (60.6) 666 (79.9) 1 Anxiety alone 73 (29.1) 115 (13.8) 1.71 (0.79–3.70) Depression alone 11 (4.4) 26 (3.1) 2.95 (2.07–4.22) Anxiety and depression 15 (6.0) 27 (3.2) 2.65 (1.35–5.23) Male No anxiety or depression 106 (71.1) 463 (89.2) 1 Anxiety alone 28 (18.8) 42 (8.1) 3.12 (1.78–5.47) Depression alone 9 (6.0) 6 (1.2) 5.91 (1.98–17.6) Anxiety and depression 6 (4.0) 8 (1.5) 3.90 (1.21–12.57) Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Female No anxiety or depression 152 (60.6) 666 (79.9) 1 Anxiety alone 73 (29.1) 115 (13.8) 1.71 (0.79–3.70) Depression alone 11 (4.4) 26 (3.1) 2.95 (2.07–4.22) Anxiety and depression 15 (6.0) 27 (3.2) 2.65 (1.35–5.23) Male No anxiety or depression 106 (71.1) 463 (89.2) 1 Anxiety alone 28 (18.8) 42 (8.1) 3.12 (1.78–5.47) Depression alone 9 (6.0) 6 (1.2) 5.91 (1.98–17.6) Anxiety and depression 6 (4.0) 8 (1.5) 3.90 (1.21–12.57) View Large
Table 3 Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Female No anxiety or depression 152 (60.6) 666 (79.9) 1 Anxiety alone 73 (29.1) 115 (13.8) 1.71 (0.79–3.70) Depression alone 11 (4.4) 26 (3.1) 2.95 (2.07–4.22) Anxiety and depression 15 (6.0) 27 (3.2) 2.65 (1.35–5.23) Male No anxiety or depression 106 (71.1) 463 (89.2) 1 Anxiety alone 28 (18.8) 42 (8.1) 3.12 (1.78–5.47) Depression alone 9 (6.0) 6 (1.2) 5.91 (1.98–17.6) Anxiety and depression 6 (4.0) 8 (1.5) 3.90 (1.21–12.57) Risk factor Case n (%) Control n (%) Multivariable analysis. Odds ratio (95% CI)a Female No anxiety or depression 152 (60.6) 666 (79.9) 1 Anxiety alone 73 (29.1) 115 (13.8) 1.71 (0.79–3.70) Depression alone 11 (4.4) 26 (3.1) 2.95 (2.07–4.22) Anxiety and depression 15 (6.0) 27 (3.2) 2.65 (1.35–5.23) Male No anxiety or depression 106 (71.1) 463 (89.2) 1 Anxiety alone 28 (18.8) 42 (8.1) 3.12 (1.78–5.47) Depression alone 9 (6.0) 6 (1.2) 5.91 (1.98–17.6) Anxiety and depression 6 (4.0) 8 (1.5) 3.90 (1.21–12.57) View Large
Declaration
Funding: CLB’s academic extension was funded by the West Midlands Deanery. CiPCA was funded by the North Staffordshire Primary Care Research Consortium and the National Coordinating Centre for Research Capacity Development. Christian Mallen is funded by an Arthritis Research UK Clinician Scientist Award.
Ethical approval: Use of the CiPCA database for anonymised patient research was granted by the North Staffordshire Research Ethics Committee.
Conflict of interest: none.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank The Keele GP Research Partnership and the Informatics team at the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre.
References
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BMJ 2010 ; 340 : b5465 . 37 Yaffe K Barrett-Connor E Lin F Grady D Serum Lipoprotein levels, statin use, and cognitive function in older women . Arch Neurol 2002 ; 59 ( 3 ): 492 – 4 . ): 38 Zandi PP Sparks L Khachaturian Z et al. Do statins reduce risk of incident dementia in Alzheimer disease? Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005 ; 62 : 217 – 24 . 39 Rait G Walters K Bottomley C et al. Survival of people with clinical diagnosis of dementia in primary care: cohort study . BMJ 2010 ; 341 : 3584 . 40 Stürmer T Brenner H Degree of matching and gain in power and efficiency in case-control studies . Epidemiology 2001 ; 12 ( 1 ): 101 – 8 . ): 41 Yusuf S Hawken S, Öunpuu S et al. Effect of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study . Lancet 2004 ; 364 : 937 – 52 .
© The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. |
You only have a couple of days left to get HE Book 1 as a personalized artist edition. After that they will move to my Topatoco store and personalized AE’s won’t be available again until the holidays.
If this comic doesn’t make any sense you should probably go see Inception. It’s worth your time.
MOSTLY SPOILER FREE COMMENTARY BELOW:
I do not understand why I am hearing the phrase “mind fuck” tossed around with regards to this movie. Inception actually makes a clear, concerted effort to explain exactly what’s going on during the film. At no point are you questioning what is reality and what is a dream (well, sort of…). My point is that while there ARE dreams within dreams within dreams, the plot spells each “level” and it’s purpose out very clearly. There really isn’t a Fight Club or Sixth Sense moment where you think “this movie has been PLAYING ME ALL ALONG!” Again, that is only my reaction to some of the chatter I am reading about Inception from my perch high atop the Twitmosphere. It is not a judgement on the film, nor am I suggesting the story would have been better served by some sort of twist ending. Far from it, in fact.
Inception is an original story, expertly acted and beautifully shot. If we still only had 5 best film Oscar slots, it would certainly take one of them. Christopher Nolan is a fantastic story teller, though he has almost exclusively been telling other people’s stories. Inception was his baby and it shows. The fact that it took him 8 years to write also shows. The plot is complex without being hard to follow. There is a balance that leaves you thinking long and hard about what you’ve just seen but not questioning it. I will suggest that you take a bathroom break during the previews because Inception is two and a half hours long and there really isn’t a good time to leave the theater.
Share your thoughts (without revealing specific plot points) in the comments. |
A team of Czech archaeologists claim to have unearthed the remains of an early gay man from around 2900-2500 B.C. outside Prague.
According to the Telegraph, the "gay caveman" was found buried in a way normally reserved only for women during the Copper Age. The man had been interred on his left side with his head facing east, with no weapons and household jugs -- almost always reserved for women in the region during that time -- placed at his feet. Traditionally, men were buried with weapons, hammers and flint knives, and their bodies were positioned on their right side with their heads facing west.
"From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," lead researcher Kamila Remisova Vesinova said. "Far more likely is that he was a man with a different sexual orientation, homosexual or transvestite. What we see here does not add up to traditional Corded Ware cultural norms."
Archaeologist Katerina Semradova told reporters that the "third gender" discovery mirrored an earlier case, in which a female warrior dating from the Mesolithic period was found to have been buried as a man. In addition, she noted Siberian shamans, or latter-day witch doctors, were buried in a similar fashion to the "gay caveman," but usually with richer funeral accessories to depict a higher social status, the Daily Mail is reporting.
"But this later discovery was neither of those, leading us to believe the man was probably homosexual or transsexual," Semeradova is also quoted by the Telegraph as saying. |
Sapphire District 500! a guest Jun 15th, 2014 182 Never a guest182Never
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rawdownloadcloneembedreportprint text 10.67 KB (15:06:07) Lolzrfunni: WAIT (15:06:09) Lolzrfunni: WHAT'S THIS (15:06:17) Lolzrfunni: IT'S THAT TIME OF THE THING AGAIN (15:06:23) Lolzrfunni: THE BIG RACE (15:06:29) Lolzrfunni: TIME TO COMMENTATE! (15:06:37) Lolzrfunni: SOMEONE GET READY TO PASTE THIS! (15:06:41) sahdee: Get Rem something special Lolz. (15:06:48) Zwoosh: brb (15:06:49) ChatBot: Lolzrfunni is now known as (Commentator). (15:07:05) sahdee: I'm still not over the Bid Bird picture (15:07:14) (Commentator): HEEEELLLOOO AND WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME TO THE SAPPHIRE DISTRICT 500! (15:07:18) (Rem_Mobile): :D (15:07:25) DBCrumpets: hru commentatorator! (15:07:27) (Commentator): Let's run through the Qualifying results! (15:07:53) (Commentator): Redis did well in the qualifying, scoring pole position in the race with a brilliant time! (15:08:24) (Commentator): For a first time racer, Muffin Mobile did well to come in second place on the grid (15:08:33) AllStarr: woot! (15:09:02) (Commentator): Rallycross Fighter and The Fatmobile Grand Prix Edition came 3rd and 4th on the grid (15:09:11) DBCrumpets: ಠ_ಠ (15:09:24) (Commentator): Bleekicker, Fro, and Elim came 5th, 6th and 7th (15:09:39) (Commentator): Beard and Wheels, driven by Rebound, came 8th (15:09:42) sahdee: Aww, I remember these rolls (15:09:47) (Commentator): CTR0 came 9th (15:09:51) sahdee: I'm not happy with my result (15:09:55) sahdee: :( (15:10:00) (Commentator): and the horsey came 10th! (15:10:03) sahdee: Chatbot is a vicious monster (15:10:05) DBCrumpets: It's your cakeday so you get a +1 to all rolls (15:10:31) (Commentator): heh (15:10:33) (Commentator): suuuuuuure (15:10:43) Zwoosh: back (15:10:46) Zwoosh: and I has pudding (15:11:13) sahdee: What kind? (15:11:41) Zwoosh: Vanilla with a secret ingredient (15:11:41) (Commentator): unfortunately, Sahdee failed to qualify! (15:11:53) sahdee: ^ T.T (15:11:58) ChatBot: luuklilo is now known as (luugaming). (15:12:03) Zwoosh: y u so mean to sze Queen (15:12:12) (Commentator): Her car was so slow that we couldn't let her race! (15:12:15) (Commentator): disaster! (15:12:18) (Commentator): but... (15:12:24) (Commentator): we are giving her a chance (15:12:40) (Commentator): if this 20 sided dice rolls over ten (15:12:45) (Commentator): we will let her race (15:12:48) sahdee: Nah it's fine. I did get second place last time (15:12:48) (Commentator): ooooooh (15:12:56) ChatBot: (Commentator) rolls 1d20 and gets 7. (15:12:59) (Commentator): bad luck (15:13:03) Zwoosh: :O (15:13:05) (Commentator): sahdee is not in the race (15:13:11) Zwoosh: roll again (15:13:13) (Commentator): and now, a short interlud (15:14:29) (Commentator): well, that was fun (15:14:32) (Commentator): back to the race (15:14:34) Zwoosh: :| (15:14:49) (Commentator): Luukie qualified 13th (15:14:59) (Commentator): Zwoosh qualified 15th (15:15:12) (Commentator): and Rem qualified in 19th (15:15:20) (Commentator): and the race is about to begin (15:15:32) (Commentator): the cars are lined up ready to start (15:15:39) (Rem_Mobile): >19th (15:15:43) (Commentator): 3 (15:15:45) (Commentator): 2 (15:15:46) (Commentator): 1 (15:15:48) (Commentator): GO (15:15:49) (Commentator): GO (15:15:50) (Commentator): GOOO (15:15:55) (Commentator): and the race begins (15:15:57) Zwoosh: 8) (15:16:01) (Commentator): Redis is doing well to hold position (15:16:05) (Commentator): into the first corner (15:16:11) (Commentator): redis making a bold move (15:16:17) (Commentator): trying to cut the inside line (15:16:25) (Commentator): a risky manouver (15:16:31) (Commentator): and DISASTER! (15:16:34) (Commentator): HE'S CRASHED! (15:16:44) Zwoosh: :O (15:16:46) (Commentator): OH! wHAT A DISASTER! (15:16:52) redis213: XO (15:16:55) (Commentator): RALLYCROSS FIGHTER SMASHES INTO HIS SIDE! (15:17:05) Californicus: That escalated quickly. (15:17:07) sahdee: Nooo! Redis! (15:17:09) (Commentator): AND CDOS HAS FAILED TO START COMPLETELY! (15:17:14) sahdee: lol (15:17:20) sahdee: Poor doss (15:17:28) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE IS IN THE LEAD (15:17:33) (Commentator): FROM THE FATMOBILE (15:17:52) (Commentator): Fro is making a move to pass Blee (15:17:58) (Commentator): Elim is sitting tight (15:18:07) (Commentator): and what's this? (15:18:09) sahdee: Go Muffin! (15:18:14) (Commentator): THE YETI MOBILE! (15:18:20) (Commentator): IT APPEARED FROM NOWHERE! (15:18:24) (Commentator): HE IS CHARGING (15:18:29) (Commentator): FROM 17TH TO 15TH (15:18:34) (Commentator): PAST LUUK AND REM (15:18:56) (Commentator): Going round the corner (15:19:01) (Commentator): he is threatening Theel (15:19:04) (Commentator): they go left (15:19:07) (Commentator): they go right (15:19:13) (Commentator): AND THEEL SPINS OUT (15:19:18) (Commentator): INTO THE BARRIERS! (15:19:21) (Commentator): WHAT A DISASTER! (15:19:36) (Commentator): LOOK'S LIKE THE DRIVER IS OK, BUT THE STRINKMOBILE IS WRECKED (15:20:18) (Commentator): LUUK IS SPEEDING UP INCREDIBLY (15:20:40) (Commentator): PAST THE HORSEY (15:20:42) (Commentator): PAST ELIM (15:20:59) (Commentator): Fro is losing ground! (15:21:06) (Commentator): We are on lap two now (15:21:14) (Commentator): and CTR0 has dropped to 12th (15:21:24) (Commentator): four cars have retired (15:21:41) (Commentator): and the Yeti Mobile is challenging for the lead! (15:22:00) (Commentator): BUT NOT IF MUFFIN MOBILE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT (15:22:05) (Commentator): IT'S AMAZING (15:22:14) (Commentator): ALLSTAR IS HOGGING THE ROAD (15:22:20) AllStarr: haha, nerds! (15:22:21) (Commentator): THE YETI MOBILE STILL CHARGES (15:22:35) (Commentator): AND BEARD ON WHEELS IS SPEEDING AS WELL! (15:22:39) (Commentator): PAST THE FATMOBILE! (15:22:41) sahdee: Whoo! Go Starr! (15:23:20) (Commentator): AND THE HORSEY HAS STOPPED (15:23:23) (Commentator): NOT AGAIN! (15:23:36) (Commentator): THIS TIME HE'S SEEN THE CHELTENHAM DERBY! (15:23:41) (Commentator): THERE'S NO STOPPING IT (15:23:55) (Commentator): BUT IT'S NOWHERE NEAR THE RACE TRACK ANYMORE! (15:24:05) (Commentator): NOT AGAIN (15:24:18) (Commentator): AND OZ HAS CRASHED (15:24:21) ChatBot: Red_October logs into the Chat. (15:24:22) Red_October: hru (15:24:26) (Commentator): THE MOBILEMOBILE HAS HIT A WALL! (15:24:27) AllStarr: hru Red! (15:24:29) sahdee: hru Red! (15:24:33) (SpamWork4587): Hru Red (15:24:34) (Commentator): AND HIT A DROP BEAR! (15:24:36) Zwoosh: Hru Red (15:24:37) (Commentator): AND A KANGAROO! (15:24:40) (Rem_Mobile): Hru red! (15:24:40) (Commentator): AND A KOALA! (15:24:45) (Commentator): AND A CACTUS! (15:24:52) Red_October: ooo its race day (15:24:57) (Commentator): HE'S GONE STRAIGHT INTO THE AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE SHOWCASE STAND! (15:25:12) (Commentator): AND NOW ANGRY WILDLIFE IS MAULING HIS CAR (15:25:32) (Commentator): And Lolz is catching up to Beard On Wheels (15:25:47) (Commentator): Beard On Wheels is chasing the Yeti Mobile (15:25:58) (Commentator): The Yeti Mobile is chasing Muffin Mobile! (15:26:13) (Commentator): Zwoosh has gone into the pits for a tyre change (15:26:24) (Commentator): he is now in last place of the remaining cars! (15:26:31) sahdee: Nooo! (15:26:33) (Commentator): BUT YETI MOBILE IS PAST! (15:26:43) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE HAS LOST FIRST PLACE (15:26:48) (Commentator): BUT HE GAINS IT BACK (15:26:54) AllStarr: ooohhhh yea (15:27:02) (Commentator): AND THEN THE YETIMOBILE CUTS HIM OFF (15:27:09) AllStarr: 8o (15:27:16) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE HAS TO DEFEND AGAINST THE BEARD ON WHEELS (15:27:23) (Commentator): BUT HE'S GOING FASTER AGAIN (15:27:28) (Commentator): THREATENING YETIMOBILE (15:27:29) sahdee: Kill! Kill! Kill! (15:27:43) AllStarr: Kill! Kill! Kill! (15:27:44) Zwoosh: Oh noes (15:27:45) (Commentator): HE'S RAMN YETIMOBILE! (15:27:47) Zwoosh: Last palce (15:28:05) (Commentator): RAMMED YETI MOBILE! BUT YETI MOBILE HAS SPIKES ON THE REAR! (15:28:13) (Commentator): ALL THAT STUBBLE IS CAUSING DAMAGE! (15:28:35) ChatBot: Zwoosh is now known as (Z_Gaming). (15:28:39) (Commentator): Infamous passes blee fifth (15:28:48) (Commentator): but the real fight are these top three (15:28:53) (Commentator): as we go onto our final lap (15:29:06) (Commentator): Luuk is past Fro, Blee and Elim (15:29:16) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE TAKES THE LEAD (15:29:27) AllStarr: brb (15:29:30) (Commentator): BUT BEARD ON WHEELS PASSES HIM ON THE DRAFT! (15:29:31) AllStarr: also yay! (15:29:41) (Commentator): BUT YETIMOBILE PASSES THEM BOTH (15:29:52) (Commentator): AND MUFFINMOBILE PASSES BEARD ON WHEELS (15:30:01) (Commentator): IT'S AMAZING (15:30:20) (Commentator): THESE CARS ARE FIGHTING IT OUR FOR FIRST (15:30:31) (Commentator): THEY ARE THE THREE FASTEST CARS ON TRACK (15:30:47) (Commentator): AND THEY ARE LESS THAN A SECOND BEHIND EACH OTHER (15:30:55) (Commentator): ALLSTAR MAKES A MOVE! (15:30:59) ChatBot: (Rem_Mobile) has been logged out (Timeout). (15:31:04) (Commentator): YETIMOBILE SEES IT AND DEFENDS! (15:31:12) (Commentator): BUT BEARD ON WHEELS IS ON THE INSIDE! (15:31:17) (Commentator): AMAZING! (15:31:21) (Commentator): SPONTACULAR! (15:31:28) (Commentator): MONDIFEROUS! (15:31:39) (Commentator): THEY ARE THREE WIDE (15:31:42) (Commentator): THE FINAL CORNER (15:31:47) (Commentator): WHO WILL WIN? (15:31:51) (Commentator): ITS.... (15:31:53) (Commentator): ITS.. (15:31:59) (Commentator): ITS YETIMOBILE! (15:32:06) (Commentator): FOLLOWED BY MUFFIN MOBILE! (15:32:11) (Commentator): AND THEN BEARD ON WHEELS (15:32:11) sahdee: Whoo! (15:32:13) (Commentator): AMAZING (15:32:19) Red_October: Nice job! (15:32:58) (Commentator): Infamous in 5th (15:33:00) (Commentator): silly me (15:33:19) sahdee: Then who's fourth? (15:33:28) (Commentator): The Fatmobile is in 4th (15:33:33) (Commentator): that was a technical error (15:33:46) (Commentator): Infamous in 5th (15:33:49) (Commentator): Luuk in th (15:33:51) (Commentator): 6th (15:34:06) (Commentator): Blee 7th (15:34:11) (Commentator): Fro 8th (15:34:19) (Commentator): Elim 9th (15:34:26) (Commentator): CTR0 10th (15:34:52) (Commentator): Remmmy 11th (15:35:00) (Commentator): Zwoosh 12th (15:35:09) (Z_Gaming): yeyish (15:35:13) (Commentator): the horsey is counted as 13th (15:35:20) (Commentator): ozzy is 14th (15:35:27) (Commentator): Theel counts as 15th (15:35:54) (Commentator): Rallycross Fighter in 16th (15:36:01) (Commentator): Redis in 17th (15:36:04) (Commentator): Cdos in 18th (15:36:38) (Commentator): and neither Sahdee nor Tele managed to qualify (15:36:48) (Commentator): and that about wraps it up! (15:36:55) (Commentator): another exciting Grand Prix is over (15:37:01) (Commentator): Tune in tomorrow for results! (15:37:08) (Commentator): and it's a Bruuuu from me! (15:37:20) ChatBot: (Commentator) leaves the channel.
RAW Paste Data
(15:06:07) Lolzrfunni: WAIT (15:06:09) Lolzrfunni: WHAT'S THIS (15:06:17) Lolzrfunni: IT'S THAT TIME OF THE THING AGAIN (15:06:23) Lolzrfunni: THE BIG RACE (15:06:29) Lolzrfunni: TIME TO COMMENTATE! (15:06:37) Lolzrfunni: SOMEONE GET READY TO PASTE THIS! (15:06:41) sahdee: Get Rem something special Lolz. (15:06:48) Zwoosh: brb (15:06:49) ChatBot: Lolzrfunni is now known as (Commentator). (15:07:05) sahdee: I'm still not over the Bid Bird picture (15:07:14) (Commentator): HEEEELLLOOO AND WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME TO THE SAPPHIRE DISTRICT 500! (15:07:18) (Rem_Mobile): :D (15:07:25) DBCrumpets: hru commentatorator! (15:07:27) (Commentator): Let's run through the Qualifying results! (15:07:53) (Commentator): Redis did well in the qualifying, scoring pole position in the race with a brilliant time! (15:08:24) (Commentator): For a first time racer, Muffin Mobile did well to come in second place on the grid (15:08:33) AllStarr: woot! (15:09:02) (Commentator): Rallycross Fighter and The Fatmobile Grand Prix Edition came 3rd and 4th on the grid (15:09:11) DBCrumpets: ಠ_ಠ (15:09:24) (Commentator): Bleekicker, Fro, and Elim came 5th, 6th and 7th (15:09:39) (Commentator): Beard and Wheels, driven by Rebound, came 8th (15:09:42) sahdee: Aww, I remember these rolls (15:09:47) (Commentator): CTR0 came 9th (15:09:51) sahdee: I'm not happy with my result (15:09:55) sahdee: :( (15:10:00) (Commentator): and the horsey came 10th! (15:10:03) sahdee: Chatbot is a vicious monster (15:10:05) DBCrumpets: It's your cakeday so you get a +1 to all rolls (15:10:31) (Commentator): heh (15:10:33) (Commentator): suuuuuuure (15:10:43) Zwoosh: back (15:10:46) Zwoosh: and I has pudding (15:11:13) sahdee: What kind? (15:11:41) Zwoosh: Vanilla with a secret ingredient (15:11:41) (Commentator): unfortunately, Sahdee failed to qualify! (15:11:53) sahdee: ^ T.T (15:11:58) ChatBot: luuklilo is now known as (luugaming). (15:12:03) Zwoosh: y u so mean to sze Queen (15:12:12) (Commentator): Her car was so slow that we couldn't let her race! (15:12:15) (Commentator): disaster! (15:12:18) (Commentator): but... (15:12:24) (Commentator): we are giving her a chance (15:12:40) (Commentator): if this 20 sided dice rolls over ten (15:12:45) (Commentator): we will let her race (15:12:48) sahdee: Nah it's fine. I did get second place last time (15:12:48) (Commentator): ooooooh (15:12:56) ChatBot: (Commentator) rolls 1d20 and gets 7. (15:12:59) (Commentator): bad luck (15:13:03) Zwoosh: :O (15:13:05) (Commentator): sahdee is not in the race (15:13:11) Zwoosh: roll again (15:13:13) (Commentator): and now, a short interlud (15:14:29) (Commentator): well, that was fun (15:14:32) (Commentator): back to the race (15:14:34) Zwoosh: :| (15:14:49) (Commentator): Luukie qualified 13th (15:14:59) (Commentator): Zwoosh qualified 15th (15:15:12) (Commentator): and Rem qualified in 19th (15:15:20) (Commentator): and the race is about to begin (15:15:32) (Commentator): the cars are lined up ready to start (15:15:39) (Rem_Mobile): >19th (15:15:43) (Commentator): 3 (15:15:45) (Commentator): 2 (15:15:46) (Commentator): 1 (15:15:48) (Commentator): GO (15:15:49) (Commentator): GO (15:15:50) (Commentator): GOOO (15:15:55) (Commentator): and the race begins (15:15:57) Zwoosh: 8) (15:16:01) (Commentator): Redis is doing well to hold position (15:16:05) (Commentator): into the first corner (15:16:11) (Commentator): redis making a bold move (15:16:17) (Commentator): trying to cut the inside line (15:16:25) (Commentator): a risky manouver (15:16:31) (Commentator): and DISASTER! (15:16:34) (Commentator): HE'S CRASHED! (15:16:44) Zwoosh: :O (15:16:46) (Commentator): OH! wHAT A DISASTER! (15:16:52) redis213: XO (15:16:55) (Commentator): RALLYCROSS FIGHTER SMASHES INTO HIS SIDE! (15:17:05) Californicus: That escalated quickly. (15:17:07) sahdee: Nooo! Redis! (15:17:09) (Commentator): AND CDOS HAS FAILED TO START COMPLETELY! (15:17:14) sahdee: lol (15:17:20) sahdee: Poor doss (15:17:28) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE IS IN THE LEAD (15:17:33) (Commentator): FROM THE FATMOBILE (15:17:52) (Commentator): Fro is making a move to pass Blee (15:17:58) (Commentator): Elim is sitting tight (15:18:07) (Commentator): and what's this? (15:18:09) sahdee: Go Muffin! (15:18:14) (Commentator): THE YETI MOBILE! (15:18:20) (Commentator): IT APPEARED FROM NOWHERE! (15:18:24) (Commentator): HE IS CHARGING (15:18:29) (Commentator): FROM 17TH TO 15TH (15:18:34) (Commentator): PAST LUUK AND REM (15:18:56) (Commentator): Going round the corner (15:19:01) (Commentator): he is threatening Theel (15:19:04) (Commentator): they go left (15:19:07) (Commentator): they go right (15:19:13) (Commentator): AND THEEL SPINS OUT (15:19:18) (Commentator): INTO THE BARRIERS! (15:19:21) (Commentator): WHAT A DISASTER! (15:19:36) (Commentator): LOOK'S LIKE THE DRIVER IS OK, BUT THE STRINKMOBILE IS WRECKED (15:20:18) (Commentator): LUUK IS SPEEDING UP INCREDIBLY (15:20:40) (Commentator): PAST THE HORSEY (15:20:42) (Commentator): PAST ELIM (15:20:59) (Commentator): Fro is losing ground! (15:21:06) (Commentator): We are on lap two now (15:21:14) (Commentator): and CTR0 has dropped to 12th (15:21:24) (Commentator): four cars have retired (15:21:41) (Commentator): and the Yeti Mobile is challenging for the lead! (15:22:00) (Commentator): BUT NOT IF MUFFIN MOBILE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT (15:22:05) (Commentator): IT'S AMAZING (15:22:14) (Commentator): ALLSTAR IS HOGGING THE ROAD (15:22:20) AllStarr: haha, nerds! (15:22:21) (Commentator): THE YETI MOBILE STILL CHARGES (15:22:35) (Commentator): AND BEARD ON WHEELS IS SPEEDING AS WELL! (15:22:39) (Commentator): PAST THE FATMOBILE! (15:22:41) sahdee: Whoo! Go Starr! (15:23:20) (Commentator): AND THE HORSEY HAS STOPPED (15:23:23) (Commentator): NOT AGAIN! (15:23:36) (Commentator): THIS TIME HE'S SEEN THE CHELTENHAM DERBY! (15:23:41) (Commentator): THERE'S NO STOPPING IT (15:23:55) (Commentator): BUT IT'S NOWHERE NEAR THE RACE TRACK ANYMORE! (15:24:05) (Commentator): NOT AGAIN (15:24:18) (Commentator): AND OZ HAS CRASHED (15:24:21) ChatBot: Red_October logs into the Chat. (15:24:22) Red_October: hru (15:24:26) (Commentator): THE MOBILEMOBILE HAS HIT A WALL! (15:24:27) AllStarr: hru Red! (15:24:29) sahdee: hru Red! (15:24:33) (SpamWork4587): Hru Red (15:24:34) (Commentator): AND HIT A DROP BEAR! (15:24:36) Zwoosh: Hru Red (15:24:37) (Commentator): AND A KANGAROO! (15:24:40) (Rem_Mobile): Hru red! (15:24:40) (Commentator): AND A KOALA! (15:24:45) (Commentator): AND A CACTUS! (15:24:52) Red_October: ooo its race day (15:24:57) (Commentator): HE'S GONE STRAIGHT INTO THE AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE SHOWCASE STAND! (15:25:12) (Commentator): AND NOW ANGRY WILDLIFE IS MAULING HIS CAR (15:25:32) (Commentator): And Lolz is catching up to Beard On Wheels (15:25:47) (Commentator): Beard On Wheels is chasing the Yeti Mobile (15:25:58) (Commentator): The Yeti Mobile is chasing Muffin Mobile! (15:26:13) (Commentator): Zwoosh has gone into the pits for a tyre change (15:26:24) (Commentator): he is now in last place of the remaining cars! (15:26:31) sahdee: Nooo! (15:26:33) (Commentator): BUT YETI MOBILE IS PAST! (15:26:43) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE HAS LOST FIRST PLACE (15:26:48) (Commentator): BUT HE GAINS IT BACK (15:26:54) AllStarr: ooohhhh yea (15:27:02) (Commentator): AND THEN THE YETIMOBILE CUTS HIM OFF (15:27:09) AllStarr: 8o (15:27:16) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE HAS TO DEFEND AGAINST THE BEARD ON WHEELS (15:27:23) (Commentator): BUT HE'S GOING FASTER AGAIN (15:27:28) (Commentator): THREATENING YETIMOBILE (15:27:29) sahdee: Kill! Kill! Kill! (15:27:43) AllStarr: Kill! Kill! Kill! (15:27:44) Zwoosh: Oh noes (15:27:45) (Commentator): HE'S RAMN YETIMOBILE! (15:27:47) Zwoosh: Last palce (15:28:05) (Commentator): RAMMED YETI MOBILE! BUT YETI MOBILE HAS SPIKES ON THE REAR! (15:28:13) (Commentator): ALL THAT STUBBLE IS CAUSING DAMAGE! (15:28:35) ChatBot: Zwoosh is now known as (Z_Gaming). (15:28:39) (Commentator): Infamous passes blee fifth (15:28:48) (Commentator): but the real fight are these top three (15:28:53) (Commentator): as we go onto our final lap (15:29:06) (Commentator): Luuk is past Fro, Blee and Elim (15:29:16) (Commentator): MUFFIN MOBILE TAKES THE LEAD (15:29:27) AllStarr: brb (15:29:30) (Commentator): BUT BEARD ON WHEELS PASSES HIM ON THE DRAFT! (15:29:31) AllStarr: also yay! (15:29:41) (Commentator): BUT YETIMOBILE PASSES THEM BOTH (15:29:52) (Commentator): AND MUFFINMOBILE PASSES BEARD ON WHEELS (15:30:01) (Commentator): IT'S AMAZING (15:30:20) (Commentator): THESE CARS ARE FIGHTING IT OUR FOR FIRST (15:30:31) (Commentator): THEY ARE THE THREE FASTEST CARS ON TRACK (15:30:47) (Commentator): AND THEY ARE LESS THAN A SECOND BEHIND EACH OTHER (15:30:55) (Commentator): ALLSTAR MAKES A MOVE! (15:30:59) ChatBot: (Rem_Mobile) has been logged out (Timeout). (15:31:04) (Commentator): YETIMOBILE SEES IT AND DEFENDS! (15:31:12) (Commentator): BUT BEARD ON WHEELS IS ON THE INSIDE! (15:31:17) (Commentator): AMAZING! (15:31:21) (Commentator): SPONTACULAR! (15:31:28) (Commentator): MONDIFEROUS! (15:31:39) (Commentator): THEY ARE THREE WIDE (15:31:42) (Commentator): THE FINAL CORNER (15:31:47) (Commentator): WHO WILL WIN? (15:31:51) (Commentator): ITS.... (15:31:53) (Commentator): ITS.. (15:31:59) (Commentator): ITS YETIMOBILE! (15:32:06) (Commentator): FOLLOWED BY MUFFIN MOBILE! (15:32:11) (Commentator): AND THEN BEARD ON WHEELS (15:32:11) sahdee: Whoo! (15:32:13) (Commentator): AMAZING (15:32:19) Red_October: Nice job! (15:32:58) (Commentator): Infamous in 5th (15:33:00) (Commentator): silly me (15:33:19) sahdee: Then who's fourth? (15:33:28) (Commentator): The Fatmobile is in 4th (15:33:33) (Commentator): that was a technical error (15:33:46) (Commentator): Infamous in 5th (15:33:49) (Commentator): Luuk in th (15:33:51) (Commentator): 6th (15:34:06) (Commentator): Blee 7th (15:34:11) (Commentator): Fro 8th (15:34:19) (Commentator): Elim 9th (15:34:26) (Commentator): CTR0 10th (15:34:52) (Commentator): Remmmy 11th (15:35:00) (Commentator): Zwoosh 12th (15:35:09) (Z_Gaming): yeyish (15:35:13) (Commentator): the horsey is counted as 13th (15:35:20) (Commentator): ozzy is 14th (15:35:27) (Commentator): Theel counts as 15th (15:35:54) (Commentator): Rallycross Fighter in 16th (15:36:01) (Commentator): Redis in 17th (15:36:04) (Commentator): Cdos in 18th (15:36:38) (Commentator): and neither Sahdee nor Tele managed to qualify (15:36:48) (Commentator): and that about wraps it up! (15:36:55) (Commentator): another exciting Grand Prix is over (15:37:01) (Commentator): Tune in tomorrow for results! (15:37:08) (Commentator): and it's a Bruuuu from me! (15:37:20) ChatBot: (Commentator) leaves the channel. |
Containers for drinks often consumed away from home will be eligible for the refund.
West Australians will receive a 10 cent refund on recyclable cans and bottles under a scheme to be introduced by the State Government in 2018.
Key points: Scheme will apply to some drink containers between 150mL-3L
Similar schemes already in place or planned in four states
Move will reduce litter, Keep Australia Beautiful WA says
After years of resisting calls for a container deposit scheme, the Barnett Government said it planned to use recycling depots and reverse vending machines to deliver the refunds, with 10 cents added to the initial cost of the drinks.
While South Australia has a long-standing container deposit scheme, the move sees WA join other states like New South Wales in planning a similar system.
Queenslanders will also able to collect cash for returning bottles and cans for recycling from mid-2018.
"The Government is now confident that what we are proposing will be strongly endorsed by the public of Western Australia, and will be successful in reducing litter and also in providing an incentive for recycling," Premier Colin Barnett said.
The scheme will apply to certain empty drink containers ranging in size from 150 millilitres to three litres.
It targets containers normally consumed away from the home such as soft drink cans and bottles, bottled water and beer bottles and cans.
However, it excludes domestically consumed drink containers such wine and spirit bottles, milk containers and juice containers.
"This has a strong focus on roadside litter, on park-side litter, on beach litter," Environment Minister Albert Jacob said.
Government previously dismissed scheme
Mr Jacob acknowledged WA Labor had proposed a similar recycling scheme in 2011, one the Government did not support.
He said the Government was then already engaged in discussions with the Commonwealth and other state governments to pursue a national container deposit scheme.
"That has since fallen by the wayside, but other states such as Queensland and New South Wales have since announced they will pursue state-wide container deposit schemes, and we seek to align Western Australia's with those that are coming online," he said.
Labor has welcomed the scheme, but said it was long overdue and the Government should have supported its proposal five years ago.
Reverse vending machines offer boost
Changing technology has provided some of the momentum for the change, with the advent of reverse vending machines making deposit refunds simpler and more accessible.
"So a reverse vending machine works exactly like a normal vending machine," Mr Jacob said.
"The only difference is it takes an empty bottle or can, reads the bar code and for all of those bottles and cans which you place into that vending machine, it reimburses an amount of money on 10 cents per container."
The chairman of Keep Australia Beautiful WA, Michael Aspinall, believes the government's proposed deposit scheme will boost efforts to reduce littering.
"I think the timing is right for this. We've seen what has happened in the Northern Territory. We've seen what's happened in South Australia," he said.
"I think what the Government is planning to do now is a mature and workable system."
Earlier this year, Liberal MP Peter Katsambanis criticised the idea of a container deposit scheme, describing it as a "great big tax" that would increase the cost of eligible drinks.
"For families and pensioners struggling to make ends meet, 10c on a bottle of milk or lemonade, or even 10c on a bottle of beer for that matter is a lot of money," he told Parliament. |
Light globes that change colour with the tap of an app, coffee machines you can talk to, and ovens that know exactly how long to cook your food: our homes are getting smart. These devices, just a few examples of what is known as “the internet of things” (or IOT), have been called the “next great disruptor” and “the second digital revolution”.
One of the great hopes of this revolution is that it will help households save energy. Sensors can turn off lights and appliances when not in use, or turn the heating down when people go to bed. Smartphone apps can provide households with more insight into the energy use of their appliances.
While estimates vary widely, industry proponents suggest that emerging connected home technologies could help households reduce their energy bills by 10-25%. Such claims are largely speculative given the absence of robust “before and after” research.
Social research from Australia and the UK is revealing ways in which IOT might also increase energy demand. We have identified three “hidden” energy impacts which are rarely considered in IOT research or energy-saving predictions.
New updates and hardware
Estimates of the true energy and data costs of IOT are currently vague. In part, this is due to the variety of possible impacts within the home, within distributed information infrastructures, and in the production, transportation and disposal of goods.
For example, one estimate suggests that the data servers required to power the internet already produce as much greenhouse gas as the airline industry (around 2% of global emissions). Some predict that server electricity use will treble in the next decade.
While IOT is still a relatively small (and largely unknown) part of this growth, its share is likely to increase substantially in coming years.
As with smartphones and other computers, updates for connected devices add to growing data traffic and hence energy consumption by data centres and transmission networks.
There may also be more energy demand from the increasing need for data centres, control rooms and home networks located within people’s homes (as observed in some of our research). This hard infrastructure takes up space, runs on energy and may require air-conditioned cooling or heating to keep it operating normally.
The rapid emergence of new software for household appliances such as fridges and washing machines may encourage more frequent upgrading of these devices – as seen with televisions and computers over recent years.
Given that it also takes energy to make appliances, discarding and upgrading devices that aren’t smart enough would undermine policies intended to reduce electronic waste (e-waste) and reduce embedded energy.
New needs
Like the industrial revolution of the home, which raised cleanliness expectations and resulted in more energy and water consumption overall, devices like smart thermostats might also raise expectations for comfort, particularly if air-conditioned heating and cooling is used more often and in more rooms.
For example, home automation company Lutron promotes the creation of “pleasance” - a seductive concept promising the perfect combination of luxury, relaxation, pleasure and comfort - all enabled by smart tech.
This vision permeates a range of ambience and aesthetic connected technologies, such as mood and scene lighting, automated water fountains, smart toilets and whole-house audio-visual systems.
By themselves, such features may be relatively low-power. But they add to existing services and are likely to require a degree of always-networked, always-ready standby power consumption.
In one recent estimate, connected devices were forecast to grow globally from 10 billion in 2014 to between 30 billion and 50 billion by 2020. With potentially billions of networked devices in the not-too-distant future, globally these impacts could be considerable.
With more devices at our fingertips, we are also using them more often. Instead of watching only one television, multiple family members can use their tablets and smartphones at the same time. Even though each individual device might be super efficient and battery-powered, it may add up to more energy demand overall.
Even devices marketed to save energy might increase it. For example, some smart apps allow householders to switch their heating or cooling off remotely when they forget.
However, they also provide new opportunities to turn it on remotely. As one article suggests: “if you want the aircon roaring before you come home … use the app to turn it on before you get home”.
Having more connected devices can also create more complexity. This is opening up markets for new devices that integrate and consolidate technologies across the home.
For example, virtual helpers like Amazon’s Echo (Alexa) and the Google Home Assistant can do everything from turning on your lights to playing your favourite music. These devices are new additions for most homes, consuming small amounts of energy in their own right, but adding to the energy demands of distant data servers.
New services
New services are also emerging, such as smart versions of mattresses and fridges that monitor health and assist with sleep, diet and medication patterns.
The security industry is also rapidly evolving to provide surveillance features which allow constant home monitoring from a distance and enable lights and appliances to be switched on to deter burglars. Devices also provide live-stream video sent to smartphones and tablets so householders can check on the activities of their children and pets.
All these devices involve various forms of energy demand, which includes powering the devices themselves. They also transmit data over the internet and make greater use of streamed media content; another key component of the growing energy used by the internet.
That does not mean that IOT has nothing to offer: the devices we have described above arguably have many benefits.
But we do need to pay more attention to these hidden impacts as governments and households embrace these technologies for their promoted energy-saving benefits. |
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: The Justice Department has begun reviewing a controversial unit inside the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that uses secret domestic surveillance tactics, including intelligence gathered by the National Security Agency, to target Americans for drug offenses. According to a series of articles published by the Reuters news agency, agents are instructed to recreate the investigative trail in order to conceal the origins of the evidence—not only from defense lawyers but also sometimes from prosecutors and judges. DEA training documents instruct agents to even make up alternative versions of how such investigations truly begin, a process known as “parallel construction.”
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about the Reuters investigation.
PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY: It’s my understanding, our understanding, that the Department of Justice is looking at some of the issues raised in the story. But for more, I would refer you to the Department of Justice.
AMY GOODMAN: The unit of the DEA that distributes the secret intelligence to agents is called the Special Operations Division, or SOD. Two dozen partner agencies comprise the unit, including the FBI, CIA, NSA, Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security. The unit was first created two decades ago, but it’s coming under increased scrutiny following the recent revelations about the NSA maintaining a database of all phone calls made in the United States. One former federal judge, Nancy Gertner, said the DEA program sounds more troubling than recent disclosures that the NSA has been collecting domestic phone records. She said, quote, “It is one thing to create special rules for national security. Ordinary crime is entirely different. It sounds like they are phonying up investigations.”
For more, we’re joined by the reporter who broke this story, John Shiffman, correspondent for Reuters, which published his exclusive story Monday, “U.S. Tells Agents to Cover Up Use of Wiretap Program.”
Welcome to Democracy Now!, John. Why don’t you start off by just laying it out and what exactly this cover-up is.
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Thanks very much for having me.
Well, my colleague Kristina Cooke and I spoke with about a dozen or two dozen agents and obtained some internal documents that showed that what federal agents, not just DEA agents but other agents who work with the DEA and do drug investigations—what they’re doing is, is they are starting—they are claiming that their investigations start, say, at step two. They are withholding step one from the investigations. And, I should say, it’s not just NSA intercepts. It’s informant information, information obtained from court-ordered wiretaps in one case, and using those for information in a second case. They also have a large database of phone records. Whenever the DEA subpoenas or does a search warrant and gets phone records for someone suspected of involvement in drugs or gang involvement, they put all those numbers into one giant database they call DICE, and they use that information to compare different cases. All of the collection is—seems perfectly legitimate, in terms of being court-ordered. What troubles some critics is the fact that they are hiding that information from drug defendants who face trial. The problem with that is that—is that these defendants won’t know about some potentially exculpatory information that may affect their case and their right to a fair trial.
AMY GOODMAN: So explain exactly how this information is being hidden from judges, prosecutors and sometimes defense attorneys, as well.
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Sure. Well, just to give an example, through any of these four different ways, including the NSA intercepts, the DEA’s Special Operations Division will send the information to a DEA agent in the field or a FBI agent or an ICE agent or state policeman, and they’ll give him the information. Then they’ll say, “Look, you know, we understand that there will be a truck going to a certain park in Texas at a certain time. It’s a red truck. It’ll be two people involved.” And the state trooper or the DEA will find you reason to pull the truck over, say for a broken tail light or for speeding, that sort of thing. And, lo and behold, inside the trunk they’ll find, you know, a kilo of cocaine. The people who have been arrested will never know that—why the police or the DEA pulled them over. They’ll think it’s just luck. And that’s important because if those people try to go to trial, there are pieces of information about how that evidence was obtained and what it shows and what other pieces of it show—might affect their trial.
AMY GOODMAN: On Monday, I spoke with Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald just after your story broke about how the DEA is using material gathered in part by the NSA in its surveillance of Americans. Glenn Greenwald has, of course, broken several major stories about the NSA’s domestic activity. This was his response.
GLENN GREENWALD: So this should be a huge scandal for the following reason. The essence of the Constitution is that the government cannot obtain evidence or information about you unless it has probable cause to believe that you’ve engaged in a crime and then goes to a court and gets a warrant. And only then is that evidence usable in a prosecution against you. What this secret agency is doing, according to Reuters, it is circumventing that process by gathering all kinds of information without any court supervision, without any oversight at all, using surveillance technologies and other forms of domestic spying. And then, when it gets this information that it believes it can be used in a criminal prosecution, it knows that that information can’t be used in a criminal prosecution because it’s been acquired outside of the legal and constitutional process, so they cover up how they really got it, and they pretend—they make it seem as though they really got it through legal and normal means, by then going back and retracing the investigation, once they already have it, and re-acquiring it so that it looks to defense counsel and even to judges and prosecutors like it really was done in the constitutionally permissible way. So they’re prosecuting people and putting people in prison for using evidence that they’ve acquired illegally, which they’re then covering up and lying about and deceiving courts into believing was actually acquired constitutionally. It’s a full-frontal assault on the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments and on the integrity of the judicial process, because they’re deceiving everyone involved in criminal prosecutions about how this information has been obtained.
AMY GOODMAN: John Shiffman, if you could elaborate on that and also talk about the differences between what the DEA is doing and what Glenn Greenwald exposed around the NSA?
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Sure. These are two very—I think they’re different topics, for one main reason, which is that the NSA revelations by Mr. Greenwald and Mr. Snowden are related to terrorism—or at least that’s what we’re told by the government. And the DEA, what the DEA is doing is only—very rarely do they get involved in terrorism. I mean, they do some narcoterrorism, but inside the United States we’re talking about ordinary crime. We’re talking about drug dealing, organized crime, money laundering. We’re not talking about national security crimes.
The one thing I would say is that the defense analysts I’ve spoken with, meaning defense attorney analysts, they emphasize less the probable cause aspect of it than they find—they don’t find that as troubling. What they find really troubling is the pretrial discovery aspects of this and a prosecutor’s, you know, obligation to turn over any exculpatory evidence. What they really have a problem with is that this program systematically excludes or appears to systematically exclude all evidence obtained, you know, that’s hidden from view, so the defense doesn’t know to request it. They find that a lot more troubling than the probable cause aspects of it. The Supreme Court has given a pretty wide pro-police interpretation of when probable cause can be obtained, and there are a variety of exceptions. But it’s really the pretrial discovery part of it that seems to trouble a lot of the former judges and defense attorneys and prosecutors.
AMY GOODMAN: One of the two slides Reuters obtained that were used to train agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency instructs them in the use of parallel construction. According to the slide, this is, quote, “the use of normal investigative techniques to recreate the information provided by the [Special Operations Division],” such as subpoenaed domestic telephone calls. A second slide instructs agents that such evidence, quote, “cannot be revealed or discussed.” The slide is titled “Special Operations Division Rules.” Describe what you uncovered about those rules and this concept of parallel construction, which until now had not been publicly discussed in writing.
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Well, what really surprised me was talking to agents, current and former agents, who said, “Sure, we do that.” They—half of them said, “Yeah, you know, I could see how people might have a problem with that.” The other half said, “You know, look, this is a hard job that we do, and we’re going after criminals and drug dealers.” The people that got the most offended, I think, were the lawyers, the prosecutors and the—you know, and the judges and the former judges. One current prosecutor told me that he had a case where—in Florida, where a DEA agent came to him with a case and said that it began with an informant. So they were proceeding with the case, and the prosecutor asked the DEA agent more information. He said, you know, “I need to know more about your informant.” Turns out, ultimately, that he found out that there was no informant. It was an NSA wiretap. And what—overseas. And that really upset the prosecutor, because he said that it really offended his sense of fair play and honesty. And he said, “It’s just a bad way of starting an investigation, if you’re going to start with a lie.”
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to bring Ethan Nadelmann into this discussion, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. Ethan, why is—are the revelations by Reuters, John Shiffman’s investigation, so significant for your work?
ETHAN NADELMANN: Well, I think what it plays into, Amy, is that there’s been this remarkable lack of oversight of DEA by Congress, by other federal oversight agencies, for decades now. I mean, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the DEA, which Nixon created as a merger of police agencies, of drug enforcement agencies, back during the—one of the earlier drug wars. And what you see is an organization with a budget of over $2 billion. You see an organization getting involved in all sorts of shenanigans, hiring informants who land up to be tied up with murderers, you know, locking up some poor drug—you know, I don’t think even drug dealer, drug—low-level offender, and forgetting about him in a prison cell in this case of Daniel Chong, who was left in a prison cell for five days and forgotten. But beyond that, you have the agency serving as a propaganda agency, with no—with none of its statements being compared or held to any sort of scientific standards. You have an administrator who testifies before Congress and is almost a laughing stock when it comes to talking about drugs. So I think that this report by Reuters and by John Shiffman—I hope it’s a sort of wake-up call for people in Congress to say, “Now is the time, finally, after really 40 years, to say this agency really needs a close examination.”
AMY GOODMAN: Ethan, the Drug Enforcement Administration has agreed to pay $4.1 million in a settlement to a San Diego college student who nearly lost his life after being left handcuffed in his cell for more than four days without food or water. He ultimately drank his urine as he lay there, yelling out to agents right outside. His name was Daniel Chong. He was arrested for a 420 celebration of marijuana culture. He was never charged with any crime, and ultimately he was released.
ETHAN NADELMANN: You know, I think—I mean, that’s the case I was mentioning before. I mean, part of—you know, one can say, “Oh, this is just an accident, and accidents happen.” But, of course, accidents like that should never happen when you’re talking about a police agency, much less a federal police agency, being allowed to just sort of forget about somebody. And in the end, what happens? The taxpayers bail out the DEA for almost killing somebody for no cause whatsoever. So, you know, each year the DEA goes through its own little, you know, appropriations hearings in Congress. Each year it gets approved. And each year they just sort of get a ride. I think these things are piling up in a way that can no longer be sustained—should no longer be sustained.
AMY GOODMAN: So what has been, John Shiffman, the response to your investigation by the DEA, by the NSA, by the FBI and others?
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Well, they say it’s perfectly legal, what they do. And they say that—one DEA official told us that, you know, “This is a bedrock principle, parallel construction. We use it every day.” They’re pretty unabashed about it and said that—you know, that they’ve been doing this since the late '90s, and there's really nothing wrong with it. Yesterday the Justice Department said they are going to review it. But DEA has said, you know, there’s no problem with this.
AMY GOODMAN: How many people does this impact?
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Well, it would impact—I would think it would impact everyone, because, you know, it’s—we’re talking about a principle of law here. Not to get too legal, but, I mean, if you’re arrested, one of the fundamental rights that you have is to see the evidence against you. You know, when I was at the DEA and doing the interview, they cited the Ted Stevens case, which involved prosecutorial misconduct, which had—in which the senator’s charges were thrown out, because evidence was concealed. They said that after that there had been a review of all of the discovery procedures throughout the Justice Department, including at Special Operations Division. But they said that—and so I asked, I said, “Great, can I see a copy of the review?” And they said, “No.”
AMY GOODMAN: So, Ethan Nadelmann, it’s all legal.
ETHAN NADELMANN: Well, you know, that’s what happens when any agency gets to just do what it wants to do for years and years and years without anybody looking over its shoulder. You know, I mean, Amy, this agency has also done things in the areas of medical marijuana, scientific research, the scheduling process of drugs, whereby they will go through an entirely legal process, through their own administrative law process hearings. It will have an internal judge, an administrative law judge, come down with recommendations that are scientifically based, that are credible, and then they will have the politically appointed head of this agency overrule those recommendations for no purpose whatsoever.
Once again, Congress is not asking any questions. It’s their job to look at the—I mean, obviously, it’s the Obama administration’s job, as well, and Eric Holder’s job, as well, but it’s ultimately Congress, as well, that has to care about these things. And I’m hoping that it’s not just Democrats in the Senate, but also Republicans in the House, who will say, “This agency has gone too far.” Republicans have never been great friends of overextensions of federal police power, and I hope they can find some common cause with Democrats, saying, “Wait a second. Let’s call the DEA in here. Let’s look at what—you know, what John Shiffman has found with his investigative report. Let’s look at all these other patterns of abuse and misbehavior.”
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you both for being with us, John Shiffman, for your reporting at Reuters, and Ethan Nadelmann. Thanks so much for joining us. We’ll link to the story at democracynow.org.
JOHN SHIFFMAN: Thanks.
AMY GOODMAN: Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. When we come back, we’re going to Richmond, California, to speak with the mayor. Stay with us. |
The President of France Emmanuel Macron will attend a Mass Wednesday morning in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray (Normandy) in tribute to Father Jacques Hamel, assassinated a year ago by two Islamic State jihadists.
The anniversary Mass will be celebrated at 9:00am by the Archbishop of Rouen, Dominique Lebrun, in the church where the French priest was killed. French Interior Minister Gérard Collomb will also be present at this ceremony, as will Anouar Kbibech, the former president of the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM).
Around 9:45am on July 26, 2016, 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel was celebrating a morning Mass for a small congregation when two 19-year-old Islamic terrorists, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, burst into the church and assailed the priest. Just before having his throat slit, Father Hamel told one of his assailants, “Be gone, Satan!”, the last words he uttered before dying.
The two jihadists were killed by the security forces as they exited the church. Two days after the assassination, nearly 3,500 people paid tribute to Father Hamel in local ceremony.
Last September, Pope Francis called the slain French priest a Christian “martyr,” a qualification that automatically makes the person a saint in the Church’s eyes, while also condemning murder “in God’s name” to be the work of Satan.
The Pope said that the murdered French priest is in heaven, noting that “all martyrs are blessed (beati),” a technical term the Catholic Church uses for those who have been “beatified” or declared to be in heaven.
“You can put this photo in the church, because he is blessed now, and if someone tells you that you do not have the right, tell them that the Pope gave you permission,” Francis told Archbishop Dominique Lebrun. He was referring to a photo of the deceased priest, which the Pope had signed.
In an extended reflection on Christian martyrdom, the Pope said that there are “more Christian martyrs” today than in the early days of Christianity.
“Today there are Christians murdered, tortured, imprisoned, slaughtered because they do not deny Jesus Christ,” he said.
Francis said that Father Jacques Hamel “is part of this chain of martyrs.”
“Christians who suffer today because they will not deny Jesus Christ—whether in prison or by death or torture—they show how cruel this persecution is. And this cruelty that demands apostasy—we say the word—is Satanic.”
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome |
We have a lot of symbols for Christmas, and honestly I feel that neither jingle bells, snowflakes or Santa Claus are adequate representations of, you know, the birth of God’s Son. Angels, however, are.
Angels play a huge role in the birth of Jesus. Massive, in fact. This is yet another reason I believe that people without charismatic experience or theology won’t get what the Gospel is all about. You cannot have Christmas without angels.
First of all, the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she will give a virgin birth to the Messiah (Lk 1:26-38). Then, he visits Joseph to ensure him that Mary has not been cheating but that the Holy Spirit has conceived the child (Mt 1:21). As the Son is born in Bethlehem, angels tell some nearby shepherds that the Messiah has been born, and sings a angelic song about glory to God and peace among men (Lk 2:8-15). After the visitation of the wise men (who surprisingly weren’t led by angels but just by a supernatural star and prophetic dreams) an angel tells Joseph that he must take his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s madness (Mt 2:13). And after some time, Joseph gets to know that it’s clear for him to go back to Israel by – you guessed it – an angel (Mt 2:19f.).
Basically, angels are involved in almost every event in the Christmas story. What do people do with that? Well, since many lack the experience of angelic visitations even within the church, even Christians try to remove them. They’re viewed as mythological ornaments or exotic phenomena without any relation or application to our own lives. I’ve heard Christians who argue that Biblical angels are not supernatural creatures, but since “angelos” means messenger, they were simply random people that brought messages from God… with the ability to fly up to heaven, I guess (Lk 2:15).
This modern form of saduceism (Acts 23:8) is only possible among Christians who haven’t met angels. And so I want to use this Christmas season to share a testimony of some angelic visitations that have received much attention in Scandinavia. Two years ago, a Pentecostal church in Finland released a video where the pastor interviewed a woman called Marita Mäntyniemi. She had been driving in her car and suddenly she saw that several other cars had stopped in the middle of the road. She looked to the side and among the trees was a giant angel. It had a prophetic message on its wings about revival for Finland, and it was massive! People bent their knees in the snow and were astonished by the vision.
Some time after this, another angel appeared in the same area, this time to a girl that wasn’t even Christian, Jenica Alanen. It stopped her in the middle of the road, it was gigantic and had a big sword. Jenica of course was terrified! She thought that she would die. The angel said “Repent, tomorrow is too late”, and then disappeared. This overwhelming experience made Jenica to give her life to Jesus.
You see; eating lots of food, giving presents and decorating your home are strange, abnormal Christmas phenomena. Meeting angels are natural ones that we should expect. Sadly, angels are not as emphasized in many churches as they should be, with the result that mainly New Age-people speak of them. But these amazing beings should be recognized as the servants of God they really are by the church. There’s no Christmas without angels.
Micael Grenholm is editor-in-chief for PCPJ. This was originally posted on his blog Holy Spirit Activism.
Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice is a multicultural, gender inclusive, and ecumenical organization that promotes peace, justice, and reconciliation work among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians around the world. If you like what we do, please join our Facebook forum, and sign up for our newsletter! |
Are Brahmin The Reason For Fallout 3's Cancellation in India? By Pete Haas Random Article Blend Fallout 3 in India.
A press release from Microsoft India, obtained by "in light of cultural sensitivities in India, we have made the business decision to not bring Fallout 3 into the country." A release of the PS3 and PC versions of Fallout 3 was never planned for India but the cancellation of the 360 version now leaves the country completely Fallout-less.
I consider myself largely ignorant about Indian culture but: could the cancellation have been about cows? In the Fallout games, survivors of the apocalypse use "brahmin" - two-headed cows mutated by radiation - as pack animals. In Hindu religion, cows are revered and it wouldn't surprise me if the ability of players to shoot up herds of "brahmin" in Fallout 3 factored into the cancellation. The name of the radiated cows probably didn't help matters, either, as the term originates in India. "Brahman" is the name of a breed of cattle from India and the name of a prominent concept in Hindu religion ("the primal source and ultimate goal of all beings"). "Brahmin" is also the term for "the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism" according to
Obviously, this is just early morning speculation and there's plenty of other things in Fallout 3 to offend one's sensibilities: drug use, gore, violence, and, of course, a depiction of a nuclear apocalypse. Perhaps Microsoft India will elaborate further on the reasoning in the future. Anyway, to get back on track with Blend Games' America-centrism: Fallout 3 will be released in North America on October 28th. Being composed mainly of ugly Americans, Blend Games normally doesn't report on whether or not a game is canceled overseas but India has about three times as many people as the U.S. so this seemed worth noting: Microsoft India has announced that it has scuttled plans to releasein India.A press release from Microsoft India, obtained by GamingIndians , states thatA release of the PS3 and PC versions ofwas never planned for India but the cancellation of the 360 version now leaves the country completely-less.I consider myself largely ignorant about Indian culture but: could the cancellation have been about cows? In thegames, survivors of the apocalypse use "brahmin" - two-headed cows mutated by radiation - as pack animals. In Hindu religion, cows are revered and it wouldn't surprise me if the ability of players to shoot up herds of "brahmin" infactored into the cancellation. The name of the radiated cows probably didn't help matters, either, as the term originates in India. "Brahman" is the name of a breed of cattle from India and the name of a prominent concept in Hindu religion ("the primal source and ultimate goal of all beings"). "Brahmin" is also the term for "the class of educators, scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism" according to Wikipedia , which is making me sound a lot smarter than I am here. Could any or all of this hit some sort of nerve?Obviously, this is just early morning speculation and there's plenty of other things into offend one's sensibilities: drug use, gore, violence, and, of course, a depiction of a nuclear apocalypse. Perhaps Microsoft India will elaborate further on the reasoning in the future. Anyway, to get back on track with Blend Games' America-centrism:will be released in North America on October 28th. Blended From Around The Web Facebook
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Johanssen writes: "Suicide is the dark side of the student lending crisis and, despite all the media attention to the issue of student loans, it's been severely under-reported."
36 million Americans have outstanding student loans. (illustration: EagleCartoons.com)
Student Loan Debt Suicides
By C. Cryn Johanssen, Economic Hardship Reporting Project
ne evening in 2007, Jan Yoder of Normal, Illinois noticed that her son Jason seemed more despondent than usual. Yoder had been a graduate student in organic chemistry at Illinois State University but after incurring $100,000 in student loan debt, he struggled to find a job in his field. Later that night, Jason, 35, left the family’s mobile home. Concerned about her son’s mood, Jan Yoder decided in the early morning hours to go look for him on campus, where a professor she ran into joined her in the search. The two of them discovered his body in one of the labs on campus and called campus police at 8:30AM. 32 minutes later, Jason was declared dead due to nitrogen asphyxiation.
When the story was posted on several different sites in 2007 and 2008, the Internet chatter was not always kind to the dead man. While many expressed great sympathy for Yoder and ranted against the student lending system, others were quick to invoke the “personal responsibility” argument — “it was his fault;” “why did he take out that amount of loans?;” “Mr. Yoder took out those loans . . . he had an obligation to pay them back.” — and denigrate him.
His mother, of course, saw it differently. While she was preparing for Jason’s funeral, student debt collectors were still phoning her about the money her son owed. As reporter David Newbart wrote in a 2007 article for Chicago Sun Times, she was gruff when confronted by these calls. “You are part of the reason he took his own life,” she told them and then hung up the phone.
Suicide is the dark side of the student lending crisis and, despite all the media attention to the issue of student loans, it’s been severely under-reported. I can’t ignore it though, because I’m an advocate for people who are struggling to pay their student loans, and I’ve been receiving suicidal comments for over two years and occasionally hearing reports of actual suicides. More people are being forced into untenable financial circumstances as outstanding student loan debt has surpassed $1 trillion. And people simply aren’t able to pay all the money they owe. In the past few years, the rate of defaults for federal loans has increased at an alarming rate. According to the Department of Education, those recent graduates who began repayments in 2009, 8.8 percent had already defaulted on their federal loans. That compares to 7 percent in 2008. Currently, 36 million Americans have outstanding federal loans. I can’t help but wonder how many of those millions are feeling distressed or suicidal, or how many have attempted suicide because of all that debt hanging over their heads.
I first started appreciating the depth of the problem of suicidal debtors a few years ago, with a post on my blog, All Education Matters, entitled, “Suicide Among Student Debtors: Who’s Thought About It?” I was stunned by the responses. In comment after comment, people confessed to feeling suicidal. One person wrote, “I was very actively looking into suicide until I got on anti-depressants. Now I have to take happy pills every day to keep the suicidal urges at a minimum level. You are correct to ask the question. Many of the folks who are incredibly deep in law school debt will end up killing themselves. I think, in the next 1-3 years, we are going to see absolutely massive numbers of law school graduate suicides.” Said another: “Yes, I thought about suicide a lot over the past few years. I take anti-depressants and I had been smoking cigarettes for months but I did end up quitting. The big issue with that is I want to be an opera singer so [smoking] was my way of giving up. I’m trying to do what I can to get through this… and praying for an answer.”
Some of the people who write to me are quite specific about how they plan to kill themselves. One person said, “I think about jumping from the 27th floor window of my office every day.” For suicide prevention experts, this is a dangerous sign, as it means that the person has actually devised a plan to carry out the act. In recent months, the notes have increased, and if anything they are even more desperate. One individual admitted that he thought about killing himself all the time. Another even claimed — which was beyond disturbing — that prior to writing his comment, he had been sitting in his car, with the garage door shut.
There have been no epidemiological studies attempting to find a correlation between student loan indebtedness and suicide or suicide attempts, but experts would not be surprised if one exists. A statement published on the website by the American Association of Suicidology (APS) notes, “There is a clear and direct relationship between rates of unemployment and suicide. The peak rate of suicide in 1933 occurred one year after the total US unemployment rate reached 25% of the labor force. Similar findings have been documented internationally. At the individual level, unemployed individuals have between two and four times the suicide rate of those employed.” The document adds, “Economic strain and personal financial crises have been well documented as precipitating events in individual deaths by suicide.”
I spoke to Dr. Peter Kinderman, a clinical psychologist at the University of Liverpool, who has written about the disastrous mental health effects of recent austerity measures in Greece. When I told him about the suicidal notes that I’d been receiving from desperate debtors, he said this is to be expected. Kinderman had served on the Department of Health’s Ministerial Advisory Group in Great Britain, from 2010 to 2011, which issued a report predicting that the European economic crisis would have a significant impact on mental health. Suicides and suicide attempts have increased dramatically in several European countries. Not surprisingly, the problem seems particularly acute in Greece and Italy, two countries that have been hit hardest by austerity measures, and have seen a jump in suicides. In 2011, Andreas Loverdos, the Minister of Health in Greece, announced that suicides had likely increased by 40% in the first five months of that year when compared to 2010. The numbers are equally as grim in Italy. A taxpayer rights group in Rome called Federcontribuenti insists that suicides have become an increasing problem in the country. In April of 2012, the group asked prosecutors in Rome to investigate 18 suicides in Northern Italy. The president of the organization, Carmelo Finocchiaro, called for an investigation to see whether those who should be preventing this “social massacre” are doing their part.
Suicide, Kinderman insists, is not the result of “a brain malfunction.” He added, “There are psychological consequences when economies fall into decay.” Under circumstances of severe economic stress, he told me, “Feeling suicidal is understandable. It is not a disease, it’s a problem.”
It turns out I’m not the only one who receives suicidal notes from student loan debtors. There is a loosely connected group of bloggers who call themselves the scambloggers to underscore their perception that U.S. legal education system is a scam, churning out many more graduates than the economy can possibly employ. The “scamblogs” receive heavy traffic and each post elicits hundreds of responses from morose, depressed, and increasingly hopeless law grads.
The majority of law grads now wind up deeply in debt and jobless. As Brian Tamanaha, a law professor at Washington University Law in St. Louis, says, “My book vindicates the basic view of the scambloggers that attending law school is a highly risky proposition that turns out badly for many students, who end up with a huge debt and no law job” — or any job, for that matter, that generates enough income to manage the debt.” A surprising number of law grads post suicidal remarks publicly on scambloggers’ sites each month. One example: in August of 2011, a man who identified himself as Jordan posted his plan to light himself on fire outside of the Capitol:
I plan to douse myself and light myself aflame on the
Capitol steps, to draw attention to the dire situation of the millions of indentured educated citizens who, like me, have no options, plus a predatory banking system coming after us. There is no political solution to this problem . . . I will be setting myself on fire, and the student debt debacle will hopefully come to the forefront of public consciousness.
Fortunately, there have been no reports of self-immolation outside the Capitol building.
Like me, individual scambloggers must deal with private emails from suicidal people. Nando, a scamblogger popular for his sharp tongue and scatological contempt for law schools, tells me he has also received numerous suicidal notes. He talked about how hard it is to receive these notes, especially if you’re not a trained therapist or counselor. “I’ve talked to a couple of guys on the phone, and you try to deal with the positive, and I say, ‘You don’t want to do anything rash.” He recalls one particular conversation with a suicidal man, and sighed, “I mean, I am not a drinker, but one guy made me want to go out and drink a beer.” In some cases, Nando has suggested leaving the country in search of work.
It isn’t hard to find student debtors who feel like they’ve been crushed by the system. At 47, John Koch is still living with his elderly parents in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Although he has a law degree, Koch has earned a living as a house painter for many years. When I ask about his living arrangement, Koch explains that he has in own space, “I’m downstairs. They are upstairs.” He pauses, however, adding wearily, “But I mean, I am 47-years-old. I suppose in one sense, in your parents’ eyes, you’re always going to be a child.” John laughs, and continues after clearing his throat, “Of course, I can come and go and do whatever I please. But you’re still there, it’s um… it’s little things, you know… you have something, like, I have my hobbies and I leave some things in my apartment, and my mother comes down and says,” he imitates her in a high-pitched tone, “‘Oh, you can’t do that. You’re makin’ a mess.’”
John breathes heavily, “I mean, I am there for my parents. My father will be 80, and my mother is 73, and they are having health problems, and I am there if there is a trip to the ER. So that’s good for them.” There’s silence on the phone. John breathes in deeply and laughs again when I ask, “So, it’s good for them, but what about you?”
With a strong Long Island accent he exclaims, “It’s… you know… it’s your independence you’re talkin’ about! And from where I came from — ” His voice trails off and after a pause, he adds, “I was married, living in a home, with my wife, and living… I guess that’s the American dream — to have your own home, a family, children possibly.”
Koch originally borrowed $69,000 in 1997. The majority of that money was loans for law school, seemingly, he says, to “better myself.” After he graduated from Touro Law School, Koch struggled to find steady employment and eventually he defaulted on his loans. He was immediately slapped with $50,000 in penalties. For years, he had been filling out deferment forms every six months to buy himself more time but in 2009, Sallie Mae declared him in default. At the time of this writing, Koch owes over $320,000. That sounds staggering but it’s hardly unusual. Once a person defaults on a student loan, the balance grows exponentially, with interest compounding on interest, penalties and fees. By the time he “retires,” in 23 years, Koch figures he will owe close to $1.9 million. He can’t get even subprime credit, he tells me, and it’s not like there’s any way out of his trap: student loan debt cannot be absolved through bankruptcy.
Koch struggles with suicidal thoughts and admits to self-destructive behavior, such as heavy drinking and cigarettes. Eventually he channeled those feelings into a blog that draws more readers each month. In January of 2012, though, the Suffolk County police paid his parents an unpleasant visit to inquire about their son’s suicidal comments and posts
I spoke to Koch a day or two after the police showed up at his home. He was still rattled. “My parents discovered my blog, and so did my sister,” he said after the police visited his home. Koch surmises that the police were former Touro law students who were tipped off about the suicidal posts. The log that upset his sister the most, Koch told me, included a “series of 5 poems about 5 fanciful kids that go to law school and all end up killing themselves 5 years later.”
Koch launched a new site (Esqpainting) after the police visit but disbanded his online writing projects in early June. He decided that blogging is no longer a good outlet for him. Yet for Koch the agony continues. Parroting the voices of the people who have created this situation for millions of student loan debtors, Koch snarled, “‘You know, you have this debt, and we’re gonna make it bigger, and we’re never gonna let you out, and… and… the rest of society is going to cover it for you. And we’re never going to let them out either.’”
I spoke to Koch a few months ago while he walked his dog and smoked a cigarette. He described his life as pretty much over, and he echoed that sentiment a few weeks ago. “So much for achieving the American Dream.” These days, Koch watches as the interest piles up. He sighs when we hang up, and says, “I mean, why punish the debtor with greater debt?”
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. |
SEC announces Men's Basketball schedule
Photo: Todd Van Emst
Birmingham, Ala. - The Southeastern Conference unveiled its 126-game men's basketball schedule for the 2016-17 season.
Conference play tips off on Thursday, December 29, with five games and continues on either Tuesday, January 3, or Wednesday, January 4. The December 29 start date will be the first time a conference game has been played in the month of December since Vanderbilt hosted Mississippi State on December 19, 1991
Kentucky (1), Mississippi State (4), Texas A&M (18) and Auburn (19) each have recruiting classes that rank among the top 20 of ESPN's RecruitingNation Class Rankings for 2016. Seventeen of ESPN's 2015 Top 100 recruits signed with SEC schools, including nine of the top 50 players.
Each of the games can be seen from anywhere in the nation. SEC Network will televise 68 games, ESPN or ESPN2 will televise 32 contests, ESPNU 20 and CBS Sports six. The SEC's games on ESPN platforms are exclusively branded as the "SEC on ESPN."
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and SEC Network) will also be available through WatchESPN, which is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Each of the CBS Sports games will be available to stream live in more than 150 U.S. markets via the CBS All Access subscription service, with additional coverage on CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app.
The SEC Network will televise the first three days of the SEC Basketball Tournament (March 8-12) from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The semifinals and championship game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
2017 SEC Men's Basketball Conference Schedule Date Game Network Time (ET) Thurs., Dec. 29 Florida at Arkansas SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 29 Georgia at Auburn ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 29 Kentucky at Ole Miss ESPN2 8:00 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 29 Vanderbilt at LSU ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 29 Tennessee at Texas A&M SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 3 Arkansas at Tennessee SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 3 Ole Miss at Florida ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 3 Alabama at Mississippi State SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 3 Texas A&M at Kentucky ESPN 9:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 4 Auburn at Vanderbilt SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 4 South Carolina at Georgia ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 4 LSU at Missouri SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Missouri at Georgia SEC Network 1:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Texas A&M at South Carolina CBS 1:30/4:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Mississippi State at LSU SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Tennessee at Florida ESPN2 5:15 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Ole Miss at Auburn SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Vanderbilt at Alabama ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 7 Arkansas at Kentucky SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 10 Auburn at Missouri SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 10 Kentucky at Vanderbilt ESPN 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 10 Mississippi State at Arkansas SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 10 Florida at Alabama ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 11 South Carolina at Tennessee SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 11 Georgia at Ole Miss ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 11 LSU at Texas A&M SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Georgia at Florida ESPN/2 Noon Sat., Jan. 14 Texas A&M at Mississippi State CBS 1:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Alabama at LSU SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Auburn at Kentucky ESPN/2 4:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Missouri at Arkansas SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Ole Miss at South Carolina ESPNU 6:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 14 Tennessee at Vanderbilt SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 17 Arkansas at Texas A&M SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 17 Kentucky at Mississippi State ESPN 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 17 Tennessee at Ole Miss SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 17 Vanderbilt at Georgia ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 18 Florida at South Carolina SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 18 Missouri at Alabama ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 18 LSU at Auburn SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 21 Vanderbilt at Florida CBS Noon Sat., Jan. 21 Georgia at Texas A&M ESPN/2 Noon Sat., Jan. 21 Ole Miss at Missouri SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 21 Alabama at Auburn ESPN/2 4:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 21 South Carolina at Kentucky ESPN/2 4:00-8:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 21 Mississippi State at Tennessee SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 21 LSU at Arkansas SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 24 Auburn at South Carolina SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 24 Arkansas at Vanderbilt SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 24 Kentucky at Tennessee ESPN 9:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 25 Missouri at Mississippi State SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 25 Texas A&M at Ole Miss ESPN2 7:30 p.m. Wed., Jan. 25 Florida at LSU SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Wed., Jan. 25 Alabama at Georgia ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Texas A&M at West Virginia ESPN Noon Sat., Jan. 28 ^Florida at Oklahoma ESPN 2:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^LSU at Texas Tech ESPNU 2:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Kansas State at Tennessee ESPN2 2:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Arkansas at Oklahoma State ESPNU 4:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Texas at Georgia ESPN 4:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Iowa State at Vanderbilt ESPN2 4:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Auburn at TCU ESPNU 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Kansas at Kentucky ESPN 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 ^Baylor at Ole Miss ESPN2 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 Mississippi State at Alabama SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 South Carolina at Missouri SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Jan. 31 Mississippi State at Ole Miss SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 31 Tennessee at Auburn SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 31 Georgia at Kentucky ESPN 9:00 p.m. Tues., Jan. 31 Vanderbilt at Texas A&M ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Wed., Feb. 1 Alabama at Arkansas SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Wed., Feb. 1 South Carolina at LSU SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 2 Missouri at Florida ESPN/2 7:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Georgia at South Carolina ESPN/2 2:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Kentucky at Florida ESPN/2 2:00-8:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt ESPNU 3:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Tennessee at Mississippi State SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Arkansas at Missouri SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Auburn at Alabama SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 4 Texas A&M at LSU ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 Alabama at South Carolina SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 Florida at Georgia ESPN2 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 LSU at Kentucky 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 Vanderbilt at Arkansas SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 7 Mississippi State at Auburn ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Wed., Feb. 8 Ole Miss at Tennessee SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 8 Missouri at Texas A&M SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 Texas A&M at Florida ESPN/2 Noon Sat., Feb. 11 Kentucky at Alabama CBS 1:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 Vanderbilt at Missouri SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 Georgia at Tennessee ESPNU 4:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 Auburn at Ole Miss SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 South Carolina at Mississippi State ESPN2 8:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 Arkansas at LSU SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 14 Florida at Auburn SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 14 Tennessee at Kentucky ESPN 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 14 LSU at Ole Miss SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 14 Mississippi State at Georgia ESPNU 9:00 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15 Arkansas at South Carolina SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 15 Alabama at Missouri SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 16 Texas A&M at Vanderbilt 7:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Missouri at Tennessee SEC Network 1:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Florida at Mississippi State ESPN/2 2:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 LSU at Alabama SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Auburn at Texas A&M ESPNU 4:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Kentucky at Georgia ESPN/2 4:00-8:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 Ole Miss at Arkansas SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 18 South Carolina at Vanderbilt SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 21 Auburn at LSU SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 21 South Carolina at Florida ESPN 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 21 Kentucky at Missouri SEC Network 9:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 21 Ole Miss at Mississippi State ESPN2 9:00 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22 Vanderbilt at Tennessee SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22 Texas A&M at Arkansas SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 23 Georgia at Alabama ESPN/2 7:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Tennessee at South Carolina SEC Network 1:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Florida at Kentucky CBS 2:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Missouri at Ole Miss SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Mississippi State at Vanderbilt ESPNU 4:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 LSU at Georgia SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Arkansas at Auburn SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., Feb. 25 Alabama at Texas A&M ESPN/2 TBD Tues., Feb. 28 Texas A&M at Missouri SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 28 Mississippi State at South Carolina ESPNU 7:00 p.m. Tues., Feb. 28 Vanderbilt at Kentucky ESPN 9:00 p.m. Wed., March 1 Auburn at Georgia SEC Network 6:30 p.m. Wed., March 1 Tennessee at LSU SEC Network 7:00 p.m. Wed., March 1 Arkansas at Florida ESPN2 7:00 p.m. Wed., March 1 Ole Miss at Alabama SEC Network 8:30 p.m. Sat., March 4 Kentucky at Texas A&M CBS Noon Sat., March 4 Alabama at Tennessee SEC Network 1:00 p.m. Sat., March 4 Florida at Vanderbilt ESPN/2 2:00 p.m. Sat., March 4 Missouri at Auburn SEC Network 3:30 p.m. Sat., March 4 Georgia at Arkansas ESPN/2 4:00 p.m. Sat., March 4 LSU at Mississippi State SEC Network 6:00 p.m. Sat., March 4 South Carolina at Ole Miss SEC Network 8:30 p.m. March 8-12 SEC Tournament (Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.) TBD> TBD
^ SEC/Big 12 Challenge
All times Eastern and subject to change
Games listed with multiple networks (eg: ESPN/2) are considered net flex and the network will be determined 7-10 days out |
In 1832, Yale students — including future President William Howard Taft's father — founded one of America's most famous secret societies: Skull and Bones. Since then, the group has come to signify all that both mesmerizes and repulses the public about the elite. Each year, only 15 juniors are "tapped," or chosen, for lifetime membership in the club. A windowless building on 64 High St., the "Tomb," serves as the club's headquarters. The roof is a landing pad for a private helicopter, according to Alexandra Robbins' book, "Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power." For that perk and others, Bonesmen must swear total allegiance to the club. New members reportedly divulge intimate personal details, including their full sexual histories, before they're inducted. They also agree to give part of their estates to the club. But, in return, they receive the promise of lifelong financial stability — so they won't feel tempted to sell the club's secrets, Robbins writes. From among those business titans, poets, politicians, and three US presidents, we picked the honor roll. Christina Sterbenz contributed to an earlier version of this list. Slides View As: One Page
William Howard Taft — Class of 1878 As the only person to serve as both president and Supreme Court chief justice, Taft earned his spot on our list. The 27th president went by "Old Bill" during his Yale days but later earned the nickname "Big Lub." Taft also received the honorary title of "magog," meaning he had the most sexual experience while in the secret club, according to Alexandra Robbins. Young Taft probably found entrance into the club rather easily. His father, former Attorney General Alphonso Taft, cofounded Skull and Bones as a Yale student in 1832.
Walter Camp — Class of 1880 Known as the "father of American football," Camp, with other classmates, developed the game from the Brits' version of rugby. He played in the first rugby game at Yale against Harvard in 1876. Camp created many of modern football's rules, such as assessment of points and limiting the field-team to 11 men per side. But most importantly, he brought organization and esteem to the game, serving on the rules committee until his death. Camp also established the National College Athletic Association, still operating today. During World War I, most of the armed forces conditioned using his tactics.
Lyman Spitzer — Class of 1935 A noted astrophysicist, Spitzer dreamed up the idea behind the Hubble Space Telescope — the first method to observe space uninhibited by the Earth's atmosphere. He also lobbied NASA and Congress for the funds and oversaw production of the actual machine. After 44 years, NASA launched the Hubble into space. The Hubble remains there today, providing stunning images of the universe and making new discoveries. NASA named the Spitzer Space Telescope in his honor.
Potter Stewart — Class of 1937 The son of a Midwestern congressman, Stewart became the editor of The Yale Law Review during his time at Yale. As a Supreme Court justice, Potter sat firmly in the middle of an ideological war on the bench. Notably, he wrote a dissent in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965, invalidating a state law that banned contraceptives. The opinion found that law was a violation of the right to marital privacy. His opinions in various cases also helped solidify Fourth Amendment protections. Stewart also became famous for this quote about hardcore pornography: "I know it when I see it."
McGeorge Bundy — Class of 1940 Before becoming one of JFK's "Wise Men," Bundy may have relied on his big brother to help him get into Skull and Bones. William Bundy, who graduated a class earlier, went on to serve as State Department liaison official, notably during the Bay of Pigs invasion. "Odin," as fellow Bonesmen called him, however, left his own mark on the world, though potentially not all positive. One of the Kennedy's advisors, Bundy heavily impacted the evolution of the Vietnam War. After his death, fellow officials used his notes to express regret about many policies enacted during the era.
George Herbert Walker Bush — Class of 1948 Before Bush became the second Bonesman to occupy the Oval Office, he was also a pilot in WWII and served as ambassador to Communist China, director of the CIA, and of course, vice president to Ronald Reagan. As president during the end of the Cold War, Bush obviously supported space exploration. The American people have also criticized and exalted his involvement in the Gulf War, notably Operation Desert Storm. One of Bush's little-known contributions, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, was one of the most pro-civil rights laws in decades. But he also vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
William F. Buckley Jr. — Class of 1950 Known for his outspokenness and transatlantic accent, Buckley symbolized the most conservative brand of politics. At Yale, he acted as chairman of the Yale Daily News and was a member of the debate team. Buckley later founded the political magazine the National Review, still in production today. He also wrote many spy novels throughout his life.
John F. Kerry — Class of 1966 The current secretary of state and former senator from Massachusetts, Kerry spent a childhood abroad with his diplomat father before attending Yale and gaining membership into Skull and Bones. While at Yale, he served as the (liberal) president of the Yale Political Union, although his candidacy in the 2004 presidential race didn't end quite as well. Kerry's period as an on-campus Bonesman just missed — by two years — intersecting with the man he would come to challenge in that messy political head-to-head.
Frederick Wallace Smith — Class of 1966 Smith, an often forgotten Bonesman, founded FedEx, the first and largest express delivery company in the world. He serves as president, chairman, and CEO of the multibillion-dollar company. He earned his degree in economics, and many speculated he might land a role in John McCain's potential presidential cabinet or even be his VP pick. Defying ideological borders, Smith was close friends with both Bush and Kerry during his days at Yale. Smith also made a brief cameo in the movie "Cast Away." (If you'll recall, Wilson, the friendliest volleyball, arrived in a FedEx box.)
George W. Bush — Class of 1968 "W's" family name had become synonymous with Skull and Bones by the time he arrived on Yale's campus. There were rumors that Bush almost missed getting tapped by the group, but he ended up becoming the third Bonesman to become president. We don't know much about Bush's time in the club. "My senior year I joined Skull and Bones, a secret society, so secret I can't say anything more," he wrote in his 1999 autobiography, "A Charge to Keep." Bush, however, carries a certain disdain for Yale's brand of East Coast elitism, as The Atlantic pointed out.
Stephen A. Schwarzman — Class of 1969 The club tapped Schwarzman only a year behind George W. Bush. He came to prominence under the future president's administration when his hedge fund, The Blackstone Group, went public in 2007. The SEC filings for Blackstone's IPO revealed that Schwarzman had made an average of $1 million per day for the fiscal year ending December 2006. Forbes estimates his personal fortune at around $7.7 billion. In November 2015, Business Insider referred to him as "the richest man in private equity." In 2010, Schwarzman famously compared the Obama administration's plan to raise taxes to Hitler's invasion of Poland. He apologized after the media hullabaloo.
Dana Milbank — Class of 1990 Milbank begins the newest generation of Bonesmen on the list. He's a journalist who has covered both the Bush and Obama presidencies extensively, offending both at one time or another. Milbank writes a column for The Washington Post, and he wrote "Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Teabagging of America," among other books.
Austan Goolsbee — Class of 1991 Another newbie Bonesman by usual standards, Goolsbee, a 46-year-old economist, was the youngest member of Obama's cabinet. The Texas-born economist was presumably tapped in 1989 while studying economics and performing with the Yale improv troupe "Just Add Water." He made notable appearances on the "The Daily Show," and Jon Stewart described him as “Eliot Ness meets Milton Friedman" — a reference, respectively, to a federal agent who took down Al Capone and a famous economist who won the Nobel Prize. |
A study on how people use social networking websites such as Facebook confirms what many of us suspected. Women who post loads of photos of themselves on their sites are conveying some strong personal characteristics, according to new research. These women are more likely to base their self-worth on appearance and use social networking to compete for attention.
The study involved 311 men and women with an average age of 23. In order to better understand aspects of social networking behavior, the researchers looked at the amount of time subjects spent managing profiles, the number of photos they shared, the size of their online networks and how promiscuous they were in terms of “friending” behavior. The participants completed a questionnaire designed to measure self worth and were asked about their typical behaviors on Facebook.
There were differences between women and men. Overall, the results suggest that, compared with men, females identify more strongly with their image and appearance and use Facebook to compete for attention, said the lead author of the study, Michael A. Stefanone, an assistant professor of communications at the University of Buffalo.
The women who had the largest social networks and posted more photos of themselves were more highly vested in their appearance. |
At its meeting on 28 March 2017 the RLIF Board made substantive progress to broaden and strengthen International Rugby League.
RLIF Emerging Nations World Championship
In support of the RLIF strategic plan ‘Global Conversion’ the Board determined to support an Emerging Nations World Championship in 2018. Each team will be required to be entered by the RLIF Member Nation and will be required to meet the RLIF eligibility regulations. The RLIF determined that a measure of success for the event and RLIF’s investment of $100,000 will be the legacy provided by players returning to their home nation to expand and further develop the sport. In addition to the Emerging Nations World Championship expressions of interest had been received by RLIF from regions to compete in their own competition. Whilst being unable to financially support such a competition the RLIF Board endorsed up to four regions participating in a parallel competition.
RLIF Rugby League World Cup 2021 Qualification
In respect of the qualification process for the RLIF Rugby League World Cup 2021 it was agreed that this would be a 16 -team tournament. Seven teams will be qualified from Europe, 6 from Asia Pacific , 2 from the Americas and one from a play-off series hosted in Middle East/Africa . The Quarter-Finalists in the 2017 RLIF Rugby League World Cup will qualify as of right.
Should 6 teams not pre-qualify via the RLIF RLWC17 Quarter-Finals from Asia-Pacific then the 16th place will be awarded to Middle East/Africa.
Should 6 teams pre-qualify via the Quarter-Finals from Asia-Pacific in 2017 and Lebanon do not qualify via the Quarter- Finals in 2017 then the 16th place will be determined by a play-off hosted in Middle East/Africa between the Middle East/Africa Champions and the 7th placed nation in Asia-Pacific.
Should 6 teams pre-qualify via the Quarter- Finals from Asia Pacific and Lebanon qualify via the Quarter Finals in 2017 that a play-off be held hosted by Middle East/Africa between the highest placed team in Middle/East Africa excluding Lebanon, the 3rd placed team in the Americas and the 7th placed team in Asia-Pacific.
RLIF Chairman Nigel Wood commented;
“The Board were mindful that every nation should have an opportunity to participate in a qualification process for the RLIF Rugby League World Cup in 2021. This solution provides every nation with that opportunity whilst rewarding success for eight of our Members who reach the Quarter-Finals of the 2017 RLIF Rugby League World Cup.”
FIRL (Italy)
The RLIF Board received a report that FIRL (Italy) had now fully complied with all criteria regarding RLIF Full Membership and therefore the RLIF Board now recommends to the Members at the AGM that Italy become a Full Member of RLIF.
Nigel Wood commented;
“Italy has demonstrated through its development programmes as well as its success in qualifying for the 2017 World Cup that the nation fully merits becoming a Full Member of RLIF. The Board will make the required recommendation to the Members at our next AGM and we warmly congratulate the Officers of FIRL”
The International Calendar
Substantive progress was made with the International Calendar.
RLIF Chairman Nigel Wood commented:
“This meeting received the Tier One Nations proposed programme for the next four-year cycle together with the RLIF Global Events. The RLIF Chief Executive David Collier will now work with our Continental Federations and our International Competition Group chaired by Graeme Thompson to bring forward proposals to our 9 May Board meeting concerning complementary Continental competitions and matches to expand Tier Two and Tier Three Nation international fixtures.
Whilst the detail of the matches will not be finalised until the Autumn RLIF is delighted to have identified a full programme for the next four-year cycle to enable the completion of the International Calendar.”
The Board agreed that in 2019 the November tours by England to Australia and New Zealand should be complemented by an RLIF Nines World Cup. Expressions of interest to host the RLIF Nines World Cup have been received and a full report will be made to the 9 May Board meeting. Following an evaluation of the 2019 RLIF Nines World Cup the Board will review whether the 2023 RLIF Global Event should be a Nines World Cup or a 13 a side event.
RLIF Board meeting summary
Nigel Wood summarised the meeting:
“This has been an historic meeting for RLIF. Detailed discussions concerning the International Calendar have been progressing for more than a year. Today we have progressed those discussions, made substantive progress with the Calendar and supported all levels of our Membership. Further detail will be discussed at our May Board meeting in Sydney when we look forward to detailing the breadth of international rugby league being played throughout our 68 member nations”.
Ends
Contact detail [email protected] |
The self-identified source that exposed top-secret government data collection programs has revealed himself, NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
A 29-year-old former CIA technical assistant revealed in the British newspaper The Guardian on Sunday that he is the source who leaked information about vast National Security Agency surveillance programs collecting data about American citizens and foreigners.
Edward Snowden, who works for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, told The Guardian that he knows there will punishment for exposing the classified information, but said he could not in good conscience “allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building.”
Following the report, the office of James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said it was “currently reviewing the damage that has been done by these recent disclosures” and referred any further comment to the Justice Department.
A Justice Department statement went no further than acknowledging it is in the initial stages of an investigation.
Booz Allen Hamilton confirmed that Snowden worked there less than three months. The firm called the news reports "shocking" and said it would work closely with authorities during the investigation.
The Guardian reported last week that the Obama administration had been collecting Verizon customers’ phone records in the U.S. Shortly after, The Washington Post reported on a massive NSA program called PRISM, a surveillance program that gathered vast amounts of information about foreigners abroad from the world’s largest web services.
The disclosures led President Barack Obama to declare: “Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.” Late last week, the president defended the programs and said Americans must understand that there are “some tradeoffs” between privacy concerns and keeping Americans safe.
The Post also identified Snowden as the source of its information on Sunday.
Snowden told The Guardian, "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."
The self-identified source of documents and information pertaining to government data collection program said he has been hiding in a hotel room in Hong Kong since divulging the government secrets. For the past three weeks he has only left his room three times and fears he is being spied on, he told the newspaper.
Rep. Peter King, chair of the House Homeland Security subcommittee and a member of the Intelligence Committee, made the first public declaration to prosecute Snowden hours after he revealed himself.
"If Edward Snowden did in fact leak the NSA data as he claims, the United States government must prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law and begin extradition proceedings at the earliest date,” the New York Republican said in a statement. “The United States must make it clear that no country should be granting this individual asylum. This is a matter of extraordinary consequence to American intelligence."
Snowden grew up in Elizabeth City, N.C., later moving with his family to Maryland, according to The Guardian. Though he struggled in school, Snowden had a knack for computing, which would ultimately open the door for his access to highly sensitive information, the newspaper reported.
Snowden earned a GED but never graduated from college. In 2003, he enlisted in the U.S. Army with the hopes of joining the Special Forces, but broke both legs in a training accident and was discharged. He told the paper that he joined the armed forces in hopes of helping the Iraqi people escape from oppression, but was jarred that his commanders “seemed pumped up about killing Arabs.”
After his injury, Snowden got a job as a security guard at a covert NSA facility at the University of Maryland, The Guardian reported. That led to a job working on IT security for the CIA.
It was in 2007, when the CIA stationed Snowden in Geneva, Switzerland that he began to question the techniques used by the U.S. government to gather intelligence.
"Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world," he told the newspaper.
Snowden left the CIA in 2009, but got a job working for a private contractor that stationed him on a military base in Japan to work at an NSA facility. He said that his exposure and access to the sweeping information collection efforts by the government, along with his belief that Obama continued the invasive programs that he campaigned to end, hardened him to the national security efforts that was working to advance.
That’s why, Snowden says, three weeks ago he discreetly packed up some of his belongings and left the home in Hawaii where he was living with his girlfriend to get on a plane headed for China. Once there, he gave the information had collected to journalists he trusted, according to his interview with The Guardian. Snowden said he “carefully evaluated every single document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest."
Snowden said he has been pleased so far with the fallout from making the information public, and has no regrets.
"You can't wait around for someone else to act," he said. "I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act."
This story was originally published on |
The federal government is spending an estimated $200 million per day on recovery efforts following a trio of hurricanes and a severe wildfire season, a top official said Tuesday.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long told senators that the agency still has “numbers coming in” about the costs associated with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as the wildfires in western states.
Asked whether the Trump administration would request more emergency funding for the disasters, Long implied that was likely.
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“I don’t think we have a good handle on the total cost of this, but you can rest assured my guys will be in touch with your staff members to make sure we don’t fumble the ball when it comes to disaster recovery, and we’ll do our best to take care of taxpayer dollars,” Long said at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting Tuesday.
Lawmakers and the White House have approved two major disaster relief bills this fall to help Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico and other states and territories recover from a record-breaking hurricane season, and to fund wildfire cleanup efforts in California and other western states.
The two bills provide $51.5 billion for disaster agencies. An earlier spending deal included $1.1 billion in disaster funding, as well.
Long said recovery efforts in Texas and Florida focus on clearing debris and improving the housing situation. California faces similar issues, as well as hazardous material removal and watershed management concerns.
Puerto Rico still faces a significant recovery effort after Maria, with electricity still out for most of the territory.
“Everybody’s in different stages, but the long-term recovery is going to be long,” FEMA's Long said. |
For a decade, photographer and teacher Dan Boulton has watched the pendulum of interest in skate culture swing. His visual observations over this time are now set to be published in his photo book No Turning Back, which features a touching foreword by Kids actor and fellow skater Leo Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick landed in London at 18 (where his breakout film hadn't yet been released), alone but aware that if he made it to Slam City Skates then he would find a group of like-minded, and welcoming, people – and he did. With skateboarding playing an imperative role in both Fitzpatrick and Boulton’s lives, long into adulthood, at the first mention of the redevelopment of Southbank , Boulton returned to his old stomping ground and found that the bravado and close relationships formed there were still the same. Skating opened up a new world to him as an angry, creative and shy young kid, and this, in a way, is his way of paying thanks.
For decades, skateboarding has enjoyed its spot on the peripheral of society. Revelling – or not really giving a shit – about being the ultimate outsider culture. At the heart of London’s skate scene is Southbank, which sits on the Thames nestled under an undercroft. Since the 70s it’s provided a haven for skaters, who live or have landed in London looking for a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that goes hand-in-hand with the culture.
Tell us about what drew you to document Southbank?
Dan Boulton: I was reminded of my own troubled youth as a skateboarder, and at first I just liked hanging out there. Then the first mention of redevelopment was announced and I kept coming back as I found the gang of lads who were always there really intriguing. You know, observing that the bravado and comradeship which hadn't changed within skateboarding since when I was that age. Also, I'm a huge fan of Jim Goldberg's work and of course Larry Clark. I saw parallels between this group of boys who had made the undercroft into their own underground sanctuary and Goldberg's San Francisco street kids and Clark's Washington Square kids.
How have you seen Southbank develop over a decade – obviously a lot of characters have grown up there, changed, and left?
Dan Boulton: The biggest and most obvious things would be Palace, and also the mobilisation of the skaters into forming Long Live Southbank. Both of things were amazing to watch unfold and also highlight the energy that came out of this period in which I happened to be documenting. All this stuff was organised between the tricks. Also people like Alex, who is on the cover and one of the central characters to my book, he's doing well now with photography. There are lots of success stories where these boys made it happen for themselves. I honestly don't think they'll be another period like it in terms of what’s come out of Southbank over the last ten years, but I hope I'm wrong.
Why did you call the book No Turning Back?
Dan Boulton: Many reasons. First, it was a moniker of a 'crew' of lads in Enfield I grew up with (like PWBC is to the Palace crew), N.T.B was mostly made up of skaters and graffiti artists in the mid-to-late 80s and the name just seemed to fit with the theme of the book. For me, Southbank has been saved for the time being for future generations but it's very different now to when I was photographing down there, especially in the day time. But then as skateboarders, we move forward all the time and on to new things.
“I honestly don't think they’ll be another period like it in terms of what’s come out of Southbank over the last ten years, but I hope I’m wrong” – Dan Boulton
People always talk about how skateboarding ‘saved’ them, or gave them a way of life or hope. Did this happen to you?
Dan Boulton: Absolutely, for me picking up a skateboard when it absolutely wasn't a cool thing to do, when everyone else was getting BMX bikes, was like The Clash picking up guitars. As a family, we didn't have lots of money but my mum was terminally ill and I think she saw what skateboarding meant to me and maybe even foresaw that it would give me a tight group of friends and therefore I'd be ok. So my parents would always find the money to get me bits I needed. As an angry, creative and shy young kid, skateboarding opened me up to so much and it still does to this day.
When did you first meet Leo Fitzpatrick, who wrote the foreword to the book?
Dan Boulton: Weird thing is, I didn't meet Leo until much later, at Larry Clark’s show. He was only in London for a short period after Kids. But he's a skateboarder, pretty close in age and we came to skateboarding from similar backgrounds, despite being from different sides of the Atlantic. So we have a lot in common and, like he writes in his essay in the book, there's a KARMA that is at the heart of skateboarding.
Do you think skating still offers a strong community for teenagers?
Dan Boulton: Skateboarding has become increasingly cool and a cultural commodity. This statement isn't new to anyone. But for me, the ten-year period of documenting the boys at Southbank for No Turning Back captures by chance, possibly the last uniquely British rebellious phase of skateboarding as an adopted subculture – before its dress code and culture became as homogenised as the gentrification of its Thames-side location. By that, I mean that there were dominant US brands and shoe companies that skaters were identifying with, but if you look at my photographs of the boys at Southbank at this time, there was still a kind of Britishness and punk underground feel to how they were dressed and identified with each other. That outsider element. Now everyone pretty much looks the same, wearing the same uniform of brands and it’s not just what skaters are wearing, it’s now completely mainstream.
When I'm teaching photography I get these lads turn up in Palace or Supreme wearing Vans or Nike SB and I get excited that they are skaters and then when I speak with them they're not and they don't have any idea about skateboarding. There's nothing wrong with that I guess, but I just miss the times when you could identify another skater through little clues in how they dressed.
When I began skateboarding I looked up to the guys at M-zone off Carnaby Street, guys who could only possibly be skateboarders wearing the clothes we did then. |
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This story was originally published by High Country News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
President Donald Trump has spent the past year steadily undoing Obama-era environmental protections, especially rules designed to fight climate change. By law, agencies must go through a lengthy process to rescind or rewrite many rules, but executive orders and other policies are easier to erase. Some of the rollbacks have major implications for the West and public lands.
Here we take a look at some of the most important rollbacks of the past year.
MONUMENTS
Trump slashed two national monuments in southern Utah and is considering changes to other monuments in the West. Under Trump’s boundaries, Bears Ears becomes two separate management units: Indian Creek and Shash Jáa. The two together are just 15 percent of the footprint protected by President Barack Obama in 2016. The new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is about half its original size. Countless archaeological, paleontological, cultural and scenic treasures are left out of Trump’s new boundaries. Bears Ears and Escalante supporters are suing to block this unprecedented action.
ARCTIC REFUGE
At the Trump administration’s urging, Congress in December opened parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. This was an enormous loss for the Gwich’in, a Native Alaskan people, and environmental groups, which had successfully protected the refuge from drilling for decades. Drilling in the refuge is part of a broader policy of the administration to increase oil production in Alaska and in Western public lands in general. In December, the administration offered the largest lease sale ever in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. But companies bid on a tiny fraction of land available — only seven of the 900 tracts offered.
CLEAN WATER RULE
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to rescind the 2015 Clean Water Rule. This rule—particularly important in the arid West—mandates, for example, protecting tributaries that connect to navigable waterways and adjoining wetlands, even if they flow only part of the year. If it’s revoked, those tributaries could be filled in, ditched or diverted for construction or farming without federal review.
In October, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether federal district courts or appeals courts should hear several pending cases challenging the rule. It’s unclear when it will issue a decision. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt plans to write a new rule describing which waters and wetlands warrant federal protection and which should be left to state discretion. In the meantime, the Trump administration is trying to delay the date the Obama rule goes into effect until 2020 in case the courts uphold it. |
Added Apr 05, 2016
Based out of Los Angeles, post-hardcore quintet Letlive formed in 2002. With a frantic, driving sound, the band fuses some of the technical fury of At the Drive-In with a more direct, passionate delivery. The band made its debut in 2004 with Exhaustion, Saltwater, and Everything in Between, released on At One Records. They followed up quickly the next year, releasing Speak Like You Talk, all the while slowly building up their credentials. During these years, the band had a bit of a rotating lineup of members, which finally firmed up in 2009 with a roster consisting of singer Jason Aalon Butler (the group's only founding member), guitarists Jean Nascimento and Jeff Sahyoun, drummer Anthony Rivera, and bassist Ryan Jay Johnson. That year, Letlive signed on with Tragic Hero, which released their third album, Fake History, in 2010. Shortly afterwards, the group made the jump to punk giant Epitaph, which reissued Fake History in 2011 with a handful of bonus tracks. This album was seen as something of a breakthrough for the band in certain circles, and their audience grew, based in large part to their increasingly explosive live shows. They followed up in 2013 with fourth album The Blackest Beautiful.
Their new album "If I'm the Devil" will be released on June 10th through Epitaph Records. |
Yesterday, Microsoft called Google a liar. Today before the U.S. Senate, a government agent agreed.
The dispute hinges over a security certification called FISMA, which is required for some government contracts. Google has maintained that Google Apps for Government was FISMA-certified. Microsoft uncovered a court filing where the U.S. Department of Justice said it's not.
Google explained that the DoJ was looking at a small technicality. Google Apps Premier was certified by the General Services Administration (GSA). At that time, Google Apps for Government didn't exist yet.
But Apps for Government is a subset of Apps Premier, and is MORE secure. So Google said it "believes" that the certification covered Apps for Government as well.
That's not what the GSA thinks.
Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) conducted a hearing into the matter. He quizzed David McClure from the GSA about the contract. Here's the testimony (emphasis added):
CARPER: According to press reports the Department of Justice notified Google in December of 2010 that its Apps for Government was not in fact FISMA compliant. To help provide some greater clarity on this issue, I'd like to ask both of you if you would to comment on these recent reports and discuss how OMB and GSA are addressing the concerns that are raised by them. MCCLURE (GSA): Sure, I'd be glad to bring some clarity to it. In July 2010, GSA did a FISMA security accreditation for "Google Apps Premier." That's what the Google product was called, and it passed our FISMA accreditation process. We actually did that so other agencies could use the Google product. If we do one accreditation, it's leveraged across many agencies. Since that time, Google has introduced what they're calling "Google Apps for Government." It's a subset of Google Apps Premier, and as soon as we found out about that, as with all the other agencies, we have what you would normally do when a product changes, you have to re-certify it. So that's what we're doing right now, we're actually going through a re-certification based on those changes that Google has announced with the "Apps for Government" product offering.
In other words, the agency that certified Apps Premier does NOT think that it covers Apps for Government. Neither does the DoJ.
Only Google seems to think so.
Later Senator Carper said, "Given the potentially serious nature of this, I¹ve asked my staff to follow up with your offices today on this issue so that we can get to the bottom of it." (Carper also quizzed the Office of Management and Budget, which said it wasn't involved in procurement.)
Carper also sent out a tweet saying he was going to figure out what's going on.
In a sense, the FISMA issue is a distraction from the main legal case here -- Google is accusing the Department of Interior of choosing Microsoft's products without giving Google Apps fair consideration. But all along, Google had said that it was FISMA certified. Now, it turns out that it wasn't. |
We're hiring quite a lot of new people at GDS, and that's brilliant because there are so many new brains and new skills and new faces to get to know.
It's also difficult. It's difficult for those newcomers to know what to expect, and what's expected of them.
Of course they get told all the official stuff - how they get paid, how to use the printer, who their line manager is.
But it’s harder to communicate the unofficial stuff. The stuff that's good to know, but that it’s no-one's job to tell you. The stuff you'll probably find out during your first few months, but most likely by accident, because someone casually mentions something in passing and you say "Wait, what? Is that a thing?"
Stuff that’s good to know on day 1
The team I work with has been hiring too. We welcomed one newcomer two weeks ago, and two more just this week.
And it occurred to me: maybe it would be helpful to spell out this unofficial stuff up front, on day 1. Maybe we just need to say what’s ok. To be explicit about the things that those of us who have been here a few years take for granted.
So our team wrote a list of things it's ok to do at GDS.
It's ok to:
say "I don't know"
ask for more clarity
stay at home when you feel ill
say you don't understand
ask what acronyms stand for
ask why, and why not
forget things
introduce yourself
depend on the team
ask for help
not know everything
have quiet days
have loud days, to talk, joke and laugh
put your headphones on
say "No" when you're too busy
make mistakes
sing
sigh
not check your email out of hours
not check your email constantly during hours
just Slack it
walk over and ask someone face-to-face
go somewhere else to concentrate
offer feedback on other people's work
challenge things you're not comfortable with
say yes when anyone does a coffee run
prefer tea
snack
have a messy desk
have a tidy desk
work how you like to work
ask the management to fix it
have off-days
have days off
Having written the list and shared it with a few other people, we turned it into a poster and stuck a few copies on the walls. We took pictures and posted them on Twitter and Instagram. It seemed to go down quite well.
Growing a team is hard
I'm no expert, but I think that maintaining a good organisational culture is hard work, especially when your organisation is growing. None of your newly arrived colleagues can be expected to know all that cultural knowledge, and few of the old hands have time to sit down with them and explain it all.
So too often, newcomers are left to stumble on it by themselves. Eventually, they figure out the unwritten rules on their own, but that might take months, even years.
This poster isn't exhaustive. It doesn’t say everything that needs to be said. It's not an induction either, but perhaps it might become part of one. (We're working on a new induction process, something we've needed to do for ages. More on that another time.)
But: it's a start, and we hope it gives newcomers at GDS a hint about how we work, and how they'll be working too. Some of those old hands I mentioned have said they found it useful too.
It's ok to print your own copy
Quite a lot of people asked if they could get a copy to put up in their office too. Great idea. If you'd like one, you can download a print-your-own version.
Did I mention that we’re hiring? Oh yes, I did. Righto then.
Follow Giles on Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for email alerts. |
This is a Worldbuilders blog.
Well folks, we’re at the final day of the fundraiser. As I write this, we’re about 24 hours away from the finish line.
The last couple days have been amazing. A lot of folks have chipped in with last-minute donations. Others have come back to donate a second or third time. A lot of people have been spreading the word, blogging, twittering, and shouting out of windows at unsuspecting persons on the street.
The end result is that we’ve raised far more than I’d ever hoped this year, far beyond the 250,000 dollars I expected to be our high water mark.
I just have a few things to mention before everything’s done.
First: In the last blog I accidentally said that the ARC of Redshirts that John Scalzi donated was going into an auction. That was a typing mistake brought about by lack of sleep. Redshirts is going into the general lottery so that anyone who donates at least 10 bucks has a chance of winning it.
Second: Since I did the post that talked about the odds of winning something from the prize lottery, we’ve had a lot of donations.
So, in the interest of keeping this a prize-rich environment, I’m going to donate another 100 books to the fundraiser. I tend to be a book hoarder, and I have duplicates and triplicates of some books that I’m very fond of. I have extra signed copies that I keep tucked away for a rainy day, too. And some limited edition stuff.
The upshot is that even though you don’t see any pictures of it here, there’s now officially more cool stuff to win. Because I love you.
Third: For the last couple months, I’ve been getting e-mails from people telling me stories about their donations.
I’ve heard from parents who have talked to their kids about Heifer International, then later had their kids write to Santa asking for a goat that they could give to someone who needs it. There have been families that exchanged animals instead of presents this year. Book clubs and church groups have done fundraisers of their own, pooling their resources then donating to Heifer through Worldbuilders.
There isn’t space to share all their e-mails with you, but I thought I might share one….
Hi Pat!
I love, love, love Worldbuilders, but as a broke law student I can’t afford to donate much…So this year, my fiance and I had a fun idea. We agree with your take on Valentine’s Day, so this year as our “Valentine’s Day present” to each other, we donated in our name to Worldbuilders.
We thought setting aside money for goats was way more important than setting aside money for unnecessary trinkets, and what better way is there to celebrate loving each other and wanting to spend our lives together than by making the world we want to live in even better, and honoring an author whose work we adore?
We put it on facebook too, here’s hoping more people might follow the lead!
W–
I like your style, W. Thanks for thinking outside the box and helping to spread the word….
Fourth: There’s only one auction left: the Golden Ticket. Bidding has already topped 4,000 dollars, and I’ll admit to feeling equal parts curiosity and anxiety when I wonder what the winner will ask of me….
Fifthly and Lastly: Ever since I posted up the 150K blog, people have been e-mailing me, asking me to share the video that I made of me reading Beatrice’s Goat to little Oot.
I still feel self-conscious about the fact that my voice gets higher when I read to him. And because we had to cut together a couple of different readings of the book, my voice back and forth between my reading-to-Oot voice and my regular voice, which makes it seem like I’m flirting with puberty….
But people asked for it, so here it is. Not posting because I’m a little vain is just silly.
Plus I figure Oot’s natural cuteness will eclipse any shortcomings on my part….
So there you go, folks. If you didn’t get it before, now you do. That’s what Heifer International does in a nutshell.
If you’d like to make a donation, the Worldbuilders Team page is over here.
If you’d like to read more details about the fundraiser or browse through the thousand odd books donated by authors and publishers, you can head over to the main Worldbuilders page.
Thanks for being awesome,
pat |
Some background first: Scaramucci deleted a tweet in which he threatened to call on the FBI and the Justice Department to investigate the leak of his financial disclosure information. He tagged White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in the tweet, leading many to assume that Priebus was the target of his threat.
Ryan Lizza of The New Yorker then tweeted that he could confirm Scaramucci wanted the FBI to investigate Priebus for leaking.
The financial disclosure forms that Scaramucci claims were illegally leaked are in fact publicly available upon request, according to Politico.
CNN contacted Scaramucci to get to the bottom of this, and he "took the opportunity and called in" to New Day on Thursday — resulting in a particularly unusual conversation with a high-ranking White House official.
Scaramucci said he had spoken to Trump on the phone, and that the president "has given me his full support and full blessing," and told him that if CNN anchor Chris Cuomo was "nice to me in this segment, he'll let me come back on the show."
Scaramucci then appeared to read out a statement blasting leakers inside the White House, saying, "I don't like what they're doing to my friend."
He also talked about tagging Priebus in his now-deleted tweet about leaking, saying, "If Reince wants to explain that he's not a leaker, let him do that."
Scaramucci said that after interviewing most assistants to the president, members of the communications team, and White House staffers, he and the president had "a very, very good idea who the leakers are, who the senior leakers are in the White House."
He said that he and the president, along with members of his team and law enforcement, were working together to "undercut and undercover — or out, if you will — the leakers in the entire country."
"As the president would say in his own words, the White House leakers are small potatoes," Scaramucci said.
He said leaks about Syria, North Korea, or Iraq were the types of leak that were "so treasonous that 150 years ago, people would have actually been hung for those types of leaks."
He called the leaks coming from the White House "absolutely, completely, and totally reprehensible."
"And as you know from the Italian expression, the fish stinks from the head down," Scaramucci told Cuomo. "But I can tell you two fish that don't stink, and that's me and the president. I don't like the activity that's going on in the White House. I don't like what they're doing to my friend. I don't like what they're doing to the president of the United States ,or their fellow colleagues in the West Wing." |
Labour leader Andrew Little has been served with defamation papers.
Scenic Hotel Group founders Earl and Lani Hagaman say they have filed papers in the High Court after Little failed to retract and apologise for comments made about Mr Hagaman.
"The proceedings have now been served on Mr Little," the couple said in a statement.
"As we said earlier, the reasons we're taking defamation action have been widely reported in the media and I won't be repeating his allegations that Earl and I find hurtful, highly offensive and totally false. We will now clear our names in Court", Lani Hagaman said.
"As the matter is now before the High Court, no further comment will be made and the case will now proceed to a hearing."
A spokesman for Little confirmed he had received the papers via his solicitor and as the matter was now before the courts he would not be making further comment. |
Geek entertainment site Nerdist unveiled that Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos will be the showrunners who will be helming Netflix's Voltron series. . Montgomery was a producer on Legend of Korra, a storyboard artist on Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as a director for DC Animated movies, like Green Lantern: First Flight. Likewise, Dos Santos served as an executive producer on Legend of Korra, as well as a director for Avatar: The Last Airbender, and various DC animated projects, such as Justice League: Unlimited.
Nerdist's Jessica Chobot will be moderating the official Voltron: Legendary Defender panel on Friday, March 25th, in Room 151, from 6:00 – 7:00pm. Joining her will be executive producer Joaquim Dos Santos, co-executive producer Lauren Montgomery, writer Tim Hedrick (The Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender), and special guests.
2016 kicked off with news that Dreamworks and Netflix were combining to form the mecha guardian of the universe inspired by World Events Productions and Toei's localization of Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. A new teaser visual has revealed this project will be called "Voltron: Legendary Defender."
via Nerdist
------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime. |
The Army on Thursday released the results of 42 courts-martial that concluded in August. Names of soldiers who were acquitted of all charges were not provided.
The verdicts, organized by judicial circuit:
First Judicial Circuit (Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States)
Fort Drum, New York, Aug. 9
Name: Pvt. Kelvin Moreno
Conviction: By a military judge, contrary to his pleas, of one specification of attempted sexual assault.
Acquittal: One specification of sexual assault and two specifications of abusive sexual contact.
Sentence: Confined for 24 months, dishonorable discharge.
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Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Aug. 10
Name: Spc. Travis S. Weber
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of possession of child pornography.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E- 1, confined for 30 months, dishonorable discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pre-trial agreement limited confinement to 20 months.
Fort Campbell, Aug. 25
Name: Staff Sgt. Domingo Hernandez
Conviction: By a military panel composed of officers and enlisted members, contrary to his plea, of one specification of assault.
Acquittal: A separate specification of assault.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-3, confined for 30 days.
Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., Aug. 25
Name: Staff Sgt. Locia M. Arnette
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of attempted larceny, one specification of false official statement and two specifications of larceny.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-5.
Fort McNair, Aug. 26
Name: Sgt. Perry J. Byrd
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of failure to obey a general regulation, one specification of wrongful discharge of a firearm and one specification of wrongful communication.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for 165 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Knox, Kentucky, Aug. 29
Name: Staff Sgt. Raymond T. Reding
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of attempted sexual abuse of a child and one specification of misuse of government property.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for four months, bad-conduct discharge.
Second Judicial Circuit (Southeast)
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Aug. 1
Name: Sgt. Daren L. Humphrey
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of violating a lawful general order, one specification of sexual assault of a child and one specification of sexual abuse of a child.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for two years, dishonorable discharge.
Fort Stewart, Georgia, Aug. 2
Name: Not provided (private first class)
Acquittal: By a military judge of one specification of sexual assault.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 4
Name: Staff Sgt. Lawrence P. Muscat
Conviction: By a military judge, contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of abusive sexual contact with a child, one specification of communicating indecent language to a child, three specifications of sodomy, three specifications of assault consummated by a battery upon a child under 16 years and one specification of communicating a threat.
Acquittal: One specification of communicating indecent language to a child, one specification of sexual abuse of a child, one specification of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and one specification of assault consummated by a battery upon a child under 16 years.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for 20 years, dishonorable discharge.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 5
Name: Spc. Jermel L. Cleveland
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of sexual assault.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for 19 months, dishonorable discharge. As a part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to 18 months.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 8
Name: Pfc. David V. Ortiz
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of desertion terminated by apprehension.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for eight months, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to seven months.
Fort Benning, Georgia, Aug. 9
Name: Not provided (specialist)
Acquittal: By a military judge of one specification of wrongful use of marijuana.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 9
Name: Pfc. Miguel A. Flores
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of absence without leave and one specification of desertion.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for three months, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Stewart, Aug. 11
Name: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph M. Grizich III
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of failure to obey a lawful order.
Sentence: Reprimand, forfeit $1,400 pay per month for one month.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 11
Name: Pvt. Andrew J. Wright
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of absent without leave.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for two days.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 12
Name: Sgt. Brian M. Andrews
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of failure to obey a lawful general regulation, one specification of false official statement and one specification of sexual assault.
Sentence: Confined for 12 months, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Bragg, Aug. 24
Name: Sgt. Travis Hernandez
Conviction: By a panel of officers and enlisted members, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of disobeying a lawful general regulation. The accused was convicted, contrary to his pleas, of one specification of maltreatment of a subordinate and one specification of sexual assault.
Acquittal: One specification of maltreatment of a subordinate and one specification of indecent exposure.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit $1,566.90 pay per month for three months, confined for 90 days, dishonorable discharge.
Third Judicial Circuit (Southwest and Midwest)
Fort Hood, Texas, Aug. 2
Name: Pvt. Kelsey E. Suff
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of wrongful sexual contact.
Sentence: Forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for 12 months, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to 180 days.
Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 3
Name: Not provided (sergeant first class)
Acquittal: By a military judge of one specification of rape.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Aug. 4
Name: Not provided (sergeant)
Acquittal: By a military panel of two specifications of sexual assault.
Fort Hood, Aug. 8
Name: Spc. Jacob E. Mauermann
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of sexual abuse of a child.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for nine months, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to five months.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Aug. 10
Name: Not provided (sergeant)
Acquittal: By a military judge of five specifications of sexual assault, one specification of unlawful entrance into the room of another with intent to commit a criminal offense and one specification of wrongful appropriation.
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Aug. 22
Name: Sgt. 1st Class Eric L. Hainline
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of six specifications of maltreatment of subordinates, nine specifications of assault consummated by a battery and one specification of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for six months.
Fort Riley, Kansas, Aug. 22
Name: Spc. Aaron M. Yepezstash
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of three specifications of wrongful use of marijuana and three specifications of larceny of military property.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for 10 months, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Hood, Aug. 25
Name: Spc. Jarrett D. Brooks
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of desertion.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for 95 days, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to 90 days.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Aug. 26
Name: Not provided (specialist)
Acquittal: By a military panel of four specifications of sexual assault.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Aug. 26
Name: Not provided (private)
Acquittal: By a military judge of one specification of sexual assault, one specification of assault consummated by a battery and one specification of obstructing justice.
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Aug. 30
Name: Maj. Antiwan M. Henning
Conviction: By a military judge, contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of sexual assault.
Acquittal: One specification of wrongful sexual contact.
Sentence: Confined for 13 years, dismissed from the service.
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Aug. 31
Name: Capt. Robert C. Brand
Conviction: By a military judge, contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of absence without leave, one specification of willfully disobeying the lawful order of a superior commissioned officer, one specification of disobeying the lawful order of a police officer, one specification of resisting apprehension and one specification of wrongful use of methamphetamines.
Acquittal: One specification of fleeing apprehension, one specification of wrongful use of methamphetamines and one specification of assaulting a police officer.
Sentence: Reprimand, confined for three months.
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Aug. 31
Name: Staff Sgt. Scott E. Morgan
Conviction: By a military judge, contrary to his plea, of one specification of failure to obey a lawful general regulation.
Acquittal: A separate specification of failure to obey a lawful general regulation.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-3, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Polk, Louisiana, Aug. 31
Name: Pfc. David A. Velasquez II
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of wrongful possession of child pornography.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for 21 months, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to 16 months.
Fourth Judicial Circuit (Far East and Far West)
Fort Carson, Colorado, Aug. 2
Name: Pvt. Kenneth E. Green Jr.
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of absence without leave.
Sentence: Confined for 45 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Aug. 2
Name: Sgt. Tahron D. Davis
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of failure to go from his appointed place of duty, four specifications of willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, one specification of drunk on duty, two specifications of wrongful use of marijuana, one specification of assault consummated by a battery, once specification of communicating a threat and one specification of drunk and disorderly conduct.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for 175 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Aug. 3
Name: Staff Sgt. Nathan P. Cancellieri
Conviction: By a military panel composed of officers and enlisted members, contrary to his pleas, of two specifications of abusive sexual contact and one specification of maltreatment of subordinates.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-4, confined for six months, bad-conduct discharge.
Fort Carson, Aug. 3
Name: Pvt. Brendan A. Shawhan
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his plea, of one specification of unauthorized absence for over 30 days.
Sentence: Confined for 45 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 5
Name: Pfc. Hector L. Vazquez
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of wrongful distribution of a controlled substance, one specification of wrongful possession of a controlled substance and five specifications of wrongful use of a controlled substance.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, forfeit all pay and allowances, confined for 90 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Aug. 24
Name: Sgt. David M. Serratt
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of two specifications of failure to obey a lawful general regulation, three specifications of false official statement, one specification of larceny of military property and two specifications of wearing an unauthorized badge and insignia.
Sentence: Confined for 145 days, bad-conduct discharge.
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 29
Name: Pvt. Dashaun W. Grimsley
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of attempted distribution of child pornography, one specification of possession of child pornography and one specification of distribution of child pornography.
Sentence: Reduced to the grade of E-1, confined for 35 months, bad-conduct discharge.
Fifth Judicial Circuit (Europe and Southwest Asia)
Kaiserslautern, Germany, Aug. 5
Name: Staff Sgt. Mark R. Davenport
Conviction: By a panel composed of officers and enlisted members, contrary to his pleas, of one specification of attempted fraternization.
Acquittal: Two specifications of fraternization, one specification of maltreatment of subordinates and one specification of abusive sexual contact.
Sentence: Reprimand, reduced to the grade of E-4
Kaiserslautern, Aug. 10
Name: Sgt. 1st Class Clarence J. Dunn
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of one specification of wrongful disposition of military property and one specification of larceny of military property.
Sentence: Confined for seven months, bad-conduct discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to six months.
Kaiserslautern, Aug. 12
Name: Spc. Robert G. Wrasse
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of three specifications of rape of a child, two specifications of sexual abuse of a child and one specification of production of child pornography.
Sentence: Confined for 16 years, dishonorable discharge. As part of an offer to plead guilty, a pretrial agreement limited confinement to 15 years.
Vilseck, Germany, Aug. 24
Name: Pfc. Joshua J. Likovic
Conviction: By a military judge, pursuant to his pleas, of three specifications of assault consummated by a battery. |
The Canon FTb was introduced in 1971 as the amateur companion to the F-1 professional camera. It uses the Canon FD lens mount. In 1973 the design was modified to include a shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder. The new design also changed the film advance lever from all metal to now including a plastic tip. This one is the newer model.
The QL badge indicates that the FTb uses the same quick load system as the Canonet Q17. The inclusion of the QL system in further indication that the target was the amateur user. The target may have been amateur use but this is a well built solid camera that could have stood up to professional use.
My Take:
I had had no experience with the FTb so was happy to give it a try when a friend told me he had an old one from high school if I wanted it. His FTb was in great shape, fully functional and include a f1.4 lens. As payment, I picked up lunch. When I got around to seeing what the FTb was selling for - I realized that I may have overpaid. They seem to be available for very low prices.
Then I shot it and it was a simple but solid camera. Intuitive and fun to shoot. I'm a bit mystified by the low price. I guess the FTb must get overshadowed by the F-1 and still be dismissed as an amateur camera. Don't fall for it if you are looking for a real bargain in the film SLR world, the FTb could be it.
After my experience with the FTb I may owe my friend a follow up lunch (this time not just from the kids menu).
Lens: Canon FD 50mm f1.4
Film: Ilford HP5 400 |
I was looking for a computer with enough power to run Pro Tools MP 9 (audio/music production software) on a home/hobby level and this seems to be managing it quite well for my needs so far. (after one month I have recorded a handful of decent demos with problems relating only to my PT 9 learning curve and some initial setup issues, rather than crashes and bugs.) People who do serious music production (in a professional studio for example) use systems with upwards of 128GB RAM and something ridiculous like an 18-core processor (I know, right!?) but PT MP 9 requires a system with 4GB RAM. I had to do some research to make sure this computer would work (the list of computers that are Pro Tools compatible starts at over $1,000 and wasn't in my price range) and I haven't run into any brick walls with my recordings yet. I'm not really tech savvy by any means. And I can't really vouch that this computer will be the perfect entry-level system for a music hobbyist like myself - a million factors come to mind, like how I'm not really pushing the system to its limit with the type of music I am making. But so far, with light plug-in usage (Strike, Velvet, Eleven LE) I am not disappointed in my recording capabilities and have not run into any major latency issues with track counts around 9 or 10. (small) This review is intended for people like me who are looking for a budget-conscious system for Pro Tools. I wasn't able to find anyone who was using a system like this for Pro Tools, and any reviews I read by the masses were just "it's great for checking my email" oh really, wow, welcome to 1997. So I hope this at least confirms that it is POSSIBLE to use this system for Pro Tools (at least for the first month; I hope it holds up over the years!) *I have not actually worked with MIDI editing yet, due to my MIDI controller being outdated and hard to find support for it. *I record acoustic guitar with microphones, digital piano with aux outs, and use Strike or pre-recorded MIDI drums for percussion. *2-3 guitar tracks per song with some overlapping parts. *Generally 2 vocal tracks per song. If this is the kind of thing you're looking to use this computer for, I haven't had any problems yet. I'm quite impressed with the quality of the demos and didn't have any issues bouncing them to mp3 format with this system. Good luck, all.
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Long before he was named leader of one of America’s most important archdioceses, Blase Cupich scrubbed toilets at a Nebraska Catholic school — an experience that helped shape his Catholic identity.
His father was a mail carrier, but to make extra money, he also was a janitor at Cupich’s Catholic grade school. “My two brothers and I stayed after school and helped him clean the school and the bathrooms and everything else. The same kind of loving experience, the supportive experience, I found at home was also at the parish, so that transferred over into the way I approached the Church,” Cupich said.
Calling it “a second family in many ways,” Cupich recalled his vibrant childhood parish that stood at the center of the family’s life.
“In the summertime when there wasn’t a choir, I would sing solo, as a grade school student, the various responses and parts of the Mass,” he said. “Every Wednesday, my brothers and sisters and cousins and I and others would go to the parish hall — it was a Croatian parish — and learn folk dances.”
Now, just a month away from his installation as leader of Chicago’s 2 million Catholics, Cupich said in an interview with Crux this week that he has two priorities for his first couple of months on the job: “listening to God and listening to people.”
“Nobody is ever prepared to take on a challenge like this fully,” Cupich said, but he sees in Chicago an “an enormous pool of human resources that I can draw from, that I really have not had before.”
He said he has tried “to find an inner peace with this appointment. So prayer has really helped me do that, to find a center and a focus.”
Cupich received what he called the “jarring” news of his appointment in September. He was finishing up a trip to Lviv, Ukraine, where he served as the American delegate to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s Synod of Bishops, and decided to break up the 20-plus hour journey back to Spokane, Washington.
“I stopped in Munich and was there overnight,” Cupich said. The papal nuncio to the US “called me that evening. He tracked me down, and that’s how it happened.”
It wasn’t a complete surprise; Cupich’s name was mentioned more than most in the speculation over who would succeed Cardinal Francis George, a fact that didn’t escape those close to the 65-year-old Omaha native.
“People drew that to my attention, of course, in a kidding way,” he said, because “they, like me, thought it was a stretch to think in those terms.”
And the deck did seem stacked against Cupich.
His executive experience, though praised as competent by other bishops, has been in two small dioceses. In 1998, He was made bishop of Rapid City, S.D. where 28,000 Catholics live, and then in Spokane, with 100,000, in 2010.
Chicago is a different beast altogether, with a budget of more than $1 billion, steep financial problems, and a national platform that almost always ends up with a red hat for the archbishop.
Cupich apparently caught the eye of one of Pope Francis’s advisors, Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga. The two spoke at a Washington, DC, conference this summer against economic libertarianism. Cupich quoted the pope heavily, and Francis is reported to have been involved personally in Cupich’s appointment.
The reaction to Cupich’s appointment has been heralded by Catholic progressives as evidence that Pope Francis is serious about putting moderates in positions of power. But Cupich has said the pope isn’t sending a message, but a pastor. And he rejects any attempts to draw him into the culture wars, by either side.
When he first arrived in Spokane, a group of anti-abortion activists criticized him for questioning the efficacy of protests in front of clinics.
“People make these decisions not at clinics, but around kitchen tables,” Cupich told Crux. He said he didn’t prohibit Catholics from protesting, but asked priests if working with groups that focused their efforts only on abortion harmed their ability to be teachers of the church’s complete teaching on life issues.
“We always say that our pro-life message begins with the unborn but doesn’t end there,” he said. “There was a real push and criticism of our approach to be fully comprehensive, by wanting to make the issue of abortion the singular issue, to the point where they criticized our pro-life committee. Some of the local people involved in this group began to criticize us. It had the potential of really creating division.”
When asked about the firings of gay employees from Catholic institutions, Cupich pointed to a 2012 case in Austria in which Cardinal Christoph Schönborn reinstated an openly gay man on the parish council after meeting with him personally.
“What’s really important to keep in mind here is that these are individual cases that have their own variables, he said. In Spokane, according to the personnel policy on the diocese’s website, employees “are expected to respect and support the Catholic character of the Diocese and abstain from any public rejection of the teachings, doctrine, or laws of the Catholic Diocese.”
But, Cupich said, “we look at individual situations because they’re all different. We have to realize that.”
He said he wouldn’t be in favor of a universal policy about gay employees, but said, “We’ve got to represent some unity among the bishops on this. Maybe it’s time for us to have some kind of discussion on these issues in view of what’s happening at the synod.”
During Washington State’s referendum on same-sex marriage, Cupich toed the party line and encouraged Catholics to vote against the measure. But his tone stood out, some said, for its conciliatory message to gays and lesbians.
That sort of bridge-building, Cupich says, comes from working with Cardinal Pio Laghi, the pope’s ambassador to the US, in the 1980s.
“He always invited the opinions of other people,” Cupich said. “He always wanted to make sure that I weighed in, even though I was young and inexperienced. I think that was a good model for somebody who’s a leader in the church.”
He sees this trait, too, in Pope Francis, especially in how he has managed the sometimes-contentious synod on the family, which has pitted cardinals and bishops in a very public, and sometimes pointed, back-and-forth.
Cupich said the pope has invited “people of all ranks and stations and all backgrounds to speak from their heart, to speak about what was on their minds. I think he created a very wonderful, open climate for people to share what’s on their mind.” He said the debate is healthy for the Church.
“If people have a position, they should be willing to defend it. That’s always good. This is the way adults work,” he said. “My Croatian heritage has something to do with the directness of my speech. We never let problems or serious issues bubble beneath the surface that caused an infection in the family life.”
In Rapid City, S.D., where he was bishop for 12 years, Cupich said he was able to “reinvigorate” parishes by “giving people a vision” and then asking for buy-in from everybody in the diocese.
One of his biggest accomplishments during his tenure was converting a former Benedictine monastery into a multi-use space. He marveled that “a diocese of 27,000 Catholics, with one-third of them living on the Indian reservations, raised $17.5 million to renovate the monastery to become a retreat center and also a new grade school.”
Cupich’s profile gained national attention when he was tapped to lead the bishops’ committee charged with protecting children. Today, he said, the Church must remain “vigilant” when it comes to clergy sex abuse.
“I always liked that motto of Cardinal [Amleto Giovanni] Cicognani who was the papal representative for 25 years to the United States,” Cupich said. “His name was Cicognani, and cicogna [in Italian] is a stork. So he had a stork on his crest, but with one leg up. And in the beak was a worm, and the motto was vigilat nec fatiscit, which means ‘Vigilant, but never tiring.’ It was clever, very clever. And I think we have to be vigilant, but never tiring.”
When it comes to immigration reform and other social justice issues, Cupich said “the Church should never be satisfied it’s doing enough if there’s still a social ill out there to be addressed.”
“It would be naïve of us to think that this is the Kingdom of God and we’ve done enough. We can’t nag about these things, we can’t harangue, but we have to make sure that we keep pressing forward and engage people into the truth that we’re trying to shed light on as we speak about these various issues,” he said.
As for the Church’s fight to alleviate social ills — which he said included an array of issues such as immigration, inequality, racism, pornography, drug abuse, white collar crime, abortion, the death penalty, “the kinds of things [that] need the attention of the church and others for changes in our laws that protect life” — he compared it to the life of a pilgrim.
“A pilgrim has one foot on the ground, but one foot in the air. You’re always reaching for something more, and yet you realize there is reality beneath you,” he said. “That would be my approach.”
Cupich said that while he’s “always loved the Church,” this particular moment gives Catholics much to be thankful for.
“It’s an exciting time for the Church, not because I’m going to Chicago, but because of what’s happening with Pope Francis,” he said. “It’s a great time to be alive, I think; it’s a great time to be alive.” |
It's that time of year: 'Where da gold at?'
St. Patrick's Day, for some people, often brings to mind one internet legend that was born right here in the South: the "Mobile Leprechaun."At the center of the story is an amateur sketch, and the person who introduced us to the now-viral video? WDSU's Scott Walker. Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, more and more people are introduced to the video for the first time."I’m forever linked to the iconic story because I’m one of the anchors who introduced it on camera," Walker said.Walker said in a blog post that the original video has been viewed more than 26 million times. That doesn't include the copies, variations and remixes.Link: Check out Scott Walker's blog post here"My wife and I, along with our two kids, get new Mobile Leprechaun T-shirts every couple of years. CafePress has a great selection," Walker said.So what makes the story of the Mobile Leprechaun so great? You're better off seeing it for yourself. Share it with your friends."One question is often repeated: 'Was that a real news story?' Walker said. "The answer is yes and no."Walker gives the backstory of the Mobile Leprechaun every year on his blog. Check it out and learn more about one of YouTube's first viral videos.Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!
St. Patrick's Day, for some people, often brings to mind one internet legend that was born right here in the South: the "Mobile Leprechaun."
At the center of the story is an amateur sketch, and the person who introduced us to the now-viral video? WDSU's Scott Walker. Every year around St. Patrick’s Day, more and more people are introduced to the video for the first time.
"I’m forever linked to the iconic story because I’m one of the anchors who introduced it on camera," Walker said.
Walker said in a blog post that the original video has been viewed more than 26 million times. That doesn't include the copies, variations and remixes.
Link: Check out Scott Walker's blog post here
"My wife and I, along with our two kids, get new Mobile Leprechaun T-shirts every couple of years. CafePress has a great selection," Walker said.
So what makes the story of the Mobile Leprechaun so great? You're better off seeing it for yourself. Share it with your friends.
"One question is often repeated: 'Was that a real news story?' Walker said. "The answer is yes and no."
Walker gives the backstory of the Mobile Leprechaun every year on his blog. Check it out and learn more about one of YouTube's first viral videos.
Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!
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While certainly not universally applicable to Path of Exile players, it's probably fair to say that better and more interesting loot is one of the main driving forces for players of basically any ARPG. Watching that boss monster explode in a shower of items, seeing that one of those items is that all-important unique colour, and identifying it to discover what amazing properties it has is, for many, a hugely memorable moment.
Designing awesome unique items is actually a rather tricky process. Your typical unique can be broken down into a few basic components, but each of these components has to work in unison for the item itself to really be successful.
When we're starting an item design from scratch, because all three points have to fit together, we can really start from any one of them. Let's use a real example from an upcoming patch. Every new league we've done to date has had some league-specific unique items, and with new leagues on the way, I was tasked with coming up with those. I really liked the Berek's rings we created in Domination and Nemesis, so I decided to make a "cycle" of new items, all thematically linked together, for each of our upcoming leagues.
The idea for one of the cycles came very quickly and stemmed from how the league they're in will function. The other, well, was a slower process of discovery. Our artists made some 2D art and 3D models of some new weapons that at that point were unattached to anything in game, and only tenuously attached to anything we had planned. I decided that the visual style of these weapons could work as the starting point for the design of these weapons.
So I knew what they looked like, but I didn't yet know what they'd do. Eyes and teeth and flesh all have gameplay mechanics that could fit thematically. I decided that life leech would be a good enough starting point. Scythes also have cultural and historical connotations for "reaping", which implies cutting something down for some gain -- fitting nicely with life leech, but leech isn't the most interesting mechanic, even if is very useful. That is, unless, it leeches a lot, but only sometimes:
I decided that perhaps it could work based on critical strikes -- you only leech health when you critically strike. Immediately, the usefulness for a weapon like this changes wildly between builds. It rewards some a lot more than it rewards others.
But what if you weren't just leeching health now on crit, but potentially leeching health for later too. Surgeon flasks are very popular for crit builds for good reason -- they can be refilled in the middle of long fights. The idea of turning every flask into a surgeons flask, as if your crits were siphoning off some of the leech, was a very appealing idea, so the next mod I attached was:
I wanted to drive home the evil, thirsty nature of the scythe with the flavour text, of course, so that reads
And I named it:
The low base critical strike chance of axes means that you won't necessarily benefit from this very often. I could have certainly tossed some extra local crit chance on there to compensate, but the weapon is all fleshy and alive-looking. What do fleshy and alive-looking things do? They grow. They change. Just like you.
This crit chance is global, so even at max level you're not likely to have a ridiculously high critical-strike chance with this weapon. But the crits you do get will be valuable to your survival. And, maybe this weapon is actually more useful in other ways once you've levelled beyond the point where the physical damage is relevant. Maybe it has changed.
There are two other items that will be coming out alongside The Harvest with our next major patch, each with some transformative property. They're coming to the next hardcore league. As many of our hardcore players are very experienced, we expect they will see beyond the face value of the items and find their true potential.
There are a lot of reasons someone might play a game -- the pride you feel when you overcome a challenge, the joy of discovery as you explore a new world, the highs and lows of a well-told tale... the phat loot.While certainly not universally applicable to Path of Exile players, it's probably fair to say that better and more interesting loot is one of the main driving forces for players of basically any ARPG. Watching that boss monster explode in a shower of items, seeing that one of those items is that all-important unique colour, and identifying it to discover what amazing properties it has is, for many, a hugely memorable moment.Designing awesome unique items is actually a rather tricky process. Your typical unique can be broken down into a few basic components, but each of these components has to work in unison for the item itself to really be successful.When we're starting an item design from scratch, because all three points have to fit together, we can really start from any one of them. Let's use a real example from an upcoming patch. Every new league we've done to date has had some league-specific unique items, and with new leagues on the way, I was tasked with coming up with those. I really liked the Berek's rings we created in Domination and Nemesis, so I decided to make a "cycle" of new items, all thematically linked together, for each of our upcoming leagues.The idea for one of the cycles came very quickly and stemmed from how the league they're in will function. The other, well, was a slower process of discovery. Our artists made some 2D art and 3D models of some new weapons that at that point were unattached to anything in game, and only tenuously attached to anything we had planned. I decided that the visual style of these weapons could work as the starting point for the design of these weapons.So I knew what they looked like, but I didn't yet know what they'd do. Eyes and teeth and flesh all have gameplay mechanics that could fit thematically. I decided that life leech would be a good enough starting point. Scythes also have cultural and historical connotations for "reaping", which implies cutting something down for some gain -- fitting nicely with life leech, but leech isn't the most interesting mechanic, even if is very useful. That is, unless, it leeches a lot, but only sometimes:I decided that perhaps it could work based on critical strikes -- you only leech health when you critically strike. Immediately, the usefulness for a weapon like this changes wildly between builds. It rewards some a lot more than it rewards others.But what if you weren't just leeching health now on crit, but potentially leeching health for later too. Surgeon flasks are very popular for crit builds for good reason -- they can be refilled in the middle of long fights. The idea of turning every flask into a surgeons flask, as if your crits were siphoning off some of the leech, was a very appealing idea, so the next mod I attached was:I wanted to drive home the evil, thirsty nature of the scythe with the flavour text, of course, so that readsAnd I named it:The low base critical strike chance of axes means that you won't necessarily benefit from this very often. I could have certainly tossed some extra local crit chance on there to compensate, but the weapon is all fleshy and alive-looking. What do fleshy and alive-looking things do? They grow. They change. Just like you.This crit chance is global, so even at max level you're not likely to have a ridiculously high critical-strike chance with this weapon. But the crits you do get will be valuable to your survival. And, maybe this weapon is actually more useful in other ways once you've levelled beyond the point where the physical damage is relevant. Maybe it has changed.There are two other items that will be coming out alongside The Harvest with our next major patch, each with some transformative property. They're coming to the next hardcore league. As many of our hardcore players are very experienced, we expect they will see beyond the face value of the items and find their true potential. Last edited by Chris on Jul 13, 2014, 10:45:54 PM
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She was so excited when @JJWatt called she accidentally hung up on him! "You're the first woman to hang up on me" 😂 pic.twitter.com/h3ahWT0sDX — Papa John's Houston (@PapaJohnsHousTx) April 16, 2016
We've got a shy one! He still mustered up the courage to ask @JJWatt his favorite type of pizza! #JJDelivers #jjwatt pic.twitter.com/20bQP1diTm — Papa John's Houston (@PapaJohnsHousTx) April 16, 2016
Papa John's of Houston and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt partnered throughout the 2015-2016 Houston Texans football season for the JJ Delivers promotion.Customers who ordered pizza from Houston area Papa John's any day of the week throughout the 2015-2016 NFL season were entered to win a special pizza delivery from J.J. Watt.On Saturday, April 16, JJ Watt delivered pizza to the JJ Delivers Grand Prize winner, Warren Harkleroad. |
By Stephen D. Mumford, DrPH | 6 August 2012
Church and State
Excerpt from chapter 10 of our chairman Dr. Stephen D. Mumford’s book, American Democracy and the Vatican: Population Growth and National Security (1984). The book is available at Kindle here, and is available to read for free here.
Vatican Influence on Policies of Other Nations
Vatican influence on domestic and foreign policy of the U.S. is not unique. All governments except China are victims of this Vatican manipulation of government policy. In 1971, Time magazine reported their interception of a confidential document issued by Pope Paul. In his book which was discussed in chapter seven, Waldo Zimmermann writes:
An article in Time [February 1, 1971, p. 54] entitled “The Rhythm Lobby” told about Pope Paul’s covert attack. In a fifteen-page confidential document issued through his secretary of state, Cardinal Villot, and sent to all papal nuncios [including the one in Washington, D.C.] and apostolic delegates and the Vatican’s permanent observers at the U.N., Paul stressed the secrecy of the new lobby effort and was sharply critical of the U.N. for supporting population control programs in the Third World. In his instructions, Cardinal Villot said that world governments must be persuaded to take positions that “favor Catholic morality”; that papal diplomats should press bishops in each country to build up relations with local representatives of international organizations, key men who are able to influence the secretariats to which they report. Such relations, said Villot, will facilitate the choice of delegates to international conferences “who possess Catholic convictions.” Predominantly Catholic countries should be pressured further, said the Cardinal, “to give their delegates unequivocal instructions, and if necessary suggest that those delegates make contacts with representatives of the Holy See.[69]
The impact of such a document can have no equal in causing hopelessness, tragic death, poverty, and sickness—misery for human beings and destruction of our fragile life-giving ecosystem. Few, if any, acts have so threatened the security of so many people in so many ways.
By these acts, the needs of the Vatican were placed above the needs of the people of all nations. Processes were initiated in all nations to undermine population growth control activities and corrupt policy-making processes. All of these initiatives emanate from Rome. There is no “American Church” or “Chilean Church” or “Sri Lankan Church.” The Church is strictly “Roman” and has strictly “Roman” leadership.
One of the most notable events in population growth control history was the fall of Indira Gandhi after allegations of forced sterilization were made against her government. When Mrs. Gandhi accepted the first annual U.N. Population Award in New York in 1983, she restated that these allegations were without foundation[70] Too few people are aware that her downfall was initiated by a Catholic American journalist and a Catholic-inspired world press. A couple of years ago, during a dinner conversation in Colombo, my Indian colleague, Dr. Datta Pai, a family planning leader for more than two decades, recounted what had happened. He was an acquaintance of the journalist and had watched the scenario unfold. The Catholic reporter made the allegations in an article, and, without any verification of these allegations, the world press exploded. Gandhi’s government quickly fell. During the sterilization campaign, 10.8 million sterilizations were performed.[71] After the new opposition government was installed, it offered government compensation to the “millions of victims.” What seems never to have reached the world press was that fewer than one hundred people out of 10.8 million were found to have been documented as coerced into sterilization, or one per 108,000 persons. It is likely that the rate was higher in some states. It was the Vatican and its press manipulations that destroyed the Gandhi government and made fools of her opposition government. But the real tragedy was the death and suffering experienced by millions of Indians as a result of this setback in the Indian population growth control program. The tragic effects went far beyond India. The Vatican terrorized politicians the world over with the news of particulars of the downfall of the Gandhi government. Virtually all countries have seen their population programs grow at a slower pace as a result.
In December 1983, I met with another Indian family planning leader and colleague, Dr. C. L. Jhaveri, at a population conference in the Dominican Republic. He told me of a keynote speech he had given on November 27, 1983, to the Fourth World Congress on Human Reproduction in Bombay, in which he reported on his analysis of the opposition to population growth control in India. He said that religious opposition to family planning was the major obstacle to population growth control in his country. The opposition only comes from two minority religious groups, Moslems and Catholics. I suggested to Dr. Jhaveri that, while there are far more Moslems than Catholics, and some Moslems are opposed to control, they are not sufficiently organized to significantly influence the government. However, Catholics in India are highly organized, have considerable “outside” influence, and the Catholic Church has an impressive history of such action. I asked him if, carrying his analysis further, the Catholic Church is the major obstacle to population growth control in India. He agreed.
We should not be surprised. After all, the Vatican had installed a Catholic government in South Vietnam while only 5 percent of the population of South Vietnam is Catholic. It takes only a small group of highly organized and well-led people, operating in secrecy, to completely dominate a government such as South Vietnam. India has many times the number of Catholics required for the Vatican to be in a position to have great influence. Certainly there are several examples of African countries with Catholic-trained government leadership and even smaller Catholic populations.
At the same meeting I saw Dr. Ben Viel. He told me of an example in his country, Chile. In 1979, with approval from the minister of health of Chile, Dr. Viel began setting up a female sterilization program with $1 million worth of sterilization equipment provided by the International Planned Parenthood Federation in London. When the equipment arrived in Chile, a Father Ibanes Langlois, serving as a messenger for the Vatican, met with the president of Chile. There was then and continues to be a disagreement between Chile and Argentina, almost bringing the two countries to war over a strategic waterway located at the tip of South America, that may prove to be rich in oil. It is called the Beagle Channel. Chile and Argentina had agreed to let the pope mediate the dispute. Langlois informed the president that, if this sterilization equipment was not removed from Chile, the pope would favor Argentina in the settling of the Beagle Channel dispute. The president called in the minister of health and ordered him to get the sterilization equipment out of the country. Viel was so notified by the minister of health, and it was shipped out. Sterilization remains strictly against the law in Chile.
If the Vatican had its way, all governments on earth would adopt the Ivory Coast sterilization law as a model. In that country, which is inordinately influenced by the Vatican, performing a voluntary sterilization on a woman or man is a capital crime. Chile has not gone to this extreme, but it is only one step away. The influencing of government policy by the Vatican, shown by Dr. Viel’s example, is a daily occurrence the world over.
[69] Waldo Zimmermann, Condemned to Live: The Plight of the Unwanted Child (Vita Press, 2143 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104; 1981), p. 36.
[70] “Better Health, Better Opportunities,” Popline (October 1983), p. 2.
[71] C. Green, “Voluntary Sterilization: World’s Leading Contraceptive Method,” Population Reports #2 (March 1978), p. M42.
Dr. Stephen Mumford is the founder and President of the North Carolina-based Center for Research on Population and Security. He has his doctorate in Public Health. His principal research interest has been the relationship between world population growth and national and global security. He has been called to provide expert testimony before the U.S. Congress on the implications of world population growth. Dr. Mumford has decades of international experience in fertility research where he is widely published, and has addressed conferences worldwide on new contraceptive technologies and the stresses to the security of families, societies and nations that are created by continued uncontrolled population growth. Using church policy documents and writings of the Vatican elite, he has introduced research showing the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church as the principal power behind efforts to block the availability of contraceptive services worldwide. In addition to his books on biomedical and social aspects of family planning, as well as scientific articles in more than a score of journals, Dr. Mumford’s major works include: The Life and Death of NSSM 200: How the Destruction of Political Will Doomed a U.S. Population Policy (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: Center for Research on Population and Security, 1996); The Pope and the New Apocalypse: The Holy War Against Family Planning (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: Center for Research on Population and Security, 1986); and American Democracy and the Vatican: Population Growth and National Security (Amherst, New York: Humanist Press, 1984).
Related:
How far is the Vatican willing to go to insure its survival?
Why the Catholic Church has survived for 2000 years while all other tyrannies have failed
The Catholic Church and Sex
Vatican Rejection of Freedom of the Press
Eight kinds of power the Vatican exercises to control Catholics
Catholicism – both a religion and an ambitious, arrogant political institution
Postponing Self-Destruction of the Catholic Church
Professor Milton Siegel, who for 24 years was the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaks to Dr. Stephen Mumford in 1992 to reveal that although there was a consensus that overpopulation was a grave public health threat and would be a major cause of preventable death not too far in the future, the Vatican successfully fought off the incorporation of family planning and birth control into official WHO policy. This video is available for public viewing for the first time. Read the full transcript of the interview here.
Lester R. Brown interview with Rob Stewart
Professor Paul Ehrlich: Can a collapse of global civilization be avoided?
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According to marine biologist Dr Jason Bruck of the University of Chicago’s Institute for Mind and Biology, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) can recognize whistles of their friends after being separated for about two decades – the longest social memory ever recorded for a non-human species.
The remarkable memory feat is another indication that bottlenose dolphins have a level of cognitive sophistication comparable to only a few other species, including humans, chimpanzees and elephants.
Dolphins’ talent for social recognition may be even more long-lasting than facial recognition among humans, since human faces change over time but the signature whistle that identifies a dolphin remains stable over many decades.
“This shows us an animal operating cognitively at a level that’s very consistent with human social memory,” said Dr Bruck, who reported the findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B.
To establish how well dolphins could remember their former companions, Dr Bruck collected data from 53 different bottlenose dolphins at six facilities. The sites were part of a breeding consortium that has rotated dolphins and kept records on which ones lived together, going back decades.
Previous studies have established that each dolphin develops its own unique signature whistle that appears to function as a name. Researchers at Scotland’s University of St. Andrews reported in July 2013 that a wild bottlenose dolphin can learn and repeat signatures belonging to other individuals, and answer when another dolphin mimics its unique call.
In the current study, the biologist played recordings of signature whistles to dolphins that had once lived with the animals that made the calls. Determining whether the dolphins recognized their old companions required a methodical comparison of how they responded to familiar calls versus calls belonging to dolphins they had never met.
First, Dr Bruck would play recording after recording of signature whistles that the target dolphins had never heard before. His initial studies showed that these dolphins get bored quickly listening to signature whistles from dolphins they don’t know. Once they were habituated to the unfamiliar calls, Dr Bruck would play a recording of an animal that he knew the target dolphin had lived with.
The familiar calls often would perk up the dolphins and elicit an immediate response.
To check that the response was the result of recognition, Dr Bruck also would play a test recording of an unfamiliar bottlenose that was the same age and sex as the familiar animal. All the behavior was scored according to how quickly and to what degree the animals responded.
A clear pattern emerged in the data – compared with unfamiliar calls, dolphins responded significantly more to whistles from animals they once knew, even if they had not heard the calls in decades.
In one notable example, Dr Bruck played a recording of a female dolphin named Allie, who currently lives at the Brookfield Zoo, for Bailey, a female now in Bermuda. The pair had last lived together at Dolphin Connection in the Florida Keys when Allie was 2 and Bailey was 4. But 20 years and six months after their last contact, Bailey still recognized the recording of Allie’s signature whistle.
That kind of performance after decades apart was typical, leading Dr Bruck to conclude that dolphins maintain lifelong memories of each others’ whistles. In the wild, bottlenose dolphins have an average life expectancy of around 20 years, though longer-lived individuals can survive up to 45 years or more.
Another big question this study raises is how similar dolphins’ signature calls are to human words and names.
So far no one has been able to test what signature whistles signify in a dolphin’s mind.
“We know they use these signatures like names, but we don’t know if the name stands for something in their minds the way a person’s name does for us. We don’t know yet if the name makes a dolphin picture another dolphin in its head.”
“For the next round of research, that’s my goal – show whether the call evokes a representational mental image of that individual.”
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Bibliographic information: Jason N. Bruck. 2013. Decades-long social memory in bottlenose dolphins. Proc. R. Soc. B, vol. 280, no. 1768; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1726 |
In the temperate climes of the world, it’s easy to take trees for granted. I can see several beautiful ones outside my window right now, and all they make me think about is how many leaves I have to rake up from them every fall. But in the Saharan nation of Niger, one of the bleakest places on Earth, trees are a much rarer commodity. Especially when one happens to be the only tree for 250 miles in any direction.
View Tree of Ténéré in a larger map
For most of the 20th century, one of the most important landmarks of central Niger was the Tree of Ténéré, an acacia tree growing near a well in the middle of the desert. Once, a small grove of trees grew at this spot, but as the region’s climate grew hotter and drier, only one survived. The Tree of Ténéré was, for decades, the most isolated tree on Earth.
The tree was located along a fairly busy salt caravan route, but it managed to thrive. None of its branches were ever cut for firewood, and no camel was ever allowed to eat its leaves. The region’s Touareg nomads considered it sacred, and the tree was the site of traditional ceremonial gatherings before any attempt to cross the Ténéré’s vast dune sea.
How did a tree manage to bloom in this harsh environment? When the well near the tree was dug in 1938, the tree’s roots were observed descending through more than 100 feet of sand to reach water. This “living lighthouse” of Niger was so well-known that it was always marked on national maps, no matter how small their scale. |
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| Courtesy LDS Church In addition to the beautiful landscaping surrounding the two new buildings at the Missionary Training Cent | Courtesy LDS Church Both buildings in the new Missionary Training Center (MTC) have wide stairways to encourage use of the sta | Courtesy LDS Church MTC infographic, May 2017. | Courtesy LDS Church An aerial view of the Missionary Training Center (MTC), north of the Brigham Young University campus in Pr | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of the new courtyard area of the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of the south entrance to the new six-story buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of the lobby in one of the new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of one of the open areas in the two new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Pro | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of a terrace that overlooks the courtyard in the new Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of the lobby in one of the new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of a classroom located in the two new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo | Courtesy LDS Church Rendering of a classroom in the new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. | Courtesy LDS Church Two new six-story buildings, additions to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, are nearing the e | Courtesy LDS Church Both of the new buildings at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, will have lobbies with p | Courtesy LDS Church The 4.5 acres south of the existing Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, where the two new six |
Cause of Smoke / Corpse Bug (Don’t Disappear) : Ammo Bag
According to the link above, there is a smoke / corpse / ammo bag bug (Everything doesn’t disappear no matter how long). This bug caused frame rate drop and ruin the experience in this game as you can’t see anything when cops spam smoke bomb. So I just make an experiment that what is an origin to cause that circumstance. I just found it.Cause – When ammo bag is used up by client, it won’t disappear from the floor (I’m not sure whether the ammo from dead drop caused this too, but I’m 100% sure that client’s ammo always not disappear when me or any client used up). After that all smoke / corpse / Sniper laser won’t disappear all entire heist. Unless >>>>>>>>>>>>>> see below solutionSolution – The host use up that bug ammo himself (Make it disappear). Then everything is back to normal (No smoke / Corpse / sniper laser).Therefore, would you please take a look in this bug and find the way to fix it. Thank you very much. |
BASEBALL STARS 2 NINTENDO NES GAME
I love the baseball stars series but I was disappointed with this game compared to the first one. ONce time went on I came to love this one equal. My main grudge was you can not rename your players like in the original. It does have the same great gameplay as the first one. My favorite thing about the first game was customizing my team and renaming players. This game has customize team and you can power up players also there is 4 stadiums the first only had one. You can also reposition your fielders a new feature for this one. So it does have more ups then down and is a great game. The origional was made by SNK This game was made by Romstar. ROmstar did a good job with the license. IF you don't like the game you can always resell it on ebay. If you love ne baseball games or baseball stars you should like this one. thanks hope this helpsRead full review |
I saw the way you looked at her, and then back at me. Disgusted. Annoyed. You glanced at your friend conspiratorially; your face said, “Why would she bring a child here?” You were genuinely bothered. I imagine you think the best place for her is at home. But not in front of a TV. I know your type; you have a lot of opinions about how other people parent their children. But I already answer to someone else’s needs; I’m not here to police her into stillness and silence for your benefit.
Since you were wondering though, I brought my 2 year old to an art museum for the same reason you and your “I’m too elevated to procreate” bestie with your ironic haircuts and acid wash everything came to this art museum. It was cold, and rainy, and we wanted to get out of the house. We wanted to see art. We are on week 1 of 45 of cold weather here in the Midwest; we’re all just trying not to lose our minds. And you’ll be seeing us around, so get used to it.
Sure, sure she was screaming and running there for a second. It took me a minute to catch up to her, because she is fast… in hindsight, a SkyZone would have been a better choice for that day’s activity, but you know… hindsight…
If tranq guns were legal, I’d use it. You weren’t the first one with that thought. It’d be easier than intentional parenting. Reciting: “no touching, no running, no yelling” didn’t do the trick, but there we were, trying to get some culture with nothing but snacks and empty threats to enforce good behavior: when my kid started acting like a kid. But remind me again why you’re more deserving of a public appearance?
You know, the only thing more annoying than kids, are self-important adults who think they’re the only ones who deserve a seat on a plane, a booth at a restaurant, or a walk on the beach. Fine people of the world, listen up: you have to share. This seems as difficult a concept for you as it is my toddler. But I catch your glances when I’m out, I overhear your conversations at my work, and I see your posts on the Internet. People’s kids annoy you and you’re entitled enough to think you have more ownership over a public space, you think you get to weigh in on parenting from the sidelines.
You think of children the way Trump looks at immigrants. You want them gone, out of sight, and you’d like to forget where you, yourself came from. Have some respect for the process that allowed you to be here. Someone already paid your procreation dues. Yes, hats off to your parents who took one for the team and followed through with you. God knows they deserved a handicap in the game of life.
She’s still new here. Like to the planet. So she’s excitable. And she likely will be for the next few years. Imagine every time you went somewhere, did something, or had a sensory experience it was like showing up to a bar and finding out it’s half off everything. Her life right now is an endless happy hour. She doesn’t understand yet that a lot of people need alcohol to be happy or nice and only get 48 hours a week to do what they want. Let her have this, adulthood is as certain as the long winter.
I used to think my life ended when hers began, now I know it restarted, and it came with a serving of humility. Because my baby is going to cry on your flight, she’s going to stop walking directly in front of you in a busy place, and she’s going to peak over the booth to say hello. It’s not always a reflection of my parenting; it’s the nature of a child. They’re sweeter than us both, and luckily more forgiving. So the next time you see a parent in the midst of a situation larger than what they can control (the entirety of parenthood), offer a hand? Or maybe just smile. Because you look ugly with that joyless judgment on your face. And your haircut is stupid.
Scarlett Longstreet is a stay at home-ish mom, writer, and bartender. She lives in a suburb of Detroit with her husband and daughter. She’s trying to be a slightly less insane parent than her own (low bar). You can read her work at www.spilledmilkclub.com and find her on Instagram (Instagram.com/scarlettLongstreet) and Facebook (Facebook.com/thespilledmilkclub). |
Over the next week, Vancouver Island will play the fictitious failed state of "Macadamia" in a military exercise designed to test the Canadian military's capacity to rescue Canadians from a nation in turmoil.
When Canadians are in trouble abroad, the first federal department in charge of evacuation is Global Affairs Canada (the former foreign affairs department).
Lt.-Col. Jacques Allain, the commanding officer of the exercise, says if the capacity of Global Affairs Canada to move people falls short, it may ask the Canadian Forces to come and help.
The military has participated in real-life overseas rescue missions from Lebanon in 2006 and Libya in 2011.
Allain says the key point of this exercise is to improve communication between the civilian staff of Global Affairs Canada and military personnel.
"The major lessons we've learned is the necessity for us and the people at Global Affairs Canada to speak the same language. Although we are two federal departments, we have two different focuses. It's important for us to come together and speak the same language and unify our processes and our protocol," he explained.
The exercise is practiced annually in different locations across the country to test different terrain, he said.
It is not related to a specific world event or scenario, he added.
'Political chaos'
In this scenario, Vancouver Island will play "Macadamia" — a nation struck by an earthquake and tsunami that has devolved into political chaos.
"What we're seeing right now is a lot of political and social unrest. We've included a natural catastrophe because sometimes, in a more fragile country, that can destabilize the government," Allain said.
"Canadians that are doing business or living abroad at this time — we feel like their situation is dire and not safe anymore."
The mission will be to evacuate role-players from Vancouver Island. Challenges will include integrating with the civilian Global Affairs personnel and other organizational personnel, creating communication systems, organizing transportation and ensuring safety.
About 300 Canadian Armed Forces personnel will be participating in the exercise, Allain said, but you likely won't see them.
"We will keep a low profile," he said. "CAF personnel typically arrive in civilian clothes and in the smallest possible numbers so as not to create alarm, suspicion or ill-feeling.
"That is one of the key aspects of one of these operations when we go and help Global Affairs Canada. Most of the time, we'll be using just plain clothes as we come in and help them sort out the logistics and chaos and make sure we can move our Canadians to a safe place."
The exercise is expected to end on May 5.
With files from The Early Edition |
For the past two nights protesters dismayed by the outcome of the Ferguson grand jury have taken their defiance to the streets of cities across the US. Now they are redirecting their anger about police brutality towards a new target – the splurge of conspicuous consumption that is Black Friday.
Twitter has begun to sprout a crop of hashtags calling on people concerned about the Ferguson shooting to zip up their wallets on 28 November. The main hashtag, #BoycottBlackFriday, has already been circulated among more than 7 million Twitter users, and there is also sizeable traffic to hashtags such as #BlackOutBlackFriday, #NotOneDime, #HandsUpDontSpend and #DontRiotDontBuyIt.
The thinking behind the boycott is spelled out in a video produced by Ryan Coogler, the director of Fruitvale Station, the indie movie that dramatises the police killing of Oscar Grant at a Bart station in Oakland, California, in 2008. Coogler founded the group Blackout for Human Rights shortly after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson in August.
The video shows clippings of police officers beating and kicking a succession of unarmed black men over a soundtrack of the anthem of the holiday season, Most Wonderful Time of the Year. “This season show your worth,” the video exhorts its viewers. “Help stop police brutality by $peaking a language everyone understands. Don’t shop November 28th.”
The call for a boycott has been given a push by celebrity supporters like Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams who tweeted: “No justice, no profit: corporate /public power only speaks $.”
Despite the evident passion that is swirling around Twitter and Facebook, the boycott’s organisers and participants have a mountain to climb if they are to make their non-buying voices heard on Friday. Against them is the full weight of a consumer culture that equates happiness with spending.
The National Retail Federation predicts that stores and internet shopping sites will be inundated this weekend by 140 million people hunting for bargains. If those numbers are realised it would represent the biggest surge in retail sales for the season since 2011. |
NEW YORK — Former New Jersey Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine could face a lawsuit from the trustee trying to recover $1.6 billion in customer money from the collapse of the brokerage firm MF Global.
James Giddens, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of the company, said in a bankruptcy court filing Monday that he may sue Mr. Corzine, who also served in the Senate, for breach of fiduciary duty and negligence.
Mr. Giddens said his investigation found that Mr. Corzine, who took over as MF Global CEO in March 2010, led the company to trade in unsafe securities and take on far greater risk than comparable companies did.
Mr. Corzine declined comment through a spokesman.
A former CEO of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, Mr. Corzine took the top job at MF Global after losing a bid for re-election as New Jersey governor in 2009 to Republican Chris Christie.
He hoped to remake MF Global from a modest brokerage firm into a Wall Street powerhouse. But it filed for bankruptcy protection, crippled by disastrous bets on European debt, less than two years after Mr. Corzine took the top job.
The bankruptcy was the eighth-largest in the United States and the largest on Wall Street since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Mr. Giddens, in a 275-page report filed with the bankruptcy court, said MF Global’s business “dramatically changed” after Mr. Corzine took over and began trading European debt securities under his own “personal direction.”
It was a very risky bet, and it turned out to be a bad one. European countries were teetering under massive debt loads, and some ultimately had to be saved by bailouts. The value of the securities fell dramatically.
About $1.6 billion was found to be missing from client accounts when the company failed. Much of the missing money belonged to farmers, ranchers and other business owners who used MF Global to reduce their risks from fluctuating prices of commodities such as corn and wheat. The FBI and federal regulators are investigating.
Mr. Corzine has told Congress he did not know customer money was missing until the day before MF Global collapsed. But Mr. Giddens said in his report that top management was partly responsible for the disappearance of customer money.
Mr. Giddens said he also might sue former MF Global Chief Financial Officer Henri J. Steenkamp and former Assistant Treasurer Edith O’Brien, among others.
The trustee also threatened to sue JPMorgan Chase if he does not reach an agreement in his discussions to retrieve money that was transferred to the bank from MF Global. JPMorgan held MF Global funds in several accounts and also processed the firm’s securities trades.
The bank already has returned $608 million to the firm since the filing. JPMorgan declined comment on the report.
The trustee’s report painted a damning portrait of MF Global as a company that was in over its head as it experienced explosive growth. Worries about liquidity only increased after Mr. Corzine joined the firm and pursued a plan to transform the company into a global economic force. But MF Global never had the capital to underwrite Mr. Corzine’s plans, according to Mr. Giddens.
MF Global management “failed to add to its Treasury Department and technology infrastructure, which was needed to meet the demands on global money management and liquidity,” the trustee wrote, adding, “Management’s actions, along with the lack of sufficient monitoring and systems, resulted in customer property being used during the liquidity crisis to fund the extraordinary liquidity drains elsewhere in the business.”
When the firm’s investments began to unravel last year, MF Global, in the words of one executive, succumbed to “liquidity asphyxiation,” according to the report.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. |
Have you heard about the secret area in Mantol-Derith?
There’s a “secret” place in the upper zone of this map but don’t get too excited, there’s not really much there except for a single page of Lore which is probably there to bring us some interesting information about what we are going to see in the next module because, as far as I know, it is related to the Underdark too. And let’s be honest regarding Mod8, it lacks of more… “underdark”, we really want to see more!
So, take a look to the following picture in order to get to the “secret” place starting by the campfire:
In the square at the top of a box, you will be able to interact with a journal. You will find the following information:
After reading the journal, we can see that there are rumours around about “Orcus, the prince of undeath”. Maybe another 10-man skirmish epic dungeon or a raid… We don’t know yet, we will have to wait a bit more until we receive news about the module. 🙂
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FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday downplayed talk of division among President Donald Trump’s advisers after Secretary of State Tillerson and economic adviser Gary Cohn appeared to criticize Trump for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday over the weekend, Tillerson said “the president speaks for himself” when asked about Trump’s values.
Cohn, who was standing near the president in Trump Tower this month when Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of the demonstration that was sponsored by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, told the Financial Times in an interview that citizens standing up for freedom could never be equated with such groups.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday that senior administration officials were not distancing themselves from the president despite the comments from Tillerson and Cohn.
She said Trump’s relationship with Tillerson was “very strong” and that Cohn was committed to working on tax reform.
“I think that ... at moments you have people that disagree, I think that’s a healthy thing,” she told reporters on Air Force One. |
“Bad News,”, “Newport Blues,” “The Armpit of Hampton Roads”…We’ve heard all the derogatory nicknames for our beloved Newport News and we get it now: you’re jealous. So, just to increase your envy, I’ve decided to bust out 5 more reasons why Newport News doesn’t suck…
Click here to read Anna’s last article, Letter from a Bad Newz Girl: 5 Reasons to Love Newport News.
Circa with you know who | image from Ferguson Center for the Arts
Some people think that a small, dark restaurant with candlelight means that it’s fancy and good. Those people are correct. Not only is Circa all of those things, but also the food is heavenly and the wine is superb. Located in the charmingly adorable Historic Hilton Village, Circa is basically a real foodie place. It’s the kind of restaurant that makes you feel cozy, inspired and accomplished. Even just using their bathroom makes me feel like I’m finally doing something with my life. Relative to your typical Newport News establishment, it does require a decent amount of coin. So, save up and dress up. You’ll be glad you did.
Dean & Don’s Farm Market
2)Opening every April for the season, Dean & Don’s is a local staple that has been family owned and operated since 1967. Their garden center happens to be one of the best in town but this place is most popular for its straight-from-the-farm produce. I’m always reminded that I’m in the South when I’m in there sweating, picking out peaches, listening to country music and pretending that I’m going to make a pie from scratch like the other patrons. Swing by before they close in October with some friends and make sure to tell this joke to your company:
Q: Where do cantaloupes go in the summer?
A: John Cougar Melon Camp.
Ok, so this is actually in Yorktown, but growing up in Newport News, there wasn’t a teenager that hadn’t driven down this road with friends at night, turned the lights off under the bridge and waited for supernatural activity to pop off. We were supposed to hear ghost babies crying or actually see a ghost but I never did. I think my glow-in-the-dark pager went off one time when everyone was really quiet and scared the pee out of us and that was about it. Really, the creepiest part for me was that when you come out of the road on the other side, it’s spelled Crafford Rd. I mean, which one is it?!
The Virginia Living Museum
4)When I retire (at about 120 years of age), I plan on posting up at the otter exhibit here and watching these local furry angels from heaven swim and frolic all the rest of my days. Seriously, its SO entertaining. The VLM Is a combination wildlife park, science museum, aquarium, and botanical preserve. It basically has it all… plus cool laser light shows, kids camps, fun regular events and fundraisers. The admission is really reasonable, which makes it a must.
This place is pure, greasy, American indulgence. With its iconic A-frame structure and packed parking lot since 1972, everyone loves Hot Dog King. When I was growing up, HDK was the destination after every baseball game, every church service, every awards ceremony and basically all the time. My favorite meal there was the chili cheeseburger AND cheese fries. I wore a lot of elastic waist pants then. Not much has changed since, and that seems to be the strongest appeal in a city where so much seems to change so often. Sometimes you just need a bar stool and a fully loaded hot dog. And that’s it.
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The Cinefex iPad edition is an enhanced version of our print magazine. Single issues and annual (6-issue) subscriptions can be purchased directly through the Cinefex app. We invite you to download the app for free, and start enjoying your first iPad edition of Cinefex today. The Cinefex iPad edition is the perfect companion to our print edition. All issues since 127 have been re-designed specifically for the iPad. Each issue contains all of the articles and ads appearing in our print edition, but includes nearly twice as many photographs, many of which are interactive, allowing readers to toggle back and forth between plates and comps and elements to see how visual effects shots come together. Whenever possible, we also incorporate video clips and breakdowns of effects shots and sequences. Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. The oral and visual history of your craft in a single, searchable edition. Every issue in the Classic Collection has been digitally restored and image-enhanced, every article viewable in its original "print" format or in a new e-friendly format with customizable type, image galleries, bookmarking and other features. Best of all, the collection is fully searchable, making this an invaluable tool for researchers or effects artists — or anyone who wants to delve into our 30 years of unsurpassed visual effects coverage. |
Susan Rice is not known for her attention to poetry, but I suspect she is familiar with Walter Scott's famous lines (from the poem Marmion):
Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive.
I wonder if she also knows J. R. Pope's sly addition:
But when we've practiced for a while How vastly we improve our style.
Pope's amusing title for that opus is "A Word of Encouragement."
To be perfectly frank, I believe that Ms. Rice, Barack Obama's former national security advisor, needs more practice.
Since Monday, when Eli Lake broke the story at Bloomberg News, the nation has been riveted by the report that Rice asked that the identities of various U.S. citizens, "incidentally" swept up by one or more of America's alphabet soup of intelligence services, be "unmasked."
"Incidentally," eh? That is, the spooks were looking for something else and the names of people associated with Donald Trump's campaign or transition just happened to be mentioned along the way, en passant. "White House lawyers," Lake wrote, "last month learned that the former national security adviser Susan Rice requested the identities of U.S. persons in raw intelligence reports on dozens of occasions that connect to the Donald Trump transition and campaign."
Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal expanded on this:
We’re told by a source who has seen the unmasked documents that they included political information about the Trump transition team’s meetings and policy intentions. We are also told that none of these documents had anything to do with Russia or the FBI investigation into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. While we don't know if Ms. Rice requested these dozens of reports, we are told that they were only distributed to a select group of recipients—conveniently including Ms. Rice.
A couple of weeks ago, when asked about the "incidental" intelligence sweep on PBS NewsHour, she said, “I know nothing about this. I was surprised to see reports from Chairman Nunes on that count today.”
Rice is not, not yet, speaking under oath, so perhaps it doesn't really matter what she says. Everyone knows by now that she has a habit of economy when it comes to the truth. After the Benghazi massacre, which left four Americans, including a U.S. ambassador, dead, Rice was paraded around the TV shows. With a straight face, she explained that the murderous attack by Islamic radicals was in fact a spontaneous uprising in response to a sophomoric Internet video about Mohammed. She knew that was a lie, but it was the story that the Obama administration wanted peddled, so she peddled it.
After the revelations these last couple of days about the "incidental" unmaskings, Rice made another television appearance, this time in an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC. Asked about allegations that she had been been involved in disseminating the names of people swept up by the intelligence investigations, she insisted that they were "absolutely false." |
FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service joined the effort to find Ethan Couch, the so-called "affluenza" teen whose lawyers argued he shouldn't be punished for killing four people in a drunk-driving crash in Texas because his parents were wealthy.
Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson said the help from the federal agencies will expand the search globally. Couch and his mother, Tonya, disappeared after the teen missed a planned meeting with his probation officer, about the same time a video was posted on Twitter showing him attending a game of beer pong. The terms of his probation order he avoid alcohol and drugs.
Anderson said the pair could have fled the United States because they have the money to finance such a trip. But, he said, the resources from federal investigators can help.
"You can run, but you're always going to be looking over your shoulder," Anderson said. "We're not going to give up. We're going to come after you. We're going to find you, wherever you are."
Couch was 16 when he ran down four people. Defense attorneys said Couch was the victim of "affluenza" because he was spoiled by his wealthy parents and never faced any consequences for his actions, growing up with a sense of entitlement and poor judgement. He received 10 years probation in the juvenile justice system, a sentence that has been criticized as too lenient.
Investigators have spoken to Couch's father Fred, but he has not provided details about his son's whereabouts. Fred and Tonya Couch do not live together.
Prosecutors recently filed a motion to transfer his case to adult court after he turns 19 in April. |
A male medical graduate has been convicted of indecent assault after repeatedly grabbing his Tinder date’s breasts, even though the two were engaged in consensual sex.
Despite the woman consenting to sexual intercourse, Philip Queree, 37, was found guilty of indecent assault after reportedly grabbing at the victim’s breasts “really hard” to the point that the women started crying and was in pain.
The women said she was left bruised after the encounter, she accused the man of using “excessive force” after she had explicitly told him not to touch her breasts.
Queree, who studied medicine and surgery at King’s College, was convicted during a trial in August at Jersey Magistrates Court of one count of indecent assault. The accused was also put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next five years. He was also given 180-hours’ of community service and was ordered to pay £2,000 ($2,630) towards prosecution costs. |
Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning announced today that the Canucks have re-signed goaltender Jacob Markstrom to a two-year deal.
Markstrom, 25, appeared in three games with the Canucks in 2014.15 and 32 games with the Utica Comets, where he posted a record of 22-7-2, a GAA of 1.88, save percentage of 0.934 and five shutouts. Markstrom backstopped the Comets to the Calder Cup Finals with a 0.925 save percentage and 2.11 GAA through 23 games.
In 50 career NHL games with Vancouver and Florida, the Gavle, Sweden native has a record of 13-28-5 with a 3.19 GAA. The 6’6”, 199-pound goaltender was acquired by Vancouver from Florida alongside Shawn Matthias in exchange for Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony on March 4, 2014.
Career Regular Season Statistics
SEASON TEAM GP W L T OT SO GA SA Sv% GAA Min 2006-2007 Brynas IF Gavle U18-Swe-U18 13 0 27 2.05 2006-2007 Brynas IF Gavle Jr.-Swe-Jr. 1 0 3 2.77 2007-2008 Brynas IF Gavle U18-Swe-U18 1 0 3 3.00 2007-2008 Brynas IF Gavle Jr.-Swe-Jr. 22 2 44 2.00 2007-2008 Brynas If Gavle-Sweden 7 0 22 3.12 2007-2008 Brynas If Gavle-Sweden-Q 9 2 15 1.78 2007-2008 Sweden-WJ18-A 6 4 2 0 1 18 3.04 355 2008-2009 Brynas If Gavle-Sweden 35 3 79 2.38 1,992 2008-2009 Sweden-WJC-A 5 4 1 0 1 8 1.61 298 2009-2010 Brynas If Gavle-Sweden 43 5 85 2.01 2,542 2009-2010 Sweden-WJC-A 5 4 1 0 0 11 2.21 299 2009-2010 Sweden-WC-A 3 3 0 0 1 4 72 1.33 180 2010-2011 Panthers 1 0 1 - 0 0 2 14 .857 3.00 40 2010-2011 Rochester Americans-AHL 37 16 20 1 1 108 1,051 .907 2.98 2,174 2011-2012 Panthers 7 2 4 - 1 0 17 222 .923 2.66 383 2011-2012 San Antonio Rampage-AHL 32 17 12 1 1 71 979 .927 2.32 1,839 2012-2013 San Antonio Rampage-AHL 33 16 15 2 3 87 1,081 .920 2.65 1,972 2012-2013 Panthers 23 8 14 - 1 0 68 685 .901 3.22 1,266 2012-2013 Sweden-WC-A 3 2 1 0 0 5 76 1.58 190 2013-2014 Panthers 12 1 6 - 3 0 36 285 .874 3.52 614 2013-2014 Canucks 4 1 2 - 0 0 10 76 .868 3.00 200 2013-2014 San Antonio Rampage-AHL 29 12 11 3 2 72 875 .918 2.56 1,688 2014-2015 Canucks 3 1 1 - 0 0 4 33 .879 3.08 78 NHL TOTALS 50 13 28 0 5 0 137 1,315 .896 3.19 2,580
Career Playoff Statistics |
PEORIA -- A 29-year-old Peoria resident is suing the City, the Mayor and several officials for their role in transforming his Twitter parody of the Mayor into a police matter, leading to a raid on a home, the seizing of personal property and his arrest and detention. Jon Daniel is asking a federal court in Peoria to hold the Mayor, the City Manager, the former police chief and other City officials accountable for violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights by responding to a parody account spoofing the Mayor by launching a manhunt for the account's author. Mr. Daniel is represented in this case by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, who announced the lawsuit along with Mr. Daniel in Peoria today.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court yesterday afternoon, charges that Mayor Ardis, along with Peoria's City Manager, the Assistant City Manager, the Chief Information Officer, former Chief of Police and two police detectives violated Mr. Daniel's First and Fourth Amendment rights by launching a police investigation based on his speech and then searching his home as part of that investigation.
The events that have been dubbed "Twittergate" began on March 9, when Mr. Daniel created a Twitter account @peoriamayor. Mr. Daniel created the account mainly for his own entertainment and the amusement of his friends, whom he thought would be surprised to receive a re-tweet from the @peoriamayor account. Over the next ten days, Mr. Daniel retweeted and favorited posts from friends, and also issued a series of tweets from the account -- which he clearly labeled parody several days after it was created -- that used informal language, slang and even expletives.
"The joke of the account was to have my fictional mayor saying things that no one would possibly think that Mayor Jim Ardis would say," according to Jon Daniel, the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the City. "If the Mayor was concerned, all he had to do was tell the public that his was not his account and not his words, rather than involving the police."
According to local reporting and the facts alleged in the lawsuit, within hours of finding out about the existence of the @peoriamayor account, Mayor Jim Ardis directed the City Manager to involve the police department in order to find the author of the account. It is clear that Mayor Ardis was personally offended by the Twitter account. Days later on March 20th, City officials were able to convince Twitter to suspend the account, threatening litigation and other sanctions.
Even after the account had been suspended and no new messages were sent, the police involvement continued. On April 15th, Peoria police executed a search warrant on Mr. Daniel's home. While Mr. Daniel was at work when the police arrived, his roommates and other friends were present at the home.
The police searched the home, took a number of computers, telephones and other electronic devices into their possession, including Mr. Daniel's computer, as well as a laptop and Xbox.
Shortly thereafter, a police detective phoned Mr. Daniel and told him that the police needed to speak with him. The police came to Mr. Daniel's place of employment, searched him, placed him in a police car and drove him to the police station. There, he was required to empty his pockets, was read his rights and placed in an interrogation room. When Mr. Daniel demanded to see a lawyer, he was released, but the police confiscated his phone, which was Mr. Daniel's only form of communication with the world.
"When I got home, I discovered that my room had been searched -- there were drawers open, things were out of place and a box of pictures were dumped out on the floor, a box that included important pictures of my children and my life," according to Mr. Daniel. "The next few days were like a blur for me. I was very scared and helpless. I could not sleep. I had a sense of impending doom."
Mr. Daniel reports that the sense of doom was enhanced when the story about the search of the house exploded across the country. It only abated when the State's Attorney announced that Mr. Daniel would not be charged with a crime.
"Political parody is a great tradition in the United States -- from Thomas Nast to Jon Stewart," said Harvey Grossman, legal director for the ACLU of Illinois and the lead attorney representing Mr. Daniel. "In a number of public statements, the Mayor and Peoria officials have been unapologetic about their activities," added Grossman. "The only way to hold these government officials accountable is to have a federal court rule that their actions violated the fundamental constitutional rights of our client."
Also representing Mr. Daniel are Karen Sheley and Roshni Shikari of the ACLU of Illinois and Marc Beem of the Chicago law firm Miller Shakman & Beem. |
Residents of Mohawk community call on federal government to intervene in dispute over housing development
CBC News Posted: Aug 02, 2017
Frustration continues to mount in Kanesatake, Que., where residents of the Mohawk community are once again rallying to protect a stand of trees known as The Pines from encroaching development.
A protest was held on Tuesday near a housing project, Domaines des Collines d’Oka, about 60 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
The development is on land which is part of the Kanesatake Mohawks’ decades-old unresolved land claim.
The tension comes nearly three decades after an explosive and historic conflict erupted in the same area between the community, Sûreté du Québec and the Canadian Army.
Now, the Mohawks want Canada to intervene.
“The government and all the Crown actors need to act to stop the land fraud that’s been going on for 300 years,” said Ellen Gabriel, a resident of the community who become known to many as a spokesperson during the Oka Crisis in 1990.
“Stop the development that is depriving this generation and will deprive future generations from enjoying our lands as they become privatized and urbanized.”
Minister invited to community
Gabriel said that on July 15, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett agreed to visit the community, but no date for that visit was set.
According to a news release issued by the Mohawks involved in Tuesday’s protest, “Minister Bennett also stated that she did not know what ‘they could do.'”
CBC News asked Indigenous Affairs if the department would be intervening in the situation at Kanesetake, but has yet to receive an answer.
On July 12, the developer said the project is already three-quarters finished and an additional 20 homes are planned for the disputed land.
“[The federal government] is talking about reconciliation, but this is not a good example of reconciliation as far as we’re concerned,” Gabriel said.
[SOURCE] |
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan is likely to extend three special loan facilities that have provided more than $81 billion in lending over the past three years to try to nudge Japan’s risk-averse banks to create more credit, sources said.
A pedestrian holding a smartphone walks past a Bank of Japan signboard in Tokyo September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Yuya Shino
An extension would signal the BOJ’s commitment to driving funds through the banking sector to borrowers, even as it continues its unprecedented quantitative easing policy under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to try to revive an economy that has suffered years of low-grade deflation and sluggish growth.
The central bank’s policy board is expected to review the loan programs in November or December before their expiry date of March 2014. Apart from extending them by at least a year, the board might also combine the programs to simplify their operations, people familiar with the matter said.
“These facilities still have a key role to play,” said one person familiar with the central bank’s thinking. “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be extended.”
The loan programs were cobbled together under former Governor Masaaki Shirakawa between 2010 and 2012 as a way for the BOJ to support bank lending, while resisting political pressure to ease what was already an ultra-loose monetary policy.
The first of the special BOJ programs was created in June 2010 to extend funds to banks that lend to companies with growth potential, such as those in the environment and heath care industries.
Another 1-trillion-yen program was added in 2011 to support financial institutions operating in areas struck by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March of that year.
The BOJ added another program in 2012 that promised to supply cheap, long-term funds to banks that boost lending by a total of around 15 trillion yen.
Under Kuroda, the BOJ aims to achieve 2 percent inflation in roughly two years. Japan’s annual core consumer inflation stood at 0.8 percent in August, the highest in nearly five years, although the increase was mainly due to rising prices for imported energy.
One reason to extend the loans is that only part of the available funds have been taken up, reflecting years of weak demand by borrowers. Just over 8 trillion yen ($81 billion) of the combined 21.5 trillion yen set aside under the facilities have been used so far.
Corporations sit on cash piles of more than $2 trillion in retained earnings, limiting their need to borrow funds, although there are signs that lending is picking up.
Bank lending rose 2 percent in September from a year earlier to mark nearly two straight years of increases. Lending by major banks grew at the fastest pace in four years in August.
But a benchmark 10-year government bond yield of just 0.6 percent reflects how domestic banks continue to prefer the safety of Japanese government bonds to the risk of lending.
The loan programs have a role to play in nudging commercial banks into lending more to higher-risk businesses, the sources said.
But BOJ policymakers might disagree about how long these programs should run and in what form, they added.
Some economists have criticized such loan schemes, along with numerous government-sponsored funds, for crowding out private financial institutions from investment opportunities.
Under Kuroda, who took up his post earlier this year, the BOJ has pledged to double the supply of money to 270 trillion yen by the end of 2014 mainly through purchases of government bonds and risky assets.
The loan schemes are not key components of Kuroda’s monetary stimulus program, so extending their deadline would not represent an expansion of monetary easing, the sources said.
($1=98.86 yen) |
The rumor on Foxconn planning to open manufacturing plants in the U.S. is true. According to Bloomberg, Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo said, “We are looking at doing more manufacturing in the U.S. because, in general, customers want more to be done there.” Woo wouldn’t name clients, but in light of Tim Cook’s confirmation that Apple is investing over $100 million in manufacturing some Macs in the U.S. next year, it’s not difficult to deduce that the world’s most valuable company is a primary reason for Foxconn’s upcoming plans.
Woo also noted that “Supply chain is one of the big challenges for U.S. expansion” and that “any manufacturing we take back to the U.S. needs to leverage high-value engineering talent there in comparison to the low-cost labor of China.”
In addition to creating thousands of new jobs, Foxconn’s expansion into the U.S. also has another benefit: reduced delivery times for new products. Whereas most iPhones and iPads are assembled in China, having plants on U.S. soil would allow quicker transport times. And for super-secretive companies like Apple, it could also mean fewer product leaks from the factory line. |
I want to help clarify the difference between the 2 affordable Harry Potter Blu-Ray series, to you all. I've been back and forth on which to buy for the last several months. When searching on Amazon for this set, you'll notice that there are 2 sets, both with all 8 movies, both with the same number of reviews. There is usually between an $8-$15 difference in price between the 2. These are INDEED different, regardless of how similar they are described. Here's why…
I'll start with the blu-ray that has 3 differently aged Harry's on the cover. You'll notice that it is bigger than the other collection being sold. What they don't tell you is that the discs are in 4 separate cases, 2 movies in each case. There are also 11 discs, not just 8. But to be clear on this, the 3 extra discs are just bonus content from the last 3 movies. All of the other movies have the bonus features on the same disc. There is a ton of extra content on each disc. You'll also notice, from a side view picture, the list of movies that are in the box. The first says, "The Philosopher's Stone", rather than "The Sorcerer's Stone". Don't worry, it's not a bootleg copy. It's the English (UK) version of the set. The U.S. version changed the name for marketing purposes and it doesn't affect anything about the set.
Now for the OTHER set being sold:
This set, with the cover being of the castle, is smaller and more compact. This is because it has an insert that unfolds with all movies attached to each fold. It's neater, takes up less space, and in my opinion, looks more like the set it should be. However, this set contains only 8 discs (1 for each movie), with NO Bonus Content discs. I know about this set because It is the same that I borrowed from a friend.
So, there's not much of a difference here. I bought the bigger looking box because of the extra content and it was cheaper. The other box looks more like a classic collection but lacks content. Still, any Harry Potter Collection is worth buying. You'll always have an urge to watch it again and again (I watch the series twice a year). The Blu-Ray makes a huge difference in quality over DVD, so if you have a good TV and a Blu-Ray player, you have to go Blu-Ray.
Hope this helped!
***UPDATE April 2017***
There's been a little more confusion because Amazon has added a couple other collections and newer Blu-rays of single movie of Harry Potter. It has been more difficult to search for collections so i've made it easier for you. Here are the links for the above mentioned collections that I reviewed:
"3 Faces of Harry" collection (currently $65 on Amazon) -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQNOCZ0/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0
"Hogwarts Castle Cover" collection (currently $60 on Amazon) -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OCFHHK/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk
Amazon has changed their Harry Potter supply lately. I'm not sure why, but Amazon has combined ALL reviews for different H.P. collections into one, leaving it difficult to distinguish between them all. Now it's hard to tell what any review is for. If my links are not highlighted, just copy and paste them.
***If you Search "Harry Potter Blu Ray Collection", it WILL NOT show you the "3 Faces" collection so please use the link that i've provided above***
***I would also like to make an important note of feedback from readers. There are versions that you need to be aware of that are MAY NOT be playable in the U.S. It's another collection that is European made and most of the time, the discs are not playable on North American Blu-Ray Players. Obviously if you're reading this and you live in Europe, it'll work for you. I've started to notice those little numbers on the cover that have an Octogon with a number in the center. It means Irish Film Classification Office. They're definitely European made discs. Buy at your own risk though. One reader wrote that they played on his Playstation but couldn't comment on a Blu-Ray Player.***
This should still help everyone.I will continue to update as needed in order to help you.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has created another buzz in the world of Harry Potter. If you haven't seen the movie, it is "Fantastic"! AND IT'S COMING OUT ON BLU-RAY SOON!!!!!!!!!
RIP Alan Rickman, aka Severus Snape! You are missed by all Fans.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this review, you may like my other ones on various products helpful as well. [...]. Thanks again! |
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