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British driver Susie Wolff took part in her second practice session this season at Hockenheim
Susie Wolff admits it will be difficult for her to achieve her ambition of racing in Formula 1.
The Briton impressed in her outing for Williams in first practice at the German Grand Prix, lapping just 0.227 seconds slower than team-mate Felipe Massa.
Scot Wolff, 31, said: "I feel ready but it is a tough environment and getting the chance is not going to be easy.
"But for me this was a massive step forward on my journey."
Media playback is not supported on this device Watch highlights from the first practice session in Germany
Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said she "really hoped" Wolff stayed on with the team in 2015 but said there was no option for her to race as Massa and team-mate Valtteri Bottas were already under contract.
"There's always a place for Susie in our team," Williams told the BBC. "We have a great relationship with her and would like her to stay in 2015.
"In what role that would be, I wouldn't be able to say yet. We have race drivers for next year in Felipe and Valtteri, so we'll have to wait and see."
Wolff's run at Hockenheim was her second this season, which has reached the halfway point this weekend, with Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton separated by just four points at the head of the championship after winning eight of the nine races between them.
At the British Grand Prix two weeks ago she became the first woman to take part in an F1 race weekend for 22 years but the car lasted just four laps before its engine failed.
Despite a brief scare when her Williams became stuck in gear on her first 'installation' lap, Wolff was able to do a full programme this time.
"For me, there was so much hype around Silverstone because it was historic but actions speak louder than a thousand words," she said.
"I'm asked so often am I good enough, are women good enough, are they strong enough? And I just wanted to show that for me when the helmet's on and I'm out there I'm no different from anyone out there."
She added: "I'm happy with my performance. My main target was always going to be Felipe. It was important to do a good job.
"I knew exactly what I had to do and I knew it was my only chance to show what I was capable of.
"But I had a really good feeling. I know the track really well from my times in the DTM (German touring car championship) and I was just looking forward to driving the car because it's so much fun."
Wolff, who is Williams's development driver, admitted she was unlikely to get a chance to race at her current team in place of Massa and Bottas this year or next.
"I'm very realistic and Valtteri and Felipe are doing a fantastic job, let's be honest," she said.
"I rate both very highly. So am I going to get a seat here? No.
"But all I can do is stay here, take every opportunity that comes my way, keep doing a good job and you never know.
"Sometimes a chance comes and the most important thing is I'm ready but a full race seat here next year is something that's not realistic."
Hamilton was fastest in Friday's second practice ahead of a crucial qualifying on Saturday, across 5 live and online, with TV highlights on BBC One at 17:25 BST.
Women at the Wheel, presented by Jennie Gow, broadcasts on BBC World Service on Saturday at 17:00 BST.
Practice results
German Grand Prix coverage details
Susie Wolff impressed for Williams in the first practice at the German Grand Prix despite suffering car problems on her first lap |
A key ally of Donald Trump says Canadians should understand the U.S. president believes in free trade, and they shouldn’t read too much into what they hear.
Maine Governor Paul LePage, in Charlottetown for a meeting of Eastern Canadian premiers and New England governors on Monday, said he’s spoken to Trump on the subject and he is confident any issues with NAFTA “can be fixed.”
“Don’t read in too much in what you sometimes hear. He really truly believes in having free trade and good, honest trade between the two countries. He really does believe that.”
READ MORE: New Brunswick premier to make final push in Washington on softwood lumber
Trump again suggested Sunday that the North American Free Trade Agreement should be terminated, tweeting that both Canada and Mexico are being “very difficult.” It was the first time that Trump has complained about Canada’s role in the talks, which began earlier this month between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Trump repeated his NAFTA criticisms Monday during a news conference with Finland’s president, calling it one of the worst trade deals in history.
Trump said the U.S. will likely have to begin the termination process before it gets a fair deal.
“It’s been a one-sided deal – and this includes Canada by the way. Great respect for Canada, great love for Canada, but it’s been a one-sided deal for Canada and for Mexico … it’s been unfair for too long,” he said.
LePage, who campaigned several times with Trump, said earlier in the day Canada likely has little to worry about.
“I don’t really believe he’s concerned as much over Canada as much as maybe Mexico.”
The Eastern Canadian premiers and New England governors ended their meeting Monday with a resolution to tout the importance of cross-border trade and commerce to their respective economies.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy said it’s his hope that any rhetoric coming from Washington won’t affect an opportunity to refresh and modernize NAFTA.
The best result, he said, would see as little harm done as possible during the negotiations.
WATCH: The governor of Maine wants to see softwood lumber tariff exemptions returned to New Brunswick lumber producers immediately. Jeremy Keefe has more details.
“In 1864 when the Fathers of Confederation came to P.E.I., most of them were not greeted upon their arrival because most of the population was at the circus. Right now the circus is in Washington,” the Democratic governor said in Charlottetown.
“I’m hopeful that the rhetoric that has been applied most frequently to our southern neighbours, but at times to our northern neighbours is just that, rhetoric, and that this will be looked at as an opportunity to refresh these agreements and to modernize them.”
Vermont Governor Philip Scott said the governors realize the importance of the trade relationship with Canada and he believes common sense will result in a mutually beneficial deal.
Frank McKenna – a former Canadian ambassador to the United States and former premier of New Brunswick – said people should not get caught up in Trump’s tweets.
“He’s a negotiator. It’s in his blood,” McKenna said in Charlottetown. “I think he’s always going to use soaring rhetoric as part of negotiations, but at the end of the day there are a lot of sober-minded people involved at the negotiating table guiding the negotiations and supporting the negotiations.”
READ MORE: Cross-border trade focus of eastern Canadian premiers, U.S. governors meeting in Charlottetown
McKenna, now deputy chair of TD Bank Group, was the luncheon speaker at the conference of premiers and governors. He said he remains confident that the Canada-U.S. relationship will be strong during and after negotiations on both NAFTA and softwood lumber.
“The relationship is massive, it’s integrated, and it is highly supported on both sides of the border. At the end of the day the government of Canada is handling the file beautifully in my view and I think we’re going to come out eventually with a softwood lumber agreement and, as well, a new NAFTA.”
LePage had proposed that the leaders gathered in Charlottetown join together on softwood lumber. He wants them to write a letter supporting exemptions on duties for softwood lumber from Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
LePage said the pressure for the duties is coming from the U.S. lumber coalition.
He said the U.S. industry is being irresponsible and if new, hefty duties remain in place there will be collateral damage to economies on both sides of the border.
In June, the U.S. Department of Commerce hit Canada with an additional 6.87 per cent in preliminary average anti-dumping tariffs, leaving the industry facing average duties of about 27 per cent.
The decision exempts the other three Atlantic provinces, but New Brunswick – exempt from such tariffs in the past – is not.
LePage said the issue needs to be resolved quickly – noting that Texas is going to need a lot of softwood lumber to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
WATCH: Cross-border trade focus of eastern Canadian premiers, U.S. governors meeting in Charlottetown
“When you get eight feet of water in Texas, there’s going to be a lot of lumber needed in the next couple of months to rebuild that state. And it’s going to be coming from Canada and the U.S.”
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said many of the states and provinces at the meeting are each others’ largest trading partners and they will continue work to grow ties that run historically deep.
Reporter Marieke Walsh is providing live coverage of the meeting. |
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applauds as attendees to the 72nd Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner are announced Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
NEW YORK (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan poked fun at himself, the Senate’s top Democrat and even the Catholic church on Thursday night. But the top target of the speaker’s ribbing, as he faced hundreds of New York’s elite at a charity dinner that celebrates irreverence, was President Donald Trump himself.
Ryan quickly reminded the audience that Trump offended some people when he addressed the same crowd the year before.
“Some said it was unbecoming of a public figure and they said that his comments were offensive. Well, thank God he’s learned his lesson,” Ryan deadpanned as he delivered the keynote address for the 72nd annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, an event, according to the program, that encourages speakers to “poke fun at a political issue, an opponent, or themselves.”
Ryan later jabbed Trump’s lack of accomplishments, the White House’s ties to Wall Street and, of course, the president’s overactive Twitter account. The event, hosted by New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan, drew leaders of finance and politics to a hotel ballroom in Manhattan, where an estimated 815 guests in tuxedos and dinner gowns dined on lobster and black radish salad, tournedo of beef with lacinto kale and “berries of the forest” cake.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this many New York liberals, this many Wall Street CEOs in one room since my last visit to the White House,” Ryan chuckled as he turned his attention briefly to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “I know why Chuck has been so hard on President Trump. It’s not ideological; Chuck is just mad he lost his top donor.”
Trump attended last year’s Al Smith dinner as a featured speaker, and others before than as a prominent New York business leader who donated money to Democrats and Republicans alike.
Even with Ryan’s light-hearted jabs, this year’s affair was decidedly more cordial than last year’s, when Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton traded caustic barbs at the charity event meant to raise money for impoverished children. At the time, Trump drew boos when he said of Clinton, “Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.”
This year, Trump was the star again, in absentia.
Ryan said he checks Twitter every morning “to see which tweets I will have to pretend that I didn’t see later” — a not-so-subtle reference to the president’s overactive social media account. He also addressed Trump’s frequent complaint that he’s not getting enough credit.
“The truth is, the press absolutely misunderstands and never records the big accomplishments of the White House,” Ryan said. “Look at all the new jobs the president has created — just among the White House staff.” |
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Jermain Defoe was persuaded to join Toronto - after a phone call from rap mega-star Drake.
The Canadian rapper has been recruited by Toronto FC for an ambassadorial role, and rang Tottenham striker Defoe to try and talk him into moving to his hometown Major League Soccer team.
Defoe, 31, is a huge fan of Drake - who is massively popular among footballers - and was blown away that he made personal contact, according to sources in Toronto.
Toronto FC say they have used Drake to help them recruit big stars to their team, and now - as we exclusively revealed in October - Defoe is now set to go to MLS.
(Image: Getty)
But the England international, who has agreed a mega-bucks four year contract, is expected to be loaned back to the north Londoners until pre-season starts ahead of the North American league's big kick-off on March 8.
Defoe is acutely aware that his Canadian switch could affect his World Cup chances, but is confident he can still make Roy Hodgson's squad for Brazil next summer and believes the offer was too good to turn down.
The 31-year-old has been offered a deal worth £90,000-a-week, while Toronto will also pay for unlimited flights for him and his family and provide him with two houses.
It is a huge retirement package, and the call from Drake helped seal the deal with Toronto. |
On-court words between Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard led to a defensive breakdown in the Hawks’ loss to the Warriors Monday night.
It also led to something much bigger.
In addition to the heated exchange between players, Schroder also had words with coach Mike Budenholzer following the play. Budenholzer then benched Schroder, who played just 3:19 of the second half, in the 119-111 loss.
Budenholzer called it a coach’s decision. Schroder said he didn’t understand the discipline and wanted a meeting to discuss it. Howard said such a conversation would not a bad thing. Several other Hawks players wanted to put the incident behind them and move forward.
The slumping Hawks need no such distractions as they enter the stretch run of the regular season and playoffs still trying to get on the same page.
Budenholzer made his example of Schroder despite the point guard’s 23 first-half points, including 19 in the first quarter, which had the Hawks up by as many as 15 points.
“Just us staying together is the bigger point,” Budenholzer said of his decision. “We’ve got to stay together and find a way to move on to the next play. Those things are important.”
As Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard argue, Steph Curry runs down and drills a three pic.twitter.com/kHiNM5Pav2 — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 7, 2017
The Hawks led 70-69 early in the third quarter when Howard was credited with a turnover on a bad pass to Thabo Sefolosha with 9:42 remaining. As Schroder and Howard argued, the Warriors inbounded the ball and Stephen Curry quickly hit a 3-pointer. Budenholzer was heard to yell at Schroder “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Less than a minute later, Schroder was replaced and spent the remainder of the game on the bench.
“I don’t really know,” Schroder said when asked why he was benched. “I know the 3 from Steph Curry when me and Dwight was arguing was part of it. That can’t happen. I don’t understand coach’s decision. I want to be on the court. Maybe I’m too competitive. I’m just trying to be competitive and win games.”
He added he would like to meet with Budenholzer about the disciplinary action.
“We have to figure it out, me and coach,” Schroder said. “I want to talk about it. Dwight’s got to be in there too. Get on the same page.”
The Curry 3-pointer was part of a 26-10 Warriors run that put the game nearly out of reach. The Hawks lost for the third straight time, all at home. They have dropped six of the past eight games. The Hawks are 11-14 since a seven-game win streak ended in early January. They are 25-27 since starting the season 9-2.
Howard was asked after the game whether he would welcome the meeting Schroder suggested.
“Listen, we are a team right?” Howard said. “It’s OK if we have conversations. It’s not always conflict when you have a conversation with your coach or a team meeting. That’s what you are supposed to do. By him wanting to have a meeting, it’s great. It’s great for our team. It’s great for each other. We’re all open to it. It’s not always bad when you have a conversation.
“We just have to move forward when we have plays like that. I know it’s highlighted but it’s OK. We made mistakes. We are human. Wish it didn’t happen but it did. Hopefully, everyone will just let it go and move on.”
Paul Millsap insisted the Hawks have a “tight locker room.” Sefolosha said incidents occur during the course of a game.
“When you play basketball, especially in a game like this, emotions are high,” Sefolosha said. “We are a team. We have to play as a team. I’m sure things are going to be talked about between the two of them and we are going to be fine.”
That Budenholzer would make the move to sit Schroder despite his offensive output was part of the bigger picture. Schroder was suspended for one game last week for not returning from the All-Star break on time. He did not start the following game after he was late for the team bus. Players were frustrated with Schroder that he would argue with Budenholzer during Monday’s game and be benched.
“We need to learn to play together and stay together for 48 minutes,” Budenholzer said. “That is something that is important to us.”
The Hawks did have a chance in the fourth quarter when they closed to within a point, 94-93. Budenholzer did not get Schroder off the bench. Instead he played Malcolm Delaney and Tim Hardaway Jr. extra minutes and Kent Bazemore played some at the point.
“I’m not the coach,” Howard said of Budenholzer’s decision to keep Schroder out of the game to make a bigger point. “My job is to play, rebound, block shots and run the floor. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to let coach coach the team. If he decides to sit any of us, that’s on coach. That’s why we have a team. It’s not one player on a team. It’s 15 of us. We have to trust each other. If one man goes down, someone has to step up. It’s just like if one man gets in foul trouble. If I get in foul trouble, I’ve got to trust the next guy to come in. If Dennis gets in foul trouble, it’s the same thing. That’s how it has to be.” |
- The controversial Robert E. Lee statue in Dallas was removed from Lee Park Thursday afternoon.
The crane removing the statue received a Dallas police escort down I-35E and arrived at Lee Park about 4 p.m. Workers then began the tedious effort to remove the large sculpture without any damage. They were able to lift the statue from its base around 6:45 p.m and began loading it on a truck to be taken to storage near the Grand Prairie-Dallas border.
A large group of spectators gathered at Lee Park to watch the statue's removal. Some watched quietly while others got into a boisterous debate.
For Ambaiy Haile, it was a great day. She has pushed for removing it since the violence in Virginia last month.
"It's a reminder that people like me were never meant to be in this city to begin with, let alone the country," she said. "And to see it being removed and seeing city council and the mayor actually listening to us makes me feel better about my place in the United States."
The removal was painful for Joanne Turner. She was a member of the Dallas Southern Memorial Association which commissioned the statue to be built.
"My husband and I contributed almost $500,000 to restore Lee Hall, and we know it's going next because I mean we tried our best to fight this," she said. "Franklin Roosevelt said that Robert E Lee was a fine man, a fine Christian and a fine gentleman. So why can't we tell that story?"
Some like Bill Bowens lived in Dallas for years and never noticed it.
"I had to pay attention to the fact that that statue was a rallying cry for the most deplorable aspects of our society, the neo-nazis, the KKK, all of those folks," he said. "And when I realized that this was their rallying cry, then my paradigm shifted immediately."
The successful removal followed a turbulent week of attempts.
On September 6, the city council voted 13-1 to remove the statue. But on the same day, a temporary restraining order stopped crews in the middle of removing it.
A few days later on September 10, a crane that was being brought in from Houston to remove it was involved in a deadly accident.
The statue will remain in storage until the city figures out what to do with it next.
'This is Texas Freedom Force' was planning a rally at the site of the statue in Lee Park. But even after its removal the group told FOX 4 the rally is still on "even more so." |
Mitt Romney declared his presidential candidacy one year ago with a 2,400 word speech. None of those words was "immigration." The issue of workers illegally entering the country was dealt with one pat phrase: "I believe that homeland security begins with securing our borders." He couldn't have been more careful if he was wearing a bike helmet and knee pads. How hard of a line would he have to take on immigration? He'd wait and see. Better, for a while, to keep it vague.
A while lasted about one month. At the Conservative Political Action Conference, where Romney would win the first of many easily purchased straw polls, the candidate got bold. He was suddenly the defender of American sovereignty against unskilled workers making the "wide-open walk" across the border. He attacked John McCain's comprehensive immigration bill, gleefully calling it "McCain-Kennedy" and warning that "amnesty didn't work 20 years ago, and it won't work today."
Romney, swinging his platinum pick axe wildly, had finally hit on a vein of gold. He watched along with the shocked pundit class as the immigration bill came up again in the Senate and John McCain, already wounded by a mismanaged campaign, plummeted into third or fourth place. Fred Thompson started his six month sleepwalk into the race by bashing "comprehensive immigration reform": He, too, figured that this was an issue that split the campaign wide open.
And they weren't wrong. If you walked into an "Ask Mitt Anything" townhall meeting or an "Oh, God, Why Am I Doing This?" Sam Brownback event in Iowa this summer you would have heard endless, angry, heated, and pissed-off verbiage about how illegal immigrants were ruining the state. If you headed down to South Carolina, a must-win McCain state that looked iffy for a long time, you would have heard the same thing, but louder. In May, Mitt Romney visited the state with a message as sharp as his jawline. "One simple rule: No amnesty!" Sen. Lindsay Graham, a McCain ally, was booed viciously. And the rest of the Republican candidates smiled and dialed up their anti-immigration rhetoric.
The problem for the demagogues was that the primaries weren't held in the white heat of late summer, when immigration anger was at its highest. In Iowa, 33 percent of Republicans marked "illegal immigration" as their top issue, and only 4 percent of those voters went for McCain. But the fade was on. In the state where Lindsay Graham got heckled, only 26 percent of voters said illegal immigration was their top issue, compared to 40 percent who said the economy and 31 percent who said either "terrorism" or "Iraq." And a full 47 percent of those immigration voters favored a "path to citizenship" or "temporary worker" status for illegal immigrants.
Graham and McCain had been hurt by the immigration fight, of course. McCain confirmed to The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza that his coalition-building on immigration reform caused his six-month poll swoon: "I was told by one of the pollsters, ‘We see real bleeding.'" But McCain massaged his stance on the issue, telling audiences that he favored "enforcement first." Mike Huckabee spent the months before Iowa and South Carolina pandering shamelessly, adopting every suggestion of groups like NumbersUSA and successfully courting Minutemen maharishi Jim Gilchrist. Still, by the time of the South Carolina primary the issue was so quiescent that McCain suffered no real damage. "A ceiling of 18 percent of the most dedicated Republican voters in that conservative state cared so much about illegal immigration that they voted against McCain," noted David Freddoso of National Review. "Another six percent cared about it so much that they voted for him. That puts McCain's immigration deficit in the South Carolina GOP primary at 12 points overall."
The most glaring sign of how the issue was fading was, as usual in this campaign, Romney's obvious feint and switch to another issue: the economy. Bolstered by a win in Michigan, Romney dropped most of his immigration talk and started comparing John McCain to Hillary Clinton. It was almost poetic that McCain's win in Florida, the primary that shaped the rest of the race, was made possible by a 30 percent to 40 percent landslide with Republican Hispanic voters. There was no Hispanic Republican population that big on Super Tuesday, but by then the issue had faded even further. In talk radio-riven California only 29 percent of voters called immigration their top issue, and McCain won both counties on the Mexican border, Imperial and San Diego. (Romney won only three counties, none of them south of Fresno.) In McCain's own Arizona, where Republicans once viewed him vulnerable to a primary challenge on the issue, only 31 percent called it their top issue, and 53 percent of them opposed deportation.
None of this is to say Romney was the only candidate who got mired in the immigration fever swamps. Twenty-one years ago, seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for president, Ron Paul filled out a CNN questionnaire with unashamed open borders answers. Asked whether "the new immigration bill" was "solving the problem," he wrote "no" and that the way to fix it was "open all borders." Paul opposed strengthening the U.S. border patrol and making English "the official U.S. language." But in April 2006, just as the current immigration maelstrom starting churning, Paul demanded that the government "allocate far more resources, both in terms of money and manpower, to securing our borders" as the only way to solve "immigration problems and the threat of foreign terrorists." And Paul ran hard on immigration this year. An ad that saturated New Hampshire's TV screens showed Mexicans climbing over the border as a narrator intoned the ways Paul would stop the immigration mess. One piece of direct mail showed a work boot trampling the Constitution and promised the voter that "Ron Paul will end birthright citizenship."
More than a week before Super Tuesday I asked Paul why his stance had evolved or whether he was trying to just win votes. "Even under the best of circumstances I don't think people should be rewarded for breaking the law," Paul told me. So I asked what Paul thought might have happened if his earlier advice had been taken and the borders were opened. "If you'd asked me that in 1987 I'd have qualified what ‘open the borders' meant," he said. "It probably would have meant at the time that we'd have a generous work program. We need workers—we should allow workers to come in." Paul was saying what about half of those GOP voters with immigration on their minds had been saying. But his campaign had marked them as deportation die-hards, and it suffered for that.
The solace for Paul is that he did not suffer quite so much as Mitt Romney. Romney, who always knew better, calculated that voter anger at illegal immigration and illegal immigrants themselves would carve out a position for him in the race. He bought the hype that this would become, indeed, the defining issue of the GOP race, and was blindsided by both the McCain comeback and Mike Huckabee's traction in Iowa. How could either of those things happen if the base was worried about immigration? Simple: He, and a lot of other people, assumed the worst about Americans and immigration.
David Weigel is an associate editor of reason. |
Yesterday, a Federal District Court Judge in Western Pennsylvania handed down a decision in the sentencing phase of a criminal case wherein he ruled that the Obama Executive Order allowing millions of illegal immigrants to remain in the country is unconstitutional.
Pretty big deal, no?
I suppose it might have been had anybody, including the participants in the case before him, asked the Judge for his opinion on the matter.
But they didn't. Nobody other than the judge himself had raised the issue. The participants never raised the issue because the constitutionality, or lack thereof, of the Obama immigration order had absolutely nothing to do with the case that was at bar.
This was a criminal matter and the Executive Order specifically, and with great clarity, prohibits anyone who recently came across the border illegally to avail themselves of the benefits of the E.O. Considering that this defendant had plead guilty to doing precisely that—recently coming across the border illegally—there really wasn't any reason to worry about either the constitutionality nor the applicability of the Executive Order.
And yet, Judge Arthur J. Schwab, who has quite the ‘interesting’ history (more on this in a moment), took it upon himself to insert the issue into the case (neither prosecutor nor defendant ever raised the matter) so that he could be the very first federal judge to tell us what he thinks about the constitutionality of the Obama Executive Order.
Sadly, the judge is late to the party.
It turns out that my friend's dog, who goes by the name of Judge Dredd, barked out his own opinion over two weeks ago—an opinion that bears precisely the same legal weight and relevance as Judge Schwab's own legal pronouncement.
The case before Schwab involved a Honduran man who had been previously deported from the US after committing a crime. He then illegally re-entered the United States, was caught and brought in front of Judge Schwab where the Honduran entered a plea of guilty to the charge of illegally entering the USA.
The fact that the defendant pled guilty would be your first clue that something has gone amiss here.
When a defendant pleads guilty, and that plea is accepted by the judge, there is absolutely no reason for a judge to issue any opinion on the legal issues of the case beyond the sentencing of that defendant or, in this case, deporting him to his home country. Indeed, as the judge writes in his Memorandum Opinion, it has been his practice in such cases to sentence the defendant to time served and then see to it that the defendant is bounced out of the country.
However, Judge Schwab, who was obviously looking to get a little press—I'm happy to oblige—decided that he could issue his opinion on the immigration Executive Order because of his concern that the defendant before him, despite having been determined guilty of illegal entry, could, somehow, be permitted to stay in the United States as a result of Obama’s decree.
The problem is…there was no problem requiring a judicial determination and, as a result, none should have been offered up.
Again, this defendant was specifically prohibited by the Executive Order from benefitting from the same.
As the Justice Department noted, “No party in the case challenged the constitutionality of the immigration-related executive actions and the department’s filing made it clear that the executive actions did not apply to the criminal matter before the court.”
But Judge Schwab wasn’t going to let the facts and proper judicial behavior and procedure get in the way of an opportunity to get his name in front of the media.
After all, he's never allowed such things to stop him in the past.
In 2008, Schwab tried so hard to stack the deck against a defendant who happened to be a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat named Cyril Wecht (Schwab is a Bush appointee) that he was ultimately removed from the case by the Appellate Court. Once replaced, the new judge ended up having to toss out most of the evidence because it was seized by unconstitutional warrants issued by Schwab and, eventually, all the charges against Mr. Wecht had to be dismissed.
In 2012, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, once again, threw Judge Schwab off a civil case because of his behavior. As the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote, “It’s rare for a federal judge to get yanked from a case, and twice in four years gets everyone’s attention.”
Now there is an understatement.
This might explain why, in 2008, Schwab received the lowest ranking possible by the Allegheny County Bar Association. It might also explain why, in 2011, Schwab was accused of bias so many times, he had to recuse himself from seventeen ongoing cases.
In my forty years as an attorney, I've never heard of any judge, at any level, having to recuse themself from so many ongoing cases. It just doesn't happen—unless we are talking about Judge Arthur Schwab.
The bottom line here is that if you are concerned that some great legal blow has been struck against the Obama Executive Order, you can relax. Nothing happened yesterday that means anything whatsoever.
And yes, I’d be saying precisely the same thing had this judge issued an order that I found to be more to my way of thinking.
Of course, this won’t stop some from touting this ‘ruling’ as dramatic proof of the executive order's unconstitutionality.
However, reality is rarely an antidote to those who will use pretty much anything to aid their case, no matter how fallacious, which is why there are times when all you can do is sit back and enjoy the show. This would certainly be one of those times.
I mean, talk about taking judicial activism where it's never gone before.
Contact Rick at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter and Facebook. |
TotalBiscuit Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United Kingdom 5415 Posts #1
It's been a while since we did one of these and it turns out there are plenty of sponsors excited about providing a prizepool for players of this calibre.
This showmatch will take place as part of the Showcraft stream on Friday, a variety show of laddering, coaching, customs and commentary over on
There's also a chance for a member of the audience to win a 6790 graphics card courtesy of Club3d, all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to Like and make a comment on their Facebook page, it's that simple -
It's been a while since we did one of these and it turns out there are plenty of sponsors excited about providing a prizepool for players of this calibre.This showmatch will take place as part of the Showcraft stream on Friday, a variety show of laddering, coaching, customs and commentary over on http://www.twitch.tv/totalbiscuit There's also a chance for a member of the audience to win a 6790 graphics card courtesy of Club3d, all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is to Like and make a comment on their Facebook page, it's that simple - https://www.facebook.com/club3d?sk=wall Commentator Host of SHOUTcraft Clan Wars- http://www.mlg.tv/shoutcraft
ReachTheSky Profile Joined April 2010 United States 3110 Posts #2 WhiteRa will win 3-0. Special Tactics Fighting!!!@~~~~ Zerg is hands down the easiest race to play.
Torticoli Profile Joined June 2011 15 Posts #3 Awesome idea.
amazingoopah Profile Joined January 2010 United States 1924 Posts #4 looking forward to some banjo taktics.
DifuntO Profile Joined November 2011 Greece 2374 Posts #5 nice! All I do is Stim.
pPingu Profile Joined September 2011 Switzerland 2881 Posts #6 Awesome!
I just think a bo5 may be a bit short and a bo7 would be better, but really looking forward to this
SkyDev Profile Joined December 2011 Brazil 1 Post #7 SWAT - Special WhiteRa Advanced Tatics
GL HF
YounKa Profile Joined August 2011 Poland 23 Posts #8 Awesome as always Mr. Biscuit <3 Is there any chance that next showmatch will be a bo7? Bo5 seems bit short
Darthozzan Profile Blog Joined December 2010 Sweden 132 Posts #9 let's go banjo =D Actually, I won't be cheering for either player more, met them both at DH and they are both exceptional gentlemen =D http://complexitygaming.com ° @Darthozzan on twitter
TotalBiscuit Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United Kingdom 5415 Posts #10 $300 for BO7 doesn't seem reasonable. Maybe if it was more money. $300 for BO5 seems fine. If I can convinced em to give say $500 for a BO7 next time, then sure. Commentator Host of SHOUTcraft Clan Wars- http://www.mlg.tv/shoutcraft
dani` Profile Joined January 2011 Netherlands 2382 Posts Last Edited: 2011-12-08 19:27:20 #11 On December 09 2011 04:14 TotalBiscuit wrote:
$300 for BO7 doesn't seem reasonable . Maybe if it was more money. $300 for BO5 seems fine. If I can convinced em to give say $500 for a BO7 next time, then sure.
Why not? It's not like they have to travel somewhere or do anything special other than show up. White-Ra, like many pros, plays like 20+ games per day. He doesn't get any money for that, other than stream income. Why would he not want to play a Bo7 for $300 while streaming? It would only earn him more money than usual (even if he loses, probably more people will tune in to his stream to watch his FP play), he gets good practice and exposure. Not that White-Ra really needs exposure, but it will make his sponsors happy.
~ btw I'm not saying the current format of Bo5 is bad, just saying $300 for a Bo7 seems fine. Thanks for arranging this one! Why not? It's not like they have to travel somewhere or do anything special other than show up. White-Ra, like many pros, plays like 20+ games per day. He doesn't get any money for that, other than stream income. Why would he not want to play a Bo7 for $300? It would only earn him more money than usual (even if he loses, probably more people will tune in to his stream to watch his FP play), he gets good practice and exposure. Not that White-Ra really needs exposure, but it will make his sponsors happy.~ btw I'm not saying the current format of Bo5 is bad, just saying $300 for a Bo7 seems fine. Thanks for arranging this one!
TotalBiscuit Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United Kingdom 5415 Posts Last Edited: 2011-12-08 19:29:32 #12 Because I say so. My opinion, basically. Commentator Host of SHOUTcraft Clan Wars- http://www.mlg.tv/shoutcraft
OGKruemmel Profile Joined March 2011 Croatia 264 Posts #13 Banjooooo
dani` Profile Joined January 2011 Netherlands 2382 Posts #14 On December 09 2011 04:29 TotalBiscuit wrote:
Because I say so. My opinion, basically.
Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream. Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream.
DoomsVille Profile Joined August 2010 Canada 4829 Posts #15 On December 09 2011 04:34 dani` wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 09 2011 04:29 TotalBiscuit wrote:
Because I say so. My opinion, basically.
Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream. Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream.
I agree, very disappointing answer.
I seriously doubt any player would say no to a BO7 showmatch for $300. Showmatches are typically BO7s as it is and for much less money than $300.
Meh, however you want to spend your sponsors money is fine by me. Just doesn't make sense. I agree, very disappointing answer.I seriously doubt any player would say no to a BO7 showmatch for $300. Showmatches are typically BO7s as it is and for much less money than $300.Meh, however you want to spend your sponsors money is fine by me. Just doesn't make sense.
NyxRose Profile Blog Joined May 2011 United States 101 Posts #16 Can't wait to see this
Chrs Profile Joined June 2011 United Kingdom 4 Posts #17 Are you solo casting or bringing us an Apollo, too? ^^
Either way, should be good to watch.
MuK_x Profile Blog Joined August 2011 709 Posts #18 Release the BANJOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
special tactics vs Bonjovi!!!!!!!
sickest match ever~~ IdrA "TT1 actually fucked up and didn't see the hatchery,so im at a really big advantage right now,assuming he reacts intelligently which is not something you should assume with TT1"
MonkSEA Profile Blog Joined April 2011 Australia 1223 Posts #19 Banjo will win easy. http://www.youtube.com/user/sirmonkeh Zerg Live Casts and Commentary!
TotalBiscuit Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United Kingdom 5415 Posts #20 On December 09 2011 04:46 DoomsVille wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 09 2011 04:34 dani` wrote:
On December 09 2011 04:29 TotalBiscuit wrote:
Because I say so. My opinion, basically.
Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream. Meh disappointing answer but of course I will respect your opinion. I did in the first place, hope you were not offended by me asking for an explanation o_O? Anyway gl with the stream.
I agree, very disappointing answer.
I seriously doubt any player would say no to a BO7 showmatch for $300. Showmatches are typically BO7s as it is and for much less money than $300.
Meh, however you want to spend your sponsors money is fine by me. Just doesn't make sense. I agree, very disappointing answer.I seriously doubt any player would say no to a BO7 showmatch for $300. Showmatches are typically BO7s as it is and for much less money than $300.Meh, however you want to spend your sponsors money is fine by me. Just doesn't make sense.
Alright, guess I get shouted at for giving players too much money now.
Do I really need to explain in detail every decision I ever make? Alright, guess I get shouted at for giving players too much money now.Do I really need to explain in detail every decision I ever make? Commentator Host of SHOUTcraft Clan Wars- http://www.mlg.tv/shoutcraft
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Back in May, Apple announced that its annual iTunes Festival in London would be moving to September for 2012, with the event once again offering 30 days of free concerts at The Roundhouse. While tickets to the shows have been awarded on a lottery basis, Apple this year is offering access to the concerts with a number of live streaming options including through the iTunes Festival website, through a dedicated universal iOS app , and through Apple TV.For those interested in watching the shows on Apple TV, the company has just pushed out an automatic update adding the iTunes Festival app to users' set-top boxes, making it easy for users to access the shows from the main menu of the device.This is not the first time Apple has experimented with delivering live content directly to the Apple TV, as the company earlier this year offered a live stream of a Paul McCartney concert through both iTunes and the Apple TV.The 2012 iTunes Festival kicks off on September 1 with Usher and runs daily throughout the month until closing with Muse on September 30. |
From Bulbanews, your community Pokémon newspaper.
What next for the video game series?
Article Report error Tuesday, July 10, 2012 Reported on Bulbanews by Pat Hessman
This article brought to you by Bulbanews, your community Pokémon newspaper.
Link to this article
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 have finally seen their Japanese release. Fans are scrambling to soak up any and all information on the new adventure in Unova. Competitive battling communities are already examining the effect of new moves and formes on the metagame. The new pair of games continues a tradition set by Black and White versions that fans have repeatedly questioned: Generation V remaining on the Nintendo DS system in the wake of the 3DS’s release. This is especially strange in the case of Black 2 and White 2 because of its compatibility with Pokémon Dream Radar, a 3DS game.
Fans have long yearned for a full-fledged 3D Pokémon adventure. Pokémon Stadium may have rendered the monsters in polygon form but it lacked the RPG elements of the handheld games. Even worse, battles were lackluster in presentation because Pokémon would never be shown making contact with each other when attacking. Many a gamer rolled their eyes when they saw even physical attacks mounted to “Pokémon A launches attack, cut to Pokémon B being hit.”
Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD added story modes and RPG elements, but they retained the same lack of physical contact in battles and only had a limited number of Pokémon available to capture. Pokémon Battle Revolution finally gave us actual physical contact in battles but instances where it happened were limited. This begs the burning question: Is it feasible to have a complete Pokémon RPG adventure in 3D?
Fans, including myself, have yearned for such a game for years. Wouldn’t it be excellent to journey into fully explorable forests, mountains and plains in a 3D environment? Imagine walking into Viridian forest and seeing Caterpie crawling through the grass and Kakuna hanging from trees as a Pidgeotto flies by. Imagine Pokémon battles where they actually strike each other!
With the sheer number of monsters, locations and characters presented in the games, possibilities for such a game seem endless. Therein lies the pitfall: Pokémon may just be too big to fit into a 3D game.
Let’s put aside talks about characters or locations and just talk about the Pokémon themselves. If a 3D Pokémon game were to happen, it would be expected that your Pokémon would be able to walk alongside you, run, jump, fly and do a variety of attacks. Artists and programmers would have to animate all of these motions. The Torchic that Professor Elm just gifted you must be able to move in different ways and speeds, react to damage (or faint), launch fire attacks and so on and so forth.
Now imagine that complex task being applied to 648 more Pokémon. Just animating the moves of every Pokémon would take a typical game’s development cycle in itself. Now on top of that add in character models and animations for the people inhabiting the Pokémon world, which while not as extensive of an endeavor as the Pokémon themselves, would still be a hefty task. Now you may say, “What about other games that have hundreds of different characters and types of creatures?” Many of those games may have different appearances for various characters, but many share the same movement animations. This simply couldn’t be done for Pokémon. The animations for Heracross most certainly wouldn’t be appropriate for Onix, nor Woobat nor Metagross. Take a look at the Stadium/Colosseum/Battle Revolution games, each Pokémon has its own style of movement.
Another thing to ponder is the battle system. If Pokémon were to undergo a full-fledged 3D reinvention, would the classic turn-based battle system be kept? I’m sure many fans would rather the same system be kept, but imagine if the battle system was changed to be something closer to real time fights. The series has often been criticized for keeping the same basic battle system over the years, addition of new mechanics aside. Perhaps this could be the leap forward critics have wanted and provide a new system for fans to sink their teeth into. I am not saying it should be one or other, but it is definitely something to consider.
The good news though is that other elements of the series wouldn’t be nearly as much of a headache to translate from sprites to polygons as the monsters. While the Wii often catches flak for its graphical inferiority to other modern systems, many of the in-house Wii games such as Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario Galaxy show the system is capable of producing beautiful landscapes and graphics.
But who am I kidding? If there was going to be a Pokémon 3D game produced, it would undoubtedly be created for the upcoming Wii U system. Hardware specs for the system have shown it will be powerful enough to bring Nintendo into the HD age. Perhaps the system will have the capability to finally give us the 3D adventure we have been wanting for years!
Bringing Pokémon firmly into the realm of three dimensions would be a very difficult task, but not an impossible one. Hardware and software for gaming improves constantly. Nintendo has announced Pokémon games are in the works for Wii U. Perhaps such a game isn’t far away from the light of day. Only time will tell.
GodofPH, AKA Pat Hessman, is a senior studying Film at Montana State University. He wrote a series of articles for Bulbanews prior to the Black and White release entitled "Looking Forward". He still hasn't looked back. |
The Wall Street Journal has a blockbuster report this morning that reveals a lot of details about Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S7.
The report cites “people familiar with the matter” and offers information on the Galaxy S7’s design, features, and even release date. As a caveat, the sources warn that, with three months to go to the release of the device, some things can change. The report is unusually rich in details, as stories like this go, so let’s dive right in and analyze them.
Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
Despite rumors of Plus versions being in the works, the report only mentions two models: the regular, flat-screened Galaxy S7 and the curved-screened Galaxy S7 Edge.
Pressure sensitive screen
According to the WSJ’s sources, the biggest new feature of the Galaxy S7 and its curved companion, the Galaxy S7 Edge, will be a pressure sensitive display that will work a lot like the 3D Touch feature available on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
It’s not mentioned in the report, but Synaptics could be the company behind this pressure sensitive solution. The touch solutions developer recently announced ClearForce, a pressure sensing technology that will become available in smartphones from early 2016.
Type C port – fast charging
The Galaxy S7 will come with a Type C port, as seen on the latest Nexus generation. Reportedly, the device will draw a “full day’s charge in under 30 minutes and in some cases significantly faster than that.” For comparison, the Nexus 5X requires about 1.5 hours to charge up to 100%. It’s not clear what a “full day’s charge” means, but it sounds like Samsung may be able to one up competitors in this crucial area.
Small design changes compared to last year
The Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge will be relatively similar to their predecessors. The devices won’t be “major departures” and the changes will be “less striking” compared to the revolution brought by the S6 this year.
The microSD slot is returning to the Galaxy S7 only
One of the people tipping WSJ off said that a microSD card slot will “likely” be available on the Galaxy S7. Only the flat model is explicitly said to get this feature, so the S7 Edge will probably be missing it.
Retina scanner?
Samsung is allegedly “considering” equipping certain versions of the Galaxy S7 with a retina scanner. No details are offered on this feature, but the wording implies that it’s similar to ZTE’s Eyeprint ID feature, found on devices like Blade S6 or Grand S3. Not to be confused with an iris scanner, this feature uses the front facing camera to analyze the unique pattern of the fine blood vessels from the user’s retina. You can see it in action here.
Camera: improved low-light performance and flush with the body
The camera on the Galaxy S7 will reportedly bring an improvement in low-light photography, which remains the weakness of mobile cameras across the industry. The camera module will be flush with the body of the S7, claims the report. If that’s accurate, Samsung found a way to offer a high-quality modern camera without the bulge we’ve seen on many flagship phones this year.
Launch and release date
Finally, the sources say the Galaxy S7 will be launched in the United States in mid-March. The actual launch is “expected” to happen around MWC, which is scheduled for February 22-25 in Barcelona. There were several rumors that implied that Samsung would launch the S7 and S7 Edge earlier than usual, but if this report is accurate, it will be business as usual.
So, there you have it – a ton of info on the hottest device of early 2016. While there’s still room for changes, this report is very plausible. Let us know your thoughts! |
"You must be the only person worried about inflation, Liam". So I was told on Newsnight last week – by someone who's spent four of the last five years in the cabinet.
Almost lost for words, I blurted an answer before Mr Paxman intervened.
But I left the television studio shocked that the former minister, someone of genuine ability, could be so ignorant of life beyond the Westminster village.
"Inflation, not deflation" is a recurrent theme of this column. That's because the Western world's response to the "credit crunch", this orgy of wildly expansive policy using "deflation is nigh" as an alibi, amounts to a repeated whacking of the self-destruct button.
Almost everyone outside the "political and media elite" knows this. Amidst "deflation is upon us" warnings from this elite, UK CPI inflation went up last month – to 3.2pc. CPI understates true inflation. But even CPI is above the Bank of England's target – and has been for 17 months.
So if I'm the only one worried, why is Mervyn King writing repeated letters acknowledging inflation is too high?
Sterling is down a third in 18 months. Import prices are soaring. The UK's monetary base is doubling.
"Broad" M4 money is expanding at 16pc a year. Food price inflation is 8pc, with double-digit producer price inflation too – as the credit crunch destroys supply chains.
Warren Buffett, the most successful living investor, foresees an "inflation onslaught". Peter Brabeck, the Nestlé chairman and one of the world's top businessmen, says "Now the printing machine is starting, this is the start of inflation."
China and other major creditors are rightly concerned Western governments – particularly the US and UK – want to inflate away their sovereign debts.
That's why the "bond vigilantes" are stirring and we could very soon face a gilts strike.
If I'm the only one worried about inflation, why is the price of gold so high, with the price of commodities also up sharply – even though the global demand outlook is weak?
If I'm the only one worried about inflation, why does the latest report of the Bank of England's pension scheme show it recently changed it allocation of index-linked instruments – the ultimate anti-inflation hedge – from 25pc to more than 70pc of its portfolio?
Am I the only one worried? I so wish that was true. We face an inflation tsunami. And the longer politicians deny it, the worse the inevitable backlash will be. |
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic seems to confirm adults’ worst fears about kids’ cartoons. The show, about female ponies with names like Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie, is produced by Hasbro to convince kids to buy the line of toys it’s based on, just like the company’s Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite cartoons. But some adults don’t have time to object to Friendship is Magic: they’re too busy watching it and writing pony fan fiction. On the Hub in the U.S. and Treehouse in Canada, My Little Pony has become one of the most popular cartoons among grown-ups, for viewing and online discussion. A mostly older audience (male fans call themselves “Bronies”) has given 10 million over 35 million views to a fan website, Equestria Daily. The founder of the site, who goes by the name “Sethisto,” told Maclean’s that the show “accidentally targeted the Internet culture.”
On Know Your Meme, a site that keeps track of pop culture phrases that have become popular online, there are more entries for My Little Pony than for almost any other show. The wide-eyed character designs, from series creator Lauren Faust, are used as the basis for fan art and games, often involving pony-based catchphrases like “anypony” and “nopony.” 4Chan, a website known for flooding the Internet with nasty jokes, erupted in a “civil war” when a moderator tried to ban pony discussion; eventually the site gave up and had to allow its members to talk about Princess Celestia and the pretty pony tea parties. “4chan once took on the FBI and won,” a Brony told the New York Observer, “so you might say that My Little Pony is more powerful than the FBI.” Fans have even taken to creating pony memes based on other cartoons, like an instantly famous cartoon of an old Looney Tunes character screaming, “Confound those ponies! They drive me to drink!”
Yet unlike other cartoons with grown-up fans, My Little Pony makes almost no concessions to them. Shows like Rocky and Bullwinkle had pop culture jokes that kids weren’t supposed to understand, while Avatar: The Last Airbender was an adult phenomenon for its complex plotting. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has fewer topical jokes than Hasbro’s first My Little Pony cartoon from the ’80s (which once had moonwalking ponies). Stories, Sethisto says, are “simple and easy to follow.” Every episode ends with a moral, like: “If you try to please everypony, you oftentimes end up pleasing nopony.” Even Sesame Street, which parodies shows like Mad Men, tries harder to please adults.
So why are grown-ups fascinated with the southern accent of the cowboy-hat-wearing pony Applejack, or lines like, “Are you sure about this, Scootaloo?” It may help that the show has a basic visual appeal that lends itself to fan art. Sethisto says Hasbro gave Faust and the animation studio (Studio B in Canada) “the green light to do whatever they wish with the facial and body expressions.” The animation may be as limited in movement as the ’80s cartoons, but the characters are constantly given different cute, wide-eyed expressions; unlike most TV cartoons, where the acting is all in the voices, the ponies do a lot of visual acting. Simple gags, like the pony Fluttershy’s inept attempts to nurse a bird back to health, may also give the show a timeless feel; Sethisto praises Faust for “using some of the classic cartoon jokes while still remaining modern and up to date in every other department.” Grown-ups may like My Little Pony for the same reason they like old Disney cartoons—unlike self-consciously hip cartoons, they don’t try to be cool.
This success is giving new credibility to the strategy of building cartoons around toys, and that worries some cartoon fans. Amid Amidi of the website Cartoon Brew told Maclean’s that companies have “co-opted respected animation industry artists who lend these toy-driven series an air of creative legitimacy,” but that ultimately the real goal of a show like this is “to get viewers to hand over their money.” But Sethisto thinks that for him and his fellow bronies, the show has “evolved way past being just another 22-minute commercial. They gave the team enough freedom to really make it awesome.”
(Update: For a follow-up post addressing points made in comments, click here.) |
This article is from the archive of our partner .
There has to be a better way for Mitt Romney to get his point across than giving cringe-worthy sound bites. "I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair I'll fix it," he told CNN Tuesday night after his Florida win (video below). The first two parts of that quote are enough to raise eyebrows and as you can see from Soledad O'Brien's reaction, it's hard to focus on anything else when you recall his millions of dollars and puny tax rate. You have to wonder why Romney, who's fighting his image as an out-of-touch rich guy after some callous and insensitive earlier remarks (remember "I like being able to fire people" ?), would say something like that.
Romney softened this latest comment by saying, "I'm concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling." See how much better that sounds?
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire. |
Backtracking on an ill-advised dragon or butterfly may get a little easier if a new cream developed by a researcher at Dalhousie University goes to market — a product that evolved from the PhD student's work on healing the heart after an injury.
Cipher Pharmaceuticals, based in Ontario, has licensed the rights to develop and market a topical cream created by PhD student Alec Falkenham.
"This technology has the potential to transform the process of tattoo removal and may give people the option of a topical cream instead of laser treatments, which are painful, costly and time consuming," company president and CEO Shawn O'Brien said in a release.
Side project during PhD
Falkenham, 29, who's in the pathology department at the Nova Scotia university, invented the product while conducting research on the processes that allow the heart to heal after injury. He worked on the tattoo cream as a side project to his thesis research, modifying a heart drug to increase the turnover of cells in tattoos.
"It's incredible, something I wouldn't have expected four years ago when I came up with the idea," he said Tuesday.
After someone gets a tattoo, the ink initiates an immune response and white blood cells called "macrophages" carry some of the ink to the body's lymph nodes.
But some of those macrophages that are filled with pigment stay put, embedded in the skin. That's what makes the tattoo visible under the skin.
So far the tattoo cream has only been tested on animals, but it aims to penetrate the skin and destroy cells that gather and absorb pigment after it is injected into the skin. (Markus Schwabe)
Targeting immune response
Falkenham says other tattoo removal creams are more chemically abrasive, centred on removing layers of skin.
His cream is designed to destroy the pigment-filled cells that have remained at the site of the tattoo.
"Over time, the repetitive process of this actually results in tattoo ink being removed from the skin," he said.
Testing so far has been limited to pigs and mice, but he doesn't expect people would feel any irritation.
Company could patent cream
He says though it's still in the early stages of development, there has been some evidence of a tattoo removed within one week.
"Potentially with some improvements it could be faster than that. There's still a lot of unanswered questions," he said.
Dalhousie University has now licensed the technology to Cipher, and it will be up to the company to decide whether to obtain patents and take it to market.
Ongoing input
Falkenham says it's too early to say when the product would be available to sell, but he plans to stay involved in the project through quarterly meetings with the company. The deal came with an up-front payment and the contract included a royalty structure should the cream be approved and commercialized.
As for what's next, Falkenham plans to defend his thesis this summer and is on the wait list for Dalhousie's medical school.
Though he sees a need for the product, he wasn't personally motivated by regret.
"I'm still content with my own tattoos," he said with a laugh. |
Good morning. Did you know that in 1953, before his first recordings,wrote a science fiction short story called "The Holografik Danser"? According to Steve Turner's biography, "The Man Called CASH," he wrote a number of short stories during this period, many under the pen name "Johnny Dollar." As Turner explains, "The Holografik Danser" "portrayed a twenty-first-century America that had been conquered by Russia — major cities had been razed by nuclear attack, and entertainment was paid for in kiosks and then piped into homes via phone lines. Partly inspired by the news of the explosion in television broadcasting, he envisaged a time when live holographic entertainment would be beamed into living rooms for twelve dollars a show. He further imagined the possibility of a man projecting himself into the hologram." No word on whether brain transplants were involved The story went unpublished, but anyone looking for a copy can find it in Rosanne Cash's 2001 anthology, "Songs Without Rhyme: Prose By Celebrated Songwriters." (Via Cracked |
Does his financial support for Ukrainian political groups pose problems for his budding media empire?
Profile of eBay founder, billionaire and philanthropist, Pierre Omidyar. (Photo11: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY) Story Highlights PandoDaily reported Omidyar had funded groups opposed to the Ukrainian government
Turns out Omidyar had announced the aid on his website in 2011
Journalism is increasingly funded by funders with social agendas
So what are we to make of the flap over contributions by eBay founder and nascent media titan Pierre Omidyar to anti-government groups in Ukraine?
Website PandoDaily published a story Friday reporting that Omidyar, along with the U.S. government, had bankrolled groups active in opposing the recently toppled government of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.
Omidyar is also funding First Look Media, a budding media colossus, to the tune of $250 million. His marquee hire is Glenn Greenwald, a crusading left-of-center journalist who has been the leader in coverage of the revelations of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
In a breathless article written as if it were unearthing major skullduggery, PandoDaily's Mark Ames wrote: "What all this adds up to is a journalistic conflict-of-interest of the worst kind: Omidyar working hand-in-glove with U.S. foreign policy agencies to interfere in foreign governments, co-financing regime change with well-known arms of the American empire — while at the same time hiring a growing team of soi-disant 'independent journalists' which vows to investigate the behavior of the US government at home and overseas, and boasts of its uniquely 'adversarial' relationship toward these government institutions."
Ames also claimed that Omidyar had purchased the silence of the "dream team" of writers he has hired and the rest of the fawning press, who were not weighing in on his questionable deeds.
Greenwald promptly ended that silence Sunday with a post that quickly took the air out of the "this just in" scoop when he pointed out Omidyar's aid had been disclosed in a press release on the Omidyar Network website when he made pro-democracy grants to the Ukrainian group and five others in 2011.
The famously independent Greenwald conceded that he hadn't known that before, just as he didn't know much about the funding sources of previous employers Salon and the Guardian, where he had broken so many stories about NSA surveillance. He said it didn't matter, because none of that would have affected his reporting. Just as the Omidyar "revelations" won't.
While there may be more to the story, at this juncture I hardly see a major media scandal here. But it does underscore that we are in very different waters.
For years, potential or actual conflicts of interest were off-limits in American journalism. Former Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. went to the extreme of refusing to vote, on the grounds that that very act might compromise his independence.
Two things have made a dent in the traditional approach: the rise of the freewheeling Internet, and the huge financial challenge facing traditional news outlets in the digital age. The latter has brought non-profit journalism to the fore, and with it funders with social agendas.
So a new approach is achieving grudging acceptance: It's OK if funders, news outlets and journalists have a point of view, as long as it is fully disclosed, and as long as their factual reporting sticks to the truth.
For example: ProPublica has been heavily underwritten by a foundation with a liberal bent. But its investigative reporting has been widely praised as fact-based, on-target and not swayed by ideology.
Or take the NSA surveillance saga. Yes, Glenn Greenwald is an unabashed liberal. But his reporting has been totally solid. And the revelations in the Snowden documents he and Bart Gellman of The Washington Post and others have brought to light provided vital information to the American people and started a sorely needed debate about privacy in the U.S.
So as the Omidyar venture, which has launched its first digital magazine, The Intercept, takes shape, it will be watched closely. But I continue to see it as source of hope, not alarm.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1hV37AH |
Need a monthly delivery of doomsday prepping supplies? How about treats for your pet rabbit, or only-available-in-Japan snacks like Umashi Oasi Cheetos?
Then you might be a candidate for the latest consumer craze: the subscription box. A growing community of eager shoppers seeking both the convenience and surprise that every regular delivery brings are flocking to the concept, paving the way for ever-more-eclectic and specialized offerings. Generally priced at $10 to $30 a shipment, the boxes are stuffed with goodies built around a theme, but usually filled with a surprise mix of products picked out by a curator.
“I get close to 100 boxes a month, and I still get excited when I see them at the front door,” said Liz Cadman, the founder of the My Subscription Addiction, a website of reviews.
Investors are making big bets on subscription box start-ups like Blue Apron, which mails its subscribers weekly deliveries of recipes and the ingredients to make them. The three-year-old company, based in New York, recently raised $135 million in a deal that values it at $2 billion. Blue Apron says it is delivering more than three million meals a month, three times the number it shipped nine months ago. |
Two new studies published in The Lancet have highlighted that two different generic drugs – aromatase inhibitors (AIs) and bisphosphonates – which can help improve the prognosis of early breast cancer in menopausal women. If used in combination, scientists claim that the drugs could be more beneficial with the least amount of side-effects.
Cheap Drugs For Breast Cancer Treatment
Most women develop breast cancer after they become menopausal. If detected in its early stages, surgery can effectively remove all the diseased tissue. However, surgical intervention might leave behind certain dangerous and undetected micrometastases (small secondary tumors). About 80 percent of all breast cancers are hormone sensitive (ER-positive) – they can be stimulated by bodily hormones such as estrogen. In these cases, hormone therapy or endocrine treatments (inhibiting hormones from stimulating cancer cells) prove highly effective in the prevention of breast cancer from recurring.
The Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) is a global collaboration established by researchers from the University of Oxford (UK) 30 years ago. It collected timely evidence about treatment methods for early breast cancer from various randomized trials. The two reports mentioned here provide substantial proof of the effectiveness of AIs and bisphosphonates in treating breast cancer in premenopausal women.
Study I: Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs)
This study compiles evidence from 30,000 postmenopausal women from nine randomized trials. It showed that the survival rates of these women had significantly improved after five years of endocrine therapy with aromatase inhibitors (AIs), as opposed to the traditional therapy with tamoxifen. Furthermore, AI therapy reduced recurrence rates by 30 percent and the likelihood of death by about 15 percent. Compared to receiving no endocrine therapy, researchers claim that the risk of dying from breast cancer within ten years would be reduced by 40 percent in women taking AI therapy.
Lead author Professor Mitch Dowsett of The Royal Marsden and The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK stated that the five year AI therapy showed extremely positive results as compared to tamoxifen. He highlighted the specificity of AI – removing only the minute amounts of estrogen that remain in the body after menopause. However, he also commented on the potential side-effects of the treatment, and how constant monitoring and maintenance was vital.
Study II: Bisphosphonates
The second study compiles evidence from 20,000 women enrolled in 26 randomized trials. It provides evidence that two to five years of therapy with bisphosphonates – originally used to treat osteoporosis – decreases the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence, and also improves survival rates in post-menopausal women. However, little effect was seen of the treatment in premenopausal women.
Breast cancer cells commonly spread to the bone. Cells released from the primary tumor can remain dormant for several years once they reach the bone and other parts of the body. Bisphosphonates change the microenvironment of the bone, making it less favorable for the development of cancer cells and hence reducing its recurrence. To prove this scientifically, a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 18,766 women in 26 randomized trials were analyzed. The effects of receiving bisphosphonate therapy for two to five years were seen.
The only clear results were a 17 percent reduction in cancer cells recurring in the bone. More promising results were seen among postmenopausal women – 28 percent reduction in bone recurrence and 18 percent reduction in the risk of death from breast cancer during first ten year of diagnosis. Moreover, these benefits were irrespective of the type of bisphosphonate used, duration of therapy, size of tumor and its spread, and whether it was ER-positive or not. Furthermore, the therapy did not reduce the risk of new cancers developing the adjacent breast.
Conclusion
Professor Robert Coleman from the University of Sheffield, UK, was the lead author of the bisphosphonate study. He commented that the findings reveal diverse uses of the latter – apart from treating bone loss and fractures in postmenopausal women. According to him, the simple and well-tolerated therapy should be considered for regular practice in the treatment of breast cancer in its early stages, since it was effective in enhancing survival rates and reducing adverse side-effects as seen in other therapies.
Professor Richard Gray from the University of Oxford, UK, the lead statistician for both studies commented that they provided good evidence regarding the use of these inexpensive drugs for treating and managing early breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
“About two-thirds of all women with breast cancer are postmenopausal with hormone-sensitive tumors, and could potentially benefit from both drugs”. Moreover, the drugs are complementary. “The main side effect of aromatase inhibitors is an increase in bone loss and fractures, while bisphosphonates reduce bone loss and fractures along with improving survival rates”, Professor Gray added. Hence, a combination therapy would be an ideal treatment option. |
A free, multiplatform, feature-rich screenwriting program!
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Excited? Take the screenshot tour, or download it and give it a test. It's free!
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DeviantART is coming to town and we're having a deviantMEET!
Sounds cool, but
why should I go?
The Austin deviantMEET will be chock-full of special guests who want to meet YOU -- yes YOU! Get quality face-time with $spyed, $Heidi, $damphyr, $liquisoft, $mudimba even °matteo is making an appearance. It's going to be an extravaganza of deviantART love, and we can't wait.
There will be giveaways and a collaborative art project! If that's not enough, maybe we can further entice you with snacks to help keep your strength up as you connect with new and old deviantART friends.
Did we mention that every attendee gets a free limited edition deviantART shirt?
So, really, the question boils down to: Why wouldn't you attend?
See you there with bells on! |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (Reuters) - A dengue outbreak has killed at least 21 people in India's southern state of Kerala in the past three weeks, a government official said, adding that there was a shortage of medicines and health workers to tackle the crisis in the tourist hotspot.
The mosquito-borne dengue virus, which causes flu-like symptoms and can develop into the deadly hemorrhagic dengue fever, has infected more than 11,000 people in Kerala since May, forcing the state to buy new hospital beds and cancel medical staff leave.
"We are staring at a massive health crisis," Kerala's director of health services, R.L. Sarita, told Reuters on Tuesday. "There's a shortage of medicines and health professionals to tackle the situation."
Dengue cases - found in the world's tropical and subtropical regions - have increased 30-fold over the past 50 years, according to the World Health Organisation. Up to 100 million infections occur annually in more than 100 endemic countries.
Sarita said more than 40,000 people were suffering from high fever in the state and that the government was planning to set up emergency medical camps in schools and temples.
With its sweeping coastline, riverboats and tea plantations, Kerala has become a leading tourist destination in India, promoting itself as 'God's Own Country'.
But experts say stagnant water left behind after torrential rains was contributing to the spread of dengue. Authorities said they were trying to prevent breeding of mosquitoes by insecticide fogging, a common sight in Indian cities including New Delhi notorious for open garbage dumps.
"Patients are lying in (hospital) corridors and availing treatment. The situation looks really bad," said a health professional at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.
(Reporting by D. Jose in Thiruvananthapuram; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Michael Perry) |
Once upon a time, Google was the best search engine in the land. It cut through all the other Web portal noise to just give you plain results. Along the way, Google realized that there are actually nice benefits, like money, that come from running a portal, so it started cluttering its search page with more information.
Early on, extra information on the sidebar was fine, since it didn’t get in the way of plain results. But then, “Search Plus Your World” happened and Google started serving up Google+ results where rival links from Facebook and Twitter were clearly more relevant.
Here’s the current state of things. If you search for “NCAA bracket”, Google pops up a March Madness bracket with the full schedule. It’s not even using a sidebar at this point and is only showing the bracket.
Despite the fact that there’s a whole lot of white space on this page, Google chooses not to show links from any other sources on this initial screen. Clicking on the games redirects you to individual searches for each game.
Scrolling down, eventually I get to an official NCAA link and a bunch of Google News links to other outlets. Expanding the bracket to show all matches makes the bracket longer than three lengths of my laptop’s screen. That’s a whole lot of scrolling.
Here’s the same search on Bing:
I’m not denying that Google’s bracket is useful, since it does offer much of the information we might be looking for, but it also shows Google’s shift from referring us to information from around the Web to just serving up the raw answers with no outside links. Google has gone from measuring its success by how quickly it could get you off its search page to how long it can keep you with in the Google ecosystem.
Where do we draw the line with Google search and its self-referential answers? Basic math, currency exchange and stock data are all useful data that Google search provides, but it does so at the expense of smaller websites. After liberating us from Web portals with its pure search engine, Google gradually expanded to “search + everything else”. Frankly, it feels a lot like the end of Animal Farm where (spoiler alert!) the pigs turn back into humans.
Google set out to organize the world’s information, but it has increasingly becoming the information gatekeeper of our lives. With its mobile OS, desktop OS, email, and browser, it has the power to almost absolutely regulate a consumer’s experience with the Internet.
Trusting Google can have numerous benefits, such as the near-prescient Google Now service, but last week’s announcement that Reader is getting the axe served as a painful reminder that Google giveth and it taketh away.
Sourcing is also an issue here. I’m curious where Google engineers got their information from when making the bracket. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they did their homework and didn’t just grab it from someone else via the company’s Web crawlers, but it has had trouble with attribution with sites like Yelp in the past.
Google started off with the benevolent motto of “Don’t be evil” and I want so much to believe in it, but years of missteps have shaken my trust. I’m not asking Google to return to 1999, but it often feels like its search results have actually become less accurate over time. I appreciate the gesture with this NCAA bracket tool, but I’d rather Google spent the time honing its search algorithm.
Update: Google has explained its new sports-related search enhancements. League schedules are now grouped by day/week and complete league standings can be found with a quick search. Player stats will also show up cards.
“As a bonus, our March Madness answer cards (https://www.google.com/search?q=march+madness) display a full bracket view to help you see how you’re doing with your bracket game,” the company wrote.
Also, the NCAA bracket search is now displaying ads above the bracket.
Image Credit: KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images
Read next: Facebook for Android gets ability to change cover photos, News Feed and messaging improvements |
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 8, 2004; Page C01
It's not unusual for patrol officers in the city of Falls Church to hand a motorist two, three or even four tickets during one traffic stop. Drivers sometimes ask Officer Scott Rhodes whether he's trying to fill some sort of quota.
"I answer the citizens honestly," said Rhodes, who is president of the Falls Church Coalition of Police union. "Did I write them because of a quota? Yes, sir, I did."
Falls Church police require patrol officers to write an average of three tickets, or make three arrests, every 12-hour shift, and to accumulate a minimum total of 400 tickets and arrests per year. In terms of quotas, writing a ticket for a broken taillight carries the same weight as an arrest for armed robbery.
Failure to meet the quotas results in an automatic 90-day probationary period with no pay raise and a possible demotion or dismissal if ticket or arrest numbers aren't immediately raised to acceptable levels. Vacation time, extended leave or military duty doesn't reduce the quota, union officials said -- patrol officers still are required to meet the annual ticket or arrest numbers, meaning they must write more tickets when they return to the streets to compensate for their time away.
Falls Church officials defended the two-year-old practice, saying the approximately 10,000 city residents wanted aggressive traffic enforcement across their 2.2 square miles. The city's main streets and neighborhoods often are used as "cut-throughs" because they are near two Metro stops, Interstate 66 and the Seven Corners Shopping Center. Police Chief Robert T. Murray said the city does not have much serious crime, and "all of the officers know that traffic is a big issue with the community."
Murray said the quotas are relaxed for officers who take vacation or leave, but union officials said that was false. The union cited numerous examples -- including officers who had been injured, on pregnancy leave, even on temporary Marine duty -- who were ordered to reach their annual numbers or face disciplinary action and little or no pay raise.
Murray said police established the quotas "to show what the officer's doing, to make sure their time is accounted for." He said that officers should have little trouble writing three tickets in a 12-hour shift, particularly on such heavily traveled streets as Broad Street (Route 7) and Lee Highway, and that he has received no complaints from citizens.
Mayor Dan Gardner agreed and said, "I'm quite pleased with the performance of our police across the board."
Most area police departments said they do not use ticket or arrest quotas to evaluate an officer's productivity. The use of ticket quotas was largely discarded by police commanders in the 1980s because it was seen as an inaccurate way to measure an officer's performance and as an incentive that distracted officers from doing more important work.
Falls Church police union officials said the quota policy discourages patrol officers from such measures as following a weaving, and possibly drunk, driver when they can spot a car with a burned-out headlight. A DWI arrest takes a minimum of four hours to process, but carries no more value at raise -- and promotion -- time than a 10-minute headlight ticket, Rhodes said.
Officer Markus Bristol, vice president of the police union, said, "It's just sickening to me. I deal with the general public; the vast majority are hard-working." Bristol said he wanted to spend more time establishing contacts with the growing Latino community, "but I've got to get out there and write those tickets."
Chuck Wexler, executive director of Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington company that consults with police departments nationwide, said, "There's increased emphasis [among police] on collecting data to measure performance," driven by improvements in technology and creative uses of that technology.
"But there's a fine line," Wexler added, "between legitimate reasons for gathering information to measure performance and establishing arbitrary quotas, which pretty much have not been used for some time." |
Gibbs’ online accounts comprise one of the broadest social media strategies for reaching fans of the sport. The team site, www.joegibbsracing.com, is up to date with timely features, and the homepage points to six social media platforms, including a mobile app for iPhone, Blackberry or Droid. The team maintains active social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and FourSquare. Hendrick also has an active and diverse menu of social media platforms including a mobile app. Gibbs’ social media score bested Hendrick’s by a single point because of its slightly more effective home page promotion of its social media platforms.
“Some drivers, teams and sponsors in the NASCAR industry are taking steps to reach and engage larger audiences using social media, while others are missing opportunities,” said Tuckahoe Strategies president Ramsey Poston.
Expanding NASCAR’S Reach Across Platforms
Johnson is the most comprehensive user of social media among drivers. He reaches his audience on a broad array of platforms including: Facebook, 657,062 page likes; Twitter, 348,402 followers; YouTube, 265 subscribers; and Instagram, with an industry-leading 60,618 followers. Johnson’s social media reach (the sum of all social media followers across platforms) is 1,066,347. This veritable “media machine” has a following larger than the circulation of the Los Angeles Times, which is the fourth largest newspaper in the country.
The sport’s largest audience holder and content curator across the board is NASCAR. The sanctioning body regained a voice and a direct connection to its fan base this year after repossessing control of its online assets in a January 2012 agreement with Turner Sports Interactive. NASCAR’s total social media reach is an astronomical 5,044,070, more than double the daily circulation of the largest U.S. newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. In fact, NASCAR commands the industry’s top position in terms of audience on Facebook likes (3,239,504), Twitter followers (841,027) and YouTube subscribers (5,430). The sanctioning body also has 1,420 followers on Pinterest and a staggering 956,689 circles on Google+.
NASCAR’s Social Media Score Leaders: Survey Details
The Tuckahoe Strategies survey was conducted the week of December 24 and captured online holiday updates and fan engagement. Social media scores were based on online presence, number of social platforms activated and timeliness of updates. Social media reach was not a factor in the Social Media Score because the size of an audience can be influenced by many factors including level of popularity and “fake” followers such as automated bots. (Virtually all accounts have some level of fake followers.)
“Too often there is an over-emphasis on audience size. It’s far more important to have a quality, engaged following than just quantity,” said Poston.
Johnson, Marcos Ambrose (12 points), Kyle Busch (12), Jeff Gordon (11) and Danica Patrick (11) scored highest among 45 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, while Gibbs, Hendrick, Penske (12), Robby Gordon Motorsports (12) and Roush Fenway (12) collected the top scores among 30 team owners. Among industry sponsors and partners, high scores were awarded to Ford Racing (12), NASCAR (11), SpeedTV (10), Toyota (8) and Sunoco (7). (NASCAR was grouped with sponsors and partners.)
The team with the broadest social media reach is Roush Fenway Racing, with an audience of 976,755. The vast majority of this audience engages with the team’s Google+ account, which includes 912,961 “circles.” Both Hendrick and Stewart-Haas Racing are more balanced, actively utilizing a broad spectrum of platforms to reach their fans. Hendrick’s total audience is 588,889 of which 454,720 are Facebook fans, 128,929 are Twitter followers, 1,531 are YouTube subscribers logging 466,071 views, and 3,709 are Pinterest followers.
The bulk of Stewart-Haas Racing’s total social media audience of 404,688 can be found on Facebook (237,107 likes), but the team also is active on Twitter (91,398 followers), YouTube (453 subscribers), Pinterest (1,442 followers) and Google+ (74,288 circles).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored nine 9 points in the study placing him in the middle of the pack. However, NASCAR’s most popular driver holds the single largest audience for a driver at 1,637,697. About 90% of Earnhardt’s audience is concentrated on one platform, his Facebook page, which accounts for 1,470,212 likes. Earnhardt also has a robust YouTube channel with 1,630 subscribers and 610,714 views. Earnhardt maintains a Pinterest account that includes 231 followers and 124 pins, but it is difficult to find without any promotion from the homepage. Earnhardt does have a Twitter account with 165,855 “followers.” It is dormant so far, however, with zero tweets.
“The goal for each individual and organization should be to build and activate its own ‘media machine’ by using the digital platform. All the tools are easily available and NASCAR is taking steps to help the industry expand its online presence,” said Poston.
“Drivers, teams and sponsors are best off having a balanced approach to their online strategy,” said Poston. “Homepages should continue to be the primary hub of information. Social media platforms should be access points to reach and engage fans (and customers) and should ideally include photo and video sharing platforms for maximum exposure.
“A well thought out online plan and content calendar can help drivers, teams and sponsors build a meaningful audience, which in turn provides a much better opportunity to control the message, improve opportunities to sell merchandise and, for teams and drivers, attract new sponsors,” said Poston.
Many in the sport can easily improve their social media scores by making simple updates to their websites and expanding their use of social media platforms. Many sites fail to include homepage buttons linking to their full menu of social media platforms. Most sites just include Facebook and Twitter buttons but often fail to include YouTube, Pinterest or Instagram accounts on the website homepage. (Disclaimer: There may be some social media platforms not scored by the study because they were not identified on homepages or in our extensive search.)
Another common misstep throughout the industry is a lack of shareable content. NASCAR is a photo- and video-rich sport with an avid fan base. Teams, drivers and sponsors would do well to utilize photo-sharing platforms, such as Instagram and Pinterest, and video sharing services such as YouTube or Vimeo. A number of industry websites feature terrific photo and video galleries but they are isolated on the site and not easily shareable.
While almost every industry entity evaluated could take steps to improve their position, Goodyear stood out for its lack of any social media presence at all. In fact, one can find virtually no mention of NASCAR at all on its online properties. There is no mention of NASCAR on Goodyear.com and no dedicated Facebook page or Twitter account.
By contrast, NASCAR’s fuel supplier, Sunoco, has an active, racing-related Facebook page with nearly 1.2 million likes and an active Twitter account with over 8,000 followers. Sunoco is successfully marketing its NASCAR partnership on social media platforms, in turn better positioning its own corporate brand. NASCAR title sponsor, Sprint, also is expanding the reach of its corporate brand through its NASCAR-related social media presence. Sprint is active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube via its brand ambassador campaign, Miss Sprint Cup, with a social media reach of more than 1.3 million.
Tuckahoe Strategies is a full service communications company providing brand building, public relations services, crisis management and litigation communications. Poston has worked in the sports industry for over ten years as a communications expert.
Social Media Scores in the NASCAR Industry
Social media score –
Based on online presence, number of social platforms activated and timeliness of updates. Highest score possible is 20. Survey data by Tuckahoe Strategies. All rights reserved.
Social Media Reach
Audience figures are compiled by adding Facebook “Likes”; Twitter followers; YouTube subscribers; Pinterest followers; Instagram followers, Google+ Circles. Survey data by Tuckahoe Strategies. All rights reserved.
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I'm researching into starting a small library with the following desired requirements:
builds natively on 3 platforms: Linux, Windows, OS X has bindings for 3 dynamic languages: Python, Ruby, Lua relies on code from external projects: clutter, cairo, pango
Is there a way to create a build environment that will somehow bypass the external libraries build system?
The naive use case would be to just download the library source code, have a script inside the source code download the dependencies' source code and patch things if need be, then just build everything in one command using the native environment (XCode on OS X, Visual Studio Express on Windows and GCC on Linux).
The final library should have all the dependencies statically linked.
What are my options? How should I best approach this? Any tutorials or useful links are appreciated.
Thank you in advance! :) |
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Chinese food worth £13.90 was taken from the couple in Southend after they were assaulted by two men
A man has been punched in the face and his wife assaulted by thieves who stole their Chinese takeaway, police said.
The attack happened in Southend, Essex, on Monday.
The couple were walking home with four takeaway dishes, which cost £13.90, when they were stopped by two men who demanded money before assaulting them and making off with the food.
Essex Police said the pair were left "badly shaken" but did not need medical treatment following the attack.
'Grabbed the food'
The attack took place in an alleyway between Guildford Road and Prittlewell Street, said police.
"The thieves initially demanded cash but when the husband resisted he was assaulted. The thieves then grabbed the bag of food and fled," said Det Con Richard Siggers.
"We want to hear from any witnesses or anyone with information about the robbers.
"We are especially keen to trace a couple in their 60s who were walking a white dog and passed the victims shortly before the robbery," he added.
The attackers were in their early 20s, with one about 6ft (1.8m) tall and the other 5ft 5in (1.65m).
One was wearing a black jacket and had a black scarf pulled over his face, and the other was wearing blue jeans and a black hooded top, detectives said. |
'The Neon Demon' First Reactions: Walkouts, Yelling at the Screen and a Five-Star Review in Cannes
If you’re at all familiar with Nicolas Winding Refn, you’ve surely realized by now that the “Drive” director tends to provoke, shall we say, strong reactions. “I’m a pornographer and I make films about what excites me” is how the Danish auteur described his working methods during a festival screening of his previous film, “Only God Forgives;” if initial responses to “The Neon Demon” are to believed, Refn has once again set the Cannes Film Festival aflutter. Indiewire’s own Eric Kohn gives it a B-, saying that the film is “not the deepest form of exploitation cinema, but it’s reaching for something.”
READ MORE: Cannes Review: ‘The Neon Demon’ is a Twisted Ride of Sex, Blood, and Necrophilia
Kino-Zeit’s Beatrice Behn doesn’t hold back, calling Refn’s latest an “absurd jerk-off lolita fantasy in a slow-motion sparkly neon dress with a side order of 90s music video aesthetics,” while Screen Daily’s Tim Grierson is a bit more reserved in his description: “Horror-satire about beauty as power source, precious gem, root of all evil. Best not to take too seriously.” In an early review (of which more to come), however, Little White Lies gave the film five stars. Here are some other standout reactions:
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Gay Puerto Rican Boxer Dedicates Upcoming Fight to Orlando Victims
Orlando Cruz, the fifth ranked boxer in the world, had four friends that died in the June 12 shooting.
Orlando Cruz, the first openly gay boxer, will be dedicating his upcoming July 15 fight to the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, which claimed the lives of 49 people.
Cruz, who lives in Puerto Rico with his partner, had four friends who died in the tragedy. “At first, I was sad,” Cruz told the Orlando Sentinel of his reaction to the shooting. “Second, angry. I am very angry because people are homophobic, so they attacked my community. They attacked me.”
On June 12, a lone shooter opened fire on the Florida gay bar, now home to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. During the July 15 fight in Kissimmee, Florida, Cruz will ring 10 bells to honor the Orlando victims and their families. The fighter has also said that his outfit will pay “homage” to those lost.
His upcoming match represents a homecoming for Cruz. Cruz, currently the fifth ranked boxer in the world and the reigning champ in the super featherweight division, came out in 2013 prior to a bout in Kissimmee.
“I decided to be free," he told The Guardian, adding: "They can call me maricón, or faggot, and I don't care. Let them say it because they can't hurt me now. I am relaxed. I feel so happy. But to make this announcement to the whole world I had to be very strong. … I am proud to be Puerto Rican, just like I am proud to be a gay man.”
Two years ago, Cruz explained that he had previously lost friends to antigay violence. “I lost one friend who was murdered by people who hated gay men,” he said. “I was very angry then because homophobia ended his life in the most violent way.”
Cruz, who couldn’t attend the victims’ funerals because of training camp, had a scheduled visit to Pulse on Tuesday. The boxer brought gloves and flowers to honor his friends lost, as Fight News reported. |
Thanks to the Rental Housing Act of 1985, DC has rent control laws that limit how much rents can go up in a given year for anyone living in a building with five or more units and built before 1975. But a lot of people miss out on these protections when landlords use a loophole called a hardship petition.
1320 Nicholson Street NW, where a landlord raised rent after filing a petition saying he wasn’t making enough of a profit. Image from Google Maps.
“The landlord raised rent three years ago with no notice. A lot of people who had lived here fifteen, twenty years chose just to leave.” That’s Javier Rivera, a resident at 1320 Nicholson Street NW, talking about how rent in his rent-controlled apartment recently went up.
The basic rule of rent control is this: if you live in a building built before 1975, your annual rent increase is limited to inflation plus two percent. For 2015, that would mean about a three percent bump. So, if your rent costs $1000, and inflation is 1%, that means your rent could go up by $30 at the most.
But because of a loophole called the hardship petition, that’s often not the way it works.
This section of the law seems to dictate simply that rent control shouldn’t prevent landlords from making money on their investment. If they’re not getting a reasonable return, they can file a hardship petition with the DC Rent Administrator to ask to be allowed extra rent increases. It’s an eminently reasonable idea—if landlords are putting money into buying and fixing up apartments, they should be financially rewarded for their work.
It’s become problematic, however, because of what the law considers to be a “reasonable return.” Landlords of rent-controlled buildings in DC can file a hardship petition if the rate of return on their property is less than 12%.
Given that DC is dealing with an affordable housing crisis and costs keep rising, that’s a questionable bar to set for raising rents.
If landlords aren’t profiting enough, rent can go up
To put that in context, the average landlord in both DC and the greater region saw about a five percent return on investment in 2014.
And this takes us back to 1320 Nicholson Street In 2013, Rivera’s landlord Michael Lesesne filed a hardship petition. He won, and residents soon saw increases of 40, 50, even 70 percent on their monthly rents.
The tenants hired a lawyer and were eventually able to convince a judge to overturn Lesesne’s petition. But the damage had already been done: Lesesne had pocketed the money and to this day claims he’s unable to pay residents back.
Latare Whitaker, another tenant, says the irony has not been lost on those who live there. “Mr. Lesesne didn’t have any mercy on us when he raised our rent. Now he’s asking for mercy after a judge has ordered him to pay back what’s ours.”
Some lawmakers are working to ditch hardship petitions
The Nicholson Street residents say this all could have been prevented if their landlord hadn’t had such tools at his disposal in the first place, and they’re fighting to save other tenants from their fate.
“This,” says Whitaker, “is going on all over the city.”
DC Councilmember Anita Bonds agrees with him. She and fellow councilmember Robert White (who was then the Democratic nominee for an at-large seat on the council and has since been appointed as councilmember) both spoke during a summer rally at the Nicholson Street property about the problems rent control faces.
“We have to draw attention to these situations,” said Bonds. “So often on the council all I get to do is hear. Today I get to see.”
Councilmember Bonds has also gotten to do some writing. Last year she introduced the Rent Control Hardship Petition Limitation Amendment Act of 2015, a bill that would limit the amount rent can go up as a result of hardship petitions to five percent, which is the regional average.
Bonds’s bill is currently before the council and needs to be voted on before the end of the year, when proposed bills that haven’t had a vote will slip away or need to be reintroduced next year.
Other rent control bills have recently come before the DC Council as well.
For their own sake and for the sake of their fellow tenants, the residents at 1320 Nicholson Street hope that sometime soon, the council gets to do some voting. |
Colorado breastfeeding law 25-6-301 states that breastfeeding is a basic and important act of nurturing that should be encouraged in the interests of maternal and infant health. 25-6-302 states that a mother may breastfeed in any place she has a right to be. A group of Nederland mothers is speaking out in support of one of their own after the new mother said she was told to "wrap it up" while breastfeeding her infant inside the LoveSac store at the FlatIron Crossing mall last week. The Nederland woman shared with friends that a store manager told her Thursday that LoveSac has a policy against breastfeeding and she needed to stop. Now the group of supporters is threatening to hold a "nurse-in" at the mall. "I would really like them to issue a public statement saying that not only do they support breastfeeding women, but they support them breastfeeding in their stores," said supporter Kristine Lauria, of Nederland. Alex Rhodeen, director of sales and marketing for LoveSac, said company officials have talked with the FlatIron Crossing staff members about Colorado law and informed them the store does not have a policy prohibiting breastfeeding. "I spoke to every employee and reminded them of the state statute," Rhodeen said. He didn't ask the employees about the alleged incident or address the employee who was directly involved. The woman who complained to her friends hasn't provided her name publicly or to the store. "We take customers at their word," Rhodeen said. "Our response was simply that we reminded the staff of the statute and told them that breastfeeding is allowed anywhere a person is allowed to be." Rhodeen said he responded to two e-mails he received about the incident. "I apologized for our failure to apply common sense and good taste, which is our guiding principle at LoveSac," he said. "I told them that every member of the team had been spoken with." The group of supporters has talked about gathering nursing mothers inside the LoveSac store to breastfeed, Lauria said, "to raise awareness that they are allowed to breastfeed anywhere they want. "It's all about babies and food and not about anything else." Colorado law allows a mother to breastfeed in any place that she has a right to be. Lauria, who has been a midwife for more than 20 years, said she views it as her responsibility to make sure businesses and women know the law and that women don't feel ashamed to breastfeed in public. "This woman felt ashamed, and I was incensed by the fact that she felt ashamed that she was feeding her baby in public," she said. Lauria went into the store Friday to talk to a manager about the incident. She said an employee told her that a lot of people were in the store at the time the woman decided to breastfeed and that it was inappropriate. Lauria said only one other couple was in the store when the new mother went in to look at chairs and stopped to nurse her daughter. Lauria's 10-year-old son, Alessandro Lauria, was with his mom when she went to the store Friday and said he also was upset. "I don't think people should go in the bathroom to breastfeed," Alessandro said. "It's like me going into the bathroom to eat a burrito. It just doesn't feel right." Emily Wolf, of Nederland, said she supports the mother who was sent away from LoveSac because she suffered a similar humiliation on a United flight when her son was 6 months old. "This kind of humiliation of breastfeeding mothers needs to be addressed, and businesses need to be educated as to why breastfeeding is not only legally allowed in all places, but should be encouraged and embraced in our society," Wolf said. "Breastfeeding mothers should not be made to feel like criminals or second-class citizens anymore." |
Teen Mom OG fans are still learning about Amber Portwood’s new boyfriend — and baby daddy — Andrew Glennon. But it sounds like he’s going to be a good father.
“Andrew is very adamant on making sure that I’m eating nothing but fruits, veggies, meats and organic foods,” Portwood, who is two months pregnant with her second child, tells Us Weekly exclusively. But Indiana residents shouldn’t be surprised if they see the pregnant MTV star getting her Mexican fix at a popular fast food chain beloved by Chrissy Teigen and Katy Perry.
“I may or may not have had Taco Bell last night,” Portwood says. “I got a Nacho Supreme and Pintos N Cheese. It was horrible afterwards. My tummy was turning in every direction, but I was like, ‘You know what? I had to do it!’”
Teen Mom Stars, Then and Now!
The 27-year-old has also been getting creative in her own kitchen, assembling sandwiches out of crackers, peanut butter, cheddar cheese and pickles. “Some people are probably going to be like, ‘ewww,’” she tells Us. “But when I first found out I was pregnant, I really had a craving for that. My brother made it up when we were young. It’s probably the weirdest craving I’ve had. That and chocolate milk.”
Earlier this month, Portwood confirmed exclusively to Us that she and Glennon are expecting their first child together. She met the cinematographer, 33, while she was filming Marriage Boot Camp with her ex-fiancé Matt Baier. The couple have been dating just four months, so Portwood was understandably uneasy about breaking her pregnancy news to her family.
Amber Portwood Through the Years
“I was nervous,” she admits to Us. “Obviously it’s non-traditional. Usually parents want you to be married first and things like that. But you know me, if I didn’t do things the way I did, I wouldn’t be me.”
The 16 & Pregnant alum shares 8-year-old daughter Leah with her ex Gary Shirley.
For more of Us Weekly’s exclusive interview with Portwood, pick up the next issue, on newsstands Wednesday, November 8.
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By Bill Parry
A new Key Food supermarket is scheduled to open in Jackson Heights as early as February, replacing the Trade Fair that closed down without notice last week.
The store’s new owners, Mohammed Haque and Jaynal Abdin, have reached out to United Food and Commercial Workers Local 338 to discuss hiring some of the 52 workers who lost their jobs Dec. 10.
“I’ve had several conversations with their counsel, but it’s all preliminary — nothing concrete yet,” Local 338 director Jack Caffey said. “That’s true, we’ve talked, but if these workers could find other jobs they should take them,” Haque said, “I’d love to hire locally and I’ve already taken their job applications, but I already employ many workers at my other stores, so we’ll have to see what happens. It’s too soon to say.”
A huge inflatable rat still stands in front of the store, at 75-07 37th Ave., as former workers and labor leaders continue to protest the loss of their jobs so close to the holidays.
Chanting “Grinch” and “Trade Fair Unfair,” the former workers rallied Friday morning, venting their anger at Trade Fair owner Frank Jabber.
“We came to work in the snow on Tuesday and they told us to go home — we’ve got no job,” said Rafael Polanco, a worker in the store’s deli section for the last 14 years.
“They violated the contracts and possibly laws,” organizer Mike Chrisemer said. “It’s ridiculous that he threw the workers out into the cold right before Christmas.”
This is not the first time unions have protested at the store. In March, Trade Fair locked out 50 workers in the meat department.
“I don’t know how Jabber lives with himself,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who was assaulted at the store in May 2012. Dromm was taking pictures of illegally parked trucks at the store when he was struck by one of the drivers.
“I’ve called Jabber a bad man in the past. Now he’s even worse. He violates the standards of decency on so many levels,” he said.
Jabber could not be reached for comment.
“Trade Fair has a long record of bad business. They’re a bad neighbor,” said Caffey “They knew the store was sold and didn’t tell anyone for a month.”
He added that the union had to fight for millions of dollars in back pay as well as health contributions and pensions.
Meanwhile, Danny Katch of Jackson Heights, has started an online petition warning the new Key Food owners, Haque and Abdin, that they face a neighborhood boycott until the workers from the former Trade Fair have been rehired.
“I don’t think that’s fair at all,” Haque said, “The old owner owns other stores. They should go boycott them.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 718-260-4538. |
Amalie Emmy Noether[a] ( German: [ˈnøːtɐ]; 23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German mathematician who made important contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics.[1] She invariably used the name "Emmy Noether" in her life and publications.[a] She was described by Pavel Alexandrov, Albert Einstein, Jean Dieudonné, Hermann Weyl and Norbert Wiener as the most important woman in the history of mathematics.[2] As one of the leading mathematicians of her time, she developed the theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether's theorem explains the connection between symmetry and conservation laws.[4]
Noether was born to a Jewish family in the Franconian town of Erlangen; her father was a mathematician, Max Noether. She originally planned to teach French and English after passing the required examinations, but instead studied mathematics at the University of Erlangen, where her father lectured. After completing her dissertation in 1907 under the supervision of Paul Gordan, she worked at the Mathematical Institute of Erlangen without pay for seven years. At the time, women were largely excluded from academic positions. In 1915, she was invited by David Hilbert and Felix Klein to join the mathematics department at the University of Göttingen, a world-renowned center of mathematical research. The philosophical faculty objected, however, and she spent four years lecturing under Hilbert's name. Her habilitation was approved in 1919, allowing her to obtain the rank of Privatdozent.
Noether remained a leading member of the Göttingen mathematics department until 1933; her students were sometimes called the "Noether boys". In 1924, Dutch mathematician B.L. van der Waerden joined her circle and soon became the leading expositor of Noether's ideas: Her work was the foundation for the second volume of his influential 1931 textbook, Moderne Algebra. By the time of her plenary address at the 1932 International Congress of Mathematicians in Zürich, her algebraic acumen was recognized around the world. The following year, Germany's Nazi government dismissed Jews from university positions, and Noether moved to the United States to take up a position at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. In 1935 she underwent surgery for an ovarian cyst and, despite signs of a recovery, died four days later at the age of 53.
Noether's mathematical work has been divided into three "epochs".[5] In the first (1908–1919), she made contributions to the theories of algebraic invariants and number fields. Her work on differential invariants in the calculus of variations, Noether's theorem, has been called "one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics". In the second epoch (1920–1926), she began work that "changed the face of [abstract] algebra".[7] In her classic 1921 paper Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen (Theory of Ideals in Ring Domains) Noether developed the theory of ideals in commutative rings into a tool with wide-ranging applications. She made elegant use of the ascending chain condition, and objects satisfying it are named Noetherian in her honor. In the third epoch (1927–1935), she published works on noncommutative algebras and hypercomplex numbers and united the representation theory of groups with the theory of modules and ideals. In addition to her own publications, Noether was generous with her ideas and is credited with several lines of research published by other mathematicians, even in fields far removed from her main work, such as algebraic topology.
Personal life [ edit ]
Noether grew up in the Bavarian city of Erlangen , depicted here in a 1916 postcard
Emmy Noether with her brothers Alfred, Fritz , and Robert, before 1918
Emmy's father, Max Noether, was descended from a family of wholesale traders in Germany. At age 14, he had been paralyzed by polio. He regained mobility, but one leg remained affected. Largely self-taught, he was awarded a doctorate from the University of Heidelberg in 1868. After teaching there for seven years, he took a position in the Bavarian city of Erlangen, where he met and married Ida Amalia Kaufmann, the daughter of a prosperous merchant.
Max Noether's mathematical contributions were to algebraic geometry mainly, following in the footsteps of Alfred Clebsch. His best known results are the Brill–Noether theorem and the residue, or AF+BG theorem; several other theorems are associated with him; see Max Noether's theorem.
Emmy Noether was born on 23 March 1882, the first of four children.[12] Her first name was "Amalie", after her mother and paternal grandmother, but she began using her middle name at a young age.
As a girl, Noether was well liked. She did not stand out academically although she was known for being clever and friendly. She was near-sighted and talked with a minor lisp during childhood. A family friend recounted a story years later about young Noether quickly solving a brain teaser at a children's party, showing logical acumen at that early age. She was taught to cook and clean, as were most girls of the time, and she took piano lessons. She pursued none of these activities with passion, although she loved to dance.
She had three younger brothers: The eldest, Alfred, was born in 1883, was awarded a doctorate in chemistry from Erlangen in 1909, but died nine years later. Fritz Noether, born in 1884, is remembered for his academic accomplishments; after studying in Munich he made a reputation for himself in applied mathematics. The youngest, Gustav Robert, was born in 1889. Very little is known about his life; he suffered from chronic illness and died in 1928.
University education [ edit ]
Noether showed early proficiency in French and English. In the spring of 1900, she took the examination for teachers of these languages and received an overall score of sehr gut (very good). Her performance qualified her to teach languages at schools reserved for girls, but she chose instead to continue her studies at the University of Erlangen.
This was an unconventional decision; two years earlier, the Academic Senate of the university had declared that allowing mixed-sex education would "overthrow all academic order". One of only two women in a university of 986 students, Noether was only allowed to audit classes rather than participate fully, and required the permission of individual professors whose lectures she wished to attend. Despite these obstacles, on 14 July 1903 she passed the graduation exam at a Realgymnasium in Nuremberg.
During the 1903–1904 winter semester, she studied at the University of Göttingen, attending lectures given by astronomer Karl Schwarzschild and mathematicians Hermann Minkowski, Otto Blumenthal, Felix Klein, and David Hilbert. Soon thereafter, restrictions on women's participation in that university were rescinded.
Noether returned to Erlangen. She officially reentered the university in October 1904, and declared her intention to focus solely on mathematics. Under the supervision of Paul Gordan she wrote her dissertation, Über die Bildung des Formensystems der ternären biquadratischen Form (On Complete Systems of Invariants for Ternary Biquadratic Forms, 1907). Gordan was a member of the "computational" school of invariant researchers, and Noether's thesis ended with a list of over 300 explicitly worked out invariants. This approach to invariants was later superseded by the more abstract and general approach pioneered by Hilbert. Although it had been well received, Noether later described her thesis and a number of subsequent similar papers she produced as "crap".[b]
Teaching [ edit ]
University of Erlangen [ edit ]
For the next seven years (1908–1915) she taught at the University of Erlangen's Mathematical Institute without pay, occasionally substituting for her father when he was too ill to lecture. In 1910 and 1911 she published an extension of her thesis work from three variables to n variables.
Noether sometimes used postcards to discuss abstract algebra with her colleague, Ernst Fischer . This card is postmarked 10 April 1915.
Gordan retired in the spring of 1910, but continued to teach occasionally with his successor, Erhard Schmidt, who left shortly afterward for a position in Breslau. Gordan retired from teaching altogether in 1911 when Schmidt's successor Ernst Fischer arrived; Gordan died a year later in December 1912.
According to Hermann Weyl, Fischer was an important influence on Noether, in particular by introducing her to the work of David Hilbert. From 1913 to 1916 Noether published several papers extending and applying Hilbert's methods to mathematical objects such as fields of rational functions and the invariants of finite groups. This phase marks the beginning of her engagement with abstract algebra, the field of mathematics to which she would make groundbreaking contributions.
Noether and Fischer shared lively enjoyment of mathematics and would often discuss lectures long after they were over; Noether is known to have sent postcards to Fischer continuing her train of mathematical thoughts.
University of Göttingen [ edit ]
In the spring of 1915, Noether was invited to return to the University of Göttingen by David Hilbert and Felix Klein. Their effort to recruit her, however, was blocked by the philologists and historians among the philosophical faculty: Women, they insisted, should not become privatdozenten. One faculty member protested: "What will our soldiers think when they return to the university and find that they are required to learn at the feet of a woman?" Hilbert responded with indignation, stating, "I do not see that the sex of the candidate is an argument against her admission as privatdozent. After all, we are a university, not a bath house."
In 1915 David Hilbert invited Noether to join the Göttingen mathematics department, challenging the views of some of his colleagues that a woman should not be allowed to teach at a university.
Noether left for Göttingen in late April; two weeks later her mother died suddenly in Erlangen. She had previously received medical care for an eye condition, but its nature and impact on her death is unknown. At about the same time Noether's father retired and her brother joined the German Army to serve in World War I. She returned to Erlangen for several weeks, mostly to care for her aging father.
During her first years teaching at Göttingen she did not have an official position and was not paid; her family paid for her room and board and supported her academic work. Her lectures often were advertised under Hilbert's name, and Noether would provide "assistance".
Soon after arriving at Göttingen, however, she demonstrated her capabilities by proving the theorem now known as Noether's theorem, which shows that a conservation law is associated with any differentiable symmetry of a physical system. The paper was presented by a colleague, F. Klein on 26 July 1918 to a meeting of the Royal Society of Sciences at Göttingen. Noether presumably did not present it herself because she was not a member of the society. American physicists Leon M. Lederman and Christopher T. Hill argue in their book Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe that Noether's theorem is "certainly one of the most important mathematical theorems ever proved in guiding the development of modern physics, possibly on a par with the Pythagorean theorem".
habilitation in 1919, four years after she had begun lecturing at the school. The mathematics department at the University of Göttingen allowed Noether'sin 1919, four years after she had begun lecturing at the school.
When World War I ended, the German Revolution of 1918–1919 brought a significant change in social attitudes, including more rights for women. In 1919 the University of Göttingen allowed Noether to proceed with her habilitation (eligibility for tenure). Her oral examination was held in late May, and she successfully delivered her habilitation lecture in June 1919.
Three years later she received a letter from Otto Boelitz [de], the Prussian Minister for Science, Art, and Public Education, in which he conferred on her the title of nicht beamteter ausserordentlicher Professor (an untenured professor with limited internal administrative rights and functions ). This was an unpaid "extraordinary" professorship, not the higher "ordinary" professorship, which was a civil-service position. Although it recognized the importance of her work, the position still provided no salary. Noether was not paid for her lectures until she was appointed to the special position of Lehrbeauftragte für Algebra a year later.
Work in abstract algebra [ edit ]
Although Noether's theorem had a significant effect upon classical and quantum mechanics, among mathematicians she is best remembered for her contributions to abstract algebra. In his introduction to Noether's Collected Papers, Nathan Jacobson wrote that
The development of abstract algebra, which is one of the most distinctive innovations of twentieth century mathematics, is largely due to her – in published papers, in lectures, and in personal influence on her contemporaries.
She sometimes allowed her colleagues and students to receive credit for her ideas, helping them develop their careers at the expense of her own.
Noether's work in algebra began in 1920. In collaboration with W. Schmeidler, she then published a paper about the theory of ideals in which they defined left and right ideals in a ring.
The following year she published a paper called Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen, analyzing ascending chain conditions with regard to (mathematical) ideals. Noted algebraist Irving Kaplansky called this work "revolutionary"; the publication gave rise to the term "Noetherian ring" and the naming of several other mathematical objects as Noetherian.
In 1924 a young Dutch mathematician, B.L. van der Waerden, arrived at the University of Göttingen. He immediately began working with Noether, who provided invaluable methods of abstract conceptualization. Van der Waerden later said that her originality was "absolute beyond comparison". In 1931 he published Moderne Algebra, a central text in the field; its second volume borrowed heavily from Noether's work. Although Noether did not seek recognition, he included as a note in the seventh edition "based in part on lectures by E. Artin and E. Noether".
Van der Waerden's visit was part of a convergence of mathematicians from all over the world to Göttingen, which became a major hub of mathematical and physical research. From 1926 to 1930 Russian topologist Pavel Alexandrov lectured at the university, and he and Noether quickly became good friends. He began referring to her as der Noether, using the masculine German article as a term of endearment to show his respect. She tried to arrange for him to obtain a position at Göttingen as a regular professor, but was only able to help him secure a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation. They met regularly and enjoyed discussions about the intersections of algebra and topology. In his 1935 memorial address, Alexandrov named Emmy Noether "the greatest woman mathematician of all time".
Graduate students and influential lectures [ edit ]
In addition to her mathematical insight, Noether was respected for her consideration of others. Although she sometimes acted rudely toward those who disagreed with her, she nevertheless gained a reputation for constant helpfulness and patient guidance of new students. Her loyalty to mathematical precision caused one colleague to name her "a severe critic", but she combined this demand for accuracy with a nurturing attitude. A colleague later described her this way:
Completely unegotistical and free of vanity, she never claimed anything for herself, but promoted the works of her students above all.
Göttingen [ edit ]
Noether c. 1930
In Göttingen, Noether supervised more than a dozen doctoral students; her first was Grete Hermann, who defended her dissertation in February 1925. She later spoke reverently of her "dissertation-mother". Noether also supervised Max Deuring, who distinguished himself as an undergraduate and went on to contribute significantly to the field of arithmetic geometry; Hans Fitting, remembered for Fitting's theorem and the Fitting lemma; and Zeng Jiongzhi (also rendered "Chiungtze C. Tsen" in English), who proved Tsen's theorem. She also worked closely with Wolfgang Krull, who greatly advanced commutative algebra with his Hauptidealsatz and his dimension theory for commutative rings.
Her frugal lifestyle at first was due to being denied pay for her work; however, even after the university began paying her a small salary in 1923, she continued to live a simple and modest life. She was paid more generously later in her life, but saved half of her salary to bequeath to her nephew, Gottfried E. Noether.
Mostly unconcerned about appearance and manners, biographers suggest she focused on her studies. A distinguished algebraist Olga Taussky-Todd described a luncheon, during which Noether, wholly engrossed in a discussion of mathematics, "gesticulated wildly" as she ate and "spilled her food constantly and wiped it off from her dress, completely unperturbed". Appearance-conscious students cringed as she retrieved the handkerchief from her blouse and ignored the increasing disarray of her hair during a lecture. Two female students once approached her during a break in a two-hour class to express their concern, but they were unable to break through the energetic mathematics discussion she was having with other students.
According to van der Waerden's obituary of Emmy Noether, she did not follow a lesson plan for her lectures, which frustrated some students. Instead, she used her lectures as a spontaneous discussion time with her students, to think through and clarify important problems in mathematics. Some of her most important results were developed in these lectures, and the lecture notes of her students formed the basis for several important textbooks, such as those of van der Waerden and Deuring.[57]
Several of her colleagues attended her lectures, and she allowed some of her ideas, such as the crossed product (verschränktes Produkt in German) of associative algebras, to be published by others. Noether was recorded as having given at least five semester-long courses at Göttingen:[58]
Winter 1924/1925: Gruppentheorie und hyperkomplexe Zahlen [ Group Theory and Hypercomplex Numbers ]
[ ] Winter 1927/1928: Hyperkomplexe Grössen und Darstellungstheorie [ Hypercomplex Quantities and Representation Theory ]
[ ] Summer 1928: Nichtkommutative Algebra [ Noncommutative Algebra ]
[ ] Summer 1929: Nichtkommutative Arithmetik [ Noncommutative Arithmetic ]
[ ] Winter 1929/30: Algebra der hyperkomplexen Grössen [Algebra of Hypercomplex Quantities]
These courses often preceded major publications on the same subjects.
Noether spoke quickly – reflecting the speed of her thoughts, many said – and demanded great concentration from her students. Students who disliked her style often felt alienated. Some pupils felt that she relied too much on spontaneous discussions. Her most dedicated students, however, relished the enthusiasm with which she approached mathematics, especially since her lectures often built on earlier work they had done together.
She developed a close circle of colleagues and students who thought along similar lines and tended to exclude those who did not. "Outsiders" who occasionally visited Noether's lectures usually spent only 30 minutes in the room before leaving in frustration or confusion. A regular student said of one such instance: "The enemy has been defeated; he has cleared out."
Noether showed a devotion to her subject and her students that extended beyond the academic day. Once, when the building was closed for a state holiday, she gathered the class on the steps outside, led them through the woods, and lectured at a local coffee house. Later, after she had been dismissed by the Third Reich, she invited students into her home to discuss their plans for the future and mathematical concepts.
Moscow [ edit ]
In the winter of 1928–1929 Noether accepted an invitation to Moscow State University, where she continued working with P.S. Alexandrov. In addition to carrying on with her research, she taught classes in abstract algebra and algebraic geometry. She worked with the topologists Lev Pontryagin and Nikolai Chebotaryov, who later praised her contributions to the development of Galois theory.
Although politics was not central to her life, Noether took a keen interest in political matters and, according to Alexandrov, showed considerable support for the Russian Revolution. She was especially happy to see Soviet advances in the fields of science and mathematics, which she considered indicative of new opportunities made possible by the Bolshevik project. This attitude caused her problems in Germany, culminating in her eviction from a pension lodging building, after student leaders complained of living with "a Marxist-leaning Jewess".
Noether planned to return to Moscow, an effort for which she received support from Alexandrov. After she left Germany in 1933 he tried to help her gain a chair at Moscow State University through the Soviet Education Ministry. Although this effort proved unsuccessful, they corresponded frequently during the 1930s, and in 1935 she made plans for a return to the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, her brother Fritz accepted a position at the Research Institute for Mathematics and Mechanics in Tomsk, in the Siberian Federal District of Russia, after losing his job in Germany, and was subsequently executed during the Great Purge.
Recognition [ edit ]
In 1932 Emmy Noether and Emil Artin received the Ackermann–Teubner Memorial Award for their contributions to mathematics.[70] The prize included a monetary reward of 500 Reichsmarks and was seen as a long-overdue official recognition of her considerable work in the field. Nevertheless, her colleagues expressed frustration at the fact that she was not elected to the Göttingen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften (academy of sciences) and was never promoted to the position of Ordentlicher Professor (full professor).
Noether's colleagues celebrated her fiftieth birthday in 1932, in typical mathematicians' style. Helmut Hasse dedicated an article to her in the Mathematische Annalen, wherein he confirmed her suspicion that some aspects of noncommutative algebra are simpler than those of commutative algebra, by proving a noncommutative reciprocity law. This pleased her immensely. He also sent her a mathematical riddle, which he called the "m μν -riddle of syllables". She solved immediately, but the riddle has been lost.
In November of the same year, Noether delivered a plenary address (großer Vortrag) on "Hyper-complex systems in their relations to commutative algebra and to number theory" at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Zürich. The congress was attended by 800 people, including Noether's colleagues Hermann Weyl, Edmund Landau, and Wolfgang Krull. There were 420 official participants and twenty-one plenary addresses presented. Apparently, Noether's prominent speaking position was a recognition of the importance of her contributions to mathematics. The 1932 congress is sometimes described as the high point of her career.
Expulsion from Göttingen by the Third Reich [ edit ]
When Adolf Hitler became the German Reichskanzler in January 1933, Nazi activity around the country increased dramatically. At the University of Göttingen the German Student Association led the attack on the "un-German spirit" attributed to Jews and was aided by a privatdozent named Werner Weber, a former student of Noether. Antisemitic attitudes created a climate hostile to Jewish professors. One young protester reportedly demanded: "Aryan students want Aryan mathematics and not Jewish mathematics."[75]
One of the first actions of Hitler's administration was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service which removed Jews and politically suspect government employees (including university professors) from their jobs unless they had "demonstrated their loyalty to Germany" by serving in World War I. In April 1933 Noether received a notice from the Prussian Ministry for Sciences, Art, and Public Education which read: "On the basis of paragraph 3 of the Civil Service Code of 7 April 1933, I hereby withdraw from you the right to teach at the University of Göttingen." Several of Noether's colleagues, including Max Born and Richard Courant, also had their positions revoked.
Noether accepted the decision calmly, providing support for others during this difficult time. Hermann Weyl later wrote that "Emmy Noether—her courage, her frankness, her unconcern about her own fate, her conciliatory spirit—was in the midst of all the hatred and meanness, despair and sorrow surrounding us, a moral solace."[75] Typically, Noether remained focused on mathematics, gathering students in her apartment to discuss class field theory. When one of her students appeared in the uniform of the Nazi paramilitary organization Sturmabteilung (SA), she showed no sign of agitation and, reportedly, even laughed about it later. This, however, was before the bloody events of Kristallnacht in 1938, and their praise from Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
Refuge at Bryn Mawr and Princeton, in America [ edit ]
Bryn Mawr College provided a welcoming home for Noether during the last two years of her life.
As dozens of newly unemployed professors began searching for positions outside of Germany, their colleagues in the United States sought to provide assistance and job opportunities for them. Albert Einstein and Hermann Weyl were appointed by the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, while others worked to find a sponsor required for legal immigration. Noether was contacted by representatives of two educational institutions: Bryn Mawr College, in the United States, and Somerville College at the University of Oxford, in England. After a series of negotiations with the Rockefeller Foundation, a grant to Bryn Mawr was approved for Noether and she took a position there, starting in late 1933.
At Bryn Mawr, Noether met and befriended Anna Wheeler, who had studied at Göttingen just before Noether arrived there. Another source of support at the college was the Bryn Mawr president, Marion Edwards Park, who enthusiastically invited mathematicians in the area to "see Dr. Noether in action!" Noether and a small team of students worked quickly through van der Waerden's 1930 book Moderne Algebra I and parts of Erich Hecke's Theorie der algebraischen Zahlen (Theory of algebraic numbers).
In 1934, Noether began lecturing at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton upon the invitation of Abraham Flexner and Oswald Veblen. She also worked with and supervised Abraham Albert and Harry Vandiver. However, she remarked about Princeton University that she was not welcome at "the men's university, where nothing female is admitted".
Her time in the United States was pleasant, surrounded as she was by supportive colleagues and absorbed in her favorite subjects. In the summer of 1934 she briefly returned to Germany to see Emil Artin and her brother Fritz before he left for Tomsk. Although many of her former colleagues had been forced out of the universities, she was able to use the library as a "foreign scholar".
Death [ edit ]
In April 1935 doctors discovered a tumor in Noether's pelvis. Worried about complications from surgery, they ordered two days of bed rest first. During the operation they discovered an ovarian cyst "the size of a large cantaloupe". Two smaller tumors in her uterus appeared to be benign and were not removed, to avoid prolonging surgery. For three days she appeared to convalesce normally, and she recovered quickly from a circulatory collapse on the fourth. On 14 April she fell unconscious, her temperature soared to 109 °F (42.8 °C), and she died. "[I]t is not easy to say what had occurred in Dr. Noether", one of the physicians wrote. "It is possible that there was some form of unusual and virulent infection, which struck the base of the brain where the heat centers are supposed to be located."
A few days after Noether's death her friends and associates at Bryn Mawr held a small memorial service at College President Park's house. Hermann Weyl and Richard Brauer traveled from Princeton and spoke with Wheeler and Taussky about their departed colleague. In the months that followed, written tributes began to appear around the globe: Albert Einstein[90] joined van der Waerden, Weyl, and Pavel Alexandrov in paying their respects. Her body was cremated and the ashes interred under the walkway around the cloisters of the M. Carey Thomas Library at Bryn Mawr.
Contributions to mathematics and physics [ edit ]
Noether's work in abstract algebra and topology was influential in mathematics, while in physics, Noether's theorem has consequences for theoretical physics and dynamical systems. She showed an acute propensity for abstract thought, which allowed her to approach problems of mathematics in fresh and original ways. Her friend and colleague Hermann Weyl described her scholarly output in three epochs:
Emmy Noether's scientific production fell into three clearly distinct epochs: (1) the period of relative dependence, 1907–1919 (2) the investigations grouped around the general theory of ideals 1920–1926 (3) the study of the non-commutative algebras, their representations by linear transformations, and their application to the study of commutative number fields and their arithmetics Weyl 1935
In the first epoch (1907–1919), Noether dealt primarily with differential and algebraic invariants, beginning with her dissertation under Paul Gordan. Her mathematical horizons broadened, and her work became more general and abstract, as she became acquainted with the work of David Hilbert, through close interactions with a successor to Gordan, Ernst Sigismund Fischer. After moving to Göttingen in 1915, she produced her work for physics, the two Noether's theorems.
In the second epoch (1920–1926), Noether devoted herself to developing the theory of mathematical rings.
In the third epoch (1927–1935), Noether focused on noncommutative algebra, linear transformations, and commutative number fields.
Although the results of Noether's first epoch were impressive and useful, her fame among mathematicians rests more on the groundbreaking work she did in her second and third epochs, as noted by Hermann Weyl and B.L. van der Waerden in their obituaries of her.
In these epochs, she was not merely applying ideas and methods of earlier mathematicians; rather, she was crafting new systems of mathematical definitions that would be used by future mathematicians. In particular, she developed a completely new theory of ideals in rings, generalizing earlier work of Richard Dedekind. She is also renowned for developing ascending chain conditions, a simple finiteness condition that yielded powerful results in her hands. Such conditions and the theory of ideals enabled Noether to generalize many older results and to treat old problems from a new perspective, such as elimination theory and the algebraic varieties that had been studied by her father.
Historical context [ edit ]
In the century from 1832 to Noether's death in 1935, the field of mathematics – specifically algebra – underwent a profound revolution, whose reverberations are still being felt. Mathematicians of previous centuries had worked on practical methods for solving specific types of equations, e.g., cubic, quartic, and quintic equations, as well as on the related problem of constructing regular polygons using compass and straightedge. Beginning with Carl Friedrich Gauss's 1832 proof that prime numbers such as five can be factored in Gaussian integers,[95] Évariste Galois's introduction of permutation groups in 1832 (although, because of his death, his papers were published only in 1846, by Liouville), William Rowan Hamilton's discovery of quaternions in 1843, and Arthur Cayley's more modern definition of groups in 1854, research turned to determining the properties of ever-more-abstract systems defined by ever-more-universal rules. Noether's most important contributions to mathematics were to the development of this new field, abstract algebra.[96]
Background on abstract algebra and begriffliche Mathematik (conceptual mathematics) [ edit ]
Two of the most basic objects in abstract algebra are groups and rings.
A group consists of a set of elements and a single operation which combines a first and a second element and returns a third. The operation must satisfy certain constraints for it to determine a group: It must be closed (when applied to any pair of elements of the associated set, the generated element must also be a member of that set), it must be associative, there must be an identity element (an element which, when combined with another element using the operation, results in the original element, such as adding zero to a number or multiplying it by one), and for every element there must be an inverse element.
A ring likewise, has a set of elements, but now has two operations. The first operation must make the set a group, and the second operation is associative and distributive with respect to the first operation. It may or may not be commutative; this means that the result of applying the operation to a first and a second element is the same as to the second and first – the order of the elements does not matter. If every non-zero element has a multiplicative inverse (an element x such that a x = x a = 1 ), the ring is called a division ring. A field is defined as a commutative division ring.
Groups are frequently studied through group representations. In their most general form, these consist of a choice of group, a set, and an action of the group on the set, that is, an operation which takes an element of the group and an element of the set and returns an element of the set. Most often, the set is a vector space, and the group represents symmetries of the vector space. For example, there is a group which represents the rigid rotations of space. This is a type of symmetry of space, because space itself does not change when it is rotated even though the positions of objects in it do. Noether used these sorts of symmetries in her work on invariants in physics.
A powerful way of studying rings is through their modules. A module consists of a choice of ring, another set, usually distinct from the underlying set of the ring and called the underlying set of the module, an operation on pairs of elements of the underlying set of the module, and an operation which takes an element of the ring and an element of the module and returns an element of the module.
The underlying set of the module and its operation must form a group. A module is a ring-theoretic version of a group representation: Ignoring the second ring operation and the operation on pairs of module elements determines a group representation. The real utility of modules is that the kinds of modules that exist and their interactions, reveal the structure of the ring in ways that are not apparent from the ring itself. An important special case of this is an algebra. (The word algebra means both a subject within mathematics as well as an object studied in the subject of algebra.) An algebra consists of a choice of two rings and an operation which takes an element from each ring and returns an element of the second ring. This operation makes the second ring into a module over the first. Often the first ring is a field.
Words such as "element" and "combining operation" are very general, and can be applied to many real-world and abstract situations. Any set of things that obeys all the rules for one (or two) operation(s) is, by definition, a group (or ring), and obeys all theorems about groups (or rings). Integer numbers, and the operations of addition and multiplication, are just one example. For example, the elements might be computer data words, where the first combining operation is exclusive or and the second is logical conjunction. Theorems of abstract algebra are powerful because they are general; they govern many systems. It might be imagined that little could be concluded about objects defined with so few properties, but precisely therein lay Noether's gift to discover the maximum that could be concluded from a given set of properties, or conversely, to identify the minimum set, the essential properties responsible for a particular observation. Unlike most mathematicians, she did not make abstractions by generalizing from known examples; rather, she worked directly with the abstractions. In his obituary of Noether, her student van der Waerden recalled that
The maxim by which Emmy Noether was guided throughout her work might be formulated as follows: "Any relationships between numbers, functions, and operations become transparent, generally applicable, and fully productive only after they have been isolated from their particular objects and been formulated as universally valid concepts."
This is the begriffliche Mathematik (purely conceptual mathematics) that was characteristic of Noether. This style of mathematics was consequently adopted by other mathematicians, especially in the (then new) field of abstract algebra.
Example: Integers as a ring [ edit ]
The integers form a commutative ring whose elements are the integers, and the combining operations are addition and multiplication. Any pair of integers can be added or multiplied, always resulting in another integer, and the first operation, addition, is commutative, i.e., for any elements a and b in the ring, a + b = b + a. The second operation, multiplication, also is commutative, but that need not be true for other rings, meaning that a combined with b might be different from b combined with a. Examples of noncommutative rings include matrices and quaternions. The integers do not form a division ring, because the second operation cannot always be inverted; there is no integer a such that 3 × a = 1.
The integers have additional properties which do not generalize to all commutative rings. An important example is the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, which says that every positive integer can be factored uniquely into prime numbers. Unique factorizations do not always exist in other rings, but Noether found a unique factorization theorem, now called the Lasker–Noether theorem, for the ideals of many rings. Much of Noether's work lay in determining what properties do hold for all rings, in devising novel analogs of the old integer theorems, and in determining the minimal set of assumptions required to yield certain properties of rings.
First epoch (1908–1919): Algebraic invariant theory [ edit ]
x and u. The horizontal direction of the table lists the invariants with increasing grades in x, while the vertical direction lists them with increasing grades in u. Table 2 from Noether's dissertation on invariant theory. This table collects 202 of the 331 invariants of ternary biquadratic forms. These forms are graded in two variablesand. The horizontal direction of the table lists the invariants with increasing grades in, while the vertical direction lists them with increasing grades in
Much of Noether's work in the first epoch of her career was associated with invariant theory, principally algebraic invariant theory. Invariant theory is concerned with expressions that remain constant (invariant) under a group of transformations. As an everyday example, if a rigid yardstick is rotated, the coordinates (x 1 , y 1 , z 1 ) and (x 2 , y 2 , z 2 ) of its endpoints change, but its length L given by the formula L2 = Δx2 + Δy2 + Δz2 remains the same. Invariant theory was an active area of research in the later nineteenth century, prompted in part by Felix Klein's Erlangen program, according to which different types of geometry should be characterized by their invariants under transformations, e.g., the cross-ratio of projective geometry.
An example of an invariant is the discriminant B2 − 4 A C of a binary quadratic form x·A x + y·B x + y·C y , where x and y are vectors and "·" is the dot product or "inner product" for the vectors. A, B, and C are linear operators on the vectors – typically matrices.
The discriminant is called "invariant" because it is not changed by linear substitutions x → a x + b y, y → c x + d y with determinant a d − b c = 1 . These substitutions form the special linear group SL 2 .[c]
One can ask for all polynomials in A, B, and C that are unchanged by the action of SL 2 ; these are called the invariants of binary quadratic forms and turn out to be the polynomials in the discriminant.
More generally, one can ask for the invariants of homogeneous polynomials A 0 xr y0 + ... + A r x0 yr of higher degree, which will be certain polynomials in the coefficients A 0 , ..., A r , and more generally still, one can ask the similar question for homogeneous polynomials in more than two variables.
One of the main goals of invariant theory was to solve the "finite basis problem". The sum or product of any two invariants is invariant, and the finite basis problem asked whether it was possible to get all the invariants by starting with a finite list of invariants, called generators, and then, adding or multiplying the generators together. For example, the discriminant gives a finite basis (with one element) for the invariants of binary quadratic forms.
Noether's advisor, Paul Gordan, was known as the "king of invariant theory", and his chief contribution to mathematics was his 1870 solution of the finite basis problem for invariants of homogeneous polynomials in two variables. He proved this by giving a constructive method for finding all of the invariants and their generators, but was not able to carry out this constructive approach for invariants in three or more variables. In 1890, David Hilbert proved a similar statement for the invariants of homogeneous polynomials in any number of variables. Furthermore, his method worked, not only for the special linear group, but also for some of its subgroups such as the special orthogonal group.
First epoch (1908–1919): Galois theory [ edit ]
Galois theory concerns transformations of number fields that permute the roots of an equation. Consider a polynomial equation of a variable x of degree n, in which the coefficients are drawn from some ground field, which might be, for example, the field of real numbers, rational numbers, or the integers modulo 7. There may or may not be choices of x, which make this polynomial evaluate to zero. Such choices, if they exist, are called roots. If the polynomial is x2 + 1 and the field is the real numbers, then the polynomial has no roots, because any choice of x makes the polynomial greater than or equal to one. If the field is extended, however, then the polynomial may gain roots, and if it is extended enough, then it always has a number of roots equal to its degree.
Continuing the previous example, if the field is enlarged to the complex numbers, then the polynomial gains two roots, +i and −i, where i is the imaginary unit, that is, i 2 = −1 . More generally, the extension field in which a polynomial can be factored into its roots is known as the splitting field of the polynomial.
The Galois group of a polynomial is the set of all transformations of the splitting field which preserve the ground field and the roots of the polynomial. (In mathematical jargon, these transformations are called automorphisms.) The Galois group of x2 + 1 consists of two elements: The identity transformation, which sends every complex number to itself, and complex conjugation, which sends +i to −i. Since the Galois group does not change the ground field, it leaves the coefficients of the polynomial unchanged, so it must leave the set of all roots unchanged. Each root can move to another root, however, so transformation determines a permutation of the n roots among themselves. The significance of the Galois group derives from the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, which proves that the fields lying between the ground field and the splitting field are in one-to-one correspondence with the subgroups of the Galois group.
In 1918, Noether published a paper on the inverse Galois problem.[104] Instead of determining the Galois group of transformations of a given field and its extension, Noether asked whether, given a field and a group, it always is possible to find an extension of the field that has the given group as its Galois group. She reduced this to "Noether's problem", which asks whether the fixed field of a subgroup G of the permutation group S n acting on the field k(x 1 , ... , x n ) always is a pure transcendental extension of the field k. (She first mentioned this problem in a 1913 paper,[105] where she attributed the problem to her colleague Fischer.) She showed this was true for n = 2, 3, or 4. In 1969, R.G. Swan found a counter-example to Noether's problem, with n = 47 and G a cyclic group of order 47[106] (although this group can be realized as a Galois group over the rationals in other ways). The inverse Galois problem remains unsolved.[107]
First epoch (1908–1919): Physics [ edit ]
Noether was brought to Göttingen in 1915 by David Hilbert and Felix Klein, who wanted her expertise in invariant theory to help them in understanding general relativity, a geometrical theory of gravitation developed mainly by Albert Einstein. Hilbert had observed that the conservation of energy seemed to be violated in general relativity, because gravitational energy could itself gravitate. Noether provided the resolution of this paradox, and a fundamental tool of modern theoretical physics, with Noether's first theorem, which she proved in 1915, but did not publish until 1918.[108] She not only solved the problem for general relativity, but also determined the conserved quantities for every system of physical laws that possesses some continuous symmetry. Upon receiving her work, Einstein wrote to Hilbert:
Yesterday I received from Miss Noether a very interesting paper on invariants. I'm impressed that such things can be understood in such a general way. The old guard at Göttingen should take some lessons from Miss Noether! She seems to know her stuff.[109]
For illustration, if a physical system behaves the same, regardless of how it is oriented in space, the physical laws that govern it are rotationally symmetric; from this symmetry, Noether's theorem shows the angular momentum of the system must be conserved.[110] The physical system itself need not be symmetric; a jagged asteroid tumbling in space conserves angular momentum despite its asymmetry. Rather, the symmetry of the physical laws governing the system is responsible for the conservation law. As another example, if a physical experiment has the same outcome at any place and at any time, then its laws are symmetric under continuous translations in space and time; by Noether's theorem, these symmetries account for the conservation laws of linear momentum and energy within this system, respectively.
Noether's theorem has become a fundamental tool of modern theoretical physics, both because of the insight it gives into conservation laws, and also, as a practical calculation tool.[4] Her theorem allows researchers to determine the conserved quantities from the observed symmetries of a physical system. Conversely, it facilitates the description of a physical system based on classes of hypothetical physical laws. For illustration, suppose that a new physical phenomenon is discovered. Noether's theorem provides a test for theoretical models of the phenomenon:
If the theory has a continuous symmetry, then Noether's theorem guarantees that the theory has a conserved quantity, and for the theory to be correct, this conservation must be observable in experiments.
Second epoch (1920–1926): Ascending and descending chain conditions [ edit ]
In this epoch, Noether became famous for her deft use of ascending (Teilerkettensatz) or descending (Vielfachenkettensatz) chain conditions. A sequence of non-empty subsets A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , etc. of a set S is usually said to be ascending, if each is a subset of the next
A 1 ⊂ A 2 ⊂ A 3 ⊂ ⋯ . {\displaystyle A_{1}\subset A_{2}\subset A_{3}\subset \cdots .}
Conversely, a sequence of subsets of S is called descending if each contains the next subset:
A 1 ⊃ A 2 ⊃ A 3 ⊃ ⋯ . {\displaystyle A_{1}\supset A_{2}\supset A_{3}\supset \cdots .}
A chain becomes constant after a finite number of steps if there is an n such that A n = A m {\displaystyle A_{n}=A_{m}} for all m ≥ n. A collection of subsets of a given set satisfies the ascending chain condition if any ascending sequence becomes constant after a finite number of steps. It satisfies the descending chain condition if any descending sequence becomes constant after a finite number of steps.
Ascending and descending chain conditions are general, meaning that they can be applied to many types of mathematical objects—and, on the surface, they might not seem very powerful. Noether showed how to exploit such conditions, however, to maximum advantage.
For example: How to use chain conditions to show that every set of sub-objects has a maximal/minimal element or that a complex object can be generated by a smaller number of elements. These conclusions often are crucial steps in a proof.
Many types of objects in abstract algebra can satisfy chain conditions, and usually if they satisfy an ascending chain condition, they are called Noetherian in her honor. By definition, a Noetherian ring satisfies an ascending chain condition on its left and right ideals, whereas a Noetherian group is defined as a group in which every strictly ascending chain of subgroups is finite. A Noetherian module is a module in which every strictly ascending chain of submodules becomes constant after a finite number of steps. A Noetherian space is a topological space in which every strictly ascending chain of open subspaces becomes constant after a finite number of steps; this definition makes the spectrum of a Noetherian ring a Noetherian topological space.
The chain condition often is "inherited" by sub-objects. For example, all subspaces of a Noetherian space, are Noetherian themselves; all subgroups and quotient groups of a Noetherian group are likewise, Noetherian; and, mutatis mutandis, the same holds for submodules and quotient modules of a Noetherian module. All quotient rings of a Noetherian ring are Noetherian, but that does not necessarily hold for its subrings. The chain condition also may be inherited by combinations or extensions of a Noetherian object. For example, finite direct sums of Noetherian rings are Noetherian, as is the ring of formal power series over a Noetherian ring.
Another application of such chain conditions is in Noetherian induction—also known as well-founded induction—which is a generalization of mathematical induction. It frequently is used to reduce general statements about collections of objects to statements about specific objects in that collection. Suppose that S is a partially ordered set. One way of proving a statement about the objects of S is to assume the existence of a counterexample and deduce a contradiction, thereby proving the contrapositive of the original statement. The basic premise of Noetherian induction is that every non-empty subset of S contains a minimal element. In particular, the set of all counterexamples contains a minimal element, the minimal counterexample. In order to prove the original statement, therefore, it suffices to prove something seemingly much weaker: For any counter-example, there is a smaller counter-example.
Second epoch (1920–1926): Commutative rings, ideals, and modules [ edit ]
Noether's paper, Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen (Theory of Ideals in Ring Domains, 1921), is the foundation of general commutative ring theory, and gives one of the first general definitions of a commutative ring.[112] Before her paper, most results in commutative algebra were restricted to special examples of commutative rings, such as polynomial rings over fields or rings of algebraic integers. Noether proved that in a ring which satisfies the ascending chain condition on ideals, every ideal is finitely generated. In 1943, French mathematician Claude Chevalley coined the term, Noetherian ring, to describe this property.[112] A major result in Noether's 1921 paper is the Lasker–Noether theorem, which extends Lasker's theorem on the primary decomposition of ideals of polynomial rings to all Noetherian rings. The Lasker–Noether theorem can be viewed as a generalization of the fundamental theorem of arithmetic which states that any positive integer can be expressed as a product of prime numbers, and that this decomposition is unique.
Noether's work Abstrakter Aufbau der Idealtheorie in algebraischen Zahl- und Funktionenkörpern (Abstract Structure of the Theory of Ideals in Algebraic Number and Function Fields, 1927)[113] characterized the rings in which the ideals have unique factorization into prime ideals as the Dedekind domains: integral domains that are Noetherian, 0- or 1-dimensional, and integrally closed in their quotient fields. This paper also contains what now are called the isomorphism theorems, which describe some fundamental natural isomorphisms, and some other basic results on Noetherian and Artinian modules.
Second epoch (1920–1926): Elimination theory [ edit ]
In 1923–1924, Noether applied her ideal theory to elimination theory in a formulation that she attributed to her student, Kurt Hentzelt. She showed that fundamental theorems about the factorization of polynomials could be carried over directly. Traditionally, elimination theory is concerned with eliminating one or more variables from a system of polynomial equations, usually by the method of resultants.
For illustration, a system of equations often can be written in the form M v = 0 where a matrix (or linear transform) M (without the variable x) times a vector v (that only has non-zero powers of x) is equal to the zero vector, 0. Hence, the determinant of the matrix M must be zero, providing a new equation in which the variable x has been eliminated.
Second epoch (1920–1926): Invariant theory of finite groups [ edit ]
Techniques such as Hilbert's original non-constructive solution to the finite basis problem could not be used to get quantitative information about the invariants of a group action, and furthermore, they did not apply to all group actions. In her 1915 paper, Noether found a solution to the finite basis problem for a finite group of transformations G acting on a finite-dimensional vector space over a field of characteristic zero. Her solution shows that the ring of invariants is generated by homogeneous invariants whose degree is less than, or equal to, the order of the finite group; this is called Noether's bound. Her paper gave two proofs of Noether's bound, both of which also work when the characteristic of the field is coprime to |G|! (the factorial of the order |G| of the group G). The degrees of generators need not satisfy Noether's bound when the characteristic of the field divides the number |G| , but Noether was not able to determine whether this bound was correct when the characteristic of the field divides |G|! but not |G| . For many years, determining the truth or falsehood of this bound for this particular case was an open problem, called "Noether's gap". It was finally solved independently by Fleischmann in 2000 and Fogarty in 2001, who both showed that the bound remains true.
In her 1926 paper, Noether extended Hilbert's theorem to representations of a finite group over any field; the new case that did not follow from Hilbert's work is when the characteristic of the field divides the order of the group. Noether's result was later extended by William Haboush to all reductive groups by his proof of the Mumford conjecture. In this paper Noether also introduced the Noether normalization lemma, showing that a finitely generated domain A over a field k has a set { x 1 , ... , x n } of algebraically independent elements such that A is integral over k [x 1 , ... , x n ] .
Second epoch (1920–1926): Contributions to topology [ edit ]
A continuous deformation ( homotopy ) of a coffee cup into a doughnut ( torus ) and back
As noted by Pavel Alexandrov and Hermann Weyl in their obituaries, Noether's contributions to topology illustrate her generosity with ideas and how her insights could transform entire fields of mathematics. In topology, mathematicians study the properties of objects that remain invariant even under deformation, properties such as their connectedness. An old joke is that "a topologist cannot distinguish a donut from a coffee mug", since they can be continuously deformed into one another.
Noether is credited with fundamental ideas that led to the development of algebraic topology from the earlier combinatorial topology, specifically, the idea of homology groups. According to the account of Alexandrov, Noether attended lectures given by Heinz Hopf and by him in the summers of 1926 and 1927, where "she continually made observations which were often deep and subtle" and he continues that,
When ... she first became acquainted with a systematic construction of combinatorial topology, she immediately observed that it would be worthwhile to study directly the groups of algebraic complexes and cycles of a given polyhedron and the subgroup of the cycle group consisting of cycles homologous to zero; instead of the usual definition of Betti numbers, she suggested immediately defining the Betti group as the complementary (quotient) group of the group of all cycles by the subgroup of cycles homologous to zero. This observation now seems self-evident. But in those years (1925–1928) this was a completely new point of view.
Noether's suggestion that topology be studied algebraically was adopted immediately by Hopf, Alexandrov, and others, and it became a frequent topic of discussion among the mathematicians of Göttingen.[126] Noether observed that her idea of a Betti group makes the Euler–Poincaré formula simpler to understand, and Hopf's own work on this subject "bears the imprint of these remarks of Emmy Noether". Noether mentions her own topology ideas only as an aside in a 1926 publication, where she cites it as an application of group theory.[130]
This algebraic approach to topology was also developed independently in Austria. In a 1926–1927 course given in Vienna, Leopold Vietoris defined a homology group, which was developed by Walther Mayer, into an axiomatic definition in 1928.[131]
Third epoch (1927–1935): Hypercomplex numbers and representation theory [ edit ]
Much work on hypercomplex numbers and group representations was carried out in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but remained disparate. Noether united these results and gave the first general representation theory of groups and algebras.[132]
Briefly, Noether subsumed the structure theory of associative algebras and the representation theory of groups into a single arithmetic theory of modules and ideals in rings satisfying ascending chain conditions. This single work by Noether was of fundamental importance for the development of modern algebra.[133]
Third epoch (1927–1935): Noncommutative algebra [ edit ]
Noether also was responsible for a number of other advances in the field of algebra. With Emil Artin, Richard Brauer, and Helmut Hasse, she founded the theory of central simple algebras.
A paper by Noether, Helmut Hasse, and Richard Brauer pertains to division algebras,[135] which are algebraic systems in which division is possible. They proved two important theorems: a local-global theorem stating that if a finite-dimensional central division algebra over a number field splits locally everywhere then it splits globally (so is trivial), and from this, deduced their Hauptsatz ("main theorem"):
These theorems allow one to classify all finite-dimensional central division algebras over a given number field. A subsequent paper by Noether showed, as a special case of a more general theorem, that all maximal subfields of a division algebra D are splitting fields. This paper also contains the Skolem–Noether theorem which states that any two embeddings of an extension of a field k into a finite-dimensional central simple algebra over k, are conjugate. The Brauer–Noether theorem gives a characterization of the splitting fields of a central division algebra over a field.
Assessment, recognition, and memorials [ edit ]
The Emmy Noether Campus at the University of Siegen is home to its mathematics and physics departments.
Noether's work continues to be relevant for the development of theoretical physics and mathematics and she is consistently ranked as one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century. In his obituary, fellow algebraist BL van der Waerden says that her mathematical originality was "absolute beyond comparison", and Hermann Weyl said that Noether "changed the face of algebra by her work".[7] During her lifetime and even until today, Noether has been characterized as the greatest woman mathematician in recorded history by mathematicians such as Pavel Alexandrov, Hermann Weyl, and Jean Dieudonné.[143]
In a letter to The New York Times, Albert Einstein wrote:[2]
In the judgment of the most competent living mathematicians, Fräulein Noether was the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began. In the realm of algebra, in which the most gifted mathematicians have been busy for centuries, she discovered methods which have proved of enormous importance in the development of the present-day younger generation of mathematicians.
On 2 January 1935, a few months before her death, mathematician Norbert Wiener wrote that
Miss Noether is ... the greatest woman mathematician who has ever lived; and the greatest woman scientist of any sort now living, and a scholar at least on the plane of Madame Curie.
At an exhibition at the 1964 World's Fair devoted to Modern Mathematicians, Noether was the only woman represented among the notable mathematicians of the modern world.[145]
Noether has been honored in several memorials,
In fiction, Emmy Nutter, the physics professor in "The God Patent" by Ransom Stephens, is based on Emmy Noether.[154]
Farther from home,
List of doctoral students [ edit ]
Date Student name Dissertation title and English translation University Published 1911-12-16 Falckenberg, Hans Verzweigungen von Lösungen nichtlinearer Differentialgleichungen Ramifications of Solutions of Nonlinear Differential Equations§ Erlangen Leipzig 1912 1916-03-04 Seidelmann, Fritz Die Gesamtheit der kubischen und biquadratischen Gleichungen mit Affekt bei beliebigem Rationalitätsbereich Complete Set of Cubic and Biquadratic Equations with Affect in an Arbitrary Rationality Domain§ Erlangen Erlangen 1916 1925-02-25 Hermann, Grete Die Frage der endlich vielen Schritte in der Theorie der Polynomideale unter Benutzung nachgelassener Sätze von Kurt Hentzelt The Question of the Finite Number of Steps in the Theory of Ideals of Polynomials using Theorems of the Late Kurt Hentzelt§ Göttingen Berlin 1926 1926-07-14 Grell, Heinrich Beziehungen zwischen den Idealen verschiedener Ringe Relationships between the Ideals of Various Rings§ Göttingen Berlin 1927 1927 Doräte, Wilhelm Über einem verallgemeinerten Gruppenbegriff On a Generalized Conceptions of Groups§ Göttingen Berlin 1927 died before defense Hölzer, Rudolf Zur Theorie der primären Ringe On the Theory of Primary Rings§ Göttingen Berlin 1927 1929-06-12 Weber, Werner Idealtheoretische Deutung der Darstellbarkeit beliebiger natürlicher Zahlen durch quadratische Formen Ideal-theoretic Interpretation of the Representability of Arbitrary Natural Numbers by Quadratic Forms§ Göttingen Berlin 1930 1929-06-26 Levitski, Jakob Über vollständig reduzible Ringe und Unterringe On Completely Reducible Rings and Subrings§ Göttingen Berlin 1931 1930-06-18 Deuring, Max Zur arithmetischen Theorie der algebraischen Funktionen On the Arithmetic Theory of Algebraic Functions§ Göttingen Berlin 1932 1931-07-29 Fitting, Hans Zur Theorie der Automorphismenringe Abelscher Gruppen und ihr Analogon bei nichtkommutativen Gruppen On the Theory of Automorphism-Rings of Abelian Groups and Their Analogs in Noncommutative Groups§ Göttingen Berlin 1933 1933-07-27 Witt, Ernst Riemann-Rochscher Satz und Zeta-Funktion im Hyperkomplexen The Riemann-Roch Theorem and Zeta Function in Hypercomplex Numbers§ Göttingen Berlin 1934 1933-12-06 Tsen, Chiungtze Algebren über Funktionenkörpern Algebras over Function Fields§ Göttingen Göttingen 1934 1934 Schilling, Otto Über gewisse Beziehungen zwischen der Arithmetik hyperkomplexer Zahlsysteme und algebraischer Zahlkörper On Certain Relationships between the Arithmetic of Hypercomplex Number Systems and Algebraic Number Fields§ Marburg Braunschweig 1935 1935 Stauffer, Ruth The construction of a normal basis in a separable extension field Bryn Mawr Baltimore 1936 1935 Vorbeck, Werner Nichtgaloissche Zerfällungskörper einfacher Systeme Non-Galois Splitting Fields of Simple Systems§ Göttingen 1936 Wichmann, Wolfgang Anwendungen der p-adischen Theorie im Nichtkommutativen Applications of the p-adic Theory in Noncommutative Algebras§ Göttingen Monatshefte für Mathematik und Physik (1936) 44, 203–24.
Eponymous mathematical topics [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Selected works by Emmy Noether (in German) [ edit ] |
If there is a villain in the 2010 AT&T "hacking" case involving about 120,000 email addresses of iPad owners, it is not the two members of Goatse Security (GoatSec) who found a way to collect the addresses, but the telecom giant that made it possible with a gaping vulnerability that didn't even require a real hack to exploit, say security experts.
But that is not the way the legal system sees it. As of this week, the official bad guys are Daniel "JacksonBrowne" Spitler and Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer, who both stand convicted -- Spitler through a plea agreement and Auernheimer after a jury in a Newark, NJ federal court found him guilty Tuesday of conspiracy to access a computer without authorization under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA), and fraud in connection with personal information.
Auernheimer, who tweeted following the verdict, "Hey epals don't worry! We went in knowing there would be a guilty here. I'm appealing, of course," could face 10 years in prison -- five on each count.
Several security experts view that as absurd, since the two didn't even hack through any security barriers on the AT&T website, and didn't make any of the email addresses public. The only damage AT&T and iPad maker Apple suffered was embarrassment.
Spitler and Auernheimer were able to collect the addresses when they noticed a way to spoof, or impersonate, iPad owners. As Ansel Halliburton, an attorney with ComputerLaw Group wrote at TechCrunch: "If the (AT&T) website received a valid ICC-ID (Integrated Circuit Card Identifier), it would serve a login page with an iPad owner's email address pre-filled. This meant that if GoatSec could guess valid ICC-IDs, the website would leak email addresses of 3G iPad owners."
Spitler then wrote a program called the "Account Slurper" that tried thousands of possible ICC-ID numbers, and simply collected the email addresses on the ones that worked, yielding about 120,000 of them, including celebrities like ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, film producer Harvey Weinstein and former White House chief of staff (now Chicago Mayor) Rahm Emanuel.
The two passed on their findings to Gawker, which ran a story on it on June 9, 2010. According to the story, GoatSec had notified AT&T and the company fixed the vulnerability before the story ran, but the company issued a statement in response to the story saying it had been informed of the problem by "a business customer," and that, "the person or group who discovered this gap did not contact AT&T."
[See also: How to hack an iPad]
Still, security experts tend to agree with Auernheimer's attorney, Tor Ekeland, who told Ansel Halliburton that the verdict should concern "any legitimate security researcher," because Auernheimer and Spitler didn't hack through any security on the AT&T website.
They also agree with Halliburton that the CFAA is hopelessly vague and outdated, since it was created before the evolution of the Web.
"Auernheimer is charged with participating in a conspiracy to violate the FAA by 'intentionally access[ing] a computer without authorization or exceed[ing] authorized access, and thereby obtain[ing]...information from [a] protected computer,'" Halliburton wrote. "But what exactly does that mean?"
The language, he said, comes from a law that defines "protected computer" as either a government or bank computer, or as any computer "which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication."
"Maybe that worked in 1986 when not that many computers were networked in interstate commerce, but in 2012, it covers almost anything with a microprocessor."
Kevin Mitnick, once known as the world's "most wanted hacker" and now a security consultant, also said the CFAA is neither clear nor up to date. And he said as written, it is so broad that just about anybody who uses the Internet could be convicted.
"Take caller ID spoofing, which allows me to call you and display any number I want," he said. "If I spoof your number to a business, and the business answers the call with an automated system, that says, 'Hello Taylor,' because of the linkage, is that a crime? Where is the unauthorized access? Spoofing your cell phone number? I don't think so."
Mitnick said he thinks the government's case "is a joke, because anyone can be accused of unauthorized access by simply visiting a web site. How ridiculous is that?"
Support for Spitler and Auernheimer is not unanimous. One comment on the TechCrunch site from "George Schmaltz" argued that, "A 'legitimate' security researcher either finds a problem, then gets permission to conduct penetration tests or vice-versa. You don't hack a site, then present yourself as a 'white hat.'"
But Ansel Halliburton raises a number of questions that he contends weakens the government's case.
"The GoatSec's slurper script never entered anything into the password field of the login page; it just collected the emails the page offered up to it," he wrote. "Who decides who is 'without authorization'? The government? The website operator? How do you know the website operator deems you to be 'without authorization'? The CFAA gives no answers."
Read more about malware/cybercrime in CSOonline's Malware/Cybercrime section.
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Trudeau made his remark in Saskatoon on Wednesday in response to a question about funding for First Nations.
According to CBC News, Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas asked the prime minister why so little of the money promised in the Liberal budget had made it to First Nations.
Trudeau said that money alone couldn't solve everything, and that some chiefs he has spoken to have demanded youth centres with "TVs and lounges and sofas" so young people can "hang around."
"And when a chief says that to me, I pretty much know they haven't actually talked to their young people," Trudeau said. "Because most of the young people I've talked to want a place to store their canoes and paddles so they can connect back out on the land, and a place with internet access so they can do their homework." |
Former Huffington Post SA editor-in-chief Verashni Pillay has formerly applied for leave to appeal after press ombud Johan Retief found the Huffington Post SA guilty of hate speech for publishing a blog called “Could it be time to deny white men the franchise?” in April.
The ombud ruled that the blog, which suggests that white men should be denied the right to vote, violated Section 5.2 of the Press Council’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, which defines hate speech.
Pillay is contesting four clauses in her application: clause 5 of the Code (discrimination and hate speech), clause 7 (protected comment), the Preamble to the Code (maintaining credibility and public trust) and clause 3.3 (dignity and reputation.)
Because Pillay resigned from Media24, she could not apply for leave to appeal on behalf of the Huffington Post SA. Joe Thloloe, executive director of the Press Council, also applied for leave to appeal on the press ombudsman’s findings soon after they were released.
Here are the specific arguments Pillay and Tholole have made in regards to each clause:
Clause 5 of the Code (discrimination and hate speech)
Retief said the blog breached clauses 5.1 and 5.2 of the Code on hate speech; clause 5.1 concerns “discriminatory and denigratory” references to people’s “race, gender, sex” among other statuses of identity. Clause 5.2 concerns the “duty to report and comment on all matters of legitimate public interest” that doesn’t “publish material amounting to … incitement of imminent violence, or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.”
Pillay said in her appeal that the ombudsman failed to identify which references to people’s statuses were “discriminatory and denigratory” in the context of the blog and “whether such references were “strictly relevant” and made “in the public interest”. Because the blog also mentions different groups of people such as “whites”, “males” and “white males”, she argued that the ombud did not specify exactly which remarks were being scrutinised.
She also pointed out that there was a difference between discrimination and differentiation in the context of the blog. Pillay said the blog did not incite hatred against white men but rather “depicts them as disproportionately powerful, economically and politically, and as historically having used that power at the expense of other groups”.
Clause 7 (protected comment)
The ombud found that the blog “was not in the public interest … can be described as malicious - and also that it has not taken fair account of all material facts that are substantially true” in the ruling.
Pillay claimed that the blog was not malicious and was written “on a matter of public interest”, referring to gender and racial inequality.
Even though there were inaccuracies in the blog, she said in her appeal that “these were immaterial to the assertion that white men have historically held, and continue to hold, disproportionate economic power” - claims she believed were “at least substantially … true.”
The preamble (public trust)
“Because The Huffington Post and not the writer posted the blog, it was duty-bound to establish Garland’s identity,” the ombud said in his ruling. He claimed that, as a rule, publications such as The Huffington Post SA are not allowed to publish articles under a pseudonym without the writer’s identity.
Pillay argued that there is no rule that prohibits publications from publishing articles under a pseudonym. She agreed that The Huffington Post SA should have taken steps to identify the author, but that there was no definite breach in code.
Clause 3.3 (dignity and reputation)
Due to the breach in the first three clauses, the Retief argued that it impaired “the dignity and reputation of many people in that group [white males]”.
Pillay said in her appeal that the breach in clause was not pleaded by any of the complainants and, therefore, was not able to address the ombud about it. She also argued that this clause only applied to individuals, not specific demographic groups. Besides mentioning United States President Donald Trump and white supremacist Dylann Roof, no specific individuals were attributed in the blog. |
Makes a change to have someone other than Marvel deleting characters… above was the knocked-back cover sheet to the Justice League United short story from DC’s Sneak Peeks…
…and below the last page showing off that same potential lineup, for the months to come. Except between the two…
…this fellow went missing.
Static, of the comic Static and Static Shock, created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Derek Dingle and Michael Davis. The character was part of the New 52 relaunch back in 2011, and appears to have a TV show and a revival as part of a new Milestone line of comics.
And out of bounds for DC Comics right now then?
About Rich Johnston Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist.
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Loving Decision: 40 Years of Legal Interracial Unions
Enlarge this image toggle caption Bettmann/Corbis Bettmann/Corbis
Lindsay Mangum, NPR
Enlarge this image toggle caption Grey Villet/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images Grey Villet/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melissa Gray, NPR Melissa Gray, NPR Attorney Bernard Cohen Argues the Lovings' Case Before the Supreme Court
Enlarge this image toggle caption Melissa Gray. NPR Melissa Gray. NPR
Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Anna Blazer Courtesy of Anna Blazer
This week marks the 40th anniversary of a seminal moment in the civil rights movement: the legalization of interracial marriage. But the couple at the heart of the landmark Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia never intended to be in the spotlight.
On June 12, 1967, the nation's highest court voted unanimously to overturn the conviction of Richard and Mildred Loving, a young interracial couple from rural Caroline County, Va.
That decision struck down the anti-miscegenation laws — written to prevent the mixing of the races — that were on the books at the time in more than a dozen states, including Virginia.
'They Just Were in Love'
Richard Loving was white; his wife, Mildred, was black. In 1958, they went to Washington, D.C. — where interracial marriage was legal — to get married. But when they returned home, they were arrested, jailed and banished from the state for 25 years for violating the state's Racial Integrity Act.
To avoid jail, the Lovings agreed to leave Virginia and relocate to Washington.
For five years, the Lovings lived in Washington, where Richard worked as a bricklayer. The couple had three children. Yet they longed to return home to their family and friends in Caroline County.
That's when the couple contacted Bernard Cohen, a young attorney who was volunteering at the ACLU. They requested that Cohen ask the Caroline County judge to reconsider his decision.
"They were very simple people, who were not interested in winning any civil rights principle," Cohen, now retired, tells Michele Norris.
"They just were in love with one another and wanted the right to live together as husband and wife in Virginia, without any interference from officialdom. When I told Richard that this case was, in all likelihood, going to go to the Supreme Court of the United States, he became wide-eyed and his jaw dropped," Cohen recalls.
Road to the High Court
Cohen and another lawyer challenged the Lovings' conviction, but the original judge in the case upheld his decision. Judge Leon Bazile wrote: "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. ... The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix."
As Cohen predicted, the case moved all the way up to the Supreme Court, where the young ACLU attorney made a vivid and personal argument:
"The Lovings have the right to go to sleep at night knowing that if should they not wake in the morning, their children would have the right to inherit from them. They have the right to be secure in knowing that, if they go to sleep and do not wake in the morning, that one of them, a survivor of them, has the right to Social Security benefits. All of these are denied to them, and they will not be denied to them if the whole anti-miscegenistic scheme of Virginia... [is] found unconstitutional."
After the ruling — now known as the "Loving Decision" — the family, which had already quietly moved back to Virginia, finally returned home to Caroline County. But their time together was cut short: Richard Loving died in a car crash in 1975. Mildred Loving, who never remarried, still lives in Caroline County in the house that Richard built. She politely refuses to give interviews. Interracial Couples Today Since that ruling 40 years ago, interracial marriage has become more common, but remains relatively rare. Sociologists estimate that 7 percent of the nation's 59 million marriages are mixed-race couplings. And even now, interracial marriage remains a source of quiet debate over questions of identity, assimilation and acceptance. Take Anna Blazer and Bryan Walker, for instance. The white woman and her black husband, with their two young children, live just miles from the Caroline County courthouse. Donald Loving, a grandson of Richard and Mildred Loving, introduced the couple when they were teenagers. Blazer, now 23, says her family was initially wary of her then-boyfriend because of his race. "My mom was a little weird with it, because he used to wear this really long — they call it bling-bling — he used to wear a bling-bling cross around his neck and baggy pants. And I don't know, she just kind of looked at him kind of funny when she first met him," Blazer remembers. But over the years her mother has warmed to Walker, 21. Blazer says that although many things have changed since the days of anti-miscegenation laws, life is still difficult for them in Caroline County. The couple endures sneers, sideways glances and more from strangers. "Just a couple of months ago... Bryan got beat up in the Wal-Mart parking lot because he was with me and my sister, and these white men came up to him and they were yelling. The guy ripped off his shirt. He had racial slurs all over him...and they just started going at it," Blazer says. "I think my life would be a whole lot easier if I was with a white man. And Bryan feels the same way, but he loves me. He really does. And we are meant to be together," Blazer says. |
Fasten your seatbelts – for some, the cost of flying has just gone up.
Porter Airlines is now charging passengers a $25 fee for their first checked bag on domestic flights, the first Canadian airline to do so.
And it may not be the last. As long as consumers keep clamouring for cheap fares, airlines will find new ways to make money off our travel.
Porter, with its free snacks and luxury waiting lounge, is not known for nickel and diming its customers. But CEO Robert Deluce said there’s a price to pay for its airfare deals. The new fee, he said, “will ensure that we can continue with the very competitive base fares that we’ve been able to offer.”
Deluce is aware he may be a trendsetter.
“We’re certainly not the first airline to charge additional baggage fees and we’ll probably not be the last one,” he said.
Both Porter and Air Canada already charge for all U.S.-bound checked luggage. Air Canada said it has no plans to charge for the first domestic bag, but WestJet Airlines is exploring the option.
Endless hidden fees
It didn’t start with bags. Over the years, Canadians have been shelling out for many options that used to be included — from blankets to movies to meals.
“[The airlines are] grasping at every little dollar that they can for everything,” exasperated passenger Theresa Nevills said at Montréal-Trudeau airport.
But, it appears, passengers are partly to blame.
“The vast majority of people want the cheapest ticket possible,” independent Calgary aviation analyst Rick Erickson said. Montreal passenger Daniel Roost agrees. “Everybody wants to fly for cheap, for less money,” he said.
Both WestJet and Air Canada pulled in record profits last year, but carriers operate in a volatile industry where a one-cent drop in the loonie can cost millions a year. So, to stay competitive with fares, airlines introduce fees to bring in extra cash, turning travel into an a la carte service.
“Any time you ... want more convenience, more comfort, more flexibility, you’re going to pay for that,” said Erickson. He is not thrilled with the direction the industry is flying and says there could be turbulence ahead.
“We’re rapidly approaching a point where there’s going to be some pushback from passengers,” he said.
I think the airlines are getting it wrong now. - Passenger Theresa Nevills
For Nevills, we’ve already reached that point. “When they start to charge you for that, your one bag ... I think the airlines are getting it wrong now.”
Luggage fees are common in the United States where some discount carriers have upped the ante by also charging for carry-on bags. Spirit Airlines, the first airline to do so, is already facing a backlash. According to a recent U.S. Department of Transportation report, the low-cost, high-fee carrier generated the most passenger complaints by far over the past five years.
Ryanair, the pioneer discount European airline, faced so much criticism for gouging its passengers with fees, it’s now cutting some of those charges.
On the first day it started charging passengers the new fee, there appeared to be no huge outrage at Porter’s check-in terminal in Toronto. But when asked if she’d prefer lower fares or fewer extra charges, one Porter passenger responded, “Why do I have to choose?” |
Saskatoon resident Bronek Hart is looking for an explanation after receiving a voicemail from city police where the officer is heard swearing, using the R-word and making fun of his name. Clearly not realizing the recording had started.
The female officer who left the voicemail at 4:18 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 5, can be heard saying the following to a male officer in the background:
“Bronek, who names your f***ing kid Bronek? Retarded.”
*Laughing*“It’s like they took the word broken and made it Bronek, Hart.”
READ MORE: Ohio family fights back after ‘R word’ spray-painted across home of teen in wheelchair
Police were calling Hart to follow up on his car being robbed in November.
“They contacted me yesterday. I missed the call, I was on the phone with someone else at the time so I sent that call to voicemail. Then I checked on the call later and heard the voicemail. I was rather appalled,” Hart explained.
“It was hard to hear that’s how police talk to people. I mean they’re mocking people, that’s bullying.”
On top of that, Hart said the whole situation makes police involvement in anti-bullying events like the #NoGoodWay to use the R-word campaign seem insincere.
“This is right after their campaign against bullying. Specifically they had an event on the University of Saskatchewan campus last month against using the R-word, which is exactly what was used in their conversation here,” Hart said.
READ MORE: University of Saskatchewan group wants to end use of the R-word in Saskatoon
Police Chief Clive Weighill issued the following statement in response:
“The comments made are inappropriate and do not meet the high standards expected of our members. Our professional standards officers have reached out to Mr. Hart and an internal investigation will take place.”
Hart plans on filing a formal complaint with police and said a new officer has been assigned to follow-up with his robbery file. |
To a lot of folks, I come across as cynical about the world we live in. I entirely resent that remark, as I still am hopeful about a lot of things. I am, however, really jaded. I mean, another problematic movie? Meh. Wall Street bankers screwing the poor? Seen it. Companies polluting the environment? Got a drawer full of protest T-shirts. A lot of this stuff is just so commonplace these days I barely raise an eyebrow. Even when they find a conservative politician being a hypocrite it’s no big deal to me. Oh, they caught the anti-LGBT politician in an airport bathroom? Yawn. Soliciting minors for sex? Boring! Honestly, a scandalous conservative in the age of Trump has to really do something special to pique my interest. Well, who says you have to travel to experience new things? My own state of Oklahoma provided state Sen. Ralph Shortey, who was arrested in a Super8 motel with an underage boy!
Now, sure, we’ve had incidents like that before, but this one is just a perfect storm of cringe. Shortey has had a long, interesting history in Oklahoma politics for being a bit of an oddball. A few years ago, he actually introduced legislation to ban any foods in the state made with human fetuses. Yes, you read that right. Not medicine made with fetal stem cells; food. Like Soylent Green, or something — oh, sorry, I should have given a spoiler warning.
Apparently Donald Trump is not the first Republican to hear something on the news and completely misunderstand it. Which is kind of funny, because Shortey was the state chair for Trump’s election campaign and has even met with Donald Trump Jr. Shortey has also introduced legislation to allow Oklahomans to pretend to be anti-aircraft cannons and shoot down drones, as if this state needed any extra reasons to randomly fire off guns into the air. You should also know that Shortey voted for Oklahoma’s last attempt at a bathroom bill targeting transgender people. Throw in his work on trying to ban Sharia law, requiring birth certificates from presidential candidates, and banning illegal immigrants, and you’ve got a great little brew going — but I’ve saved the best for last.
Last November, in what may surprise some of you, Oklahomans actually passed a state ballot measure to reduce many drug crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor and to increase funding for drug rehabilitation. Hey, what can I say? Even in red states like Oklahoma we’re tired of the "war on drugs." Well, Shortey felt that Oklahomans didn’t know what was best for themselves and introduced legislation to overturn that vote and maintain many of the felony marijuana laws. What makes this so extra? When the police showed up at the hotel where Shortey and his underage escort were, they detected a very strong odor of the devil's weed, which according to the police report wasn’t found anywhere, but was probably flushed down the toilet. They did find lotion and condoms, so you know, at least they were practicing safe sex. Also found was the kid's Kindle with a pretty blatant conversation spelling out that Shortey was going to be paying for sex with the boy.
While the cops are still looking to charge Shortey with soliciting, the state legislature has stripped him of all his committee seats and taken away his office, parking space, and government laptop as well as other state property, and his intern, which is probably a good call on that last one. Also, Shortey can’t spend any state money on office supplies — even stamps. He still has his job, collects a salary, and can vote in the legislature, which only goes to show how hard it truly is to fire a government employee.
I’m not going to revel in schadenfreude too much because obviously Shortey — a married father of two children — has some personal issues to deal with, not to mention that the boy he solicited reportedly has drug abuse problems, which Shortey was obviously encouraging and exploiting in a lot of hypocritical ways. I am however going to joyfully recall a quote from one of my favorite comedians, Bill Hicks, about these types: “Anyone that far to the right is fuckin' hiding a deep dark secret.” In the day and age of a president who has bragged about sexual assault, allegedly ogled underage girls, is openly anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and racist, it’s going to take a lot to create a truly interesting scandal out of a hypocritical right-winger, and Ralph Shortey is the man who has not only taken on that challenge but answered it with a classically Oklahoman “Hold my beer.”
AMANDA KERRI is a writer and comedian based in Oklahoma City. Follow her on Twitter @EternalKerri. |
In spite of the dark evening, the rain-slicked streets and temperatures in the low 40s, one car after another turned into the parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church Monday night until the lot was overflowing.
People from all walks of life, some arriving alone but most arriving in couples or groups, made their way across the parking lot toward the door of the church. Awaiting them were hearty welcomes and a brightly lit church lobby where hugs, refreshments and an open dialogue about building strong communities of understanding in difficult times was about to take place.
The event was a conference of sorts: “Love in a Time of Fear: Muslims and Christians as Good Neighbors.” Organized by two unlikely friends, considering the current political climate, the stated goal of the community gathering was that “We are people of faith respecting our differences and celebrating our commonalities and our common humanity.”
According to organizers Terry Kyllo and Jafar Siddiqui, in this time of anxiety and tension, communities should be encouraged to seek out neighborly relationships with Muslims; call for our neighbors, corporations and governmental agencies to respect the human and civil rights of all people – including Muslims; and resist the urge to stereotype and scapegoat minorities, including Muslims.
Siddiqui relayed that his friend Kyllo stopped by for tea and spoke of the anxiety and tension he believed was manifest across the United States in regard to the “fear, hate, fear” cycle that was developing “about Muslims.” The meeting took place four days prior to the San Bernadino, Calif. terrorist attack.
So Kyllo, a Lutheran pastor who is serving The Catacomb Churches and St. Philip’s Episcopal, and Siddiqui, who is a human rights and civil rights activist for the Muslim community, decided to launch a public forum and bring together representatives of the Christian and Muslim communities for a public dialogue. Their intention was to form a coalition that “went beyond expressions of talk and regret” to one of “action and involvement.”
Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood became the setting for the forum as imans and bishops stood with community activists and organizers against hate crimes and discrimination. The event drew residents from South Snohomish County and beyond, who responded enthusiastically to an opportunity to forge new friendships and show support for one another.
Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd of 300 people, Pastor Paul Sundburg of Trinity Lutheran Church welcomed the attendees, admitting his concern over “fear becoming a stock and trade in our world.” Asking rhetorically why Trinity would want to become involved with an attempt to bring people of different faiths, principles and ideologies together, he explained the motivation was “to respond with faith and grace – in powerful defiance – to overcome those who would use fear to divide us.”
Sundburg recounted the days immediately following 9/11, when members of the Trinity congregation visited Lynnwood’s mosque, Dar-Alarqam, to scrub the graffiti off the outside, the result of some of the community who directly blamed all in the Islamic faith for the 9/11 attack. It was after the Islamic community, in turn, presented to the church a bouquet of roses “as big as” the pastor himself, that a friendship between the two congregations began.
Twelve community leaders took the podium at “Love in a Time of Fear,” including Siddiqui, who quoted the Quran in his opening remarks. His choice was Chapter 49, verse 13, “O mankind, We have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most godfearing of you. God is All-knowing, All-aware.” [Translation from The Koran Interpreted by scholar Arthur John Arberry.)
He went on to remind those in attendance that similar gatherings were taking place “across the nation” with the “resolve to reach out to each other to recognize the humanity of each person we encounter” in our daily lives.
As Pastor Terry Kyllo took the podium, he remarked that “central to being a human being is to work actively for the well-being of your neighbor.” He led his fellow panelists in a call to action in solving practical matters affecting the Muslim communities.
Also addressing the gathering was Bishop Kirby Unti of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; Sheikh Ismail Ahmad, a religious adviser and the educational director of the Islamic Center of Seattle; Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of CAIR-Washington State, the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; Lesley Hazleton, a writer and psychologist and author of a number of titles including “Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto,” which will be published in April; Benjamin Shabazz, imam to the community of W.D. Muhammed; and John Forseth recent program director of Refugee Resettlement and Placement, based in Tacoma.
Arsalan Bukhari, who described himself as “a local kid” who moved to the Northwest in 1990 and graduated from Seattle’s Ingraham High School. Bukhari holds a degree from Seattle University in business finance. He called on the public to write letters to their local newspapers describing their friendships with members of the Islamic community.
He reminded the gathering that the community of Islam includes teachers, the military, first responders and those engaged in compassionate care, and cited the names of many Muslims who have given their lives for American ideals in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Bukhari also made reference to recent successful court challenges to the “American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) anti-Islamic endorsements including that of automatically placing travelers with Islamic names on the FSC no-fly list” and the “USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) practice of lag processing of immigration applications of those with Islamic names.” He provided his email for those who wish to contact him: [email protected].
In her comments to those in attendance, Lesley Hazelton warned against bigotry and drew parallels between today’s Islamophobia and the anti-Semitism before and following World War II. She took a stand against the notion that the Muslim community “be registered with the government” or in drafting refugee rejection bills.
In her closing remarks, Hazelton called on individuals to “be openly partisan” against the movement to register Muslims and recited the verses by Holocaust survivor Martin Niemoller, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist; Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Before asking participants and the attendees to enjoy desserts provided by the Muslim community, Kyllo invited those gathered to leave their contact information, as the organizers’ intention is to hold similar action-oriented gatherings, workshops and discussions on the topic of Muslims and Christians living together as good neighbors.
Pastor Paul Sundberg invited comments and inquiries on how to contact panel members to his email address: [email protected].
— Story and photo by Emily Hill |
OPINION: Renewable Energies – a Double-Edged Sword
Bradnee Chambers is Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Convention on Migratory Species
BONN, Oct 25 2014 (IPS) - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has set a target of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO 2 . One way countries can meet their obligations is to switch energy production from the burning of fossil fuels to “renewables”, generally understood to include wind, wave, tidal, hydro, solar and geothermal power and biomass.
They have a dual advantage: first, they do not create by-products responsible for global warming and climate change; and secondly, they are non-consumptive, drawing on primary energy sources that are to all intents and purposes inexhaustible.
Why then is the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), which is holding its triennial policy conference next month in Quito, Ecuador, rocking the boat by publishing a review highlighting the serious environmental threats posed by the new technologies?
Renewables provide many of the answers but they need to be deployed sensitively and not indiscriminately, so that our efforts to keep the atmosphere clean and planet cool do not come at a price that our wildlife cannot afford to pay.
First and foremost, CMS is not joining the climate sceptics’ camp. There is ample evidence of the effects climate change is having on migratory animals.
The Convention has long been grappling with this issue. The Convention and the vulnerable species it protects need climate change to be halted or at least slowed down so that adaptation measures can be developed.
Climate change just adds to the threats migratory species currently face. This includes threats posed by the fishing gear responsible for by-catch of seabirds, turtles and dolphins; and the demand for luxury products that result in the wasteful practice of shark finning and the fuelling of the massacre of elephants and rhinos for ivory and horn. And then there is marine debris, bird poisoning and illegal trapping – the list goes on.
Climate change is opening several new fronts in the conservation war by causing habitat change and loss; by affecting gender ratios in species such as marine turtles; and by altering species’ behaviour with some not migrating at all, others leaving their breeding grounds later and returning earlier, while some are extending their range displacing other species less capable of adapting.
So why is CMS not rejoicing at the news that wave energy installations, tidal barrages, solar panels and wind farms on land and at sea are being developed at unprecedented rates? CMS would give a hearty cheer if these new technologies reduce as promised the human-induced drivers of climate change.
However, the report commissioned by the Convention, together with the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, the International Renewable Energy Agency and BirdLife International, explains the prudent reaction from conservationists, as it illustrates how renewable energies are a double-edged sword – a cure for some ills afflicting the world but with potentially severe side-effects for wildlife.
Hydro-power relies on dams – technological wonders in many cases – but essentially barriers across rivers preventing migratory species such as salmon from reaching their spawning grounds. The changes to water flow and levels both up and downstream of the dams can drastically transform habitats. The human inhabitants displaced when their homes were flooded were given ample warning and compensation; not so the wildlife.
Wind power is harnessed through turbines, which take a huge toll of wildlife through collisions. The rotor blades of wind turbines are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of bats and birds a year, to the detriment of the ecological services these useful insectivores provide by devouring as many as 1,000 mosquitoes a night, reducing the need to use chemical pesticides.
The construction, operation and maintenance of turbines are also negative factors, especially in marine wind farms – noise whirring of the rotors can all disturb whale and dolphin species which are particularly sensitive to sound.
Biomass production leads to habitat loss and degradation affecting birds and terrestrial mammals. Large plantations lead to monocultures and a loss of habitat diversity and thus reduce the number of species that a given area can support.
Solar, wave and tidal power similarly have their drawbacks, but the guidelines accompanying the report point the way to constructing renewable energy installations in ways that eliminate or at least reduce their impacts on migrating mammals such as birds, dolphins, porpoises and fish and their habitats.
There is no silver bullet to deliver a perfect solution to the problems of our growing demand for energy and of producing it in ways that do not damage the environment in one form or another. Renewables provide many of the answers but they need to be deployed sensitively and not indiscriminately, so that our efforts to keep the atmosphere clean and planet cool do not come at a price that our wildlife cannot afford to pay.
Edited by: Nalisha Adams |
PoliZette Bernie Supporters Call for ‘Demexit’ After DNC Fraud Lawsuit Dismissed Sanders voters rail against the Democratic 'Establishment' and saying they're party
Ardent supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lashed out at the Democratic Party establishment and threatened to bail on the party after a federal judge in Florida dismissed a class-action suit Friday alleging that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) illegally favored Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over Sanders.
The DNC’s treatment of Sanders, who switched his party affiliation to run in the 2016 Democratic primaries, came under scrutiny after the 2016 hack into the DNC’s servers revealed that key party officials favored the more traditional Clinton over the progressive Sanders. But on Friday, Ronald Reagan appointee Judge William Zloch dismissed what Sanders’ supporters referred to as the “DNC Fraud Lawsuit” in a 28-page decision.
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“To the extent plaintiffs wish to air their general grievances with the DNC or its candidate selection process, their redress is through the ballot box, the DNC’s internal workings, or their right of free speech — not through the judiciary,” Zloch wrote. “To the extent plaintiffs have asserted specific causes of action grounded in specific factual allegations, it is this court’s emphatic duty to measure plaintiffs’ pleadings against existing legal standards.”
Zloch ultimately found that the “plaintiffs have not presented a case that is cognizable in federal court,” noting that it was beyond the court’s legal jurisdiction to decide “whether plaintiffs have suffered a concrete injury particularized to them, or one certainly impending, that is traceable to the DNC and its former chair’s conduct.”
“The court holds that they have not, which means the truth of their claims cannot be tested in this court,” Zloch concluded, although he noted that “in evaluating plaintiffs’ claims at this stage, the court assumes their allegations are true — that the DNC and Wasserman Schultz held a palpable bias in favor [of] Clinton and sought to propel her ahead of her Democratic opponents.”
Miami lawyers Jared and Elizabeth Beck filed a class-action suit against both the DNC and its former chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on June 28, 2016. The Becks said they filed the suit on behalf of other Sanders supporters across 45 states who believed that Schultz had “rigged” the primaries and exhibited “intentional, willful, wanton, and malicious” conduct in violation of Article 5, Section 4 of the DNC Charter.
The plaintiffs represented three main classes: DNC donors, Sanders donors, and registered Democrats across the board who wanted back the money they gave to the DNC .
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DNC lawyer Bruce Spiva argued in court back in April that “there’s no contractual obligation here” between the donors and the DNC, claiming that “it’s not a situation where a promise has been made that is an enforceable promise.”
Although many Sanders supporters felt bitterly betrayed by the DNC and the party establishment after the hackers released the emails, the mainstream media largely appeared to ignore the party’s inner drama.
“For Sanders supporters, the lawsuit provides an opportunity for vindication for being cheated and attacked by the Democratic establishment,” Michael Sainato, a reporter for the Observer, wrote back on May 8. “Now, the DNC is on record arguing that its voters have no reason to trust it to maintain free and fair elections.”
After Zloch dismissed the suit, Sanders supporters and progressives flocked to the DNC Fraud Lawsuit’s Facebook page to voice their grievances and express their frustrations with the Democratic Party. While some pledged to never donate money to the DNC ever again, others promised to bail on the party and support other candidates.
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Facebook user Vicki L Nulik Morrison argued Friday on the Facebook page that the suit “was worth it just to hear the DNC say in court that they didn’t have to play fair or even follow their own guidelines.”
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“They admitted they are crooks and they will NEVER see another dime of my money,” Nulick Morrison continued. “I understand they are having a hard time raising money! That suits me just fine!! I hope they go broke.”
“This is basically the reason I Dem-exited. The party itself can do what it wants. The primaries are a sham, and the courts just upheld the sham. Sad day for voters, but they told us clearly they [the DNC] and only they can decide for us who will be the candidate for president,” Facebook user Mary Acosta Granger wrote.
“If DNC wants to dictate the leadership’s pick for candidate, then the taxpayers should not have to pay for the primary or caucuses,” user Carol Preston wrote.
“Not voting dem ever again even IF Bernie or another progressive ran as a dem,” user Jennifer Perez wrote.
“Wow! I guess the DNC does not want us to have a choice after all. Just pay back the money and give us a public apology. Then maybe I will consider voting Dem again. At least in one way the [Republican National Committee] was honest,” user Craig Hahn wrote.
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“I’m sad for our democracy. They tricked and bamboozled folks that thought the [DNC] was giving us a clear choice between two candidates, but they were making their backroom deals, and knew exactly who they were going to run as their presidential candidate,” user Maya Grafmuller wrote. “Either I didn’t read the small print, or they blatantly deprived me of an actual choice of candidate! I want my money back.”
(photo credit, homepage and article images: Gage Skidmore) |
Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov and right winger Milan Hejduk will return to the Avs lineup Friday when it begins its final five-game stretch of the season.
Varlamov, who will start in Colorado’s fifth and final meeting against the Oilers, hasn’t played in the past six games, some of which because of a hip injury, and Hejduk has been recovering from a shoulder injury or was a healthy scratch over the last nine games.
Defensemen Erik Johnson (wrist) and Ryan Wilson (ankle) will remain out with injuries, Avs coach Joe Sacco said after Thursday’s practice.
Colorado, 2-0-2 (six of eight points) over its last four games, remains last in the 15-team Western Conference, three points behind the Calgary Flames. The Avs are second-to-last in the NHL, three points ahead of the Florida Panthers, and just one ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Avs begin a home-and-home series with St. Louis on Sunday in Denver before visiting the Blues on Tuesday, playing at the Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 26 and concluding against the visiting Minnesota Wild on April 27 in Denver. Those final four opponents are in the playoff hunt.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357, [email protected] or twitter.com/mchambersdp |
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SAN DIEGO -- Two motorcycle officers shot a man, fatally wounding him, when he allegedly pulled a gun on them as they chased him through the Gaslamp District Tuesday afternoon.
The 39-year-old suspect, who was later found to be the subject of an outstanding armed robbery warrant out of Virginia, bolted when one of the officers tried to contact him about making a disturbance and interfering with traffic near Horton Plaza about 2 p.m., according to San Diego police.
The man ran to the south on Sixth Avenue, ignoring repeated orders to halt, Capt. David Nisleit told reporters. Reaching F Street, the suspect allegedly turned toward his pursuers and pulled a pistol out of his waistband.
Fearing for their lives, the officers opened fire on the man, who fell onto the roadway, Nisleit said. He then began to sit up and raise the weapon again, prompted them to shoot him again.
Medics took the man to UCSD Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. His name was withheld pending family notification.
Police shut down the intersection where the shooting occurred along with nearby traffic lanes to allow detectives to gather evidence.
The officers involved in the shooting did not activate their uniform- worn cameras before or during the encounter, the captain told reporters in response to a question on the topic. It was unclear why they failed to follow that department procedure, which is supposed to take place prior to all citizen contacts.
One of the officers has been with the SDPD for 30 years and the other for 25 years, police said.
Police have identified the suspect but his name was being withheld pending family notifications.
Virginia authorities had warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous, police said, but that was apparently unknown to the officers at the time of the shooting. |
Go to Hell in Agony on March 30th
The hellish Agony now has a release date after being previously delayed to expand upon the game with publisher funding. Players can get set to experience its really-fucked-up rendition of hell on March 30th on Windows PC, and presumably Xbox One and PlayStation 4 simultaneously. It may seem far off, but when has a game ever been better by being rushed?
No new details or content have been shared with the release date announcement. All you’ll get is the cheesy and suggestive image above, stating that hell will “open wide”. Notice that the text is right on top of a female demon’s crossed legs where her crotch would show. *eye roll*
That aside, I very much look forward to Agony. The demo showed off a stunning and terrifying concept of hell that never stopped being gruesome. I look forward to seeing just how disturbed the collective imagination of developer Madmind Studio is. |
It hadn’t been planned that way. It just sort of happened that the agenda for one recent meeting of the St. Paul city council included public hearings on the city’s most argued-over issues.
In sequence, the council took up new bike lanes, infill development and a discussion of a proposal to change the way garbage is collected. For two hours, residents and business people approached the microphone in St. Paul City Hall’s third floor art deco chambers and told the members what they thought.
Coincident though it was, that single council meeting illustrated the tensions of a city where politics are in the midst of a transition. A population that is finally growing again, that is getting younger, more racially diverse and perhaps more urban is grappling with what it will look like in coming years.
“With St. Paul being less-populated for the last 20 years or so — 30 years — there was less pressure on resources,” said Mike Sonn, co-chair of the St. Paul Bicycle Coalition, which has been in the midst of some of the recent policy fights. “But with people moving back to the city, things are getting a little bit more crowded.
“There’s a sense that, hey, this has always worked for me — and all of a sudden it’s not.”
Boomers vs. millennials?
To understand St. Paul, says former Mayor Jim Scheibel, who teaches public policy and administration at Hamline University, you have to understand that issues are often neighborhood-based, rather than city-based, as they tend to be in Minneapolis.
“People very much identify with the different neighborhoods, whether it is Dayton’s Bluff or St. Anthony Park or Mac-Groveland,” Scheibel said, and they expect a voice in what happens there.
Jim Scheibel
But there are also aspects of city politics that didn’t exist a generation or two ago. “There are challenges about making sure when we do address issues; it reflects the diversity of the city.”
At one level, the different approaches to the issues that dominated that June 1 meeting are generational: baby boomers vs. millennials. Bike advocates, for instance, tend to be younger, those rejecting the loss of on-street parking tend to be older. Proponents of increasing the city’s density tend to have the same generational tendencies.
An oversimplification? Yes. Many empty-nesters are interested in urban density and the amenities it promises to attract. But the generational generalization is commonly made in St. Paul these days.
“There’s always change, obviously,” said John Mannillo, a St. Paul business owner and co-founder of a citizen group called Saint Paul STRONG, whose founders say was formed to advocate for more transparency in city government. “The last time we experienced this kind of change was with the baby boom generation, and now we’ve got the millennials.
“The problem is that, while, the millennials outnumber the baby boomers, the baby boomers are still quite vocal and large in number,” Mannillo said. “You have two extremes that are hitting heads. I do see that.”
Council Member Amy Brendmoen, whose 2015 reelection race against David Glass featured many of the issues still causing conflict (Glass said Brendmoen and the city were pushing a “Millennial Initiative”), sees the conflict as less of a battle of generations than as differences in how people view the city.
“There is a shift toward people both young and old moving back into the city and looking for amenities they think are part of a city,” Brendmoen said. “And I imagine, for people who have lived in the city through thick and through thin … want the urban piece but also tried to draw some of plus side of the suburbs — like bigger lots — into the city as well.”
Those different ways of looking at the city reveal themselves in issues like bike lanes and residential development — and even skirmishes like last year’s over putting parking meters on Grand Avenue.
“I see a bit of a sea change in St. Paul.”
Bike lanes as proxy wars
It’s the stated policy of the City of St. Paul to both grow the population and build a city that has appeal to all generations, all cultures. The council has adopted Mayor Chris Coleman’s “8-80 Vitality Fund” concept, which promises investment in everything from bike lanes and a restored Palace Theater to the completion of the Grand Round parkway system. The plan is based on the work of urban designer Gil Penalosa, who advises cities to work to appeal to residents from ages 8 to 80 and emphasises walkability and vibrant urban spaces.
“We’re trying to plan streets and communities with people at the center of planning, not cars,” Brendmoen said. “It’s kind of like small towns in a the big city,” she said.
Bike access is central to Penalosa’s message. Yet be it the proposed bike loop downtown or new lanes on Cleveland Avenue, nothing engages the battle of St. Paul quite like bikes. And bike lanes. And bikes on bike lanes.
At the June 1 hearing, the council was deciding whether to support a Ramsey County proposal to reconfigure Upper Afton Road between Burns Avenue and McKnight Road to provide for bike lanes. On-street parking would be lost — that’s what drew neighbors to the hearing, since Upper Afton Road is a parkway with fewer side streets where visitors or service vehicles could park.
When it returned to the council June 8, the lanes passed 4-1, though not before Council Member Jane Prince said she had recently convened a meeting of city and county staff and elected officials — as well as some neighbors — to see if a compromise could be reached.
It couldn’t: the street could not hold traffic lanes, bike lanes and parking. But Prince, who had served on the city council staff for years before winning election last fall, lamented the fact that there wasn’t a way to reach some sort of accommodation when problems “pitted neighbors against one another.”
Department of Public Works Plans call for off-street bike paths that could accommodate two-way bike traffic even on streets that are one-way for cars. A before and after rendering of Jackson Street is shown.
“Clearly this is not the case with our bike plan and policy,” Prince said. “I accept that this is an intractable requirement that cannot be changed to accommodate people who live on the street.”
Council President Russ Stark said there isn’t a “perfect solution” when it comes to the bike lanes on Upper Afton Road. But he also added something that describes the broader tensions at play in St. Paul: change disrupts residents’ sense of ownership of their city.
“These are really tough projects when there’s such a sense of something being lost that people thought was theirs,” Stark said. “People believe parking in front of their house is theirs, even when they’re public streets.”
The vote, Stark said, reflects a council majority’s belief that city streets must accommodate “the most people, most often.”
Brendmoen said that sometimes the issues are not as big as people make them out to be. Bike lanes, she often says, are just paint. If the problems predicted by opponents materialize, they can be erased, and she objects to the argument that residents don’t see anyone biking on streets that are inhospitable to bike riding. Once built, she said, lanes have been well-used.
But Mannillo, who said he was speaking for himself and not for Saint Paul STRONG, said that “most people still drive.” And with the aging population increasing as boomers reach retirement, “we’re building bikeways where most people can’t ride bikes.”
The divide over density
To accommodate younger residents and empty nesters who want to live near the city core, more housing is needed in St. Paul. While some of that is being built in and near downtown, the city also wants to add housing along commercial corridors that run through venerable neighborhoods. That’s what was at issue when developers recently sought to tear down a duplex at 1174 Grand Avenue and replace it with a multi-family apartment building.
The property sat between two historic apartment buildings, both similar in size to the proposed project. And it fit with zoning rules for height and square footage. Neighbors, however, felt it was too tall and too bulky.
As with bike lanes, the fight also spoke to broader issues in St. Paul. Density brings traffic and more competition for parking. It can also threaten to alter a sense of place — in a city that prides itself on having preserved its history, even as neighboring Minneapolis lost so much of its own.
“Should this building as proposed be allowed, the precedents it sets will surely encourage other developers who will move to tear down many of the same early 20th Century houses which add to the charm of Grand Avenue and its historic and eclectic mix of single-family homes and low-rise commercial and residential buildings,” Summit Hill Association board member Lori Brostrom told the council. She said that would “irreversibly” change the character of the area.
That this one project in this one neighborhood drew opposition wasn’t unexpected. More noteworthy was that a previous council voted 4-3 to oppose a similar proposal for the same lot, despite a city policy encouraging density.
City of St. Paul Developers recently sought to tear down a duplex at 1174 Grand Avenue and replace it with a multi-family apartment building.
That 2015 decision, while celebrated by neighbors, was disappointing to those who fear the city will never grow its urban population if neighborhoods can block multi-family infill development. “I’d like to see four and five story buildings popping up on Grand,” Sonn said. “I understand that’s not realistic, but if we can’t even build three stories when everything else is three stories, it’s kind of disheartening. We couldn’t even build Grand Avenue anymore.”
Legally, the plan before the council June 1 was different — somewhat smaller than the project defeated last year, and it was now condos rather than apartments. But it still needed a variance on side-yard setbacks and was viewed as the second attempt to get the the go-ahead. After lengthy testimony and council debate, it was approved 4-1, with three members who voted against the 2015 plan — Stark, Brendmoen and Chris Tolbert — in support of the new-ish plans.
Garbage time
“St. Paul is a very conservative city,” said Scheibel, the former mayor — not in partisan terms, of course (it remains a DFL stronghold), but socially. “People feel there are a lot of things that work, people like the way they work.”
The city is slowly examining whether one of those things that doesn’t work is garbage. The city has a unique way of collecting refuse: 14 licensed haulers compete to win the business of each household and apartment building. The result in some neighborhoods is that two or three — or six or seven — different trucks traverse the alleys to collect garbage. There is no single garbage day, exactly, though some residents get together and agree on a single carrier to make it less chaotic.
The city’s public works department has recently been taking public comments and meeting with haulers over a plan to coordinate collection. Private haulers would still do the work, but geographic zones would be created and collection would be divided based on current market share.
The new plan is far from being adopted, and has so far attracted only a smattering of opposition — nothing compared to the uprising seen in Bloomington when that city adopted a similar conversion. In fact, much of the resistance in St. Paul has come from the haulers themselves.
But if the garbage conversation breaks less generationally than bikes or density, it does touch on an age-old tension that also underlines those issue: the way things are vs. the way some people want them to be — status quo vs. change.
MinnPost photo by Corey Anderson The city’s public works department has recently been taking public comments and meeting with haulers over a plan to coordinate collection.
Some residents have expressed an “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” sentiment about the city’s garbage collection system, while others support the proposed change, complaining about the noise and exhaust from trucks and the burden of setting up service and finding the best deal. The proposed change is also seen as a way to better deal with illegal dumping, which remains a problem in the city.
The haulers, themselves, are listening. Ten of the city’s 14 haulers are small, locally owned businesses, and they are discussing forming a co-op that seeks to accomplish many of the city’s goals: fewer trucks, more transparency on rates, ease of arranging service. Stark said he was encouraged by those conversations.
Saint Paul Strong vs Saint Paul Strongerer
Last fall, some residents of St. Paul formed an organization they titled Saint Paul STRONG, an acronym for Safety-Trust-Responsible-Open-Neighborhoods-Generations. Members include former Ramsey County Commissioner Ruby Hunt, former council candidate David Glass, former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, St. Paul NAACP vice president Yusef Mgeni and former state Rep. Andy Dawkins. Its web page features a lengthy “List of Grievances” that reference bike lanes, tear downs, zoning variances and even Grand Avenue parking meters.
But the unifying theme is a belief that city government isn’t transparent enough, and that changes are made without input from residents.
Mannillo ticks off a series of issues that he thinks were decided without public involvement, from CHS Field to the bike plan to the proposed soccer stadium to rules for development along the Mississippi River.
“The mayor drives this,” Mannillo said of Coleman. “He’s lined up commissions to favor his position. The city tries to make it look like there’s process when there isn’t.”
That suspicion was expressed Friday, during the planning commission hearing on the master plan for the Midway area, where the new MLS soccer stadium is proposed. “Please decide based on planning principles and not out of loyalty to the person who appointed you,” said stadium opponent Tom Goldstein.
Sonn sees such debates in a different light. While there was extensive public process to decide to include bike lanes on Cleveland Avenue, it took so long that the project was delayed by more than a year. “The process extends the status quo because if you can delay change then you keep getting what you already have,” he said. “I’m beyond frustrated.”
Saint Paul STRONG has drawn some criticism — and some ribbing — by younger activists who see it as a means of simply maintaining the status quo, especially when it comes to anything having to do with driving and parking.
An anonymous parody Twitter account using the image of the statue that towers over the lobby of City Hall is called “Saint Paul Strongerer.”
How about we get one vote for every surface parking spot in the city — St. Paul Strongerer (@StPaulStrong) May 13, 2016
The (bike) path forward
“I don’t think you’re going to continue to have battles,” Mannillo said. He sees a chance for a change in the political dynamic in the new few years, especially if Coleman does not seek a fourth term as mayor, as is expected; and if the council adds other new members like Prince, who has opposed some recent initiatives, and Noecker, who asks hard questions about issues such as the stadium and what she considers overuse of Tax Increment Financing.
“It’s not a six-zero or seven-zero vote all the time anymore,” Mannillo said. “I think Saint Paul STRONG has come up with a way to put pressure on them that they have never experienced.”
Sonn, not surprisingly, disagrees. Had the 2015 election gone differently — had Goldstein defeated Stark and had Glass defeated Brendmoen — the council and its positions would look quite different. But Stark and Brendmoen were re-elected, with 61 and 56 percent of the vote, respectively.
Taking bike infrastructure as the most obvious issue in the conflict. Sonn said he thinks St. Paul is just a few years away from it being a non-issue, similar to how biking is considered a given in Minneapolis. When more lanes are installed and more residents see more bike use, it will disprove the claim that no one bikes. He thinks that will help the city council become more supportive of the changes he hopes for, not less.
“The council knows they have some support but there’s still some trepidation,” Sonn said. “I think that whole conversation will change in the next three to five years.” |
RICHMOND, Va. — In February 2015, a fundraiser for a homeless man and his dog Amanda helped get the duo off the streets and into housing.
The agency “Home Again” said that people have been asking about John McNealy and his dog Amanda. If you would like to share an opportunity for John, please send an email, or contact the agency through a Facebook message. Below is an update. The original story by Mark Holmberg is here.
The story of John McNealy and his dog Amanda reached the hearts of many as a GoFundMe campaign was organized to help them. After a life of hurdles and obstacles, John found himself on the streets of the city with no one but Amanda. Your donations assisted HomeAgain in securing housing for John, but he is now in need of employment.
“People notice you’re homeless and they tend to paint a picture. I’m thankful that people got me off the streets, but I need a job,” John said.
He expressed sincere gratitude for having a place to call home, but also explained that his notoriety as a homeless man has made it harder for him to find work. “Employers recognize you as homeless and they don’t want to hire you then,” he said.
John has previously worked construction and as a dish washer and prep cook. He even has a resumé and cover letter ready to present potential employers. In his search for work, he shared that he will need a job that can be accessed by the bus line or that he can ride his bike to.
“All I need is an opportunity,” he added.
He is hopeful that he will find a job soon and that people in the area will be willing to give him a chance. When asked what fueled his ambition John explained that he wants to maintain his new housing so that he and Amanda can stay off the streets, out of the cold, and together in a home of their own.
“Amanda is my baby, my child. I’ve raised her since a puppy and she’s been with me for nine years. Without her I wouldn’t have made it.” |
Image caption Sir Arthur Rostron (L) and Stanley Lord, captains of the Carpathia and Californian
Every great drama needs a hero and a villain. In the Titanic drama, the town of Bolton provided both.
According to the history books, Sir Arthur Rostron was the hero and Stanley Lord the villain. But how fair is that verdict?
On the night of the disaster, Rostron and Lord - both from Bolton - were in charge of two of the closest ships, the SS Carpathia and the RMS Californian.
As water poured into the stricken ship, the Titanic's crew fired off distress flares and hammered out SOS messages on the ship's wireless.
The Carpathia, more than 50 miles to the south-east, picked up the messages and raced to the rescue through the ice field.
All non-essential power on the ship was shut down as Rostron pushed his ship to the limits, ordering his crew to prepare hot food, blankets and medical care for the survivors.
Titanic author Lindsay Sutton said: "Rostron and his crew were magnificent. They couldn't have done more.
"There's a story that as the needle went into the red, the chief engineer [of the Carpathia] dropped his cap over the dial so no-one could see."
The Carpathia reached the scene three hours after the sinking. More than 700 people were rescued.
Bodies floating
Meanwhile, just 20 or so miles to the north was Captain Stanley Lord in the Californian.
Image caption The Carpathia rescued more than 700 passengers
Lord, unlike Captain Smith on the Titanic, had halted his Boston-bound ship for the night because he was caught in the ice field.
Earlier, he had told his wireless operators to alert other ships in the area to the icebergs.
The Titanic's wireless operators told Californian's operator to "shut up" and they ignored the warning.
Later that night the Californian spotted the flares from the Titanic.
Lord was woken - twice - but said the flares were probably "company rockets" - signals between ships from the same line.
He took no action. His wireless office had shut down for the night and couldn't receive the Titanic's SOS messages.
It was only when the office re-opened that morning that the signals were picked up.
By the time the Californian reached the scene, the Titanic had sunk and there were just bodies floating in the water.
'Honour the Rescuer'
The Board of Trade inquiry into the disaster was critical of Lord's inaction on the night. He wasn't charged but his employers, the Leyland Line, dismissed him later that year.
Image caption The Carpathia reached the site of the sinking in three hours
Lord wasn't allowed to present his case at either the British or American inquiries. In the aftermath, he became, in the public's eyes, the villain of the hour.
Meanwhile, Rostron was feted on both sides of the Atlantic.
He was given a Congressional Medal of Honour and was knighted by George V. He rose to become Commodore of the White Star Line.
He was an old boy of Bolton School where they still celebrate his heroism.
A picture of an elderly Rostron talking to a group of entranced schoolboys in the 1930s is included in small commemorative exhibition at the school.
Former pupil Ann Willams is campaigning for a permanent memorial and has set up a website called 'Honour the Rescuer'.
"Arthur Rostron was celebrated at the time but I would love to see a proper memorial to him," she said.
"Perhaps a lifeboat could be named after him because the Carpathia was, I suppose, the greatest lifeboat ever."
'Harshly treated'
There's no doubt Rostron deserves the praise. But does Lord deserve the blame?
In the 1958 film A Night to Remember, Lord was once again portrayed as the villain. Lord demanded a new inquiry to clear his name.
After his death in 1962, his cause was taken up by the then Bolton East MP Bow Howarth.
"I thought it was worth looking at the evidence again because I just cannot believe that a man of his experience in that environment would have just ignored anything that could have been interpreted as a call for help. It doesn't ring true," he said.
The evidence was reviewed in the 1990s but once again Lord was criticised: Why didn't he react to the flares? Why didn't he wake his wireless officers and get them to investigate?
They suggested that if Lord had reacted, another 200 could have been saved.
However, Mr Sutton believes that Lord was harshly treated.
"The Board of Trade inquiry needed scapegoats because they didn't want all the blame rebounding on them," he said.
"Their own regulations on numbers of lifeboats, on 24-hour wireless cover, on ice patrols in the North Atlantic were found wanting," he said.
"Lord isn't blameless by any means but circumstances conspired against him." |
WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - It is impossible to guess whether world leaders have done enough to bring the Ebola epidemic under control, given the risks that it will spread to countries beyond West Africa, the technology billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates said on Monday.
Microsoft technology advisor Bill Gates speaks in a news conference in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa July 24, 2014. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Countries should get ready to handle a possible outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever in case it spreads further as people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea move across borders, Gates said at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the newspaper Politico and Bank of America.
“Because of that uncertainty, I am not going to hazard a guess,” Gates said when asked whether he thinks the massive ramping up of international aid over the past few weeks is enough.
The World Bank already has started working with countries on developing plans should the highly infectious disease spread.
The lesson so far is that countries with strong primary healthcare systems already in place are well positioned to halt the march of Ebola, as Nigeria and Senegal have demonstrated in their quick response to cases there, Gates said.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funneled extra money in July and August towards Nigeria and pledged an additional $50 million on Sept. 10 to fight the epidemic, which so far has infected over 6,000 people mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
The World Health Organization warns the infection rate probably is three times that number and could reach 20,000 by November. The death rate is over 50 percent.
To contain the epidemic, the United States on Sept. 16 announced the deployment of 3,000 military engineers and medical personnel to build 17 treatment clinics and train healthcare workers, mostly in Liberia, at a cost of about $1 billion.
The United Kingdom and France also are increasing their assistance and the United Nations has stepped forward to coordinate the international effort.
PRIMARY HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS CRITICAL
The Gates Foundation has deep expertise in fighting infectious diseases, especially malaria, HIV/Aids, polio and tuberculosis, and has invested billions of dollars in developing countries over the past decade. Gates said those efforts have produced tangible results, such as reducing preventable child deaths by half since 1990 and putting the eradication of polio now within grasp.
A byproduct of these disease-specific investments has been the development of a skilled cadre of primary healthcare experts, who can respond quickly to other types of disease outbreaks, he said.
In Nigeria, for example, there is a strong infrastructure of clinics in place from polio vaccine programs. This enabled the country to respond quickly and contain the small number of Ebola cases in Lagos and Port Harcourt that were carried by an infected doctor who traveled there from Liberia.
Rwanda and Ethiopia also have built up strong primary healthcare systems, partly in conjunction with targeted aid programs such as child and maternal healthcare, Gates said.
In contrast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, still recovering from brutal civil wars that left their healthcare systems underfunded, rely heavily on clinics and hospitals run by a network of charities and non-profit groups. Their governments lacked a depth of institutional expertise in healthcare, Gates said.
“If we had had that, this epidemic would have been caught faster,” he said.
Building a healthcare structure in the three countries worst hit by Ebola is critical, otherwise deaths from preventable diseases will quickly outpace those from Ebola, Gates said.
If mothers are afraid to get professional assistance in delivering their babies for fear of contracting Ebola and children cannot get malaria treatments, the long-term impact of the epidemic will be far more damaging, he said
“That will be very tragic, and it won’t get the type of attention that Ebola is getting,” Gates said.
He estimated that it will take 20 years of donor investment in some African countries to build resilient healthcare systems able to control preventable diseases and manage health crises. |
After being notified of Arlington resident Travis Corcoran’s controversial blog post in which he implied members of Congress ought to be shot, the Arlington Police Department (APD) has placed a suspension on his license to carry firearms and seized all of his weapons.
After being notified of Arlington resident Travis Corcoran’s controversial blog post in which he implied members of Congress ought to be shot, the Arlington Police Department (APD) has placed a suspension on his license to carry firearms and seized all of his weapons.
Corcoran wrote and uploaded a post to his blog, tjic.com, following the Jan. 8 shooting of United States Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tuscan titled “1 down, 534 to go,” suggesting the other 534 members of Congress should be next. In an interview with the Advocate after the post gained wide attention on the Internet but before police became involved, Corcoran compared his post to a joke made among a group of friends in a casual setting.
APD Capt. Robert Bongiorno said the department took his statements made in the blog as a credible threat and took precautionary measures. The weapons were seized Jan. 13.
“Officers took a large amount of weapons and ammunition. Currently, we are working with federal law enforcement partners and the case remains an active and open investigation,” he said.
An “About TJIC” section of the blog suggested Corcoran may have owned around 10 guns. His license was issued out of Arlington.
Bongiorno said Corcoran has a 90-day window in which he can appeal the suspension in court. Corcoran declined to comment on the investigation in a follow-up call Tuesday night.
In his interview last week, Corcoran said while he did not regret the blog post, he does not actually believe violence against politicians is an effective method of reforming government.
Staff Writer Maria Chutchian can be reached by e-mailing [email protected]. |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As America re-engages with Iraq and deepens its involvement in the region’s web of sectarian conflicts, the Pentagon has made a practical assessment of the brutal job of stabilizing Baghdad: in the future, U.S. forces may be needed on the front lines.
President Barack Obama has ruled out a combat mission, but military officials and former officials say the reality of a protracted campaign in Iraq and possibly Syria may ultimately require greater use of U.S. troops, including tactical air strike spotters or front-line advisers embedded with Iraq forces.
That raises questions over how far Obama can go in the expanding U.S. military power without appearing to violate promises not to drag America into another ground war and highlights different priorities between the White House and Pentagon at the start of what looks to be a long, unpredictable military campaign in Iraq and Syria.
From a military perspective, officials say it makes sense to at least have the option of deploying small numbers of U.S. military advisers alongside Iraqis on the front, time-to-time, even if that appears to contradict Obama’s stated policy.
The White House, meanwhile, is keen to signal to U.S. voters that the president who campaigned on ending the war in Iraq will keep this a sharply limited campaign.
Obama has ordered 1,600 soldiers to Iraq since Islamic State fighters swept into the country in June but is seeking to avoid mission creep as he cobbles together an international coalition to “degrade and destroy” the jihadists who want to form of a caliphate in the heart of the Middle East.
American spotters in Iraq, used sparingly, could help avoid civilian casualties as American air strikes pound militants who increasingly might try to hide among innocent Iraqis.
“There’s some reports out there that they’re already using children and other things to start shielding themselves, because they know that will protect them from air strikes,” General Raymond Odierno, chief of staff of the Army, said on Friday.
Odierno says he supports Obama’s strategy in Iraq and says properly trained Iraqis can carry out the job. But he also won’t rule any options out.
That is a traditional refrain in military circles, one that was made more bluntly by retired General James Mattis, who oversaw American troops in the Middle East until last year.
“You just don’t take anything off the table, up front, which apparently the administration has tried to do,” Mattis told a hearing held by the House Intelligence Committee on Sept. 18. “We have the most skillful, the fiercest and certainly the most ethical ground forces in the world and I don’t think we should reassure the enemy in advance that they’ll never face them.”
The top U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, ignited the debate this week when he told lawmakers he might recommend sending U.S. troops to accompany Iraqi forces on the front lines of the fight against the hard-line militant group that has taken over much of Iraq and Syria.
“THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES”
Dempsey also said Obama told him to come to him on a “case-by-case basis” as needed to request use of ground forces in the battle against Islamic State.
“If there are threats to the United States, then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of U.S. military ground forces,” Dempsey said.
Already, military commanders have sought to take steps that test the limits of Obama’s willingness in Iraq.
According to Dempsey, General Lloyd Austin, head of U.S. Central Command, recommended sending troops to help U.S. planes locate Islamic State targets near the Mosul dam, a strategic site in northern Iraq. But Obama chose to have U.S. advisors work remotely, officials said.
Officials denied any rift between the two men’s vision for the evolving campaign against Islamic State, which they say will include nations from Europe to the Middle East and Australia in an effort to undermine the group’s military power, its financing, and support from disaffected Sunni Muslims.
U.S. officials say there is no discussion of sending U.S. ground forces to actually shoot at militants as they did during the previous Iraq war. Instead, Special Operations soldiers could accompany Iraqi forces as they battle Islamic State, to advise them or help guide air strikes.
But current and former officials say the reality of a campaign inside Iraq and possibly Syria may ultimately require an expanded use of American troops, who are now mostly limited to an advisory role far from the battlefield.
Critics say Obama may be painting himself in a corner, at least rhetorically.
“There will be boots on the ground if there’s to be any hope of success in the strategy. And I think that by continuing to repeat that, the president, in effect, traps himself,” said Obama’s former defense secretary, Robert Gates.
In truth, much of this comes down to semantics. In the Afghan and previous Iraq campaigns, the United States has sought to differentiate the roles of military advisors from combat forces that lead the battle against insurgencies there.
“It is hard to connect the dots from an operational standpoint without talking about what ground forces are available and ready to accomplish the mission,” said Jessica Lewis, a scholar at the Institute for the Study of War.
“And yet this is a serious political line to cross to suggest that there may be a requirement for some U.S. troops to
deploy forward.” |
Image copyright AP Image caption The SPD hopes the "Schulz effect" will boost its chances in the September election
The candidate named by Germany's Social Democrats to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel, Martin Schulz, has vowed to fight populism if his party wins the elections due in September.
At an SPD party meeting in Berlin, he denounced Eurosceptics and the "racist" rhetoric of US President Donald Trump.
The convention unanimously confirmed Mr Schulz as the candidate who will lead the Social Democrats to the election.
It has been the junior partner in Germany's "grand coalition" since 2013.
The party hopes that Mr Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament, will boost its chances of governing without Mrs Merkel's CDU.
Opinion polls suggest the Social Democrats trail the CDU, although Mr Schulz's personal rating compares favourably with that of Mrs Merkel, who plans to run for a fourth term.
In his speech on Sunday, he blamed the rise of populism on a growing gap between average workers and the rich.
The 61-year-old attacked plans by Christian Democrats to cut taxes and increase defence spending at the expense of welfare programmes.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Mrs Merkel, who has led Germany since 2005, is seeking a fourth term
Mr Schultz also said that as leader of the EU Parliament he had always stood up "to those who attempt to destroy this project of unity".
"Those people find in me a determined opponent," he added.
Referring to Donald Trump, he denounced what he called the president's "misogynistic, anti-democratic and racist" rhetoric.
Ahead of Sunday's convention, SPD General Secretary Katarina Barley said the party had seen 13,000 new members join this year.
Mr Schulz was the only nominee for the post of party chairman. He received 100% of the delegates' votes - an unprecedented result in the SPD's post-war history.
He replaces Sigmar Gabriel, who stepped down as chairman in January in an attempt to improve the party's chances.
A former bookseller, Mr Schulz comes from Aachen near the Dutch border and once considered becoming a professional footballer. |
Matt Damon must have done hundreds and hundreds of interviews throughout his career, but none of them will have been as eventful as this one…
The actor was appearing on Australia's The Footy Show to promote his upcoming Jason Bourne movie, when he got a lot more than he bargained for.
Damon was talking to reporter Beau Ryan, who almost regurgitated a rancid smoothie during the larger-than-life interview on Thursday night (July 14). Oh dear.
Ryan, who was dressed as Jason Bourne, was challenged to answer questions throughout, and suffer certain penalties if he got any wrong.
The Footy Show
After getting a maths question wrong, he tried to drink the horrific drink – but not before giving it to Damon to smell.
As the actor tried to hold back his laughter, Ryan attempted to down the green liquid, only to vomit right in front of the actor – yuck!
Fortunately for Matt Damon, he won't have to do that many more interviews before Jason Bourne is released on July 29.
Watch a trailer below: |
The New York State Capitol in Albany. (Photo: (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto))
ALBANY - Negotiations over the state budget and key legislation are usually done behind closed doors at the state Capitol. On Tuesday, so too was a bill signing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo privately signed a bill to outlaw child marriage of minors under age 17, making good on a pledge earlier this month to put the measure into law.
But Cuomo held the event with lawmakers and advocates behind closed doors in the ornate Red Room without advising the Capitol press corps about it.
It was first made public after attendees sent out pictures on Twitter about the event, which showed Cuomo signing the bill with his aides and lawmakers at his side. His office soon after sent out a news release about the bill signing.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi downplayed the omission of the press at the event.
"We offered some photos with advocates and the legislators on this issue, which we've done with other bills before. That's all this was," Azzopardi said.
The legislative session is set to end Wednesday for the year, and Cuomo did not take questions from reporters Tuesday about end-of-session negotiations.
Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, criticized Cuomo's closed-door bill signing, calling it another example of the lack of transparency in state government.
"Albany is a secret place and in this administration, the curtains have been kept shut tight," Horner said.
The new law will ban marriages of minors under age 17 and require court approvals for those aged 17 who want to get married. The previous law allowed people as young as 14 to get married.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, Westchester County, sponsored the bill and attended the private bill signing. She said she was asked by Cuomo's office to attend and didn't know it would be closed to the press.
She said the new law will impact young people's lives, particularly girls who may be forced into marriage.
"Today we changed the destiny of so many young New Yorkers by giving them an opportunity for a bright future," Paulin said.
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/2sNuviW |
Transport Canada alleges three CP Rail supervisors — not the train crew — are responsible for leaving 57 rail cars parked on a mountain slope without proper handbrakes earlier this year above Revelstoke, B.C.
Two of the parked cars contained dangerous goods, investigators say they were told.
In their investigation of the incident, federal safety investigators raided CP Rail's Calgary headquarters in early November, for a second time this year, CBC News has learned.
In the search warrant for the raid, Transport Canada alleges that the company and three supervisors violated emergency rules intended to prevent runaway trains and derailments brought in after the Lac Megantic tragedy in July 2013 involving the now defunct Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway.
Following the disaster, former Conservative transport minister Lisa Raitt issued an emergency directive demanding railways apply handbrakes on all parked trains in case air-brakes failed.
In the Lac Megantic crash there were too few handbrakes applied, which allowed the locomotives and tanker cars filled with crude oil to roll downhill, eventually derailing, exploding and killing 47 people.
The B.C. incident involves allegations that CP Rail ignored those emergency rules during the night of Feb. 14-15 as it faced a nationwide strike by locomotive engineers and conductors.
CP workers were set to walk off the job at midnight in a strike and company managers were directing crews to park their trains and "tie down" their cargo.
Train 401 was descending CP Rail's "Mountain subdivision" approaching Revelstoke when the conductor said she was ordered to leave the rail cars on a grade above the town and not to take extra time to apply hand brakes, as per the minister's emergency directive.
Former transport minister Lisa Raitt ordered all rail companies to apply handbrakes, not just air brakes, after the Lac Megantic tragedy. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
CBC first reported on the case last spring after learning Transport Canada had begun an investigation and searched CP's Calgary headquarters in May.
During the first raid, investigators seized audio recordings of radio and telephone calls from the night in question between the train crew and the "rail traffic control centre" in Calgary.
After listening to those calls, rail safety investigators have expanded their investigation.
A second raid
On November 2nd Transport Canada obtained a second warrant and searched CP's headquarters again.
According to the warrant papers filed in court, investigators listened to the audio recordings and now believe the train crew was ordered to ignore the rules by three CP Rail supervisors: superintendent Mark Jackson and two unidentified employees working in the control centre
Transport Canada seized CP scheduling records, time sheets and shift change memos in a bid to confirm the supervisors' identities.
None of the allegations in the warrants has been tested in court. And CP Rail refused to identify the supervisors when asked by CBC News.
"CP continues to co-operate fully with investigators. As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further comment," CP's vice-president of public affairs Martin Cej told CBC in an emailed statement.
CP Superintendent Mark Jackson did not respond to requests for comment. When reached last spring by telephone, Jackson told CBC: "At the time, based on the info that was provided, it was going to be a safe move. I know myself I've been cleared of any wrongdoing in this."
CBC News has also learned that in September rail inspectors visited the site of the alleged incident at Greely Sideroad, several kilometres uphill from Revelstoke.
Transport Canada rail safety officials inspect the track where the CP train was parked above Revelstoke, during a site visit in September. ( Courtesy Alex Cooper, Revelstoke Review)
Using a Hy-Rail truck they performed tests and took track measurements to calculate the distances, speeds and potential risk had Train 401 rolled downhill.
Fortunately, the train remained in place without incident, and was later picked up and moved by CP managers. But because of the potential for a runaway above the community of Revelstoke the incident has sparked a major investigation.
Runaway trains
Acknowledging that secondary air brakes on parked trains are unreliable and often fail or "leak off," Canada's transport minister issued new emergency handbrake rules in 2014.
"They're the only means of securing a train if the air leaks off," rail braking expert Steve Callaghan told CBC News. "You are always at risk of collision, or accident, or derailment if the cars begin to move."
Callaghan is expected to be a witness for the prosecution in the Lac Megantic case. He won't discuss that case but says the Revelstoke incident deserves thorough investigation.
"They are taking it seriously because you are dealing here with a ministerial directive which applies to every railroad," Callaghan said. "It was literally to prevent runaways from occurring. That's the whole gist of it."
Transport Canada's investigation sparked an angry public exchange last June between Raitt, the former minister, and CP Rail's boss, Hunter Harrison.
Appearing on CBC's Power and Politics Raitt spoke forcefully about prosecuting the railway and even its executives, as has been done in the Lac Megantic case, if CP is found to have ignored her emergency directive.
Harrison lashed back, accusing Raitt of making threats and accusations when "the facts have not yet been established."
CP Rail CEO Hunter Harrison said in June that all the facts have not been established in the Revelstoke case. (CBC)
"To suggest that there is any parallel between these allegations and the tragedy of Lac-Mégantic is, at best, unfortunate," Harrison said in a statement issued June 23, 2015.
Transport Canada won't discuss their investigation, and the regulator has not laid any charges.
Penalties for violating an emergency directive under Canada's Railway Safety Act include fines of up to $1 million against a company and up to six months in jail for individuals.
Please send tips on this story to [email protected]. |
N. Korea preparing to launch satellite: report 52 SHARES Share it! Share Tweet
By Agence France-Presse
North Korea is preparing to launch a satellite, a Seoul newspaper said Tuesday, as outside observers warn that the nuclear-armed regime’s space program is a fig leaf for weapons tests.
Pyongyang is under multiple UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile tests and is prohibited from carrying out any launch using ballistic missile technology including satellites.
“Through various channels, we’ve recently learned that the North has completed a new satellite and named it Kwangmyongsong-5”, the Joongang Ilbo daily reported, quoting a South Korean government source.
“Their plan is to put a satellite equipped with cameras and telecommunication devices into orbit”, he said.
Pyongyang launched their Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite in February 2016, which most in the international community viewed as a disguised ballistic missile test.
A spokesman for the South Korean military joint chiefs of staff said there was “nothing out of ordinary at this moment” but added that Seoul was watching out for any provocative acts “including the test of a long-range missile disguised as a satellite launch”.
The report came as the North’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reasserted the regime’s right to launch satellites and develop its space technology.
In a commentary published on Monday and titled “peaceful space programs are sovereign countries’ legitimate rights”, the daily said Pyongyang’s satellite launches “absolutely correspond” with international laws concerning space development.
At a UN General Assembly committee meeting in October, North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador Kim In-Ryong said his country has a 2016-2020 plan to develop “practical satellites that can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people’s living”.
He stressed North Korea’s right to produce and launch satellites “will not be changed just because the US denies it”.
North Korea is believed to have successfully put a satellite into orbit in December 2012 after years of failures dating back to 1998 when it launched a pilot satellite and named it Kwangmyongsong-1.
Earlier this month, the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaia Gazeta quoted a Russian military expert, Vladimir Khrustalev, as saying that North Korea was expected to launch two satellites — an Earth exploration satellite and a communications satellite — in the near future.
Khrustalev made the remark after returning from his week-long trip to North Korea in mid-November when he met with representatives of the country’s National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), the Russian daily said.
Tensions have soared as the isolated regime has staged a series of atomic and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests — most recently on November 29.
Tags: Kwangmyongsong, Manila Bulletin, missile, North Korea, nuclear, Pyongyang, satellite, space program |
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Can you imagine trying to pace yourself evenly when you’re running on a course like this?
Ran up my first real “mountain” yesterday! Started around 7300 feet and the summit of Mt. Evergreen is just over 8530. Going up actually wasn’t too bad, but coming down was a real quad buster! #runnerprobs #trailrunning #mountainruns A photo posted by Jason Fitzgerald (@jasonfitz1) on Oct 19, 2014 at 7:24am PDT
Getting your splits to be even – or within the range you should be at – can be nearly impossible when you’re dealing with so many obstacles:
Technical trails
Heat and humidity
Freezing cold
Hills and elevation changes
Altitude
Taking time off from running
But a lot of runners are adament about staying in the right pacing zone – even when every variable is working against them.
Just the other week I reassured one of my runners that it was ok if her tempo pace was 5 seconds per mile too slow (it was 90+ degrees!).
The human body isn’t a machine. We must adjust our pace expectations when conditions aren’t ideal.
But when they are ideal, it’s time to execute flawlessly during a workout and push ourselves to the limit during a race.
Today we’re going to cover:
The top pacing questions I’ve received in the last 4+ years
Race strategy from elite coaches and accomplished runners
Pacing and race strategy are some of my favorite aspects of running because it’s so easy to get wrong, but also so easy to get right.
Pacing Q&A
I’ve answered thousands of running questions over the years – and today, I want to highlight three of the most common pacing questions that stump most runners.
This section is an excerpt from the Strength Running PR Guide – a free digital book that answers 35+ running questions.
Question #1:
Online calculators online and books (Daniels, Galloway, McMillan, Runner’s World, etc.) have the easy pace and the long run pace set at a pace that feels sooooo slow for me. Will it hurt my training or pose a risk of injury to run faster if it still feels easy?
Answer:
The short answer: no way! If a certain pace feels easy, then it’s easy. But here’s the caveat: that pace has to feel easy for the entire run to truly be considered easy. If I were to start running every run at 5 minute mile pace, that would feel easy…for the first minute.
Make sure you can hold a conversation during your easy runs. If you can do that, you’re not risking an injury. Your long runs should typically be a moderate effort and could venture into “hard effort” territory during the last few miles if you’re fatigued.
I recommend that runners run “by feel” on their runs so instead of being married to a particular pace, run what your body is ready for on that particular day.
Additional reading: How fast should I run on my easy runs?
Question #2:
I’m coming back from a long layoff of no running. I used to run my normal distance runs a lot faster but now I’m slower. How can I get back to my old pace per mile?
Answer:
For right now, I wouldn’t worry about your pace.
When you’re getting back into the swing of training, the effort level of your runs should be low-moderate, no matter the pace. This is the strategy I took after my layoff from ITBS and it worked well. Your body just isn’t ready to physically handle those harder runs.
By staying consistent, strategically running moderate paced workouts when you’re ready, and running simple strides after your distance runs your body will gradually get in better shape. It can be a long road ( it took me a year!), but the patience pays off in dividends.
Additional reading: What are strides? and The Untold Story of My IT Band Syndrome Treatment
Question #3:
How do I get over the middle part of a race where I always slow down?
Ah, the essence of successful racing! I wish there was an easy answer for this question.
If you’re slowing down in the middle of a race but not at the end, then that probably means it’s not an endurance problem. Being able to run strong at the end of a race means you have a solid aerobic foundation that enables you to hold a fast pace when you’re fatigued.
Slowing down in the middle of the race could be because of several reasons:
You went out too fast. Races aren’t won in the first two minutes, but they can be lost. It’s fine to run faster in the first several minutes or mile of a race than your goal pace, but don’t go overboard or you’ll pay the consequences later. You could lack confidence and the mental toughness to hold on to your pace. Improving confidence can be done by running race-specific workouts, exposing yourself to race pain more frequently, and successful training. Not enough race pace running in your training. Your body will be shocked when it tries to run race pace if you never do it in training. Specificity is key.
Additional reading: Race Strategy 101 (Q&A with Coach)
Want more? The full book has more than 35 questions and answers that you can browse.
Download it here.
Pacing Yourself During Races
Race strategy can take many forms. Are you trying to win your age group? Just finish? Or maybe you’re gunning for a pesonal best and want to finish strong.
Whatever your goal, a good race strategy is a must-have to perform at the level that will help you achieve your goals.
And I have 13 different race strategies for you – all from pro coaches, Boston Qualifiers, ultra runners, and college All-Americans. So you know the advice is rock-solid.
You can download the free book here with every race strategy included.
Today I’m highlighting two of my favorite strategies, one from Mario Fraioli and the other from Jeff Gaudette.
Mario’s “Tighten the Screws” Strategy
Tightening the screws is a racing tactic I like to employ for distances from 5K to half marathon. It’s a strategy that can be used in the marathon as well, but for most runners it’s not worth the risk.
How do you do it? It’s as simple as throwing in a series of surges during a race when your competition least expects it. The goal is to take an opponent out of their rhythm in an effort to get away from them before the finish line.
As a general rule, the shorter (i.e. more intense) the race, the shorter the surges. For example, when racing a 5K, throw in a hard 15 to 30-second surge (10-20 seconds per mile faster than you averaged for the first mile), then return to your race rhythm.
Didn’t shake your opponent? Do it again at mile 2. Is he still there? Throw in one final short surge with half a mile to go to try and take the finishing kick out of their legs.
In a 10K or half marathon race, since the overall effort level is less intense than it is for a 5K, stretch the surge out a bit to a minute or more. After three to four well-timed surges you’ll wear your opponent down and leave them wondering where you went!
Don’t wear a watch while racing? Pick points along the course and surge to the next light post, or stop sign, or some other landmark. Explode when you’re coming off a turn, or kick it into high gear after cresting a hill. The idea is to keep your competition guessing all the way to the finish line.
Of course, don’t try this tactic without practicing it first! Rehearse surging and recovering during tempo runs and long runs so that it doesn’t backfire when you try it in a race.
Next time you’re having trouble shaking your competition, try tightening the screws on them!
Mario Fraioli is a senior editor at Competitor Magazine. He was a cross country All-American at Stonehill College and has personal bests of 4:09.77 in the mile, 14:39 for 5,000m and 2:28:25 in the marathon. He coaches the Prado Women’s Racing Team in San Diego and was the men’s marathon coach for Costa Rica at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Jeff’s “Surge to Get Back on Pace” Strategy
A common racing mistake I’m guilty of myself, and I see athletes I coach make, is slowly letting the pace slip during the middle of a race, often without realizing it. As your legs tire and your breathing becomes labored, maintaining goal pace gets more difficult.
More specifically, the effort required to run goal pace during mile 8 of a half marathon is exponentially harder than the first mile.
The solution is to analyze your splits from previous races at the same distance and identify where this natural slow down occurred. If you have the data from your previous three to four races, you can usually find a common point in any race distance where you start to fade.
If you’re new to the race distance, a good tip to remember is that the average slowing point will occur just after half way – usually between half way and three quarters of the race. For example, the slow point in a 5k usually happens at 3000 meters.
Once you’ve found your slow spot, surge at this exact moment in your next race. It doesn’t have to be that much faster than your goal pace, but consciously thinking about your pace when you normally have trouble will be a mental reminder to not let your it slip. This doesn’t necessarily make it easier to keep pushing yourself, but it helps prevent unintentional pace creep that’s so common.
How to implement in training
Like any racing tactic, you don’t want to rely on a new strategy without practicing it in training first. So, include a few 60-90 second surges during your next long run or try inserting a hammer during your next track session (a hammer is running the second to last repeat of your interval session as fast as you can and then returning to normal interval pace for your last repeat).
Both of these workouts teach your mind and body to increase its effort during a workout similar to your goal race. You’re training your body to dramatically increase the effort level as the workout goes on and will be more prepared to do so during the race.
Jeff Gaudette is a USATF and RRCA-certified running coach, two-time Division-1 All-American in Cross Country while at Brown University, and a former professional runner for the Hansons-Brooks team. He is an Olympic Trials qualifier in the 10k (28:46 PR) and marathon (2:22:02 PR) and is the founder of Runners Connect.
The full book contains race strategy advice from:
Jay Johnson, Running Times contributor and creator of the Building a Better Runner DVDs
Thad McLaurin, certified coach and personal trainer
Mario Fraioli, 2:28 marathoner and senior editor at Competitor Magazine
Joel Runyon, ultramarathoner and triathlete
Jeff Gaudette, Olympic Trials Qualifier and former Hansons-Brooks professional runner
Nicole Antoinette, marathoner and hater of all bullshit
Doug Hay, ultramarathoner and trail runner
Susan Lacke, Ironman Triathlete and contributor to Competitor and Triathlete magazines
Laura Schwecherl, marathoner and former Outreach Director for Greatist
David Hylton, co-creator of #RunChat
Matt Frazier, founder of No Meat Athlete and Boston Marathon Qualifier
Mark Kennedy, former kinesiologist
Me!
You can sign up here if you’d like the entire book. |
Josef Ackermann is a busy man this autumn. Hardly a day goes by that the Deutsche Bank chief, despite his impending departure from the bank, doesn't hold a speech on the current financial crisis that has gripped Europe. And more often than not, his talk centers on the immense problems faced by the sovereign bond market. Nobody, it would seem, wants state bonds anymore.
Germany's top banker is not alone with his concern about the problem. The entire financial world is in turmoil this autumn. Once seen as iron-clad investments, state bonds are no longer seen as secure -- particularly since the European Union agreed to a 50 percent debt haircut for Greece in October. It can, warned Andreas Schmidt, president of the Association of German Banks, earlier this week, no longer be taken for granted that countries can turn to the capital markets to finance their budgets.
The truth of Schmidt's statement became readily apparent this week. On Tuesday, Spain auctioned off three-month and six-month bonds, a sale that in normal times would be quick and easy. Interest rates of 3 to 4 percent on such sales are normal. But this week, Madrid had to pay 5.11 percent and 5.23 percent respectively, the highest it has had to pay on such bonds in 14 years -- and up significantly from the 3.30 percent it paid on six-month paper as recently as October 25. Even Greece didn't have to pay as much on a similar offering recently.
And the problem isn't just limited to indebted euro-zone countries. Banks too have run into difficulties as a result of the sudden aversion to sovereign bonds. Most of them, after all, have significant amounts of sovereign bonds on their balance sheets -- making other banks extremely wary of lending to them. Indeed, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday that 178 banks borrowed 247 billion in one-week loans from the ECB -- the most since early 2009 when the last financial crisis was at its peak.
Mistrust of EU Bonds
"There is, at the moment, a collective mistrust of European sovereign bonds and banks," said Eugen Keller, a financial market expert with the Frankfurt-based private bank Metzler.
US money market funds have long since withdrawn from the European common currency zone. American and British banks have also become extremely careful when it comes to doing business with European financial institutes. "The willingness of investors to engage in banks on the longer term is not particularly pronounced," Deutsche Bank head Ackermann said in describing the phenomenon. Were the ECB not on hand to provide banks with cheap money -- since 2008, it has been allowing banks to borrow as much as they need to overcome liquidity shortfalls -- the situation would look much worse, Ackermann added.
In an effort to win back investor faith, European banks are doing everything they can to clear their books of state bonds. According to an estimate from the US investment bank Goldman Sachs, the 55 largest European banks reduced their holdings of Italian bonds by 26 billion just in the three months between the end of June and the end of September -- roughly a 30 percent decrease. Holdings of Spanish bonds have also plunged by a similar percentage, equating to 6.8 billion. The trend is likely to have continued in October and November.
Most of the bonds shed by the banks have likely landed on the balance sheet of the ECB, which has been on a bond-buying spree since May 2010 in an effort to push down sovereign bond interest rates. But the effort has not been met with unreserved success. So far, the ECB has amassed euro-zone bonds worth 195 billion -- and the interest rate on Italian bonds still edged up to 6.8 percent on Tuesday. That is down from the highs of earlier this month, but still worryingly close to the 7 percent mark that is widely considered to be unsustainable on the long term.
Ultimate Survival
Still, many feel that the ECB is not doing enough and would like to see it embark on a gigantic bond shopping spree in an effort to calm the financial markets. But the ECB has remained resistant to being turned into Europe's lender of last resort -- a position vehemently supported by Germany's central bank and by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But the problem is not likely to disappear overnight. And the longer the double-crisis -- of state debt and bank liquidity -- continues, the more dangerous it will become for the ultimate survival of the euro. The two are, after all, dependent on each other. Countries need liquid banks to purchase their bonds and the banks need financially solid states as guarantors of the state bonds on their balance sheets. At the moment, neither half of the relationship is functioning properly.
Over the weekend, the world's largest sovereign bond buyer Pimco sounded the alarm. "This is just a repeat of what we saw in 2008, when everyone wanted to see toxic assets off the banks' balance sheets," Christian Stracke, head of research for Pimco, told the New York Times.
Keller, the analyst from Metzler, also sees parallels. "Back then, it was shoddy US real-estate loans that was causing the banks problems," he says. "Today it is the European state bonds that everyone thought were so safe."
The comparison with 2008 is frightening. Following the fall of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, the entire financial system faced collapse. And this time, the condition of the markets is, if anything, even worse: The crisis has eaten its way deep into the credit system. The entire method by which European countries access money is under threat -- and by extension, so too is European prosperity.
Keys in Berlin
It is a situation that has become unsustainable on the long term. If Europe is not able to quickly re-establish faith in European sovereign bonds, a downward spiral of fear and debt could be the result.
The key to preventing that spiral from gaining momentum lies in the hands of the German government. Germany is, at the moment, the only euro-zone country that investors continue to trust unreservedly -- which can be seen in the low interest rates that Berlin must pay on its sovereign bonds.
It is a trust that Merkel's government is hesitant to loan out, as would be the case were so-called "euro bonds" -- essentially a pooling of euro-zone debt -- to be introduced. Experts, though, think that the chancellor will soon be forced to buckle. "I think that it is only a question of weeks before we have to say: all for one, one for all," says Keller.
The implication is clear. Either Germany will have to guarantee the debts of other euro-zone countries in the form of euro bonds. Or the ECB will have to jump in and buy massive quantities of bonds from highly indebted currency zone members. A third alternative doesn't exist. |
Europe has been hard hit by Islamist attacks in France and Belgium, but there is also concern about radicalization on the continent itself. Among hotspots where young people have been found to gravitate towards extremism are majority Muslim nations in the Western Balkans.
Many paths lead people to Islamic radicalization. And while factors vary from country to country and from person to person, some commonalities can be found in the Western Balkan countries, such as Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.
Factors ranging from vulnerable institutions and lack of opportunities to outside money and influence have been found among the underlying causes of radicalization in the region.
Adrian Shtuni, an expert on the phenomenon of radicalization in the Western Balkans, says the high number of fighters from that region going to Syria and Iraq is concerning.
“There are a lot of individuals that travel or are radicalized by their own peers. So they are radicalized by their own friends, their siblings, by their brothers and so on and so forth,” Shtuni says.
Since 2011, approximately 1,000 fighters from the Western Balkans have joined Islamist militant groups.
Radicalization can also stem from not focusing on economic and social development, says USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, Thomas Melia. And for some communities, he points to another factor.
“Some international influences have pushed people in the wrong direction, radicalizing them and pushing them to more extreme views of Islam. We have seen that in several countries, in Albania and in Kosovo in particular, and in parts of Bosnia,” Melia says.
Saudi money
The New York Times reported recently that Saudi money and influence in Kosovo have transformed a once-tolerant Muslim society into "a font of Islamic extremism and a pipeline for jihadists" by spreading Wahhabism, a conservative Islamic strain dominant in Saudi Arabia.
Kosovo and other countries have undertaken initiatives to fight the tide of radical Islam, but Shtuni says that the region's fragile societies are still vulnerable.
“Let’s face it. In the Western Balkans the conditions in general, socio-economic or political, are not ideal. So yes, they do create an environment that is conducive to radicalization,” Shtuni says.
Seeking solutions
USAID's Melia says that efforts to change that environment should include better economic performance, more opportunities, and a sense that the government is not pursuing corrupt practices and is advancing society as a whole.
“That’s consistent with our larger development agenda, and it’s also increasingly important at this moment,” Melia says.
The issue has been complicated by Europe's migrant crisis. The Balkan route is one of the main paths to Western Europe, and the European Union, strained by the wave of people fleeing wars, now has fewer resources to deal with the Balkans' other problems. |
Kevin Mark Clarke is a perennial candidate for public office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was also one of the most recognizable homeless persons in the city[dubious – discuss], campaigning on the issues he has advocated for most of his life- "the people's rights". He is the leader of The People's Political Party.
Clarke advocates for comprehensive reform in the criminal justice system, to create a system which prevents recidivism among first-time offenders. He has proposed a program which he claims would reduce the recidivism which allegedly violent prison environments create: 'The Inmate Monitored Education System' otherwise known as T.I.M.E., which would aim to help eliminate the claimed harmful influence of prison life on first-time offenders.
He also campaigns strongly on the issues of poverty and homelessness.
A former student teacher for Grade 5 at Chester Le Junior Public School in Scarborough in the 1980s, Clarke credits that period in his life as his most rewarding experience.[citation needed]
Biography [ edit ]
Clarke worked in the automobile business during the early 1990s. He sought election as Mayor of East York in the 1994 municipal election, describing himself as an "advertising consultant, political rebel and welfare recipient". He promised to resign after three months if elected, and to form a provincial party for ordinary people.[1]
Clarke first campaigned for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1995 general election, challenging New Democratic Party Premier Bob Rae in York South. He received 170 votes, finishing seventh in a field of nine candidates. During this election, Clarke vowed to oppose the "pimps" of government who "live off the avails of the people".[2]
Clarke campaigned for York South again in 1996 after Rae retired from the legislature, and finished last in a field of six candidates with 70 votes. The winner was Gerard Kennedy of the Ontario Liberal Party.
He sought election to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1997 federal election, and finished sixth out of eight candidates in Broadview—Greenwood with 211 votes. The winner was Dennis Mills of the Liberal Party of Canada. During this election, Clarke described himself as a salesman and a businessman.
He became homeless in 1998, after his auto business failed. For the next seven years, he frequently sang and preached on the streets of Toronto while wearing long, flowing robes. He was also actively involved in public affairs, and was a member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee.
Clarke ran for the Ontario legislature a third time in a by-election for Beaches—East York on September 20, 2001. He finished sixth out of eight candidates with 94 votes. The winner was Michael Prue of the New Democratic Party.
Clarke campaigned for Mayor of Toronto in the 2000, 2003 and 2006 municipal elections, and ran for Toronto City Council in by-elections held in 1998 and 2001. His primary issues were street and water safety, though he also emphasized anti-drug policies. He ran his 2001 campaign out of a homeless shelter which he used every night.[3] In the 1998 campaign, his age was listed as thirty-four.[4]
He took part in an unusual protest during the 2003 campaign, by tearing up pieces of a telephone book and scattering them to the wind during lunch hour at a busy Toronto intersection. "You care if there's paper on the street," he said to passers-by, "but you don't care if there's people on the street".[5] He also described himself as an "ex-con, ex-drug dealer and ex-teacher".[6]
Clarke finally found housing again in 2005,[7] and worked as an actor during this period.[8]
He was a candidate running for the 2010 Toronto mayoral election. Clarke has been known to employ eccentric tactics to reach the public during his campaign, including speeches while aboard the TTC.
In the 2011 Ontario election he ran as leader of the People's Political Party.[9]
Kevin Clarke emphatically stated to Peter Tabuns, during an all-candidates debate on education held on September 20, 2011, that he does not endorse the Ontario New Democratic Party.[citation needed]
Clarke ran for Mayor in the 2018 election[10], where he finished with 3,853 votes. |
Islamic State extremist groups have been struck by a wave of desertions in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, where they are combating efforts by local residents to wage a guerrilla campaign against them, activists said.
The desertions and resistance appear to have alarmed Islamic State leaders, who recently dispatched three security detachments of trusted militants from the Iraqi city of Mosul to oversee executions of suspected opponents and to launch a crackdown in the towns of Al-Mayadeen and Hatlah, a mainly Shi'ite village in the oil-rich province bordering Iraq, sources told VOA.
In email exchanges with VOA, activists from a group called Lift Siege, said a steady stream of Islamic State members has been deserting, including four commanders.
They name the commanders as Ammar Haddawi, Aamer Al-Naklawi, Mahmoud Al-Khalaf Al-Rasheideh and Abu Obaidah Al-Masri, who oversaw tax collection in Al-Mayadeen.
Commanders have sometimes absconded with large amounts of cash.
Members 'have run off'
“There's a good percentage of members who have run off,” said Adnan, one of the activists. “IS leaders have issued an order not to accept civilian ID documents unless the holders have official stamped mission-papers.”
ID documents are also being confiscated from fighters so that they can’t be used at checkpoints.
Last winter activists in Raqqa reported that passports were being taken from foreign recruits to the terror group to hinder desertions, with the fighters given poorly laminated, non-photo Islamic State identification cards.
Last week, the militants started deploying military reinforcements in the districts of the city of Deir ez-Zor that the group currently holds in apparent preparation for an assault on the besieged neighborhood of al-Jora, which together with the city’s al-Qusour district has been under control of regime forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of this year.
In the province’s countryside, the Islamic State group holds sway but is facing renewed attacks by local resistance fighters in uncoordinated groups.
Many of the resistance fighters have no military training and first started to surface last year, but the numbers of those mounting hit-and-run attacks and carrying out assassinations have increased, activists say.
“These cells are clearly being effective in Al-Mayadeen and Al-Boukamal cities, but they are independent and don't work in an organized and unified way. Recently there were seven operations inside Al-Mayadeen city,” said Ghaith, another anti-Islamic State activist.
Anger over occupation
Lift Siege activists said anger at the occupation by Islamic State militants has mounted.
“There’s a big rejection of IS,” Adnan said, estimating that 80 percent of locals are opposed to the Islamic State group. “The remaining 20 percent can be divided into three groups: they're the diehard supporters of IS; the ambitious hoping for power and money; the third consists of people holding grudges against rebel groups who controlled the province before IS came.”
The raid in May by U.S. commandos on a compound in Deir ez-Zor in which an Islamic State commander, Abu Sayyaf, was killed, spooked the extremists and caused them to intensify their internal security operations.
But the raid strengthened the resolve of the resistance fighters.
As in Raqqa, Islamic State enforcers have reduced Internet availability to hinder foes from being able to communicate with each other and to the outside world, sources said.
Owners of Internet cafes in the villages and towns of al- Bsira, Abriha, al-Sabha, al-Dahla and Jdid Bakara in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor have been ordered to remove any Wi-Fi supply to houses and stores neighboring their cafes.
Those who use the Internet inside cafes are carefully monitored. In some towns, the Islamic State group has banned Internet installation even for Islamic State fighters.
One Islamic State circular read: “It is prohibited to sell Internet devices unless getting formal permission from the security bureau.”
Efforts turn to kids
Struck by manpower shortages and eager to groom youngsters, the Islamic extremists are intensifying their efforts to recruit kids.
“They are organizing quizzes and competitions in mosques to tempt children with awards and financial and material prizes,” Adnan said.
A carrot-and-stick approach to governance is being pursued.
As well as a security crackdown and vicious punishment of enemies or suspected dissidents, the Islamic State group has improved the provision of basic services in some towns.
About 20 villages to the east of Deir ez-Zor city are now getting nearly 20 hours of electricity a day. And in Al-Mayadeen, water is also being provided more consistently, but it isn’t potable. |
Students who attend fee-charging schools are far more likely to go directly to third level education, according to new data compiled by the Department of Education.
A report tracking school leavers from three years ago has found that 66% of students from the fee-charging sector were in third level education one year later.
This is compared to 42% of students from non fee-charging post primary schools.
This is the first time the Department of Education has published reports based on the information it and other agencies gather.
Of those who completed their Leaving Certificate in 2010, more than half went on directly to higher and under a third to further education.
There was evidence of 7% signing on for social welfare and 10% working.
The figures showed 66% of students from fee-charging schools went straight to third level.
That is compared to 47% of students in ordinary secondary schools, between 42% and 38% in comprehensive and community schools, and 34% in the VEC sector.
The data found students in all-Irish schools were 14% more likely to be in college one year later. |
David Gyngell's (left) successor Hugh Marks appears to be keeping all his options open. Credit:Daniel Munoz There is a catch. Despite popular perceptions that law changes this year will trigger a rush of takeovers, most industry leaders say even beaten-down media stocks are not yet cheap enough to trigger the deals needed to create one or two media conglomerates. If prices fall further, they say two groups centred on News Corp and Foxtel, and Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment, is the likeliest outcome. Digital entrants Many close observers of the Australian media industry would have you believe the corporate landscape is about to be reshaped by a wave of mergers and acquisitions. And with the government on the cusp of scrapping Keating-era ownership restrictions, that seems perfectly rational – particularly if you believe a radical reorganisation is what traditional players need to compete with unregulated digital entrants such as Google and Netflix.
But many observers have been confidently predicting a frenzy of deal-doing for the best part of a decade. While the flow of transactions has been steady – proving regulatory changes are not the only catalyst – the forecast M&A tsunami has failed to materialise. For every prediction that "this will be the year", there is a compelling argument that few of the much-touted tie-ups will ever come to fruition, regardless of whether the government makes it easier to launch a takeover. Media heavyweights Kerry Stokes and Rupert Murdoch flank AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick at the recent announcement of a $2 billion Foxtel deal. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer As one media executive put it, merging two traditional media businesses that are under stress would be "like using desert spoon to fill a hole being created by a shovel". Fairfax Media spoke to investment bankers, investors, analysts, company directors and executives, many of them in private, to hear all sides of what is always a spirited debate. News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer
Early this year, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is expected to propose the abolition of two rules that date back to a pre-internet time when newspapers, TV and radio still had a stranglehold on the advertising market. First, there is the so-called "reach rule", which limits audience reach for a television network to 75 per cent of the population. Two-out-of-three rule Scrapping the rule would allow the metropolitan free-to-air network owners – Nine Entertainment Co, Seven West Media and Ten Network Holdings – to merge with or acquire any of the regional networks, WIN Corporation, Prime Media or Southern Cross (which also owns radio assets). Then there's the "two-out-of three rule", which stops any one group or person from controlling more than two newspapers, commercial TV licences or radio licences in a major market.
Ditching this rule would – for instance – make it legal for Fairfax Media, owner of newspapers such as the Financial Review and a controlling stake in radio group Macquarie Media, to merge with, acquire or be acquired by Nine, which has the second-placed metropolitan free-to-air network. Abolishing the rule would allow the dominant newspaper owner News Corp, whose co-chairman Lachlan Murdoch owns radio group Nova Entertainment through his private investment vehicle Illyria, take control of TV broadcaster Ten Network Holdings (in which News Corp's pay TV joint venture Foxtel acquired a 15 per cent stake in late 2015, the maximum allowed under current rules). Many of those who say 2016 could spell media merger frenzy believe the Murdoch empire's ever-expanding reach will force its local competitors to team up. News was active in 2015 in terms of local corporate activity. It acquired separate 15 per cent stakes in Ten (via Foxtel) and the newspaper, radio and outdoor advertising business APN News & Media. The move gave it a toehold in two additional media – free-to-air television and outdoor advertising. Ten's advertising is now sold alongside the Foxtel's by the Foxtel's sales arm Multi Channel Network (MCN), which has improved Ten's leverage with media buyers.
Force a roll-up That has also stoked nagging concerns among rivals that a further-expanded News Corp could – if it came to pass – become a one-stop-shop to advertisers. It's a proposition some, though not all, in the media are convinced will ultimately force a roll-up of Fairfax, Nine and Southern Cross (or WIN Corp). They argue that the former trio would command as much as 20 per cent of the advertising market. But the chances of such a three-way tie-up looked very distant at the time of writing. Not only has Fairfax repeatedly said it has no interest in Nine, but its majority holding in Macquarie Media already gives it a powerful position in radio, which can't be ignored. Former Nine chief executive (and current Nine board director) David Gyngell has expressed no appetite for print, and several Fairfax board directors have little appetite for free-to-air TV, believing it is on the edge of a structural crisis similar to the one their print titles have endured for the past decade.
Meanwhile, Nine's on-off takeover talks with Southern Cross hit a brick wall in November after the latter's share price spiked to a point where the deal became unjustifiable for Nine on valuation grounds. Southern Cross has been in no hurry to re-start discussions - preferring to focus on opportunities for its more defensive radio business - and as revealed by afr.com on Monday, Nine is prevented from re-engaging with it until the end of February (assuming it wanted to) due to a three-month exclusivity period negotiated years ago by Southern Cross's affiliate Ten. David Gyngell's successor Hugh Marks appears to be keeping all his options open on potential M&A (perhaps unsurprisingly for a new CEO) while some other executives insist consolidation is inevitable as the market continues to contract and digital players led by Google take an ever greater share. Ten chairman David Gordon is among them. He points out that TV content costs as a whole are rising: Ten has warned its content costs will rise 6.5 per cent during 2016 financial year (its bigger competitors Seven and Nine have committed to spend billions on blockbuster sports rights deals with the NRL and the AFL in coming years). Content creation
"We play in a huge market and we are small player. I think consolidation in the industry is inevitable in one form or another," Gordon told Fairfax Media on the sidelines of the Ten annual meeting in December. "You need to have bigger and bigger balance sheets to be able to support the creation of content that more and more people want to look at." The cross-media rules make it harder for the likes of Ten to fight companies with massive balance sheets, he added, pointing out that "Apple has more cash on its balance sheet than the market capitalisation of every (listed) media business in Australia combined". And yet investors, already scarred by the poor performance of traditional media stocks, would need much convincing to approve deals, be they takeovers or nil-premium mergers. They would need to see a complimentary fit between the assets and an ability to generate leverage through cross selling, market positioning and scale. Some experts see free-to-air TV and radio as a natural fit in this regard. But sceptics note there is no notable example of a combined free-to-air/print/radio company – including in the world-leading United States market – and no successful combined print and TV newsroom operation of any significant scale. On the face of it, a combined Fairfax, Nine and Southern Cross would have around $3 billion of costs. Stripping some of that out would postpone their combined shrinking earnings profile from traditional media.
But opinions diverge about the potential cost savings that could be generated from merging back-office functions and trimming middle management teams in such a deal. Fairfax, for its part, is very comfortable with its existing position: its print earnings have been re-based and real estate advertising powerhouse Domain makes up the lion's share of the company's value. Fairfax has one of the sector's strongest balance sheets and a relatively robust share price. It has invested with Nine in Stan, a 50: 50 subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) joint venture which is having a crack at taking on Netflix and is some way from profitability. Portentous expansion But Fairfax is not dying to jump into bed with another traditional player, preferring to control its publishing costs and expand into growth areas such as events and a 50:50 joint venture between 112, which owns themotorreport.com.au, and Fairfax's Drive.com.au.
And while some see News Corp's recent expansionism as portentous, other rivals inevitably snipe that Foxtel's cash injection into Ten looked more like Rupert Murdoch bailing out the company, in which his son Lachlan was formerly CEO and still has a stake. Those doubters also believe News Corp Australia has many more cost cuts to make in its print operations, point out that the APN share price has halved since News' move on it March, and note that Foxtel is under pressure from cheaper streaming rivals led by Netflix. The News Corp threat, they say, is over-stated. There remains one unknown quantity in all of this: the Bermuda-based billionaire Bruce Gordon. He owns 100 per cent of WIN Corp, 14.95 per cent of Ten and – since October - 14.95 per cent of Nine. You might say he holds the wild card. The wily 86-year-old remains a major fan of free-to-air TV - despite the doomsayers who say that Netflix will eat its lunch. On December 23, Fairfax's business news websites revealed that Nine had opened exploratory takeover talks with the regional network WIN Corp during crunch talks about their 27-year-old affiliation partnership.
They have since struck a six-month extension to that partnership, which has the happy effect of allowing time for Parliament to scrap the reach rule while giving Nine (and WIN) the option of other dance partners. Dance partners It's no coincidence that Southern Cross's affiliation with Ten also expires on June 30: all four parties will now have what bankers call "optionality" when it comes to potential dance partners. Some believe Gordon's ultimate goal is to vend WIN into Nine and get a bigger stake in the metro broadcaster. His actual intentions are anyone's guess. Another key player is Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media, which has aligned itself with News through its 50: 50 SVOD joint venture Presto.
Seven had a rough 2015 as fears about its debt and the future of free-to-air TV added to concerns about its exposure to declining legacy print assets through West Australian Newspapers and Pacific Magazines. It has expressed no desire to acquire its regional affiliate Prime Media, with whom it has an agreement until 2018. For all of its issues, Seven still has the best-performing free-to-air network, although Stokes has told shareholders that improving the share price over the next 12 months is a top priority. Seven chief executive Tim Worner told the annual meeting in November he is looking at the media sector and beyond for expansion: "We're certainly looking at areas of adjacency. We're looking at companies we think we could add value to by bringing enormous promotional grunt. We're also looking inside the media sector." Some speculate that Mr Stokes' Seven Group Holdings, which has a controlling stake, could seek to Seven West Media private with the help of a private equity partner. Another theory says Seven West Media could move on Lachlan Murdoch's Nova Entertainment, which German media giant Bauer has been circling.
Lobbying like hell Whereas Seven has been resistant to proposed media reforms until recently, the three commercial regional networks have been lobbying Canberra like hell to scrap the reach rule and the two-out-three rule. Many observers say the writing is on the wall for regional broadcasters and that their primary motivation is to get bought before the national broadband network undermines their business model (pressure is certainly mounting now that Seven, soon to be followed by Nine, has begun streaming its channels direct to the regions over the internet). They argue that the regionals still don't look cheap given their challenged earnings outlook and say Seven and Nine would be better continuing to spend their money on content initiatives, such as Seven's fast-growing production arm and Nine new lifestyle channel Nine Life. Ultimately though, as with any of these potential deals, price is price. "If things get too cheap, everyone starts saying actually this is silly, something has to happen," says one senior media executive.
When that will be is anyone's guess according to contrarian investor Simon Mawhinney, chief executive of Allan Gray Australia, which has 16 per cent stakes in both Southern Cross and APN News & Media, and less than 5 per cent of Fairfax. "Who knows? We certainly don't," he says. "We think it's generally a very bad reason to invest in this space if your investment thesis is predicated on some form of takeover activity. "So we tend not to obsess about it. "You chase your tail around a lot. At end of the day all that happens is you get dizzy." |
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo just can't win for losing.
Former Cowboys great Deion Sanders was the latest person to rip Romo for his role in the Cowboys' collapse on Sunday. Two Romo interceptions were returned for touchdowns in the second half as Dallas blew a 27-3 lead on the way to a 34-30 loss to the Lions.
"I don't understand this guy," Sanders said on the NFL Network. "Just when you want to believe in him, heroic effort, came back against San Francisco, they said punctured lung and everything. And we praised him, we said, 'Yeah, he's that leader, he's their guy.' And then you come and do this. What are you thinking?
"Sooner or later we've just got to quit guessing and assuming that this guy is the guy to get you over the hump, and say, 'You know what? This guy is always going to be great statistically, but he's not that guy that can take you to where you want to go.' And that's the Super Bowl."
For the day, Romo completed 34-of-47 passes for 331 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. But it was his play at the end of the game that cost Dallas a possibility of going 3-1 instead of the Cowboys being 2-2 heading into their bye week.
"Dallas Cowboys fans are sick of it," Sanders, a NFL Network analyst, said. "We had (Romo) on our shoulders last week. 'Oh Tony, he's our king!' But now we want to stone him. I'm serious, that's the way (fans) feel about him because you can't trust him. I like him. Statistically, he's great, but you can't trust him."
Others took personal pleasure in Romo's demise.
"It's amazing, amazing to watch him choke like that," Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said on 106.7 The Fan in Washington. "I'm just saying, (if) I'm up 24 points in the third quarter, if I'm the head coach, I feel like I could probably just take a knee for the rest of the game, punt it away and there's no way that Detroit's gonna drive on you that many times. The only way you're gonna give up that many points is turnovers, right? It's hilarious to watch him throw pick sixes, too, back to back. I loved it."
Cooley wants to beat Romo himself, but not just on the football field. He said he would relish getting into a cage with him.
"For me to beat Tony? I'm gonna be honest, I don't know what kind of cage fighting skills he has," Cooley told the radio station. "I would probably try to incorporate my wrestling ability, like when I was in high school. Obviously it's been awhile, but I didn't like to beat people fast. I like to embarrass 'em a little bit. Like, take a 24-point lead, and then just play with it a little bit."
Not everyone is down on Romo, however.
On Monday, Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki tweeted that Romo should hang in there, keep working and not let the critics bring him down.
And Romo's coach is standing by him.
"I don't think it's difficult to trust him," Jason Garrett said Monday. "We've had a lot of success in these situations in our 4½ years with Tony as our quarterback. Now have they been 100 percent perfect? No. But you try to create the environment and you try and do the things as a coach to help him be as good as he can be in those situations.
"But again, it's a team thing. It's everybody together, Tony is a big part of it because he's our quarterback, but it's the other guys on offense, the other guys on defense and throughout our team."
These late-game problems are nothing new for Romo.
In Dallas' Week 1 loss to the New York Jets, Romo fumbled at his opponents' 2-yard-line, preventing his team from adding to a seven-point lead. He then threw a costly interception late in the fourth quarter that allowed the Jets to kick the go-ahead field goal with less than a minute to play.
Romo, however, has been good in late-game situations this season, leading his team on a pair of game-winning scoring drives. In his career, Romo has 11 fourth-quarter comebacks and 12 game-winning drives.
At times one has to wonder, which Romo the Cowboys will get?
"I think you're always trying to improve," Garrett said. "You're always trying to learn from these situations that you're in. I think his end of game situations, in relation to the football, are things he has to get better at. He knows that and he'll be the first one to say that. So we have to find a way for him to get better at that."
When Romo became the starting quarterback in 2006, he had a gunslinger mentality, much like Brett Favre, who he grew up admiring. Over the years, Cowboys' offensive coaches contained Romo's gunslinger mentality some, but there are times where it creeps out and leads to bad things.
Garrett said he's thought about reigning in Romo at times.
"The best quarterbacks I've ever been around have an aggressive mentality," Garrett said. "If you look at the best quarterbacks in the league right now they have an aggressive mentality. You have to in order to play well. But certainly you have to overlay the situation of the game into your aggressiveness. It's a position of risk and reward every time you have the ball in your hand and you got to make sure you understand your play versus their defense but also you have to understand the game situation."
In 65 career starts, Romo is 41-24 but has lost seven of his last 10 starts dating back to 2010. He missed the last 10 games of the 2010 season with a broken collarbone. When asked about Romo's recent mark, Garrett said Romo is a good quarterback and believes in him, much like his teammates.
Still, it's hard to ignore the recent history of Romo and what's coming up when the Cowboys finish the bye week.
Dallas visits a New England Patriots team, which hasn't lost at home since 2008, in two weeks.
"It doesn't feel good," Romo said Sunday of how he'll feel during the bye.
Information from ESPNDallas.com's Calvin Watkins was used in this report. |
Michael Flynn’s failure to disclose to the Justice Department his lobbying on behalf of a Turkish businessman may carry legal consequences for the former national security advisor.
NBC News reported this week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team is investigating Flynn for failing to register as a foreign agent in connection with a lucrative lobbying contract with Inovo BV, a Netherlands-based consulting firm owned by a Turkish national.
In August 2016, Flynn’s firm, Flynn Intel Group, entered into a contract with Inovo but did not notify DOJ of the agreement until March 2017. Flynn received $530,000 for the work.
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires Americans representing foreign entities to identify their clients to the Department of Justice within ten days of signing a contract and before starting work.
The Center for Responsive Politics collects and stores FARA filings in a searchable database in our Foreign Lobby Watch.
Flynn’s lobbying work for Inovo was generally pro-Turkish government in its message.
It included the hiring of a film crew to produce a pro-government documentary, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The film was never published.
Flynn’s lawyer maintains that Flynn’s work for Inovo was not subject to FARA because Inovo’s owner is not a Turkish government official and Flynn submitted the FARA filings voluntarily. Flynn closed his firm in November.
A subcontractor assisting Flynn’s firm disclosed in March that its work included preparation for a public relations campaign about charter schools linked to followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish religious and political leader currently exiled in the U.S.
Turkey’s current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, considers Gulen to be a political rival and blames Gulen for instigating a failed 2016 coup.
Former CIA director James Woolsey told The Wall Street Journal in March that he had witnessed Flynn and Turkish officials discussing a plan to forcibly return Gulen to Turkey.
Last month, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including failing to register under FARA.
The FARA charge stems from lobbying Manafort and Gates undertook for Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine, and his pro-Russian political party. A popular uprising, partly motivated by Yanukovych’s alignment with Moscow, ousted him in 2014.
According to anonymous sources familiar with the investigation who spoke with NBC News for their story, Mueller’s team has enough evidence to charge Flynn under FARA as well.
In May, the House Oversight Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md), told reporters that documents indicated Flynn had lied on his national security clearance form regarding a 2015 trip to Russia. |
Jan 24, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel (4) and center Jahlil Okafor (8) react after a score against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
With the San Antonio Spurs looking as though they might need to replace Tim Duncan at center, two intriguing players have been unleashed onto the trade block.
According to league sources, the Philadelphia 76ers have decide to explore trades involving their young interior players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel.
They’re said to be looking for either a high draft pick or veteran talent that can be packaged in a deal for one of these players.
With how successful the Spurs always are in the regular season, they don’t have any high draft picks to offer, so if they were to try to entice the 76ers, it would have to be with veteran talent.
The Spurs have 7 players under contract currently: Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Patty Mills, and Kyle Anderson.
Leonard and Aldridge are untouchables. Anderson is too inexperienced to draw any major interest from the 76ers. Diaw is a 34 year old reserve without the production to really wow the 76ers as a main component of a trade. That leaves Parker, Green, and Mills as the more likely options to be centerpieces of a potential trade. More from Opinion San Antonio Spurs: Saving the season with improved shot selection
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Parker’s play is significantly declining, but he’s the type of veteran leader the 76ers would love to bring aboard to help guide their younger players. His statistical dip may scare them away from a deal involving him as the main selling point, though.
Mills will be 28 at the start of next season, and he’s proven to be a terrific scorer off the bench thanks to a great perimeter shot. He’s undersized, however, and doesn’t play much defense.
Green is probably the strongest asset the Spurs would have to offer in a trade. He’s an elite perimeter defender, and although he had a poor season shooting the ball last year, his career numbers show him to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA.
The best deal the Spurs would have to offer is a package of some combination of Parker, Green, and Mills, but that’s unlikely to be better than other packages that teams with high draft picks or veterans with gaudier numbers to offer.
The 76ers are on the hook for just slightly over $33 million next season, and have huge cap flexibility to take on extra contracts that teams send them. A trade with San Antonio involving the 3 players mentioned above is feasible from a logistics standpoint, but whether Philadelphia would say yes to it is dubious at best.
Okafor and Noel are both intriguing players, albeit in different ways. Okafor is a great interior scorer with not much else to show, and Noel is still raw offensively, but is a great defender, rebounder, and shot blocker.
Both would represent about the same cap hit, and a trade would free up salary space for the Spurs, as Parker makes about $14.4 million, Green makes $10 million, and Mills makes about $3.6 million. Mills would have to be packaged with one of the other two guys for San Antonio to get cap room, assuming that only Noel or Okafor were sent to San Antonio.
Noel seems like a more interesting option to fit in with San Antonio’s defensive identity. He’s a solid defender and fantastic rim protector, and his offensive game can be polished with the Spurs’ impressive player development staff.
Hypothetical trades always seem too good to be true, because it’s non-consensual swapping of players. In reality, Green and Mills, or even Green, Mills, and Parker, probably wouldn’t be enough for Philadelphia to give away either of their former high picks so young into their careers.
They’ll test the market for each player, and while the jury is still out on whether both of their games mesh properly, if one of them gets traded, it will probably be to a team with higher draft picks to offer, or veteran talent that doesn’t factor into their current team’s long term vision.
If the Spurs were to pull this off, they could address their need at center while not using up any cap space to sign a star point guard like Mike Conley.
Of course they’d end up having a hole at shooting guard if Green were the main package in a Philadelphia deal, and the shooting guard free agent market comes with some questionable alternatives.
The Spurs should do their due diligence to explore every option possible to improving their team, but this doesn’t seem either convincingly smart or plausible. The Spurs have a nice nucleus right now, and it would be a shame to give away assets to fill a need that can possibly be addressed in free agency with their cap room. Next: Kobe Bryant Named Athlete of the Decade By Spike TV
Okafor is an exciting player, and Noel probably even more so, but the Spurs should steer clear of this. It’s just as well, because the 76ers most likely wouldn’t say yes to the trade anyway. |
Overview Designer Sean Casey Body and chassis Class First Generation Storm Research Vehicle Powertrain Engine 7.3 litre Powerstroke Diesel Transmission ZF 5-speed manual Dimensions Height 14 feet (4.3 m) Curb weight 16,500 lb (7,500 kg) Chronology Successor TIV 2
The Tornado Intercept Vehicle 1 (TIV 1) and Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 (TIV 2) are vehicles used to film with an IMAX camera from very close proximity to or within a tornado. They were designed by film director Sean Casey. On May 27, 2013, the TIV2 filmed the inside of a tornado in Kansas with Casey inside.
TIV 1 [ edit ]
The Tornado Intercept Vehicle 1 (TIV 1) is a heavily modified 1997 Ford F-Super Duty cab & chassis truck used as a storm chasing platform and built by Sean Casey. This heavily armored vehicle can drive into a weak to relatively strong tornado (EF0 to EF3) to film it and take measurements. Work began on the TIV in 2003 and took around eight months to finish, at a total cost of around US$81,000. TIV's armored shell consists of 1/8–1/4 inch steel plate welded to a two inch square steel tubing frame. The windows are bullet resistant polycarbonate, measuring 1.5 in (38 mm) thick on the windshield and 0.5 in (13 mm) thick on the sides. The TIV weighs approximately 14,000 lb (6,400 kg) fully loaded and is powered by a 7.3 litre Ford Powerstroke turbocharged diesel engine manufactured by Navistar-International, otherwise known as the International T444E. Four hydraulic claws are used to anchor the TIV during an intercept, these lower into the ground and grapple onto the ground anchoring it. The vehicle's speed was limited by the factory Ford PCM, giving it a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h).[1] The TIV has a fuel capacity of 60 US gallons (230 L), giving it a range of around 500 miles (800 km). The TIV is featured in a series called Storm Chasers which began airing on the Discovery Channel in October 2007.[2][3] TIV was succeeded in 2008 by TIV 2, but returned to service to finish out the 2008 storm chasing season after TIV 2 suffered mechanical problems. In a June 2011 interview with NPR's All Things Considered, Casey said that TIV is still in service and is designated as the backup vehicle in the event TIV 2 breaks down during a shoot.[4]
TIV 2 [ edit ]
Overview Designer Sean Casey Body and chassis Class Second Generation Storm Research Vehicle Powertrain Engine modified 6.7 liter turbocharged Cummins Diesel Transmission automatic Dimensions Curb weight 16,500 lb (7,500 kg) (2008), 14,300 lb (6,500 kg) (2009–present)
Casey and his team developed and built the second Tornado Intercept Vehicle, dubbed TIV 2, to be featured in their next IMAX movie and the Storm Chasers series.[5] Work began in September 2007 by forty welding students at the Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma and was completed in time for the 2008 tornado chase season. TIV 2 was designed to address some of the problems experienced with the original TIV, namely its low ground clearance, lack of four-wheel drive, and low top speed. It is based on a Dodge Ram 3500 that was strengthened and converted to six-wheel drive by adding a third axle. After season two the six-wheel drive system was modified to four-wheel drive.[citation needed] It is powered by a 6.7-liter Cummins turbocharged diesel engine, modified with propane and water injection to produce 625 horsepower (466 kW). This gives TIV 2 an estimated top speed of over 100 mph (160 km/h). Its fuel capacity is 95 US gallons (360 L), giving TIV 2 an approximate range of 750 miles (1,210 km). The body of TIV 2 is constructed of a 1/8-inch steel skin welded over a 2 in (51 mm) square tubing steel frame. The windows in TIV 2 are all bullet-resistant 1.63 in (41 mm) interlayered polycarbonate sheets and tempered glass. TIV 2 also features an IMAX filming turret similar to the one on the original TIV. The original TIV's somewhat cumbersome hydraulic claws were not used on TIV 2 in favor of six hydraulic skirts that drop down to deflect wind over the TIV to stabilize it and protect the underside from debris, and four hydraulically operated anchoring spikes.
TIV 2 debuted on the second season of Storm Chasers, which began airing on the Discovery Channel in October 2008. Its initial performance did not go well, as it was plagued by mechanical failures, including several broken axles, which forced Casey to abandon TIV 2 and return to chasing in the original TIV until TIV 2's issues could be resolved.[3][6] Although Casey hoped he would be back in TIV 2 before the end of the season, repairs and modifications on TIV 2 took longer than expected and Casey was shown on Storm Chasers ending the season in the original TIV.[6]
In the fall of 2008, TIV 2 received several modifications, mostly focused on reducing the vehicle's 16,500 lb (7,500 kg) weight. To achieve this, certain less crucial areas of TIV 2's armor were converted from steel to aluminum while more vital areas were reinforced with supplemental composite armor consisting of thin layers of steel, Kevlar, polycarbonate, and rubber. In all, the weight reduction measures brought TIV 2's weight down to 14,300 lb (6,500 kg). The safety systems were also improved, with the three front wind skirts being consolidated into one and new hydraulic stabilizing spikes to further increase stability in high winds. Other modifications included additional doors that provided every seat position with an exit (wind skirts up or down), and a redesigned IMAX turret with 50% more windows. The third axle was disconnected from the drive train, thus changing TIV2 to 6×4 from its 6×6 design. The third axle now acts as a brace for the vehicle's weight.[3]
The TIV 2 appeared again in the fourth season of Storm Chasers, and also in an episode of another Discovery Channel series, Mythbusters, wherein both the TIV 2 and the SRV Dominator vehicle operated by Reed Timmer of TornadoVideos.Net were tested to determine their endurance to storm-force winds by being parked behind a Boeing 747 with the engines at full throttle. When tested at a wind speed of 160 mph (260 km/h), the TIV 2 had the driver's door pulled open, though this was due to human error, as Casey forgot to lock the door prior to the test. When tested again at 250 mph (400 km/h) (equivalent to an EF5 tornado), the TIV 2 suffered no ill effects other than the anchoring spikes being slightly bent; the Dominator ended up being blown approximately 50 feet (15 m), although it remained upright.[7]
In 2011, a siren was added to the vehicle to allow the TIV 2 to act as a mobile warning system for civilians in the path of incoming tornadoes, after several incidents earlier that year where the TIV team was unable to effectively warn locals of the imminent danger of the tornadoes they were tracking, especially during the 2011 Super Outbreak.[8] On April 27, 2011, the TIV 2 team intercepted an EF4 tornado that hit near Enterprise, Mississippi, while not in the path but 200 yards from it, it was the first tornado he shot with his new 3-Dimensional IMAX camera.
Casey removed the rear flap in early 2012 and built a new set of two hydraulic spikes that go into the ground during an intercept.[citation needed]
On May 27, 2013, TIV 2 intercepted a large tornado near Smith Center, Kansas. The vehicle was struck by large debris from a nearby farm and suffered damage to the roof-mounted anemometer and at least two breaches of the crew compartment when the roof hatch and one of the doors were compromised. Before the anemometer was disabled, it recorded winds of 150 to 175 mph (241 to 282 km/h), placing the tornado in the EF3 to EF4 range.[9]
Instrumentation [ edit ]
Although primarily designed to shoot film from near or within tornadoes, the TIV's have at times been outfitted with meteorological instrumentation atop masts to complement the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar trucks of the Center for Severe Weather Research run by atmospheric scientist and inventor Joshua Wurman.[10]
See also [ edit ] |
A CENTRAL contradiction in the story of Chen Guangcheng, the blind activist who fled last month to the American embassy, is one that also lies at the heart of Chinese political life. Mr Chen considers one official in his home prefecture of Linyi in Shandong province to be most responsible for the human-rights abuses committed against him and others. Yet that official, Li Qun, has never been punished. Indeed he has been promoted several times, and is now one of Shandong's most powerful officials. The abuses of which Mr Chen speaks include forced abortions and sterilisations that Mr Chen was jailed for documenting; the use of thugs to beat and intimidate him and his family; and the illegal house arrest from which Mr Chen escaped last month to take refuge in the American embassy. He is now awaiting papers to leave China for study in America.
Like many Chinese, Mr Chen portrays his own struggle as part of a wider gulf between an overwhelmed central government and maverick local authorities. After his escape, in a videotaped message, he implored the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, to investigate abuses in Linyi. Speaking from his hospital bed in Beijing, where he is recuperating from a broken foot suffered during his escape, Mr Chen says: “It is clear that the central government needs to turn over the Shandong soil in which the crimes of local officials have grown.” It is a modern rendering of an ancient countryside lament: “If only the emperor knew…”
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But the emperor does know, and the emperor rewards. Although there has been an expansion of social and economic freedoms in many areas, under the Communist Party's system of cadre evaluations, local officials are graded on the basis of a series of internal targets that have little to do with the rule of law. The targets are meant for internal use, but local governments have sometimes published them on websites, and foreign scholars have also seen copies. The most important measures are maintaining social stability, achieving economic growth and, in many areas, enforcing population controls. Cadres sign contracts that spell out their responsibilities. Failure to meet targets can end a cadre's career. Fulfilling them, even if it means trampling laws to do so, can mean career advancement and financial bonuses.
Mayling Birney at the London School of Economics says the system assigns the cold logic of a scorecard to behaviour often dismissed as the excesses of little dictators far from Beijing. Acting in accordance with the law is ranked as less important than other priorities. On one local document seen by Ms Birney, cadres in one township could score only up to 10% of their points for lawfulness, but 40% for economic development. In effect, she says, the party is instructing local officials to break laws when it will help them to meet higher priorities.
Social stability is paramount: authorities in Tibet and in Jiangxi province recently announced that officials can be promoted for “outstanding performance” in maintaining stability. Beijing will supply localities seeking to put down unrest with additional “stability maintenance” funding, which creates a perverse financial incentive to employ repressive tactics. Political careers have been made, not broken, by brutal repression of unrest—in 1989 an official named Hu Jintao imposed martial law after riots in Tibet. Mr Hu is now China's president. In 2011 a Hu protégé, Hu Chunhua (no relation), burnished his credentials by cracking down in Inner Mongolia.
This helps explain the rise of Li Qun, the Shandong official who was party secretary of Linyi in 2002-07. During those years Mr Chen began his activism against forced abortions and sterilisations. In 2004 Mr Li had issued a directive to strengthen measures to control population. In 2005 Mr Chen visited Beijing, where he was grabbed by a group of men from Linyi, bundled into a car and driven 650km (400 miles) back to his home village of Dongshigu, in Linyi prefecture, where he was illegally detained until his formal arrest and jailing in 2006. Lawyers who attempted to visit him were also beaten and interrogated. Mr Chen's detention without charge, and the intimidation of visitors, resumed upon his release from prison in 2010.
Meanwhile Mr Li, the party secretary, was rewarded. He was named Shandong province's chief of propaganda in 2007 and in the same year was elevated to the province's powerful standing committee, where he remains. In November 2010 he was named party secretary of Shandong's largest port city, Qingdao (see article). Mr Li's office did not respond to our questions about Mr Chen's accusations.
This month a senior official from the government's complaints and petitions bureau visited Mr Chen in his Beijing hospital room, promising an investigation. It is extremely rare for the bureau to resolve anything, despite the show of accountability. Many petitioners believe that central-government officials are ignorant of wrongdoing in the provinces, and so they flock to Beijing to file their complaints at the various offices of the petitions bureau. But localities routinely send hired thugs to Beijing to round up these disaffected residents. The snatch squads forcibly repatriate petitioners or dispatch them to illegal “black jails”, buildings where they are held (and often mistreated) until they can be returned to their hometown. Such actions are illegal, but under the party's secretive guidelines for promotion, they make perfect sense to local officials. |
Campers prepare for the Army Corp's deadline to leave the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on February 22, 2017 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota
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Chicago (AFP)
The operator of a controversial US oil pipeline, which was the focus of months of protests by Native American tribes, on Tuesday sued several environmental groups, claiming they spread false information and incite violence.
Energy Transfer Partners launched broad accusations against Greenpeace and other environmental groups, alleging racketeering, defamation and inciting violence that amounted to "eco-terrorism" among other charges, for actions taken against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Greenpeace rejected the claims, saying they amounted to "harassment by corporate bullies."
The $3.8-billion, 1,172-mile (1,886-kilometer) oil pipeline was the focus of months-long protests in 2016 by dozens of North American tribes and environmental groups.
Their numbers at times swelling into the thousands, protestors camped on land in North Dakota near the pipeline's planned path under a river and man-made lake -- the source of drinking water for the nearby Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
Among other accusations, the lawsuit claims environmental groups made false charges, including that the pipeline operator did not properly consult tribes near the route.
The environmental groups "manufacture sensational and grossly misrepresented causes designed exclusively to perpetuate and enrich" themselves through donations, the lawsuit alleged.
Greenpeace responded with its own broadside against the legal firm representing the pipeline operator, Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP. The firm's managing partner is US President Donald Trump's longtime attorney.
"This is the second consecutive year Donald Trump's go-to attorneys at the Kasowitz law firm have filed a meritless lawsuit against Greenpeace," the non-profit's attorney Tom Wetterer said in a statement, adding that the lawsuit "repackages spurious allegations."
"They are apparently trying to market themselves as corporate mercenaries willing to abuse the legal system to silence legitimate advocacy work."
While the pipeline is now operating, the legal battle over its future remains unresolved.
In January, Trump issued an executive order directing federal officials to reconsider further delays in the project, which was quickly followed by the Army Corps of Engineers issuing final permits.
But a federal judge ordered a new environmental review in June, saying officials did not fully consider the effects of a possible oil spill on the fishing and hunting rights of the Standing Rock Sioux.
© 2017 AFP |
Comprised of 19 shipping containers, this record-breaking restaurant has reclaimed a riverside wasteland in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina, turning a brownfield site into an eatery accessible by boats, buses, bikes, pedestrians and, of course, cars.
The Smoky Park Supper Club was put together in just a few days, its various modules modified offsite then shipped in by truck for assembly. The project’s architects boast that energy cost of melting down used containers is close to 20 times what it takes to simply adapt them for reuse.
Aside from the cost and power savings, using cargo containers as building blocks makes them easy to transport and obviates the need for construction workers, material trucks and other traffic that can cause consternation in the neighborhoods through which the building pieces pass.
The restaurant itself features a “local farm-to-table menu built around wood-fired based cooking and classic American fare that chef Rosenstein describes as simple, direct, and live-fired.” It will also showcase local art. |
LONDON: A 24-year-old British Sikh model-cum campaigner sporting a six-inch-long facial hair on Thursday entered the Guinness World Records as the youngest female with a beard. Harnaam Kaur from Slough in Berkshire in south-east England, described her entry as “absolutely humbling“.“Now with a beard measuring as long as six inches in places, she overcame years of bullying to take ownership of her appearance and achieve this record title at the age of 24 years 282 days,“ her record citation reads.“She describes her place in the `Guinness World Records' book as `absolutely humbling' and hopes it will help her to impart her empowering message. 2016 has been a huge year for Harnaam, having become the first female with a beard to walk the runway at London Fashion Week in March,“ it adds.She became the first bearded female to walk the runway at London Fashion Week.Kaur has polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal condition that can result in the growth of excess facial hair.She describes herself on social media as “Bearded Dame, Body confidence activist, Anti Bully Activist, Plus Size Model“ and dresses in a Sikh turban.“I can now proudly announce that I am a 'Guinness World Record' book holder. I have been wanting to publish this news for absolutely ages, but I had to keep things under wrap until the book launched,“ she said in a social media post.She added: “I am super proud to hold this record, the inner child in me is so pleased. I grew up reading this book, I even tried breaking some of my own records wanting to be in this book. It is amazing to be valued and celebrated being a Bearded Lady. I am proud to hold this amazing record.“She said, “I hope those who read or see my record can take away positivity, in spiration and realise that no matter who you are or what you look like, you are officially amazing!“ Kaur, who was bullied as a child, has gone on to model for Urban Bridesmaid Photography and made her debut on the catwalk by opening the Marianna Harutunian Royal Fashion Day show in March, wearing her traditional Sikh turban, a navy dress and black heels.The longest pet cat and a llama who has made the highest jump are among the other stand-out entries this year.“The 2017 edition teems with fun and educational content that will fascinate, entertain and educate knowledge-seekers of all ages and interests,“ `Guinness World Records' said in a statement.Overcoming the bullying to cope with her appearance was her biggest quest that sether to an extra-ordinary journey. |
Image copyright AFP/EPA Image caption Guillermo Lasso (L) and Lenin Moreno (R) casting their votes on Sunday
Partial official results in Ecuador's presidential election have put governing party candidate Lenin Moreno in the lead.
With 88% of the votes counted, he has 39.1%, just short of the 40% needed to win outright in the first round.
If he fails to reach 40%, he will face conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso in a run-off on 2 April.
Third-placed candidate Cynthia Viteri said she would support Mr Lasso in the case of a second round.
Polls conducted before the election suggested that Mr Lasso could win a second round if he got the backing of candidates eliminated in round one.
Mr Moreno needs to both win 40% of the vote and have a 10-percentage-point lead over the next candidate to stave off a second round. He currently has a 10.8-percentage-point lead but not the 40%.
Final results could take up to three days to be announced.
Why does it matter?
After 10 years in power and three election wins, incumbent left-wing President Correa was not running again, so change at the top was inevitable.
Image copyright AP Image caption Rafael Correa cast his vote on Sunday but was not in the running
But a defeat for Mr Moreno, who has the backing of Mr Correa and his party, would signal a swing to the right after a decade of left-wing policies and could have implications not just for Ecuador but the region.
When Mr Correa was first elected in 2007, he was one of a group of left-wing leaders in power in Latin America, including Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, Bolivia's Evo Morales, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cuba's Raul Castro, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
Some observers spoke of a "pink tide" sweeping across the continent.
A decade on, Argentina and Brazil are led by conservative presidents, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro faces a hostile legislative and Evo Morales is on his last term after Bolivians rejected a proposal to change the constitution to allow him to run again.
All eyes are now on Ecuador to see which way it turns.
Who is the man in the lead?
Lenin Moreno, 63, served as Mr Correa's vice-president from 2007 to 2013 and has been one of his close allies although he has recently sought to distance himself slightly from the outgoing leader.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Lenin Moreno has declared himself the winner without waiting for the official results.
Observers say his style is less confrontational than that of Mr Correa and they suspect Mr Moreno may try to jettison some aspects of his predecessor's socialist policies.
As vice-president, Mr Moreno, who became paraplegic after being shot in the back in 1998, set out to improve the rights of people with disabilities.
Not only did he give motivational talks, he also published books on humour and happiness with titles proclaiming: "Being Happy is Easy and Fun".
Most recently, he served as UN Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.
Among his main campaign promises are increasing employment opportunities and ensuring that all Ecuadoreans have the chance to go on to higher education.
Who could beat him to the top job?
His main rival is centre-right businessman and former presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Guillermo Lasso and his supporters think a run-off is inevitable
The 61-year-old is running for the Creando Oportunidades (Creating Opportunities) party.
A banker, Mr Lasso wants to create a million jobs by promoting foreign investment and has promised to cut taxes for big companies.
He also has plans to make Ecuador's central bank independent of the government.
The youngest of 11 children, he says he wants to "create an Ecuador with opportunities for all".
Why is Julian Assange following the election?
The WikiLeaks founder has tweeted a link to a live page on the results and has himself posted updates on the count.
Image copyright Twitter
Mr Assange has been living inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London for more than four years for fear of extradition to the United States after he published leaked documents.
But if Mr Lasso were to win the election, Mr Assange's time at the embassy could come to an end very soon as Mr Lasso has pledged to evict him within 30 days of taking office.
Mr Moreno has indicated he will allow let Mr Assange stay.
What awaits the winner?
The eventual winner of the election will be sworn in to a four-year term in May.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Education has been one of the key subjects of the campaigns
Economic recovery is likely to be a top priority. The oil-exporting country has suffered from a drop in international oil prices and has seen its GDP contract 1.7% in 2016.
Corruption is another major problem with officials from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht recently revealing that they paid close to $35.5m in bribes to Ecuadorean officials in exchange for contracts.
In foreign policy, the new president will have to deal with US President Donald Trump and his potentially more protectionist economic policies. |
The very public war between the White House and Fox News has produced a heated debate as to whether the cable network simply has a slant or, worse, is a vehicle for politically motivated criticism administration.
It is a distinction with a major difference. Being a launching pad for the Republican Party talking points would make Fox more a partisan echo chamber than a legitimate source of news. Having a slant, by contrast, is a qualification that more than a few legitimate news outlets share.
In recent days, those pushing back on the White House for its campaign against Fox have confused the two issues. On CNN last night, for instance, Campbell Brown asked White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett why the administration wasn't similarly critical of MSNBC's liberal "bias," a question Jarrett had a difficult time answering. The Politico's Ben Smith dubbed the exchange: "The MSNBC problem."
But as Greg Sargent pointed out on his blog, The Plum Line, comparing Fox's critical coverage of the White House to MSNBC's largely favorable reporting simply lacks nuance.
"More to the point," writes Sargent, "is MSNBC's news judgment throughout the day, which contrasts sharply with that of Fox. You'd be hard pressed to argue that MSNBC's choice of stories to report on is as ideologically driven as Fox's editorial choices. There's simply no equivalent on the MSNBC news side of Fox's constant "news" coverage of the tea partiers, the czars, the ACORN story, the crusade against gay education adviser Kevin Jennings, etc. etc. The point is that Fox's news judgment is far more ideologically motivated than MSNBC's is."
Here is a bit of proof.
On Thursday morning, Fox and Friends made 22 mentions of the minority-organizing group ACORN -- a consistent boogeyman for the GOP -- despite the fact that there has been no new news on the ACORN front in weeks.
"Straight ahead," said host Steve Doocy early in Thursday's show. "Congress has stopped funding ACORN after... Fox News uncovered shocking video tapes. But did you know that that ACORN ban was only temporary? Should ACORN get its funding back?"
Contrast that to the tone of the coverage when news broke, at roughly 8:30 am (late in the broadcast) that the economy had grown for the first time in the past year. The host spent just a handful of minutes -- and made only two mentions -- on the 3.5 percent growth in GDP, despite the fact that it signaled the beginning of the end of the worst recession in 70 years.
Moreover, each time it was brought up, the hosts either switched to more "friendly" terrain (such as quickly moving on to discuss controversial comments made by Florida Democrat Alan Grayson), or poured cold water on the news.
"You will hear that from the mainstream media all day," said one host. "The recession is over. That is simply not true." |
1 of 57 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Hillary Clinton’s campaign comes to an end View Photos Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Caption Hillary Clinton loses to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Nov. 9, 2016 Hillary Clinton speaks in New York while her husband, former president Bill Clinton, applauds. Melina Mara/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Republicans' growing unity behind their presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has helped pull him just 1 percentage point behind Hillary Clinton and has placed GOP leaders who resist him in a vulnerable position, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Tracking Poll.
A majority of all likely voters say they are unmoved by the FBI's announcement Friday that it may review additional emails from Clinton's time as secretary of state. Just more than 6 in 10 voters say the news will make no difference in their vote, while just more than 3 in 10 say it makes them less likely to support her; 2 percent say they are more likely to back her as a result.
The issue may do more to reinforce preferences of voters opposed to Clinton than swing undecided voters. Roughly two-thirds of those who say the issue makes them less likely to support Clinton are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents (68 percent), while 17 percent lean Democratic and 9 percent are independents who lean toward neither party.
[Latest results from the Post-ABC presidential tracking poll]
When asked about House Speaker Paul D. Ryan's decision not to campaign for Trump in the final weeks before the election, two-thirds of Republican-leaning likely voters disapprove of the Wisconsin Republican's move (66 percent), including nearly half who disapprove “strongly” (48 percent). Barely 1 in 5 approve of Ryan's decision (21 percent).
The Post-ABC Tracking Poll continues to find a very tight race, with Clinton at 46 percent and Trump at 45 percent among likely voters in interviews from Tuesday through Friday. The two major-party nominees for president are followed by Libertarian Gary Johnson, at 4 percent, and the Green Party's Jill Stein, at 2 percent. The result is similar to a 47-to-45 Clinton-Trump margin in the previous wave released Saturday, though it is smaller than what was found in other surveys this week. When likely voters are asked to choose between Clinton and Trump alone, Clinton stands at 49 percent, and Trump is at 46 percent, a statistically insignificant margin.
Greater Republican unity has buoyed Trump's rising support, which has wavered throughout the year. Trump's 87 percent support among self-identified Republicans, ticking up from 83 percent last week, nearly matches Clinton's 88 percent support among Democrats. Independents also have moved sharply in Trump's direction, from favoring Clinton by eight points one week ago to backing Trump by 19 points.
Clinton maintains clear edge on qualifications, but not on empathy
Clinton is still widely seen as more qualified for the presidency, leading that measure by an 18-point margin, 54 to 36 percent. She has held a clear advantage over Trump in qualifications throughout the campaign.
But Trump receives more unified backing among those who see him as better qualified. Fully 99 percent of this group supports him, compared with Clinton's 84 percent support among those who see her as better qualified. Seven percent of this group supports Trump, while 4 percent are for Johnson and 2 percent are for Stein.
Clinton also lost a once-large advantage on empathy, a trait on which voters now split 46 percent for her and 43 percent for Trump when asked which candidate understands the problems of people like them. Clinton had led Trump by an eight-point margin on this measure in early September among likely voters and by a 20-point margin among all adults in August.
Clinton has a narrow eight-point edge over Trump on which candidate has stronger moral character, 46 to 38 percent. A sizable 13 percent said that neither candidate possesses this trait. A larger share of Trump supporters than Clinton supporters say that neither candidate has strong moral character (12 percent vs. 2 percent).
Republicans' reactions to Ryan
Ryan's decision not to campaign for Trump this fall has proved unpopular among his fellow partisans. This comes as Ryan's status as House speaker is in peril because of Republican infighting.
Rejection of Ryan's stance swells to 75 percent among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents who identify as “very conservative” compared with smaller majorities of “somewhat conservative” Republicans (63 percent) and those who are moderate or liberal (56 percent).
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told Republican lawmakers on Oct. 10 that he would no longer support presidential nominee Donald Trump—the start of a messy breakup that will go on through Election Day. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Ryan's stand against Trump is being handled differently by several other prominent Republicans. For one, Rep. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has said that even though he could not endorse Trump or his actions, he still plans to vote for the Republican nominee.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a popular Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, has spoken out against Trump, a move that was widely popular with independents and Democrats in the state, but Republicans were split on whether they approved of the decision.
This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 25 to 28 among a random national sample of 1,781 adults, including landline and cellphone respondents. Overall results have a margin-of-sampling error of plus-or-minus-2.5 points; the error margin is plus-or-minus-three points among the sample of 1,160 likely voters. Sampling, data collection and tabulation are by Abt-SRBI of New York. |
Maryland state Sen. Jamie Raskin was projected by the Associated Press late Tuesday to be the winner in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District seat in race to replace Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who launched a Senate bid this year.
The race broke records with the money spent by the many campaigns — including the millions of dollars one of Raskin’s rivals had poured into his own bid — and the field featured an array of notable candidates.
In addition to serving in the Maryland legislature, Raskin is a law professor at American University.
The district covers a wealthy suburb outside of Washington that’s home to many political power players. It also leans Democratic, so the winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to be the frontrunner in the general election race.
The Democratic primary was one of the closely-watched congressional races in the country, and also the most expensive. The crowded field spent a total of $14 million in the race since last year, according a Baltimore Sun report of FEC data.
Nine million dollars came from one of the candidates himself, wine distributor magnate David Trone, who mostly self-funded his campaign.
The Democratic field also featured Kathleen Matthews, a former local TV news reporter and wife of Chris Matthews. She and Raskin were considered the favorites before Trone jumped in just before the deadline. The other candidates included Kumar Barve, Will Jawando, and Joel Rubin, all current or former Obama administration officials. |
NASA chief Charlie Bolden went to bat for the agency's imperiled next-generation space telescope Tuesday (July 12), telling members of Congress that the instrument has greater potential for discovery than the iconic Hubble Space Telescope.
A proposed congressional budget bill announced last week would terminate NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an ambitious instrument with a history of delays and cost overruns. But NASA can deliver JWST to space for about the same price as Hubble, Bolden said — and the science returns would be even greater.
"I have tried to explain what I think is the importance of James Webb, in terms of opening new horizons far greater than we got from Hubble," Bolden told members of the House Science, Space and Technology committee Tuesday. "I would only say that for about the same cost as Hubble in real-year dollars, we'll bring James Webb into operation. [Spectacular Hubble Telescope Photos]
A rocky history
The $6.5 billion JWST, named after a former NASA administrator, is billed as the agency's muscular successor to Hubble, which launched back in 1990 and is still going strong. JWST is an infrared observatory designed to peer further back into the universe's early days than ever before.
While many researchers have enthusiastically touted the telescope's potential, its development has been plagued by problems. Last November, an independent review panel found that JWST will cost at least $6.5 billion and could launch no earlier than September 2015, putting it $1.5 billion over budget and more than a year behind schedule.
The telescope's issues are primarily the result of poor management practices, the panel further concluded.
A recent budget and technology plan painted an even more pessimistic picture, estimating that JWST could launch by 2018 at the earliest.
And last week, the telescope's future came into even more serious question. The House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA proposed a 2012 spending bill that would give the space agency just $16.8 billion, $1.6 billion less than last year. JWST's funding would be pulled completely.
Fighting for JWST
Bolden came to Capitol Hill Tuesday to discuss NASA's plans for its next heavy-lift rocket system — specifically, to explain to an increasingly impatient Congress why the agency has yet to decide upon a design. But he also fielded questions about JWST's fate and made a case for the instrument's continued funding.
For example, Bolden stressed that NASA has made changes to JWST's management, and that the instrument is already quite far along in development. More than 75 percent of the telescope's hardware has already been delivered, Bolden said.
The NASA chief also stressed JWST's potential to revolutionize our understanding of the universe, invoking Hubble's great achievements as an example of what such powerful telescopes can do.
"When we started Hubble, dark energy didn't exist. At least, we didn't know about it," Bolden said. "When we launched Hubble, there was no such thing as extrasolar planets. So those kinds of discoveries would probably go lacking, unless some other nation stepped forward and did it."
More from SPACE.com
© 2011 TechMediaNetwork.com. All rights reserved.
From SPACE.com (find the original story here); reprinted with permission. |
Take a trip back to a memorable timeline in sports entertainment with the most important stories reported as fact in the journalistic world of pro wrestling dirt sheets.
Following the timeline of the last Dirt Sheet History looking back at the start of 2008, we get a glimpse into the top scoops from February of 2008 as we read Dirt Sheet History.
Reminder that you can find all past editions of Dirt Sheet History looking at 2004 through 2007 right here. Now enjoy February 2008.
2/1/2008
* As noted earlier, ECW writer Dave Lagana was fired last week. He was with WWE since 2002 and at one point was the head writer of SmackDown. His firing had been brewing for nearly two years.
While Lagana was on vacation, Stephanie McMahon sent a one sentence terse e-mail to all the other writers saying that he had been fired. Stephanie’s e-mail was said to be very cold unlike most e-mails where they at least acknowledge the contributions of a person who is leaving the company. The basic story on Lagana’s firing is that Stephanie believed that he was responsible for leaking storyline plans and management information to wrestling newsletters and wrestling websites.
The story on what lead to Lagana being terminated from the company dates back to May 2006 during a creative team meeting. The way the creative team meetings work at buildings prior to television and pay-per-view is that everyone gets together in a room set up like a classroom. Vince McMahon, Stephanie, television producer Kevin Dunn and the lead writers sit together at tables in the front of the room and the low-level writers and road agents sit at desks. The creative team writers go over the show and they do a read-through of the script, and then Vince adds his input. The agents also give their advice on changes that could be made. Lagana often sat at one of the desks with his laptop, usually in the back of the room so nobody could see his screen. On this particular day, people could see his screen, and one person allegedly saw him sending an e-mail to one of the major wrestling websites. Nobody said anything during the meeting, but Stephanie was approached and told what this person. Stephanie immediately confronted Lagana and almost fired him on the spot, but he insisted he was innocent. Lagana managed to get off the hook.
The next week, Lagana was demoted from his head writer position on SmackDown to ECW. WWE tried to paint it as a positive move, but he didn’t think that was the case. He worked under Paul Heyman, who he’d known dating back to the old ECW. He was no longer the head writer and would basically just type up the scripts that Heyman recited to him. After Heyman was let go, it was expected that he’d be moved up to the ECW head writer position but they went with Dusty Rhodes instead. Some people inside WWE believe that his confidence started to erode during his time in ECW and things got really bad for him over the holidays.
Lagana also had a bad reputation from his time on Smackdown because a number of wrestlers believed that he talked down them. Also, a lot of people would privately make fun of his appearance as he is said to be a dead ringer for the guy who appeared on Blue Clues, not to mention that they would make fun of his voice as they say he sounds like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.
There were a great number of storyline leaks from Lagana, including the story on plans for Mr. Kennedy to be named Vince’s illegitimate son and details on Chris Jericho‘s viral campaign. During one meeting in October, Stephanie blew a gasket due to some storyline information being leaked on to the Internet and warned the agents & creative members that there were to be absolutely no leaks and if she discovered a person revealing private information to a newsletter or news site, he would be fired on the spot. Without saying so directly, Stephanie said she thought she had a pretty good idea on who was responsible for the storyline leaks. She looked directly at Lagana when saying it.
Later that afternoon, all the writers got laptop upgrades (everyone has a WWE-purchased laptop and Internet phone). Apparently, the laptops have shadowing software. The belief among some people in WWE is that Stephanie had been feeding him false info on very specific information to see if it would get out on to the Internet, and it eventually did. After she had finally caught him, he was fired.
There was also a thing a few weeks ago where Raw writer Brian Gewirtz went into Lagana’s office at Titan Towers and saw a bunch of wrestling newsletters sticking out of his laptop bag. Lagana tried to hide them, but obviously didn’t do it well enough. Lagana then claimed that he wasn’t actually reading them but they kept showing up at his house because his subscription hadn’t expired yet and he’d just happened to pick up all of his mail up from home. Over the next few days, Gewirtz made some snide remarks saying that he wasn’t surprised that news kept getting leaked on to the Internet. Michael Hayes, who hates wrestling newsletters and websites, also began to bury Lagana in a really demoralizing manner.
2/2/2008
* Doctors medically John Cena in time for the January 7th Raw at the Mohegan Sun Casino. The original plan was for Cena to come out and announce that he would be making his in-ring return at the Royal Rumble. If you recall, it was reported that Cena was at the building that evening, and that there were plans for him to appear on Raw that night. Vince McMahon and Raw writer Brian Gewirtz wanted Cena to make his return that night, but Stephanie McMahon and Bruce Prichard argued for the surprise return. Vince changed his mind and opted to keep Cena’s return as a Royal Rumble surprise.
2/3/2008
* Brock Lesnar spoke to Yahoo! Sports last night shortly after his submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81: “Breaking Point”. Lesnar looked unstoppable in the early part of the fight, but he just got by a submission specialist.
There’s no shame in losing. I lost my first amateur wrestling match as a kid. My coach told me when I was wanting to quit, that you first have to lose before you learn how not to lose. I don’t like to lose so I have to learn not to lose in this sport…. Obviously I’m disappointed, but it was a great experience. I must have worked on defending that leglock 1,000 times maybe. I thought I was going to get out…. I’m here for as long as I can fight here. I love what I’m doing. The company has been great.”
2/4/2008
* WWE.com has now posted the following:
Bobby Lashley released
February 4, 2008
WWE has come to terms on the release of Bobby Lashley as of today. We wish Bobby the best in all future endeavors.
* One source of Bobby Lashley‘s discontention with WWE had to do with his payoff from WrestleMania 23. He received $250,000 for his efforts in his heavily-hyped match with Umaga. Lashley was said to be furious with the payoff, and he complained about it. Considering that he was the winner of the biggest-drawing match in WrestleMania history, he believes that was entitled to more. Also, even though he was injured for nearly half the year, several sources have indicated that Lashley earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million in 2007, and that’s without being much of a merchandise draw.
2/5/2008
* Hulk Hogan was the centerpiece of a parade in New Orleans this past weekend for Mardi Gras. Hogan appeared as “King of Bacchus” – the Roman god of wine and intoxication.
2/6/2008
* Recently hired announcer Mike Adamle has had a reputation for being bad on live TV. According to Dave Meltzer in the most recent Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Adamle was so bad when he worked as a sportscaster in the Chicago, Illinois market that local radio personality Steve Dahl would encourage people to tune in to his show so they could laugh about how bad that he messed things up. Adamle was brought into WWE to work in the Gene Okerlund role.
2/7/2008
* TNA Wrestling sent out a text message today to its “TNA Mobile” subscribers that said: “TNA is in talks with coach Bobby Knight….more details to come.” Now, TNA’s official website is reporting that the company is trying to sign controversial college basketball coach Bobby Knight.
2/8/2008
* Homicide vs. Chris Sabin vs. Jimmy Rave in a NASCAR match has been announced for tonight’s TNA iMPACT tapings.
2/9/2008
* Ring of Honor pay-per-views were recently pulled from airing in Canada because buys were practically non-existant. One of the major cable carriers only had three dozen (36) PPV buys for a recent show. In comparison, TNA has had as low as a few hundred PPV buys for their most recent shows. WWE and UFC are pretty much the only companies to do any PPV business in Canada these days. Furthermore, one person posted a new thread on this news on the official Ring of Honor message board, and was swiftly banned. The thread was deleted as well.
2/10/2008
* Black Machismo Jay Lethal is in for a big push in TNA. Company officials were said to be very pleased with his work in recent weeks and that is why he was the focal point of the match at Against All Odds Sunday night. Lethal is also one of the company’s biggest merchandise sellers.
2/11/2008
* Although John Cena is friendly with virtually everyone in the locker room and the wrestlers respect his work ethic, he is also considered a “kiss ass” by some. Cena hangs out with Vince McMahon, something not uncommon for the company’s #1 babyface. One wrestler said, “Cena is definitely Vince’s boy and that’s why Triple H doesn’t even try to f— with him”. While Cena is viewed as a company man, Randy Orton is viewed as someone who will stand up to management.
2/12/2008
* Kurt and Karen Angle have alot of booking freedom over their own segments and angles. According to one source, if the Angles have an idea, 9 times out of 10 it will be used even if it is thought to be a bad idea.
2/13/2008
* TNA World Champion Kurt Angle had some interesting comments. Angle claimed that WWE is just “slightly” beating TNA in the TV ratings which is not true at all.
2/14/2008
* After the holidays, Stephanie McMahon reviewed all cell phone records from the creative team specifically looking for anyone who might have called the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer. She did not find any evidence from anyone. She also did this a few years ago in a failed attempt to get her father to get rid of Paul Heyman, who she often butted heads with. After her most recent review of cell phone records, Stephanie lectured the creative team on leaking confidential information to people that run wrestling newsletters and Internet wrestling websites. WWE’s upset with key storylines leaking out over the Internet, many of which can be attributed to Meltzer because he’s usually the first person to report about them.
Additionally, the McMahons check their writers’ computers to see if they have any e-mail contact with people outside of WWE.
The creative team is said to be really paranoid around Stephanie McMahon because it’s difficult for WWE to keep most of their storyline plans quiet, a rare exception being John Cena’s surprise return at the Royal Rumble. Basically, everytime major storyline plans get out over the Internet, Stephanie gets upset and starts looking for answers.
This past fall, WWE pulled “Rowdy” Roddy Piper from making an appearance as a special guest referee at Cyber Sunday due to a fan’s Internet report on meeting Piper at a G.I. Joe convention. At the convention, the fan reported that Piper said that he was going to be at Cyber Sunday, which was before WWE started promoting it on television. The news greatly upset Vince McMahon because he believed that Piper was leaking storyline plans. However, it should be noted that a few weeks earlier, promotional commercials advertising Piper’s appearance aired in certain markets, most notably Canada.
According to one source, with the McMahons looking over everything they do, one member of creative recently bought a new cell phone for all of his non-business calls because he doesn’t want them checking his personal phone calls, and he’s someone that doesn’t speak to anyone about the wrestling business to the outside world.
2/15/2008
* Team 3D’s Brother Ray was responsible for booking most of the six man tag match from last weekend’s Against All Odds that was designed to push Jay Lethal to the next level. The original plan was to give the rub to the Motor City Machineguns (who have done good merchandise business and are extremely popular among fans), but they have some heat for allegedly balking at different aspects of recent angles and “being too concerned with what fans online think”.
2/17/2008
* At tonight’s No Way Out PPV, the Big Show made his big return to WWE. After Edge defeated Rey Mysterio, his music hit and he came down to the ring. Show has lost an incredible amount of weight – 108 pounds, according to him!
Big Show vowed to be a WWE champion again. He said he’s “Faster, leaner and ready to be back in WWE”. He then jumped to the outside of the ring proceeded to kick the hell out of the injured Rey Mysterio. He grabbed him by the throat and began smacking his injured arm. He threw Mysterio into the ring and was about to chokeslam him.
Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, who was ringside, jumped into the ring to stop him. The two then had a major staredown. Big Show shoved Mayweather. Big Show then got down on his knees and taunted Mayweather to punch him. Mayweather landed a sick combination to Show’s face – busting him open big time.
* As you may have assumed, boxing champion Floyd Mayweather‘s appearance at last night’s No Way Out PPV was not an isolated incident. Mayweather is scheduled to be the big celebrity at this year’s WrestleMania — and he’ll do more than be a referee or special enforcer.
Mayweather is scheduled to wrestle on the show, most likely in a tag team match. He is expected to team with Rey Mysterio (assuming Rey is healthy enough to wrestle) in a match against Big Show and a tag partner. The status of Mysterio’s injury will determine who will wrestle in the Mayweather match.
According to reports, Vince McMahon and the creative team are said to be considering a number of different match possibilities. A source noted that plans are “constantly changing”. MVP‘s name has been mentioned as a possible candidate to team with Big Show. One would also have to assume that Shane McMahon is a strong candidate since he was there at ringside last night to calm down the Big Show after his nose got broken from a Mayweather punch.
2/18/2008
* Hornswoggle joins the likes of Bill Goldberg, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair and Steve Austin by winning Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie Of The Year for the year 2007. He beat out the DiBiase brothers and Ring of Honor wrestler Pelle Primeau in the voting. Hornswoggle actually started his wrestling career in 2005 for the NWA Wisconsin promotion under the name “Shortstack,” where he won their X Division Championship.
Here are the results:
Rookie Of The Year – Hornswoggle (26%)
First Runner-Up – Ted DiBiase, Jr. (15%)
Second Runner-Up – Pelle Primeau (12%)
Third Runner-Up – Mike DiBiase (11%)
2/19/2008
* Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan was backstage at RAW this week.
2/20/2008
* Contrary to his on-camera persona as a flamboyant self-promoter, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather is said to be quiet and reserved backstage. He’s friendly when approached, but he primarily keeps to himself and spends most of his time hanging out with his entourage. He has impressed people with his professionalism when it’s time for business.
2/21/2008
* The McMahons have been rumored to be interested in starting a mixed martial arts promotion. Shane McMahon in particular is said to be a big fan of the sport and the McMahon name has come up a number of times when various promotions have been up for sale (including PRIDE) or starting up.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has spoken before about working with the McMahons in the MMA world. Cuban owns “HDNet”, a high-definition TV channel that features a lot of MMA shows. HE is trying to put together the heavyweight fight that everyone wants to see later this year – Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko.
In a recent interview with The Edmonton Sun, Cuban was asked:
Are you trying to form an MMA company to rival the UFC? Are you thinking of involving the McMahon family from the WWE?
His answer was: “Absolutely. We are looking to partner where we can, do our own promotions where it makes sense. We think the future is built around the fighters and their personalities. No one else has this focus and partnership approach. We think it’s a winner.”
2/23/2008
* Ring of Honor announced at their Sixth Anniversary show last night from the Manhattan Center in New York City that the company would run at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on May 10th. The event will be a big undertaking for the company as the venue holds approximately 3,000 fans, much larger than the Manhattan Center that holds about 1,300 fans.
* Mike Johnson of the Professional Wrestling Insider is reporting that former ECW Champion CM Punk was backstage at last night’s Ring of Honor show visiting with friends. Apparently Punk was in New York for promotional appearances.
2/24/2008
* Some people within TNA recently sent out feelers to people in WWE about taking BG James and Kip James off of their hands. WWE actually said they would possibly consider BG James (his brother Scott Armstrong is currently a referee for ECW), but said they want absolutely nothing to do with Kip James.
2/26/2008
* John Cena had some strong words for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in a recent interview with The Sun out of the United Kingdom. Cena said, “He is a genuinely nice guy and a fantastic human being.
“What I kind of get peeved about, and this is my Achilles heel, is that I’ve wanted to do this my whole life.
“Rock falls into that category. At one point he loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life.
“So explain to me why he can’t come back.
“Simply put it’s because he wants to be an actor and there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s very good and very successful. Associating with sports entertainment doesn’t do much for his acting career. I get it.
“Just don’t f*** me around and tell me that you love this.
“That’s the only thing that gets me really p***ed off.”
2/27/2008
* Regarding Ace Steel, a developmental wrestler who was released by WWE a few weeks ago, former creative team member Court Bauer had been pushing for Steel to be hired for a long time and finally got him a gig doing the Donald Trump angle as an impersonator on Raw last year. Steel won everyone over and was given a developmental deal.
Last summer, there was an idea for he and Colt Cabana (who Steel trained, along with CM Punk) to be brought up to the main roster to play Edge‘s henchman, with Steele being the serious one and Cabana being the goofy one. However, Edge went down with an injury, and the idea went on the backburner. When Edge returned from injurt last November, WWE went with the Major Brothers instead, who were already on the roster but weren’t doing anything
2/28/2008
* As of late, Shane McMahon has drastically increased his presence at creative team meetings and is throwing out all sorts of suggestions. People backstage have noted that the timing is interesting given that Stephanie is heading out on maternity leave in June.
– Tune back in next time for more Dirt Sheet History as we continue 2008.
Stories are credited from Rajah, PWTorch, PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer. Month name photo art is by Phillip Martin.
All past editions of Dirt Sheet History are found here. |
poster="https://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201605/1684/1155968404_4903935589001_4903747757001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Donald Trump talks about David Cameron on Friday. Trump: Cameron invited me to visit
David Cameron has invited Donald Trump to visit 10 Downing Street, the presumptive Republican nominee said Friday, days after the British prime minister lambasted his call to temporarily ban Muslims from the United States as "stupid, divisive and wrong." And Trump says he is "thinking about it."
Trump rejected the notion that he was "going after" Cameron on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," adding, "He came after me a little bit."
Story Continued Below
"He would like me now to visit 10 Downing Street," Trump said. "They put out that invitation about two days ago. I’ll do just fine with David Cameron. I think he’s a nice guy. I’ll do just fine. But they have asked me to visit 10 Downing Street. And I might do it."
In practice, the prime minister's office does not extend formal invitations to presidential nominees.
A spokesman for Number 10 told POLITICO, "It's long-standing practice for the PM to meet with the Republican and Democrat Presidential nominees if they visit the UK. Given the parties have yet to choose their nominees, there are no confirmed dates for this."
Co-host Joe Scarborough commented, "That's interesting. I thought I heard that you said we might not have good relations," a reference to an interview Trump gave to British TV personality Piers Morgan earlier this week in which he remarked that the two countries might not have a good relationship.
"Well, number one, I’m not stupid, OK? I can tell you that right now," Trump had said in response to Cameron. "Just the opposite. Number two, in terms of divisive, I don’t think I’m a divisive person. I’m a unifier, unlike our president now, I’m a unifier."
As for Cameron, Trump told Morgan, “Looks like we’re not going to have a very good relationship. Who knows?"
Trump walked back that remark on "Morning Joe," telling Scarborough, "We're going to have good relationships. We’ll have better relationships than we have now, but these countries won't be taking advantage of us." |
Brighton and New York based internet service provider and live event networking company OptaNet, have secured a key role at the Dota 2 Championships, thanks to their ongoing relationship with F1 Consultancy.
Dota 2 is a highly successful multiplayer online battle arena video game, developed by Valve, the American video game development and digital distribution company.
Between 3rd – 8th August 2015, The International Dota 2 Championships takes place at the Key Arena in Seattle, with preliminary wildcard qualifications and seeding taking place at the nearby Westin Hotel. Teams from America, Europe, China and South East Asia hope to claim a share of the $17.5 million prize fund.
OptaNet have been trusted to ensure gamers can compete and over 20 million fans can stream the live event from around the world.
Two 10Gb circuits have been installed as primary and secondary lines, along with a third 1Gb wireless solution. The core has been designed to keep the real time gamers on one 10Gb circuit with back-office and attendee traffic on a second 10Gb circuit. Failover configuration allows the traffic automatically fail over from Circuit 1 to Circuit 2 or visa versa in the event that both 10Gb circuits were to fail then a truly diverse wirelessly delivered circuit would take over the essential traffic to ensure that the event has a successful outcome.
OptaNet have provided all the core networking equipment including 10 Gigabit Cisco Nexus 3064 layer 3 switches and Cisco ASA security appliances. Complex security rules have been deployed to mitigate against possible denial of service attacks. The network is deploy in an N+1 design ensuring that the network has no single point of failure. |
Alexander III of Macedon was admired during his lifetime for treating all his lovers humanely. Plutarch has argued that Alexander's love of males took an ethical approach, inspired by the teachings of his mentor, Aristotle. He gives several examples of Alexander's morality in this domain:
When Philoxenus, the leader of the seashore, wrote to Alexander that there was a youth in Ionia whose beauty has yet to be seen and asked him in a letter if he (Alexander) would like him (the boy) to be sent over, he (Alexander) responded in a strict and disgusted manner: "You are the most hideous and malign of all men, have you ever seen me involved in such dirty (sexual) work that you found the urge to flatter me with such hedonistic business?"[1]
Plutarch also wrote:
When Philoxenus, the commander of his forces on the sea-board, wrote that there was with him a certain Theodorus of Tarentum, who had two youths of surpassing beauty to sell, and inquired whether Alexander would buy them, Alexander was incensed, and cried out many times to his friends, asking them what shameful thing Philoxenus had ever seen in him that he should spend his time in making such disgraceful proposals.[2]
Plutarch's claims of Alexanders moral approach towards sexual relations also extended to prisoners of war:
But as for the other captive women, seeing that they were surpassingly stately and beautiful, he merely said jestingly that ancient Persians were mysteriously beautiful beings. He describes the Persian women as torments to the eyes. And displaying in rivalry with their fair looks the beauty of his own sobriety and self-control, he passed them by as though they were lifeless images for display.[3]
The above quotations would be in line with the thoughts laid about before him by Aristotle, who regarded relationships based purely on carnal relations to be shameful. Not wanting to use captured prisoners as sex slaves would rather show Alexander's general disinterest in these women. Alexander did however keep the boys in his stable of lovers[citation needed].
The Susa weddings [ edit ]
Alexander intended to symbolically unite the Persian and Greek cultures, by celebrating a mass wedding with his officers, for whom he arranged marriages with noble Persian wives. The union was not only symbolic, as the new offspring were to be the children of both civilizations. Greek and Persian customs allowed several wives. By wedding both women, Alexander cemented his ties to both branches of the royal family of the Achaemenid Empire. The marriage celebration lasted 5 days. During that time, 90 other Persian noblewomen were married to Macedonian and other Greek soldiers who were loyal to Alexander. Political marriages could provide Alexander with a much needed heir.
Relationships [ edit ]
Diodorus Siculus writes, "Then he put on the Persian diadem and dressed himself in the white robe and the Persian sash and everything else except the trousers and the long-sleeved upper garment. He distributed to his companions cloaks with purple borders and dressed the horses in Persian harness. In addition to all this, he added concubines to his retinue in the manner of Darius, in number not less than the days of the year and outstanding in beauty as selected from all the women of Asia. Each night these paraded about the couch of the king so that he might select the one with whom he would lie that night. Alexander, as a matter of fact, employed these customs rather sparingly and kept for the most part to his accustomed routine, not wishing to offend the Macedonians."[4]
Curtius reports, "He scorned sensual pleasures to such an extent that his mother was anxious lest he be unable to beget offspring." To encourage a relationship with a woman, King Philip and Olympias were said to have brought in a high-priced Thessalian courtesan named Callixena.
There is no evidence that Alexander sought intimacy with women outside of marriage, however he did marry three times: to Roxana of Bactria, Stateira, and Parysatis, daughter of Ochus. He fathered at least one child, Alexander IV of Macedon, born by Roxana shortly after his death in 323 BC. There is speculation that Stateira could have been pregnant when he died; if so, she and her child played no part in the succession battles which ensued after his death. There is speculation that he may have fathered another child, (Heracles), of a woman said to be his concubine Barsine (the daughter of satrap Artabazus of Phrygia) in 327 BC. Mary Renault's rebuttal of this theory is worth quoting:[why?]
No record at all exists of such a woman accompanying his march; nor of any claim by her, or her powerful kin, that she had born him offspring. Yet twelve years after his death a boy was produced, seventeen years old...a claimant and shortlived pawn in the succession wars...no source reports any notice whatever taken by him of a child who, Roxane's being posthumous, would have been during his lifetime his only son, by a near-royal mother. In a man who named cities after his horse and dog, this strains credulity.[5]
Aristotle [ edit ]
He mentored Alexander from a young age, and taught him various moral and ethical lessons.
Hephaestion [ edit ]
Alexander had a close emotional attachment to his companion, cavalry commander (hipparchus) and childhood friend, Hephaestion. He studied with Alexander, as did a handful of other children of Macedonian aristocracy, under the tutelage of Aristotle. Hephaestion makes his appearance in history at the point when Alexander reaches Troy. There they made sacrifices at the shrines of the two heroes Achilles and Patroclus; Alexander honoring Achilles, and Hephaestion honoring Patroclus.
Alexander and Hephaestion were possible lovers, and their tutor, Aristotle, described their relationship as "one soul abiding two bodies," After Hephaestion's death, Alexander mourned him greatly and did not eat for days.[6] Alexander held an elaborate funeral for Hephaestion at Babylon, and sent a note to the shrine of Ammon, which had previously acknowledged Alexander as a god, asking them to grant Hephaestion divine honours. The priests declined, but did offer him the status of divine hero. Alexander died soon after receiving this letter; Mary Renault suggests that his grief over Hephaestion's death had led him to be careless with his health.
Campaspe [ edit ]
Campaspe, also known as Pancaste, is thought to have been a prominent citizen of Larisa in Thessaly, and may have been the mistress of Alexander. If this is true, she was one of the first women with whom Alexander was intimate; Aelian even surmises that it was to her that a young Alexander lost his virginity.
One story tells that Campaspe was painted by Apelles, who enjoyed the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. The episode occasioned an apocryphal exchange that was reported in Plinor sources for the life of Alexander. Robin Lane Fox traces her legend back to the Roman authors Pliny the Elder, Lucian of Samosata and Aelian's Varia Historia.
Campaspe became a generic poetical pseudonym for a man's mistress.
Barsine [ edit ]
Barsine was a noble Persian, daughter of Artabazus, and wife of Memnon. After Memnon's death, several ancient historians have written of a love affair between her and Alexander. Plutarch writes, "At any rate Alexander, so it seems, thought it more worthy of a king to subdue his own passions than to conquer his enemies, and so he never came near these women, nor did he associate with any other before his marriage, with the exception only of Barsine. This woman, the widow of Memnon, the Greek mercenary commander, was captured at Damascus. She had received a Greek education, was of a gentle disposition, and could claim royal descent, since her father was Artabazus who had married one of the Persian kings daughters. These qualities made Alexander the more willing he was encouraged by Parmenio, so Aristobulus tells us to form an attachment to a woman of such beauty and noble lineage."[7] In addition Justin writes, "As he afterwards contemplated the wealth and display of Darius, he was seized with admiration of such magnificence. Hence it was that he first began to indulge in luxurious and splendid banquets, and fell in love with his captive Barsine for her beauty, by whom he had afterwards a son that he called Heracles."[8]
The story may be true, but if so, it raises some difficult questions. The boy would have been Alexander's only child born during his lifetime (Roxane's son was born posthumously). Even if Alexander had ignored him, which seems highly unlikely, the Macedonian Army and the successors would certainly have known of him, and would almost certainly have drawn him into the succession struggles which ensued upon Alexander's death. Yet we first hear of the boy twelve years after Alexander's death, when a boy was produced as a claimant to the throne. Especially since Alexander's own half brother Philip III Arrhidaeus (Philip II's illegitimate and physically and mentally disabled son[9]) was Alexander's original successor [10]. Alexander's illegitimate son would have had more rights to the throne than his illegitimate[11] half-brother. Heracles played a brief part in the succession battles, and then disappeared. It seems more likely that the romance with Barsine was invented by the boy's backers to validate his parentage.[12]
Roxana [ edit ]
Ancient historians, as well as modern ones, have also written on Alexander's marriage to Roxana the beautiful Sogdian woman. Robin Lane Fox writes, "Roxana was said by contemporaries to be the most beautiful lady in all Asia. She deserved her name of Roshanak, meaning 'little star', (probably rokhshana or roshana which means light and illuminating) in Persian. Marriage to a local noble's family made sound political sense, but contemporaries implied that Alexander, aged 28, also lost his heart. A wedding-feast for the two of them was arranged high on one of the Sogdian rocks. Alexander and his bride shared a loaf of bread, a custom still observed in Turkestan. Characteristically, Alexander sliced it with his sword.[13] Ulrich Wilcken writes, "The fairest prize that fell to him was Roxana, the daughter of Oxyartes, in the first bloom of youth, and in the judgment of Alexander's companions, next to Stateira the wife of Darius, the most beautiful woman that they had seen in Asia. Alexander fell passionately in love with her and determined to raise her to the position of his consort."[14]
As soon as Alexander died in 323 BC, Roxana murdered Alexander's two other wives. Roxana wished to cement her own position and that of her son, unborn at that time, by ridding herself of a rival who could be—or claim to be—pregnant. According to Plutarch's account, Stateira's sister, Drypetis, was murdered at the same time; Carney believes that Plutarch was mistaken, and it was actually Parysatis who died with Stateira.[15]
Roxana bore Alexander a posthumous child also named Alexander (Alexander IV), 6 months after Alexander the Great died. The child was never proven to be a legitimate child of Alexander.
Bagoas [ edit ]
Ancient sources tell of another favorite, Bagoas; a eunuch " in the very flower of boyhood, with whom Darius was intimate and with whom Alexander would later be intimate."[16] Plutarch recounts an episode (also mentioned by Dicaearchus) during some festivities on the way back from India in which his men clamor for him to kiss the young man: "We are told, too, that he was once viewing some contests in singing and dancing, being well heated with wine, and that his favorite, Bagoas, won the prize for song and dance, and then, all in his festal array, passed through the theatre and took his seat by Alexander's side; at sight of which the Macedonians clapped their hands and loudly bade the king kiss the victor, until at last he threw his arms about him and kissed him tenderly." Athenaeus tells a slightly different version of the story — that Alexander kissed Bagoas in a theater and, as his men shouted in approval, he repeated the action.[17]
A novel by Mary Renault, The Persian Boy, chronicles that story with Bagoas as narrator.
Robin Lane Fox claims that both direct and indirect evidence suggest a "sexual element, this time of pure physical desire" between the two, but, as for the consummation of that passion, he comments that "[l]ater gossip presumed that Bagoas was Alexander's lover. This is uncertain."[18] Whatever Alexander's relationship with Bagoas, it was no impediment to relationship with Hephaestíon.
See also [ edit ]
Notes [ edit ] |
At some point in the life of every Rails developer you are bound to hit a memory leak. It may be tiny amount of constant memory growth, or a spurt of growth that hits you on the job queue when certain jobs run.
Sadly, most Ruby devs out there simply employ monit , inspeqtor or unicorn worker killers. This allows you to move along and do more important work, tidily sweeping the problem snugly under the carpet.
Unfortunately, this approach leads to quite a few bad side effects. Besides performance pains, instability and larger memory requirements it also leaves the community with a general lack of confidence in Ruby. Monitoring and restarting processes is a very important tool for your arsenal, but at best it is a stopgap and safeguard. It is not a solution.
We have some amazing tools out there for attacking and resolving memory leaks, especially the easy ones - managed memory leaks.
Are we leaking ?
The first and most important step for dealing with memory problems is graphing memory over time. At Discourse we use a combo of Graphite , statsd and Grafana to graph application metrics.
A while back I packaged up a Docker image for this work which is pretty close to what we are running today. If rolling your own is not your thing you could look at New Relic, Datadog or any other cloud based metric provider. The key metric you first need to track is RSS for you key Ruby processes. At Discourse we look at max RSS for Unicorn our web server and Sidekiq our job queue.
Discourse is deployed on multiple machines in multiple Docker containers. We use a custom built Docker container to watch all the other Docker containers. This container is launched with access to the Docker socket so it can interrogate Docker about Docker. It uses docker exec to get all sorts of information about the processes running inside the container.
Note: Discourse uses the unicorn master process to launch multiple workers and job queues, it is impossible to achieve the same setup (which shares memory among forks) in a one container per process world.
With this information at hand we can easily graph RSS for any container on any machine and look at trends:
Long term graphs are critical to all memory leak analysis. They allow us to see when an issue started. They allow us to see the rate of memory growth and shape of memory growth. Is it erratic? Is it correlated to a job running?
When dealing with memory leaks in c-extensions, having this information is critical. Isolating c-extension memory leaks often involves valgrind and custom compiled versions of Ruby that support debugging with valgrind. It is tremendously hard work we only want to deal with as a last resort. It is much simpler to isolate that a trend started after upgrading EventMachine to version 1.0.5.
Managed memory leaks
Unlike unmanaged memory leaks, tackling managed leaks is very straight forward. The new tooling in Ruby 2.1 and up makes debugging these leaks a breeze.
Prior to Ruby 2.1 the best we could do was crawl our object space, grab a snapshot, wait a bit, grab a second snapshot and compare. I have a basic implementation of this shipped with Discourse in MemoryDiagnostics, it is rather tricky to get this to work right. You have to fork your process when gathering the snapshots so you do not interfere with your process and the information you can glean is fairly basic. We can tell certain objects leaked, but can not tell where they were allocated:
3377 objects have leaked Summary: String: 1703 Bignum: 1674 Sample Items: Bignum: 40 bytes Bignum: 40 bytes String: Bignum: 40 bytes String: Bignum: 40 bytes String:
If we were lucky we would have leaked a number or string that is revealing and that would be enough to nail it down.
Additionally we have GC.stat that could tell us how many live objects we have and so on.
The information was very limited. We can tell we have a leak quite clearly, but finding the reason can be very difficult.
Note: a very interesting metric to graph is GC.stat[:heap_live_slots] with that information at hand we can easily tell if we have a managed object leak.
Managed heap dumping
Ruby 2.1 introduced heap dumping, if you also enable allocation tracing you have some tremendously interesting information.
The process for collecting a useful heap dump is quite simple:
Turn on allocation tracing
require 'objspace' ObjectSpace.trace_object_allocations_start
This will slow down your process significantly and cause your process to consume more memory. However, it is key to collecting good information and can be turned off later. For my analysis I will usually run it directly after boot.
When debugging my latest round memory issues with SideKiq at Discourse I deployed an extra docker image to a spare server. This allowed me extreme freedom without impacting SLA.
Next, play the waiting game
After memory has clearly leaked, (you can look at GC.stat or simply watch RSS to determine this happened) run:
io=File.open("/tmp/my_dump", "w") ObjectSpace.dump_all(output: io); io.close
Running Ruby in an already running process
To make this process work we need to run Ruby inside a process that has already started.
Luckily, the rbtrace gem allows us to do that (and much more). Moreover it is safe to run in production.
We can easily force SideKiq to dump a its heap with:
bundle exec rbtrace -p $SIDEKIQ_PID -e 'Thread.new{GC.start;require "objspace";io=File.open("/tmp/ruby-heap.dump", "w"); ObjectSpace.dump_all(output: io); io.close}'
rbtrace runs in a restricted context, a nifty trick is breaking out of the trap context with Thread.new
We can also crack information out of the box with rbtrace, for example:
bundle exec rbtrace -p 6744 -e 'GC.stat' /usr/local/bin/ruby: warning: RUBY_HEAP_MIN_SLOTS is obsolete. Use RUBY_GC_HEAP_INIT_SLOTS instead. *** attached to process 6744 >> GC.stat => {:count=>49, :heap_allocated_pages=>1960, :heap_sorted_length=>1960, :heap_allocatable_pages=>12, :heap_available_slots=>798894, :heap_live_slots=>591531, :heap_free_slots=>207363, :heap_final_slots=>0, :heap_marked_slots=>335775, :heap_swept_slots=>463124, :heap_eden_pages=>1948, :heap_tomb_pages=>12, :total_allocated_pages=>1960, :total_freed_pages=>0, :total_allocated_objects=>13783631, :total_freed_objects=>13192100, :malloc_increase_bytes=>32568600, :malloc_increase_bytes_limit=>33554432, :minor_gc_count=>41, :major_gc_count=>8, :remembered_wb_unprotected_objects=>12175, :remembered_wb_unprotected_objects_limit=>23418, :old_objects=>309750, :old_objects_limit=>618416, :oldmalloc_increase_bytes=>32783288, :oldmalloc_increase_bytes_limit=>44484250} *** detached from process 6744
###Analyzing the heap dump
With a rich heap dump at hand we can start analysis, a first report to run is looking at the count of object per GC generation.
When trace object allocation is enabled the runtime will attach rich information next to all allocations. For each object that is allocated while tracing is on we have:
The GC generation it was allocated in The filename and line number it was allocated in A truncated value bytesize … and much more
The file is in json format and can easily be parsed line by line. EG:
{"address":"0x7ffc567fbf98", "type":"STRING", "class":"0x7ffc565c4ea0", "frozen":true, "embedded":true, "fstring":true, "bytesize":18, "value":"ensure in dispatch", "file":"/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/activesupport-4.1.9/lib/active_support/dependencies.rb", "line":247, "method":"require", "generation":7, "memsize":40, "flags":{"wb_protected":true, "old":true, "long_lived":true, "marked":true}}
A simple report that shows how many objects are left around from which GC generation is a great start for looking at memory leaks. Its a timeline of object leakage.
require 'json' class Analyzer def initialize(filename) @filename = filename end def analyze data = [] File.open(@filename) do |f| f.each_line do |line| data << (parsed=JSON.parse(line)) end end data.group_by{|row| row["generation"]} .sort{|a,b| a[0].to_i <=> b[0].to_i} .each do |k,v| puts "generation #{k} objects #{v.count}" end end end Analyzer.new(ARGV[0]).analyze
For example this is what I started with:
generation objects 334181 generation 7 objects 6629 generation 8 objects 38383 generation 9 objects 2220 generation 10 objects 208 generation 11 objects 110 generation 12 objects 489 generation 13 objects 505 generation 14 objects 1297 generation 15 objects 638 generation 16 objects 748 generation 17 objects 1023 generation 18 objects 805 generation 19 objects 407 generation 20 objects 126 generation 21 objects 1708 generation 22 objects 369 ...
We expect a large number of objects to be retained after boot and sporadically when requiring new dependencies. However we do not expect a consistent amount of objects to be allocated and never cleaned up. So let’s zoom into a particular generation:
require 'json' class Analyzer def initialize(filename) @filename = filename end def analyze data = [] File.open(@filename) do |f| f.each_line do |line| parsed=JSON.parse(line) data << parsed if parsed["generation"] == 18 end end data.group_by{|row| "#{row["file"]}:#{row["line"]}"} .sort{|a,b| b[1].count <=> a[1].count} .each do |k,v| puts "#{k} * #{v.count}" end end end Analyzer.new(ARGV[0]).analyze
generation 19 objects 407 /usr/local/lib/ruby/2.2.0/weakref.rb:87 * 144 /var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/weak.rb:21 * 72 /var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/weak.rb:42 * 72 /var/www/discourse/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb:65 * 15 /var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/i18n-0.7.0/lib/i18n/interpolate/ruby.rb:21 * 15 /var/www/discourse/lib/email/message_builder.rb:85 * 9 /var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/actionview-4.1.9/lib/action_view/template.rb:297 * 6 /var/www/discourse/lib/email/message_builder.rb:36 * 6 /var/www/discourse/lib/email/message_builder.rb:89 * 6 /var/www/discourse/lib/email/message_builder.rb:46 * 6 /var/www/discourse/lib/email/message_builder.rb:66 * 6 /var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/2.2.0/gems/activerecord-4.1.9/lib/active_record/connection_adapters/postgresql_adapter.rb:515 * 5
Further more, we can chase down the reference path to see who is holding the references to the various objects and rebuild object graphs.
The first thing I attacked in this particular case was code I wrote, which is a monkey patch to Rails localization.
Why we monkey patch rails localization?
At Discourse we patch the Rails localization subsystem for 2 reasons:
Early on we discovered it was slow and needed better performance Recently we started accumulating an enormous amount of translations and needed to ensure we only load translations on demand to keep memory usage lower. (this saves us 20MB of RSS)
Consider the following bench:
ENV['RAILS_ENV'] = 'production' require 'benchmark/ips' require File.expand_path("../../config/environment", __FILE__) Benchmark.ips do |b| b.report do |times| i = -1 I18n.t('posts') while (i+=1) < times end end
Before monkey patch:
sam@ubuntu discourse % ruby bench.rb Calculating ------------------------------------- 4.518k i/100ms ------------------------------------------------- 121.230k (±11.0%) i/s - 600.894k
After monkey patch:
sam@ubuntu discourse % ruby bench.rb Calculating ------------------------------------- 22.509k i/100ms ------------------------------------------------- 464.295k (±10.4%) i/s - 2.296M
So our localization system is running almost 4 times faster, but … it is leaking memory.
Reviewing the code I could see that the offending line is:
github.com discourse/discourse/blob/3c6aede1aa98a8456b00ab2d1e01b3f35466323c/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb#L65 # load it I18n.backend.load_translations(I18n.load_path.grep Regexp.new("\\.#{locale}\\.yml$")) @loaded_locales << locale end end def translate(*args) @cache ||= LruRedux::ThreadSafeCache.new(LRU_CACHE_SIZE) found = true k = [args, config.locale, config.backend.object_id] t = @cache.fetch(k) { found = false } unless found load_locale(config.locale) unless @loaded_locales.include?(config.locale) begin t = translate_no_cache(*args) rescue MissingInterpolationArgument options = args.last.is_a?(Hash) ? args.pop.dup : {} options.merge!(locale: config.default_locale) key = args.shift t = translate_no_cache(key, options)
Turns out, we were sending a hash in from the email message builder that includes ActiveRecord objects, this later was used as a key for the cache, the cache was allowing for 2000 entries. Considering that each entry could involve a large number of AR objects memory leakage was very high.
To mitigate, I changed the keying strategy, shrunk the cache and completely bypassed it for complex localizations:
github.com/discourse/discourse PERF: simplify and shrink the translation cache FIX: leaking objects into the translation cache causing sidekiq to grow changed 3 files with 15 additions and 22 deletions.
One day later when looking at memory graphs we can easily see the impact of this change:
This clearly did not stop the leak but it definitely slowed it down.
###therubyracer is leaking
At the top of our list we can see our JavaScript engine therubyracer is leaking lots of objects, in particular we can see the weak references it uses to maintain Ruby to JavaScript mappings are being kept around for way too long.
To maintain performance at Discourse we keep a JavaScript engine context around for turning Markdown into HTML. This engine is rather expensive to boot up, so we keep it in memory plugging in new variables as we bake posts.
Since our code is fairly isolated a repro is trivial, first let’s see how many objects we are leaking using the memory_profiler gem:
ENV['RAILS_ENV'] = 'production' require 'memory_profiler' require File.expand_path("../../config/environment", __FILE__) # warmup 3.times{PrettyText.cook("hello world")} MemoryProfiler.report do 50.times{PrettyText.cook("hello world")} end.pretty_print
At the top of our report we see:
retained objects by location ----------------------------------- 901 /home/sam/.rbenv/versions/2.1.2.discourse/lib/ruby/2.1.0/weakref.rb:87 901 /home/sam/.rbenv/versions/2.1.2.discourse/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/weak.rb:21 600 /home/sam/.rbenv/versions/2.1.2.discourse/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/weak.rb:42 250 /home/sam/.rbenv/versions/2.1.2.discourse/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/context.rb:97 50 /home/sam/.rbenv/versions/2.1.2.discourse/lib/ruby/gems/2.1.0/gems/therubyracer-0.12.1/lib/v8/object.rb:8
So we are leaking 54 or so objects each time we cook a post, this adds up really fast. We may also be leaking unmanaged memory here which could compound the problem.
Since we have a line number it is easy to track down the source of the leak
require 'weakref' class Ref def initialize(object) @ref = ::WeakRef.new(object) end def object @ref.__getobj__ rescue ::WeakRef::RefError nil end end class WeakValueMap def initialize @values = {} end def [](key) if ref = @values[key] ref.object end end def []=(key, value) @values[key] = V8::Weak::Ref.new(value) end end
This WeakValueMap object keeps growing forever and nothing seems to be clearing values from it. The intention with the WeakRef usage was to ensure we allow these objects to be released when no-one holds references. Trouble is that the reference to the wrapper is now kept around for the entire lifetime of the JavaScript context.
A fix is pretty straight forward:
class WeakValueMap def initialize @values = {} end def [](key) if ref = @values[key] ref.object end end def []=(key, value) ref = V8::Weak::Ref.new(value) ObjectSpace.define_finalizer(value, self.class.ensure_cleanup(@values, key, ref)) @values[key] = ref end def self.ensure_cleanup(values,key,ref) proc { values.delete(key) if values[key] == ref } end end
We define a finalizer on the wrapped object that ensures we clean up the all these wrapping objects and keep on WeakValueMap small.
The effect is staggering:
ENV['RAILS_ENV'] = 'production' require 'objspace' require 'memory_profiler' require File.expand_path("../../config/environment", __FILE__) def rss `ps -eo pid,rss | grep #{Process.pid} | awk '{print $2}'`.to_i end PrettyText.cook("hello world") # MemoryProfiler has a helper that runs the GC multiple times to make # sure all objects that can be freed are freed. MemoryProfiler::Helpers.full_gc puts "rss: #{rss} live objects #{GC.stat[:heap_live_slots]}" 20.times do 5000.times { |i| PrettyText.cook("hello world") } MemoryProfiler::Helpers.full_gc puts "rss: #{rss} live objects #{GC.stat[:heap_live_slots]}" end
Before
rss: 137660 live objects 306775 rss: 259888 live objects 570055 rss: 301944 live objects 798467 rss: 332612 live objects 1052167 rss: 349328 live objects 1268447 rss: 411184 live objects 1494003 rss: 454588 live objects 1734071 rss: 451648 live objects 1976027 rss: 467364 live objects 2197295 rss: 536948 live objects 2448667 rss: 600696 live objects 2677959 rss: 613720 live objects 2891671 rss: 622716 live objects 3140339 rss: 624032 live objects 3368979 rss: 640780 live objects 3596883 rss: 641928 live objects 3820451 rss: 640112 live objects 4035747 rss: 722712 live objects 4278779 /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:185:in `block in markdown': Script Timed Out (PrettyText::JavaScriptError) from /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:350:in `block in protect' from /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:348:in `synchronize' from /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:348:in `protect' from /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:161:in `markdown' from /home/sam/Source/discourse/lib/pretty_text.rb:218:in `cook' from tmp/mem_leak.rb:30:in `block (2 levels) in <main>' from tmp/mem_leak.rb:29:in `times' from tmp/mem_leak.rb:29:in `block in <main>' from tmp/mem_leak.rb:27:in `times' from tmp/mem_leak.rb:27:in `<main>'
After
rss: 137556 live objects 306646 rss: 259576 live objects 314866 rss: 261052 live objects 336258 rss: 268052 live objects 333226 rss: 269516 live objects 327710 rss: 270436 live objects 338718 rss: 269828 live objects 329114 rss: 269064 live objects 325514 rss: 271112 live objects 337218 rss: 271224 live objects 327934 rss: 273624 live objects 343234 rss: 271752 live objects 333038 rss: 270212 live objects 329618 rss: 272004 live objects 340978 rss: 270160 live objects 333350 rss: 271084 live objects 319266 rss: 272012 live objects 339874 rss: 271564 live objects 331226 rss: 270544 live objects 322366 rss: 268480 live objects 333990 rss: 271676 live objects 330654
Looks like memory stabilizes and live object count stabilizes after the fix.
Summary
The current tooling offered in Ruby offer spectacular visibility into the Ruby runtime. The tooling around this new instrumentation is improving but still rather rough at spots.
As a .NET developer in a previous lifetime I really missed the excellent memory profiler tool, luckily we now have all the information needed to be able to build tools like this going forward.
Good luck hunting memory leaks, I hope this information helps you and please think twice next time you deploy a “unicorn OOM killer”.
A huge thank you goes to Koichi Sasada and Aman Gupta for building us all this new memory profiling infrastructure.
PS: another excellent resource worth reading is Oleg Dashevskii’s “How I spent two weeks hunting a memory leak in Ruby” |
Getty Images
I’ll admit it: I like Family Feud. And not just because Family Feud provides the backdrop for one of the best moments in Family Guy history. I’ve liked the show from the first time the guy from Hogan’s Heroes launched into a career that would prompt people watching Hogan’s Heroes to forever says, “Hey, there’s the guy from Family Feud.”
And so, even though it won’t be on NBC, I’ll give some free publicity to this year’s prime-time Celebrity Family Feud featuring NFL players. In a pair of shows to be televised July 3 on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, 20 total players will square off.
The first show pits five AFC offensive players (Jets receiver Brandon Marshall, Patriots tackle Marcus Cannon, Raiders receiver Amari Cooper, Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, and Ravens receiver Steve Smith) against five NFC defensive players (Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, former Washington defensive lineman Terrance Knighton, and Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu).
The second show has five AFC defensive players (former Bengals linebacker A.J. Hawk, Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali, Chargers running back Melvin Ingram, Broncos linebacker Von Miller, and Raiders linebacker Malcolm Smith) facing five NFC offensive players (49ers tackle Joe Staley, Lions receiver Marvin Jones, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Washington receiver Pierre Garςon, and Cardinals running back David Johnson).
The teams will be eligible to win up to $25,000 for charity. Which really isn’t all that much. |
Riots flared overnight in some English cities and towns, but London was mostly calm as thousands of police deployed on its streets after three nights of rioting and looting in the British capital.
David Cameron, the British prime minister, on Wednesday vowed to arrest, prosecute and imprison those responsible for the disorder, speaking in Downing Street after hosting the second meeting of the government's crisis committee, COBRA, in 24 hours.
"We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on the streets," Cameron said, adding that more "robust policing" had been effective overnight in London.
Police had been authorised to use baton rounds, while contingency plans had been made for the use of water cannons in tackling further riots, he said.
"We will do whatever is necessary to restore law and order onto our streets," Cameron said. "Nothing is off the table."
Police have made 1,069 arrests across the country in response to the trouble, including 768 in London, 109 in the West Midlands and 90 in Nottingham. At least 167 people have been charged so far.
London was quieter on Tuesday night but the unrest spread to other cities including Manchester in the northwest and Birmingham, where three men died early on Wednesday after being hit by a car during riots, officials said.
Police said they had arrested a man and launched a murder inquiry after the incident which happened at 00:00 GMT as Britain's second biggest city suffered from another night of riots.
Paramedics said they found about 80 people at the scene after the men were hit by the car. Two of the men were pronounced dead at the scene and the third died later in hospital.
The BBC reported that the men who died had just come out of a mosque and were protecting their neighbourhood during the riots.
About 200 people from Birmingham's Asian community gathered outside the hospital where the victims were taken. Riot police were also stationed there, the BBC said.
In Salford, part of greater Manchester in northwest England, rioters threw bricks at police and set fire to buildings on Tuesday night.
Television pictures showed flames leaping from shops and cars in Salford and Manchester, and plumes of thick black smoke billowing across roads. In central Manchester, police said a clothes shop was set alight.
Further south in West Bromwich and Wolverhampton, cars were burned and stores raided.
A gang of up to 40 men firebombed a police station in the central city of Nottingham but no injuries were reported, police said. At least 90 arrests were made and 10 police cars damaged in the city.
In Liverpool, a Reuters reporter saw police with riot shields pushing back youths hurling bricks. Police said four fire engines were attacked.
In the western city of Gloucester, police and firefighters tackled a blaze and disturbance in the city's Brunswick district.
London 'quiet'
London was mostly quiet after a huge boost in police numbers on Tuesday evening which saw 16,000 officers on the streets, compared to the 6,000 out on Monday night.
Commuters hurried home early, shops shut and many shopkeepers boarded their windows as the city prepared nervously for more of the violence that had erupted in its neighbourhoods.
Police arrested 81 people overnight, across London, for various offences, filling the city's cells to capacity four nights since the trouble started.
Also, many Londoners took to the streets in their hundreds to defend their communities.
Hundreds of Sikhs, many dressed in traditional outfits, gathered outside their gurdwara, or temple, in Southall, west London, after earlier rumours circulated it was next on the looters' hitlist.
About 200 locals in Enfield, the north London borough at the heart of previous attacks, strode through the area to "protect their streets", an AFP correspondent said.
The group became involved in a "minor skirmish" with a group of youths which it accused of taking part in criminal activity, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Amateur video footage released on Wednesday showed a group of about 100 men running down an Enfield street chanting "England, England, England".
A similar number of people congregated in the south-east suburb of Eltham. "This is a white working class area and we are here to protect our community," one man told the Guardian.
In the north London districts of Hackney and Kentish Town, mainly Turkish shopkeepers sat outside their shops into the early hours, many with makeshift weapons by their side.
Other Londoners tried to clear up the mess.
Hundreds of volunteers gathered on Tuesday morning in Clapham, south of the River Thames, to help clean up.
Parliament recalled
Cameron told reporters on Tuesday: "This is criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and defeated. People should be in no doubt that we will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain's streets."
Cameron has also recalled parliament from its summer recess, a rare move.
"It's us versus them, the police, the system. They call it looting and criminality. It's not that. There's a real hatred against the system" Hackney youth
The unrest poses a new challenge to Cameron as Britain's economy struggles to grow while his government slashes public spending and raises taxes to cut a budget deficit - moves that some commentators say have aggravated the plight of young people in inner cities.
It also shows the world another side of London less than a year before it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games, an event that officials hope will serve as a showcase for the city in the way that April's royal wedding did.
The London 2012 Organising Committee hosted an International Olympic Committee visit "as planned" on Tuesday and said the violence would not hurt preparations for the Olympics.
The first riots broke out on Saturday in north London's Tottenham neighbourhood, when a peaceful protest over the fatal shooting by police of a 29-year-old man, Mark Duggan, two days earlier led to violence.
While the police have been accused of failing to bring the situation under control by going in softly to spare local sensibilities, they are likely to come under renewed pressure over the Duggan incident after a watchdog said on Tuesday there was no evidence that a handgun retrieved at the scene had been fired.
? |
Joshua Brandon Vallum, 29, of Lucedale, Mississippi, was sentenced this week in the Southern District of Mississippi to 49 years in prison for assaulting and murdering Mercedes Williamson because she was a transgender woman.
The lengthy sentence “reflects the importance of holding individuals accountable when they commit violent acts against transgender individuals,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
Vallum pleaded guilty last December to a single federal charge alleging he violated the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in committing the murder two years ago this month in Mississippi.
In entering his guilty plea, the defendant, a member of the Latin Kings and Queens Nation gang, admitted that he had a consensual sexual relationship with Williamson, who was 17, and knew the victim was transgender. Vallum previously pleaded guilty to a state murder charge and was sentenced to life in prison.
During his romantic relationship with Williamson, Vallum kept the sexual nature of the relationship, as well as Williamson’s transgender status, secret from his family, friends and other members of his gang, investigators said.
After Vallum terminated the romantic and sexual relationship, he had no contact with her until May 28, 2015 when he decided to kill Williamson after learning that a friend had discovered Williamson was transgender, the defendant admitted during his guilty plea.
Federal investigators said Vallum believed he would be in danger if other Latin Kings members found out that he had engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with a transgender woman.
On May 29, 2015, Vallum located Williamson at her residence in Alabama and used false pretenses to lure her into his car so he could drive her to his father’s residence in Lucedale, Mississippi. There, Vallum admitted he used a stun gun to electrically shock the victim before repeatedly stabbing her and striking her with a hammer until she died.
After the murder, investigators learned, Vallum attempted to dispose of the murder weapons and other evidence linking him to the crime.
Vallum also falsely claimed to investigators that he killed Williamson in a panic after discovering she was transgender. In pleading guilty, Vallum acknowledged that he had lied about the circumstances surrounding the homicide and that he would not have killed Williamson if she was not transgender.
“Crimes motivated by hate have devastating effects on the victims, their families and community, but also leave a blemish on our society as a whole,” FBI Special Agent in charge Christopher Freeze said in a statement about the case.
The outcome of the case, Freeze said, “would not have been possible without the partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement.” |
Without affecting the original signal, we removed all of the outliers, yet introduce new ones. That is the shortcoming of the method, since change is a lot in a small interval(around peaks), this method introduces medians even if there is no outliers. The unwanted signal is closer to original signal, so there is still improvement. Further, this is easy to prevent with another heuristics. We will only look at the signal that behaves regularly or using a sliding window to have a more robust approach. But this example is important to show how a non-linear filter is able to reject all of the outliers without doing anything very complicated. This has due to mainly two reasons. First one is that $l_1$ norm. Instead of using $l_2$, we use $l_1$ as this norm does not change too much when an outlier gets introduced to the signal whereas $l_2$ norm(since it takes the square of the distance) outliers have much more profound effect. We are preventing using $l_1$ norm. Second one is that we are filtering adaptively. Instead of using a mean filter, and average all of the numbers, we only look at the candidates that could be outliers. First, we get convinced those points are outlier, then we attempt to remove them. This makes it hard to reject the regular signal. What about disadvantages? First and foremost, it is nonlinear filtering. There is no going back. You cannot get the original signal that you begin with. Further, we are also applying a threshold which makes it even harder. There are two important parameters, threshold and sliding window which requires some parameter tuning. But generally outliers are quite either signal specific or application specific. Therefore, this may not be a disadvantage. |
Personal RSS
We just added a new way to download torrents.
Instead of pressing "download", getting the torrent and opening it in your torrent client, you can now push "add to personal RSS".
On your settings page you see the URL for your own personal RSS feed. Add that to your torrent clients RSS-feed and make it download without a filter from that list. Then just leave the torrent client open and it will start to download what you chose - no matter where you are in the world, as long as you're logged in.
We hope that it's a small nice addition for people to remember to download stuff that you find on your cellphone, at your friends place or whatever, without the need to update your torrent client (hopefully, if you have a smart client to begin with...).
(As always when we do something it's a beta. The feed will for instance not be physically created before you actually add your first torrent to the personal feed, we might fix that later... and there's no way right now to remove something from the rss feed, if it's added. That might be fixed in the future as well. Might be.) |
Veggies, seitan chunks and barley are simmered up in herbed red wine-infused tomato broth to make this savory and satisfying vegan beef barley soup!
I thought I created a vegan version of beef stew when I made this the other day. I guess it’s been so long since I had beef stew (at least 22 years), that I forgot there was some specific formula to it. I thought any old stew would do. Sometimes I make these assumptions. Yeah, of course, everyone knows what that food is. Apparently not I.
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It wasn’t until dinner time that my husband informed me I’d created something else. Apparently potatoes are normally found in beef stew, while barley and tomatoes are not. I didn’t tell him every detail of the recipe, but I’m guessing red wine is also a little out of place.
So what I actually made was more of a vegan beef barley soup. I’m okay with that, because it was awesome. My husband wasn’t complaining either. After letting me know I’d missed the mark on my original intention, he downed a big bowl of the stuff and asked how much leftovers we had for lunches. We actually had a lot leftover, in case you were wondering. This makes a big pot of stew, it’s totally lunch packable, and it gets better overnight, with the barley soaking up the broth as it sits.
In hindsight, the things about this dish that made it not beef stew were the very things that made it so good. Barley, tomatoes, a little wine, and let’s not forget, seitan. Maybe that’s why I never liked beef stew when I was a kid.
P.S. After initially publishing this I managed to figure out what beef stew was all about, and I even came up with a recipe for it! |
Sunderland have been linked with a move Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul after the collapse of the Nicolas Lombaerts deal.
The Black Cats were dealt a blow this week when Belgian international Lombaerts’ proposed move from Zenit St Petersburg collapsed after the 30-year-old failed a medical.
Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat
However, Dick Advocaat remains eager to boost his central defensive options before the start of the season and there is speculation today that Kaboul is a player on Sunderland’s radar as an alternative to Lombaerts.
Kaboul only has a year remaining on his contract at Spurs and is available for transfer after a miserable injury-hit campaign where he failed to appear in the Premier League after November.
Despite dropping down the pecking order at White Hart Lane, there have been suggestions that Spurs are looking for £5million for the 29-year-old, although it is likely they would accept a bid of around £3m.
But it would not be the first time that Sunderland have chased Kaboul.
The Frenchman was a target for Roy Keane back in 2008 and Sunderland had a bid accepted by Spurs.
However, Kaboul’s agent Rudy Raba made infamous comments about his chances of joining Sunderland, before he made a move to Portsmouth.
“Younes would not join Sunderland - even if there was an earthquake,” said Raba.
“We’ve much more interesting options. No disrespect, but playing at Sunderland would not help his international career.” |
Since Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal in 1996, the Frenchman has turned the Gunners into the most aesthetically pleasing side in England.
Wenger has delivered two league and cup doubles in his time at Arsenal, and taken the club to two European finals while maintaining a style of play so pleasing on the eye that only Barcelona and Bayern Munich can claim to play a more scintillating brand of club soccer.
But the Gunners have not won the Premier League since the Invincibles went the whole 2003/04 season unbeaten and as the years have gone on, the fans and media have questioned Wenger's unwavering faith in youth and refusal to spend big money in the transfer market.
The days of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires have gone and Wenger is now waiting for the likes of Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere et al to usher the club into a new period of sustained success.
Quick Facts:
Founded: 1886
1886 Home Ground (Capacity): Emirates Stadium, London (60,355)
Emirates Stadium, London (60,355) Nickname: The Gunners
The Gunners Home Colors: Red and White
Red and White Top Goalscorer All-Time: Thierry Henry (226 from 1999 to 2007)
Thierry Henry (226 from 1999 to 2007) First Division/Premier League Titles: (13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
(13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04 FA Cup Titles: (12): 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015
(12): 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015 League Cup Titles: (2): 1986-87, 1992-93
(2): 1986-87, 1992-93 Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League: (1) 1969-70
(1) 1969-70 European Cup Winners' Cup: (1) 1993-94
The Team:
Current Manager: Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger Top Goalscorer 2014-2015: Alexis Sanchez (24 in all competitions)
Alexis Sanchez (24 in all competitions) Captain: Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta 2014-2015 League Finish: 3rd
A Little History:
Arsenal are nicknamed 'The Gunners' because they were formed by a group of cannon makers at the Woolwich Arsenal in 1886.
After turning professional in 1891, the club joined the second division two years later and were promoted to the top flight in 1904.
The great Herbert Chapman arrived in 1925 and he started a sustained spell of success, before dying of pneumonia in 1934. His impact was nothing short of revolutionary, as he introduced new training methods and the 3-4-3 or 'WM' formation. Chapman helped the club to their first major trophy, the FA Cup, in 1930 and two league titles followed. The club won five league titles in the 30s, the most sustained period of success in the Gunners' history.
The club sprang back briefly after the war, but the late 1950s and 1960s marked an extended dry spell. In 1971, though, it returned to the top of the English game by winning its first league and FA Cup double. |
Pope Francis holds an Argentine flag outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Rio de Janeiro on July 25, 2013. Pope Francis is on the fourth day of his week-long visit for World Youth Day. (Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)
If any region of the world is the heart of modern Catholicism, it's Latin America. Some 425 million Catholics live there, more than 40 percent of the world's total Catholic population. Plus, for the first time in history, there is a Latin American pope — and he's quite popular, if you hadn't heard.
Despite this, a new report on religion in Latin America from Pew Research Center has come to an unmistakable conclusion: Latin America, the world's most Catholic region, has become dramatically less Catholic over the past few decades.
Pew has collected data from 18 countries and one U.S. territory (Puerto Rico) across Latin America and the Caribbean. For much of the 20th century, more than nine in ten people across the region identified as Catholic. However, over the past few decades, that number has dropped significantly, to fewer than one in seven.
(Pew Research Center)
Things get even more stark when you break it down to the national levels. In less than 45 years, the report notes, some countries have seen their Catholic population fall by more than 40 percent.
(Pew Research Center)
What lies behind Latin America losing its religion? Well, as the report lays out, it often isn't really a loss. A significant number of people raised Catholic have converted to Protestant churches, usually evangelical Pentecostal churches. In many countries, the report found, more than 50 percent of Protestants had been raised Catholic.
Their reasons for leaving one Christian church and joining another are complicated: Across the region, the report found, more than 80 percent of former Catholics who had joined the Protestant church did so because they were seeking a "personal connection with God," while 69 percent said they enjoyed the new style of worship at their new church. Fifty-eight percent said they had converted after the church reached out to them, the report noted.
Pew's report also points to a smaller, yet still considerable, number of people who don't profess a religion — the "unaffiliated." These people tend to be younger than Catholics and Protestants and don't necessarily see themselves as agnostic or atheist: Most just have "no particular religion," the report notes.
But what of Pope Francis, the Argentine pope who has charmed the world with his cafeteria-eating, bill-paying, grand apartment-shunning, gay-embracing, evolution-accepting ways? Pew notes that its own data may not show the "Francis Effect," as he only took the papal position in March 2013. However, the report then adds:
[Former] Catholics are more skeptical about Pope Francis. Only in Argentina and Uruguay do majorities of ex-Catholics express a favorable view of the pope. In every other country in the survey, no more than roughly half of ex-Catholics view Francis favorably, and relatively few see his papacy as a major change for the Catholic Church. Many say it is too soon to have an opinion about the pope.
A look across the data also shows that Latin America's Protestants are usually more conservative on subjects such as homosexuality, abortion and divorce, while Catholics across the region are more accepting of the concept of evolution. Those ideological divides may not be a good sign for the "Francis Effect."
Pew's report makes for interesting reading for anyone wondering about the future of the Catholic Church. The selection of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) to become the first leader of the church from the new world seemed likely to be a belated acknowledgement of demographics: The Catholic's Churches center of gravity was no longer Europe. But Pew's findings suggest that it might not hold sway over Latin America for much longer, either. |
The Process of Felting the Force
Star Wars Epic Yarns is a new all-ages board book series abridging each film in the original Star Wars trilogy in just 12 words and 12 felt scenes. Even though our names appear on the covers of all our books, the most common question we get from people is, “Who made the felt figures?” The answer: we did! The second most common question we get is, “Who did the photography?” The answer again: we did!
Think of Star Wars Epic Yarns as the ultimate craft project (Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!). It took us nearly a year to needle-felt all the figures, build all the scale-model sets, and do all the in-studio or on-location photography. And we got to do it all in a galaxy far, far away—the coolest story universe ever! Here’s how we did it.
First, we took loose wool like this…
…and sculpted it through a process called needle felting. This technique involves stabbing loose wool thousands of times with specialized barbed needles. This entangles the wool fibers, which allowed us to shape the wool until it started to look something like this:
It took us anywhere from 20 to 60 hours to complete each felt figure, with human figures like Ben Kenobi (above) falling near the low end of this range, and armored figures like C-3PO and stormtroopers falling at the high end of the range. To make sure the relative heights of the characters were correct, we made all the figures at a 1:7 scale.
The very first figure we felted was Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing uniform. In fact, Luke was the “proof of concept” figure that got us the Star Wars Epic Yarns gig!
The first five months of the project were devoted strictly to needle felting. After most of the figures were made, we began set making and photography. Set making was a never-ending exercise in creative problem solving, trying to figure out how to recreate elaborate Star Wars sets with inexpensive everyday objects and materials.
One of the simpler sets, the Death Star detention block cell, took a day or so to assemble. The walls were made from foam core board, textured paper, and foam sheets. The flooring was made from plastic drain grilles, cut to size and painted metallic orange on top. The whole set was then put on sawhorses to allow for underlighting.
The most elaborate set to build was the hallway of the blockage runner (the Tantive IV), which took four or five days to assemble. Pliable foam sheets were used to recreate the many curved elements, as well as the boxy wall consoles. Here’s the set in various stages of construction:
And here’s the completed hallway, with felt figures and lighting:
The walls around the Cloud City processing vane were also tricky to reproduce, given the large number of lights on them. We used a small paper punch to create a myriad of holes in the cardstock wall, which was then backlit:
The most difficult props to replicate were probably the table and chairs from the Cloud City dining room scene. They were made from styrene sheets and strips and cut to exacting standards. Felt was used for the upholstery on the chairs.
We also did location shoots when we needed natural outdoor backdrops. The Hoth scenes were shot on snowy Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, British Columbia in January…
…while the Endor scenes were shot at the Lynn Valley Headwaters in North Vancouver, British Columbia in June.
Since Vancouver doesn’t have any desert terrain, we decided to head down to Arizona and California to shoot the Tatooine scenes. Even then, we couldn’t find a flat desert landscape that stretched to the horizon (as George Lucas found in Tunisia), so we had to simulate a flat desert with some cardboard boxes and sand. We then shot the photo on a slight upward angle to avoid the saguaro cacti in the background!
Finally, we went to the Imperial Sand Dunes near Yuma, Arizona. Here’s our rental car after pulling in to the Osbourne Lookout:
George Lucas shot scenes for Return of the Jedi here, and we followed in his footsteps! The two outdoor Tatooine scenes that appear in Epic Yarns: Jedi showcase the beautiful and alien desert landscape of the Imperial Sand Dunes and the surrounding area.
So there you have it—a tiny glimpse of our amazing year-long journey to recreate the Star Wars universe in woolly miniature! As you can see, we went to great lengths to do justice to the original triology, but it was all great fun, and we can’t wait to share our books with everyone!
Jack and Holman Wang are twin brothers and the creators of Cozy Classics. Jack is a professor of writing at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and Holman, a former lawyer, is an artist and author who lives in Vancouver, Canada. You can find them online at jackandholman.com or on Twitter at @JackandHolman.
Holman will be giving a Star Wars needle-felting workshop in Anaheim on April 16, and will be speaking at Star Wars Celebration with Jeffrey Brown on April 17 in a session called Star Wars: Bridging Generations.
Recommended |
The White House has at times tried to distance itself from the decision. | REUTERS Why Keystone is still at risk
Things look bleak for greens opposed to the Keystone XL pipeline — but they still have plenty of weapons to thwart or slow the project.
Environmentalists suffered a blow last week when the State Department issued the latest in a series of studies that discounted their warnings that TransCanada’s Alberta-to-Texas pipeline would endanger the Earth’s climate.
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Still, Keystone faces at least several more months on its road to a presidential permit. And opponents have options including filing lawsuits, enlisting other agencies’ help or appealing to Secretary of State John Kerry to reject his staff’s work. They could also play the biggest wild card of all — whether President Barack Obama wants the pipeline to live or die.
Even a slowdown could have serious consequences for TransCanada’s hopes to put the pipeline into service by early 2015.
Here’s a look at what happens next:
1. Public comment, hearings and lawsuits
The State Department will submit its draft environmental study to the Federal Register this week, starting a 45-day public comment period before it completes a final version. The department will also hold a public hearing in Nebraska during that period.
Count on environmentalists to pack the hearing and rally supporters to submit thousands of comments. “I don’t think anyone’s going to walk away from this fight,” climate activist Bill McKibben said after last week’s report came out.
But industry leaders aren’t worried.
“I think the State Department has had over four years to do their work,” Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada’s president of energy and oil pipelines, told POLITICO this week. “I’d be pretty surprised to see them about-face over a 45-day period.”
Even if the department sticks to its guns, however, a big response by opponents could build public sentiment against the project. And there’s always a chance of a curve ball emerging to derail the process.
Something similar happened in late 2011, when Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman raised concerns about the pipeline’s potential risk to the Ogallala Aquifer and the state’s sensitive Sandhills region. Those qualms prompted the State Department to begin a review of a new proposed route, pushing the issue beyond the 2012 elections.
But repeating that feat would be hard now that so many of the objections about the project have been voiced, said Kevin Book, managing director of research at Clearview Energy Partners, an independent research firm.
“Could the environmentalists invoke something? It’s unlikely,” Book said. “But it would have to be something off the radar, which, by definition, means we don’t see it right now.”
Once the final study is out, environmentalists could file lawsuits renewing their arguments that the review process was biased, parts of review were incomplete or the study didn’t properly assess the risk to Nebraska. But that challenge can’t come until at least the final environmental study is released, said Melissa Powers, an energy law associate professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. |
Many of you emailed me about the shocking headline that said Canada had sold off all of its gold reserves. Are we being ripped off? Will this hurt the Canadian dollar?
Headlines aside, this isn’t very big news because Canada had very little gold reserves. Most was sold off during the Mulroney and Chretien years. Justin Trudeau’s new government is just finishing the job.
The Canadian dollar hasn’t been backed by gold since the depths of the Great Depression. We left the gold standard in 1933, almost 40 years before the Americans abandoned it in 1971. Since then Canada has been a fiat currency, traders decide the value of the currency, not the amount of gold in federal vaults.
As for recent events, I’m told all of the money is going back into the international reserves and not being used in general revenues to prop up Trudeau’s spending binge and deficits.
So while I’m saying there is no reason to panic because we had so little left any way, I do find this odd.
Canada is still a major gold producing nation, some rank us the fifth largest producer in the world and our mining expertise is exported to many other countries. We’re big players in gold and yet the government has no physical gold assets.
On November 4th, 2015, the day the Trudeau government was sworn in, the finance department’s international reserves report showed we had $110M US worth of gold. A month later it was $102M US. By January we were down to $58M, $24M in February and now nothing.
It is puzzling, and is something I’ll keep looking into.
Through the Harper years, there were no wild sell offs. There were ups and downs in the value of gold as the price went up and down but no wild sell offs. Now within four months of Trudeau taking office, all the gold is gone, sold off quickly and the question is why?
We don’t have all the answers…..yet. |
TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania’s parliament sacked an election official on Monday despite warnings from the country’s international partners that the move could damage domestic and overseas confidence in June parliamentary elections.
Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha addresses the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, June 25, 2012. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler
The fresh political row came after Prime Minister Sali Berisha saw his main coalition ally jump ship to join the opposition ahead of the June 23 elections, but its representative in the seven-member Central Election Commission (CEC) stay put.
Berisha’s government survived last week with the votes of three disgruntled opposition lawmakers and their votes again helped sack the election official and bring the commission back under the effective control of his ruling Democratic Party.
“You are asking to destroy the current balance. This is wrong, agreements should be respected,” Berisha told the opposition Socialist Party before thanking its three breakaway lawmakers for voting with the government.
During the vote, one opposition lawmaker unsuccessfully tried to prevent a colleague voting for the government move by pulling him out of the chamber.
The Socialists called it a Pyrrhic victory for Berisha and said neither he nor Albania would gain by “staining” the process.
The CEC certifies the results of elections administered by party militants who often show less regard for the law than for party orders, leading to charges of manipulation and fraud.
The marathon parliamentary session started in the morning and ended before midnight as lawmakers from both sides debated whether the CEC and its members were effectively non-partisan after election by the parties.
Members of the CEC are nominated by the main parliamentary parties and their smaller allies, with four nominated by the government and three by the opposition. Most votes in the routine management of the election need a simple majority and some major ones a five-to-two majority.
Both the United States and the European Union have told all parties the election must be free and fair if the former communist country is to advance its bid to join the European Union.
An EU statement said it was the responsibility for all political sides to ensure a non-partisan electoral administration.
“The EU expresses concern and shares the preoccupations of other partners over the possible repercussions of a vote in parliament on the people’s confidence in the electoral process,” it said ahead of a visit to Tirana on Tuesday by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
A NATO member, Albania has lagged behind its Balkan neighbours in stepping closer to the EU due to a lack of compromise between its main parties and the need for far-reaching reforms.
The United States said the independence of the CEC should be respected, even by parliament, and U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu said changing the rules did not inspire confidence in the ballot.
“I don’t think anyone wants a decision or action that is going to put Albania on a collision course with the U.S. and the international community,” Arvizu told reporters. |
Spain's autonomous region of Extremadura has sparked a bit of a rumpus by issuing an educational leaflet entitled Pleasure is in your hands, detailing the best way to achieve solo satisfaction.
The offending literature is part of a €14,000 campaign aimed at raising sexual awareness among the region's 14 to 17-year-olds, and although the initiative covers a range of issues, the right wing has chosen to focus its predictable criticism on the masturbation guide.
The Partido Popular's* local opposition leader Hernández Carrón slammed it as a waste of money and an insult to young people's intelligence.
He insisted that if teens "don't how to masturbate or whether they should masturbate or not, that's a personal matter for the young person, which should be dealt with at home".
He demanded those responsible for the outrage be held to account for making Extremadura "the laughing stock of Spain".
The public appear to agree. Down at La Vanguardia newspaper, one commenter notes: "Are youngsters today so thick that they have to use a leaflet to learn how to crack one off? We used to teach ourselves, and it didn't cost the government a penny." ®
Bootnote
*The PP's leader, Mariano Rajoy, has yet to blame president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero for the Extremadura outrage. This is a bit surprising, since he blames the poor bloke for everything else - from the global economic crisis to some Madrid pensioner's pet cat getting stuck up a tree. |
DroidLife
Google's update to an e-commerce tool used by vendors to manage sales is merely for show, charges a consumer advocacy group, which adds that the company should be more clear about its privacy policies.
The update, used in conjunction with Google Play and other services, displays less of a customer's personal information to the vendor than the previous iteration, reports the Android-watching blog DroidLife. The update to the e-commerce tool is rolling out to vendors now and over the next few weeks. But consumer advocacy site Consumer Watchdog says Google's move is not an "actual" change, and it's demanding more privacy policy accountability from Google.
John Simpson, Privacy Project director at Consumer Watchdog, described his organization's complaints from February and March (PDF 1, | PDF 2) filed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General's office about the Google Merchant Center to CNET. "Google was passing on the name, address, and e-mail address of the app buyer. We alleged that it violated policy law and the Buzz agreement," the 2011 deal the company struck with the FTC over privacy violations in Google Buzz that led to Google developing a more comprehensive privacy policy.
At the time, the Electronic Privacy Information Center called the 20-year consent agreement "the most significant privacy decision" by the FTC. Simpson predicted that Google could face billions of dollars of fines stemming from the new alleged privacy violations.
In examining screenshots taken by DroidLife, it's clear that Google has changed what information is immediately visible to its e-commerce vendors. Under the old Google Checkout Merchant Center, a customer's e-mail address, first and last name, and physical address were readily available. As the new Google Wallet Merchant Center branding shows, though, that information is not available by default.
A Google spokesperson explained in an e-mail to CNET, "This isn't a change to policy. As part of the rollout of the new Merchant Center, we are experimenting with the display of customer information, which is more of a user interface change." Google Wallet's privacy policy states that it only shares your information "as permitted," by the company's overarching privacy policy; as necessary to process transactions and maintain accounts; and to complete registration for services provided by third parties. It was last updated on August 1, 2012.
Consumer Watchdog's complaints stem from an incident in February when an Australian developer of a popular app expressed surprise at how much personal information about a customer was shared with him. Specifically, the developer was concerned with receiving name and real-world location data, which could make a customer easy to find and harass by a developer upset about a negative review, he suggested.
DroidLife
Google declined to comment about the DroidLife report, or about Consumer Watchdog's complaints, but it's no coincidence that in the company's short statement it mentioned before anything else that there had been no policy change. That means that, unless the company is lying, the data it was collecting and sharing with vendors that use the Merchant Center before the February incident is the same under the Wallet rebrand and redesign.
If the information being collected hasn't changed, then one likely culprit is a change in how the information that has been shared is displayed.
There are legitimate reasons for Google to collect and share e-mail addresses and location information. The Google Wallet is used by sellers to sell both digital goods, such as apps and MP3s, and physical items like the Nexus 7 tablet, and it's used on Web sites to complete e-commerce transactions beyond the Play Store. Shipment of a physical item would require the address and name of the person who bought the item. What Google appears to have changed is not the collection of customer data, but under which circumstances that information is shown to vendors.
"Google is a serial privacy violator," said Consumer Watch's Simpson, adding that Google's "statement is pure bafflegab." |
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