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If there is one type of player that Manuel Pellegrini appreciates, it’s creative attacking midfielders.
This is the manager who embraced Juan Roman Riquelme at Villarreal, got the best out of Santi Cazorla at two different clubs, and developed Isco so wonderfully last season at Malaga. There’s a sense of structure about his sides, but always great attacking purpose.
Monday evening’s highly impressive 4-0 victory over Newcastle demonstrated City’s immediate confidence in the new system, and a particularly interesting part of the side was the performances of the two wide midfielders. The two Spaniards, David Silva and Jesus Navas, played different roles – but provided City with great balance and different attacking options.
Silva is the playmaker most likely to thrive under Pellegrini. The Chilean coach traditionally likes working with typically Spanish wide players - ones that drift inside into the centre of the pitch, allowing the full-backs forward on the overlap. Cazorla thrived in that role under Pellegrini, and Silva approaches the game in a similar fashion to his compatriot.
A predominantly left-footed player, Silva might appear more naturally suited to playing from the right, from where he can cut inside and slip balls through the defence with his favoured foot. A good early ball with his right on Monday evening showed his flexibility, however, and he combined nicely with Edin Dzeko for the opening goal.
On the other flank, Navas is a completely different type of player. A traditional, old-fashioned winger who enjoys getting to the byline and whipping in crosses – his relationship with fellow City new-boy Alvaro Negredo at Sevilla was fruitful – he’s more likely to hug the touchline than Silva, which stretches opposition defence, giving his colleague more opportunities to slip the ball through the defence. Roberto Mancini rarely used direct wingers, often preferring to use both Silva and Samir Nasri, packing the centre of the pitch – the signing of Navas brings something new to City.
Navas did vary his positioning and movement, however. In the opening stages of the Newcastle match he occasionally drifted inside, at one point even popping up on the left wing, helping to overload the hapless Mathieu Debuchy.
Michael Cox explains how Manuel Pellegrini will deploy Manchester City's wide men...
Nevertheless, his best work came when he stayed wider and played his natural game, and his relationship with right-back Pablo Zabaleta showed great promise throughout the game. Zabaleta might have been worried about playing in combination with a proper winger – when fielded behind a ‘drifter’, he logically has more space to overlap into - but the Argentine adapted his game well. When Navas stayed wide, the fullback supported him closely, and sometimes took the opportunity to move inside, making diagonal, ‘underlapping’ runs towards goal, popping up in the box for an early chance.
Clearly, the balance and variety provided by the contrasting wide players proved effective, but it’s worth remembering that under Mancini the wide players often combined directly, most notably in the famous 6-1 victory at Old Trafford. In that win, both Silva and James Milner repeatedly crossed the pitch to overload the full-backs – and it would be a shame if that direct link was lost.
Therefore, it was encouraging that Silva and Navas combined on multiple occasions, despite starting on different flanks. This happened in different ways. Silva would drift across to the opposite flank to play passes to Navas – in fact, he was the second-most frequent passer to the winger, after Zabaleta.
Navas is more likely to pass to Silva through long, direct switches of play. He hit huge passes towards the opposite flank, and also produced an excellent low cut-back all the way across to left-back Gael Clichy at one point. That direct switching of play is very different to the system under Mancini, when play rarely flowed down the flanks.
There was also a promising late cameo from Samir Nasri, who powered past Debuchy to roll in the fourth goal. Although his spell at Manchester City has been relatively underwhelming so far, the Frenchman is the type of versatile, multifunctional midfielder Pellegrini might take to, and could be used in matches where the Chilean coach only wants to field one striker.
But the key feature of City’s play was the performance of the wide players who started – they offered balance and variation, and Pellegrini’s side will offer an all-round attacking threat this season.
Stats Zone is now available on your web browser - just visit FourFourTwo.com/StatsZone | {
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Radical anti-LGBTQ pastor and radio host Kevin Swanson declared on his “Generations” radio program yesterday that parents must remove their children from public education before the system turns them into transgender communists.
“The state has an agenda with your children,” he warned. “I realize that this may sound a little bit hyperbolic, it may sound [like] a little bit of an exaggeration—I don’t think it is, because I think if you begin to see the trajectory of where things have gone and you just draw it out for the next five, six, eight years, you’re going to find this is the agenda.”
“The goals of the educational program for your kids in the public schools,” Swanson continued, “the goals of the world for your children is that your kids be transgendered and communist by 20 years of age.”
“Of course this is the agenda,” he said. “Parents, just get serious about it. Do you want your kids transgendered and communist at 18 years of age? Is that your goal? If it isn’t, then maybe you ought to bring a different vision into the education of your children.” | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Beat him at videogame "i wasn't trying" | {
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Meijer opens second Detroit store next week
Meijer will open its second Detroit supercenter with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. June 11.
Located at Grand River and McNichols, the new supercenter is the latest of 11 new stores the Grand Rapids-based retailer has opened in the Midwest this year. Meijer opened its first Detroit supercenter last July at 8 Mile and Woodward.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is expected to attend the opening, along with Meijer executives and local officials. | {
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JOAN BURTON HAS survived the battle in Dublin West, keeping her Dáil seat.
It’s just one piece of good news for the Labour leader and Tánaiste who has seen her party’s Leinster House presence decimated by the electorate.
She is the first Labour TD to be returned to the Dáil.
The long-time deputy was in a race with AAA-PBP candidate Ruth Coppinger with just 22 votes separating the pair of incumbents after the third count. Both women have been elected in the fifth count.
Coppinger took the second seat after taking over 1,500 transfers from independent David McGuinness and the Green Party’s Roderic O’Gorman.
Leo Varadkar topped the polls, surpassing the quota of 8,391 in the third count with Coppinger taking the third seat.
The final seat went to Fianna Fáil’s Jack Chambers, who will enter Leinster House as a TD for the first time.
Speaking after his election, the 25-year-old local said it was “an honour to be selected in the late Brian Lenihan’s shoes in Dublin West”.
Neither Chambers nor Burton actually reached the quota, but saw off Sinn Féin’s Paul Donnelly to be elected.
Labour Pains
Speaking to media after her election, Burton said that she would continue to lead the Labour Party, despite indications they could lose as many as 30 seats.
“The Labour membership decided my leadership two years ago,” she said.
She said that she was planning on leading the party beyond this election, but did not see the party being in the next government. She said that she had worked hard to stabilise the party.
“I want to pay tribute to the many fine colleagues who lost their seats.”
On the subject of the next government, Burton said that it would be “appropriate” for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to discuss the mandate which they had been given to form a government.
She said that while she was “disappointed”, Burton said that history would be kind to Labour.
“I think if people look at the difficulties we inherited amid the financial crash of eight years ago and the measures that were taken, I think people will be fair to the Labour Party.”
With reporting from Sinéad O’Carroll | {
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If you've been curious about DC's new streaming service, then you're in luck, as DC Universe launched a day early on September 14, and you can currently register for it here. When it was originally announced, fans of DC Comics and Entertainment were pretty surprised, but nonetheless, excited. The new subscription streaming app combines traditional TV and movies with comic books and even an encyclopedia. It's incredibly ambitious. And while the early experience we had with the beta version of the app was fun, it leaving us want a bit more.
Obviously, as with any beta app or service, DC Universe isn't entirely ready for market. There are bugs here and there, and this exact version won't hit the direct market. Additionally, there will be more content on the service when it launches on September 15, like when the original series Titans hits releases on October 12. DC Universe will cost $75 a year or $8 a month.
DC Universe's design is simple to navigate and visually appealing. The home screen offers up a features screen at the top with rotated recommended viewing, which usually pertains to something big. For instance, right now, the Teen Titans comic is featured, to go along with the upcoming release of the Titans TV series. Below that is your "Continue watching" section, and right below that is news. That home page does not feel overwhelming even though there are a variety of choices between the three pillars of DCU (movies, TV, and comics).
Movies & TV
Obviously, upon first glance, what DCU has to offer is very Batman-heavy. There's still a lot to choose from though that doesn't involve the Dark Knight. There are a few hidden gems like Fox's Human Target series and NBC's Constantine to binge. At first glance, it may not seem like it, when scrolling through the entirety of DCU's video catalogue, but there is a lot to watch, and most of it is undoubtedly good stuff. Although, a part of me still wants to watch Batman & Robin over and over again for those white hot Mr. Freeze puns. Obviously, the original DCU content is not live, but that should to be the overall driving force. The functions missing during playback for TV series, which is desperately needed, is a "play next" button for end credits of episodes and a "skip intro" button. As much as I love Young Justice, I do not want to see the intro over and over while I'm bingeing.
While this service is still new and has a ton to grow, the lack of certain content begs the question, "Where are all the DC extended universe movies?" It's already been stated we wouldn't see any of the CW series on DCU, as there are issues with the rights currently--but you'll be able to purchase them through the app--so could that be the same reason we're not seeing these films as well? These should be tentpoles and a reason non-comic book readers and casual DC enthusiasts would sign up for the service. There are also other films the service is missing, including Watchmen, Red, V for Vendetta, and The Losers, as well as a few cinematic releases that critically fell flat like Steel, Green Lantern, and Jonah Hex. I'm the type of user that would love to see both the good and the bad on the service, as I'll watch it all, and I know there are others like me.
Comics, Community, & Encyclopedia
Inside the comic book section of DCU, the selection was pretty nice. There are a variety of selections from different eras, some of which tied into upcoming releases of movies and DCU originals. There's an autoplay feature that goes through the comic, panel-by-panel, that's really smooth, and it shows that this is a feature that would work exceptionally well when it's cast onto a television. It has the same familiarity as a service like Comixology but with its own flavor, which actually makes it a bit easier to use for those new to digital reading. While it won't get the credit it deserves, the comics section of DCU is one of the two standouts of the service.
Accompanying the comic section as something new for a streaming service is the encyclopedia section. It's concise and exceptionally well-written. You get to see detailed information about each character or team on an easy-to-navigate front page. Subheadings allow the users to peruse the info without feeling like it's an info-dump. Finally, there is a related content section that, in theory, will allow users to check out movies, TV series, and comics featuring these characters or teams. However, in the early beta, this section would not work and neither would the entire encyclopedia index. Regardless, this is a tremendous standout and perfect to keep users engaged in the app. And if there was a way to incorporate this into movies or TV shows, like Amazon's X-Ray mode, it would be a grand slam homerun.
The biggest aspect to fall flat on its face for an older reader like myself is the community aspect of the DCU app. For the most part, it's another place for people to shout their opinions into the abyss. While there aren't many people using this section yet, as the beta has yet to launch as of this writing, it's got a few threads like "Favorite Episode of Young Justice," where users can discuss everything they love--and hate--about comics and properties based on DC characters. The only area that shows a bunch of potential is the "Creators Corner," which was empty. From the looks of it, this section will have writers, artists, and more from DC Comics discussing all things related to publishing, which is a pretty exciting addition to a section I never really plan on spending a lot of time in.
Casting
Obviously, like any streaming service, a part of the appeal is being able to watch content on a mobile device or on your TV at home. There are a few small bumps in the road with DCU to begin with, but it's nothing that should turn you off completely from subscribing. While using an iPad, DCU worked incredibly well with Apple TV. Both movies and television shows streamed seamlessly with no hiccups or problems.
There was, however, a button to connect to Chromecast as well--something we were told at San Diego Comic-Con that we would not see when the service launched. We tried casting DCU through two different Chromecasts, connected to two different TVs and had no luck. Chances are that casting is simply not ready for the service. Additionally, we could not use Apple TV or Chromecast to read comic books on our TVs. This was known going into the beta, but we still tried anyway, as it looked really cool during the demo we saw at Comic-Con. The service will also be launching with Roku and Amazon Firestick as well in case you want to watch DCU on your TV.
Additionally, there is a shopping section which was not up and running at that point, but it will be in time for the launch. We've been told you'll be able to purchase things like movies and TV series within that section, including episodes and seasons of the CW series.
As someone who has been on the ground level for plenty of new streaming services when they launched, like Netflix, WWE Network, Amazon Video, and Hulu, DC Universe follows in its predecessor's footsteps of trying to be its own voice without being a complete replica of them. There will be growing pains, and it will be some time before DCU truly gets its footing. However, the plan of a new original series episode, every week, for a year straight is incredibly promising for DCU's opening year. Yes, the lack of DC including some of its movies is a huge disappointment, but it seems like the company is taking a risk and trying something very different with its service. DC Universe, as a beta, isn't filled with too many bugs and actually works exceptionally well for something this large. The only real downside is the lack of certain content, specifically the DCEUDC extended cinematic universe movies. DC Universe will be a thrill to DC Comics readers and enthusiasts but doesn't have that mass appeal it needs yet. Hopefully, that will change with the release of series like Titans. | {
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Talking to IGN in the video below, Denis Leary confirms that he was set to reprise the role of Captain George Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. It wasn't going to be as part of a dream sequence or flashback though; he was actually going to be resurrected, potentially alongside a number of other characters!What the f**k?That forumla could be Venom related (remember that Gwen Stacy was brought back with the use of the Carnage symbiote in the Ultimate Comics, an idea Sony execs batted around in those leaked "Sony Hack" emails), but it still sounds downright bizarre. Does this mean Peter would have brought back Uncle Ben, his parents, Gwen, and her father? That would have no doubt been controversial, but this plan could explain how Norman Osborn would have been brought back after his death, especially as a deleted scene featured his head being kept in a jar by The Man in the Hat... | {
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“On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely am I to get coronavirus? Probably about a 9”: What it’s like to live in a Toronto homeless shelter right now
“On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely am I to get coronavirus? Probably about a 9”: What it’s like to live in a Toronto homeless shelter right now
I’ve been on the street for a little over a year, and I’m currently living in a shelter in a church basement. It was originally supposed to hold around 30 people, and now 62 people are staying there. Let me put it this way: if the health department came, they would shut it down. We have cockroaches crawling on the tables in our eating area. Bedbugs, too, but that’s inevitable. I measured the space between the beds, and it’s a little over three feet. I can basically scratch my neighbour’s nose. That doesn’t feel like enough distance when coronavirus is transmitted through droplets. We have one hand sanitizer dispenser in the entire place. Cleanliness is also a problem, because lots of people here have less-than-ideal hygiene practices. If you bring it up, they’re like, “Don’t tell me what to do.” Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any solution other than to burn the place down and start over.
The director of the shelter gave us a bit of a speech the other day. He said, “We’ll do the best we can to keep you safe, and everything is going to go on per usual.” Well, that doesn’t really address anything, does it? I can’t self-isolate. I’m not even allowed to stay in the shelter: they wake us up at 6 a.m. and kick us out for the rest of the day. All it would take is one more shift, two more shelter staff, to let us stay inside for the day. That’s what happened at Christmas. There were two extra people working during the day. The world didn’t come to an end. John Tory, Doug Ford, Justin Trudeau, they’re all self-isolating. What about us? I’m a Vietnam vet, and it takes a lot to scare me. This scares me.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely am I to get coronavirus? Probably about a 9. I’m 68. I’ve had a lot of medical problems in the past year, like deep-vein thrombosis, and I’ve been told to stay in bed, to get as much rest as I can. It’s not an option. There aren’t that many places to go right now. I usually spend time at the library, but those are closed. The recreation centres are closed, too. Even the dining room of McDonald’s is closed. My friend went to McDonald’s this morning and tried to pay in cash, and they told him they just wanted cards. And if I want to talk to my doctor, the only way is through the phone. Right now I’m not living, I’m existing. And with this virus, I don’t know how much longer I can exist.
There’s a group of us in the shelter who try to help each other, given the limited resources we have. If somebody’s got a headache or a stomachache, then somebody might give them some Tylenol or Tums. My friend Malcolm has been amazing. He’s given me money and has been there for me when no one else was. We call each other brothers. If it wasn’t for him I probably would have shot myself by now. He’s saved my life.
I don’t feel like the shelter staff listen to me when I express concern about coronavirus. They see me as a troublemaker. Whenever something happens, I’m the person residents come to. They know I’m not afraid to go talk to staff and bring up whatever the problem is.
Several people have told me that they’re concerned about coronavirus, and that the homeless people are going to be blamed for its spread. It’s not impossible, because people always look for somebody to blame. That’s human nature. And who do you blame? The weakest and most vulnerable people. The only way to solve this would be to give hotel rooms to the homeless. That’s the only way we’ll be able to self-quarantine.
I’m well-educated. I’m not usually at a loss for words, but I don’t have the words for this mess we’re in. I think it was Diogenes who said that a society is judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable people, and so far we’re failing.
—As told to Isabel B. Slone | {
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In an oil sector first, the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) has offered free oil to India in return for a storage deal at India’s planned underground facility as the supply glut worsens and some analysts predict that ‘’peak storage” could sending prices crashing further.
The UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has agreed to store crude oil in India's maiden strategic storage facility, sweetening the deal by saying India could take two-thirds of the oil for free.
It’s a great deal for India, which is almost fully reliant on imports to meet its crude oil needs.
India has lured Abu Dhabi in with the building of a massive underground storage facility system that will be able to take on 5.33 million tons of crude as a bulwark against global price shocks and supply disruptions. Related: Rig Count Plunges Yet Again, Down Another 30
ADNOC is eyeing half the storage capacity at one of the new underground facilities, Mangalore, which has a 1.5-million-ton capacity on its own. Abu Dhabi plans to stock 0.75 million tons, or 6 million barrels of oil, here, and 0.5 million tons will belong to India.
The deal is reflective of a wider, global storage panic and talk of what could happen when we reach ‘’peak storage’’. A number of analysts have suggested that oil prices might crash to $20, or even $10 a barrel, if storage tanks become full.
Storage is now at the highest level in at least a decade.
In the U.S., crude storage levels hit 487 million barrels in early November, closing in on the 80-year high of 490 million barrels hit earlier this year. Related: In Spite Of Its Vast Oil Reserves, Cuba Fails To Woo Investors
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 60 percent of the U.S.’ working storage capacity is filled.
Globally, the picture isn’t much better, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) saying that 1 billion barrels were added to storage in 2015 alone. OPEC has reported that crude oil stockpiles in OECD countries currently exceed the running five-year average by 210 million barrels.
This has given impetus to more creative storage ideas and will at least be a boon to massive storage projects such as India’s.
Floating storage—a more expensive option—is now looking more attractive as well. But to make this work, the math has to be in order, which means that front-end crude spreads would have to be wide enough to cover the cost of storing oil in pricey floating facilities.
Late last month, Bloomberg reported that trading giant Glencore had chartered four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) to store oil off Southeast Asia. But there’s still onshore storage capacity, and we’re not quite to the point where the floating option is widespread. Related: There Will Be No OPEC Cut
The U.S. still has 100 million barrels of available storage, and we should see more storage capacity by the end of this year. The Middle East is also slated to add capacity in the coming years, with the UAE specifically planning to expand its capacity to take on another 10 million barrels.
The analytical panic is perhaps premature. We’re not facing ‘’peak storage’’ just yet, but Abu Dhabi is playing it smart and safe.
Still, the UAE estimates the oil glut at 2 million barrels a day and growing, and its own storage expansion plans will benefit from this. After all, it houses the biggest oil storage port on the Persian Gulf—Fujairah Oil Terminal FZC—on the Hormuz Strait.
Fujairah received its first shipment just this month of 1 million barrels, and storage capacity is slated to increase 75 percent this decade.
By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: | {
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A very sweet and heartfelt sentiment in a holiday season that will need it most. Thank you so much, and yes getting mail is still gives me derp out. Thumbs up! | {
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While epigenetics is quickly becoming a mainstream field of research, this was not always the case. Until recently epigenetics was a persona non grata within genetics; and even today the findings of epigenetics resesarch are often maligned as either unimportant or as psuedoscience. Epigenetics has a long and colorful scientific and cultural and political history which helps to explain its relatively recent – and still quite mixed – acceptance as a viable field of scientific research. Discussions regarding this history of epigenetics can be found below or by using the Categories list located on the righthand margin of this blog.
Radical Bodies: The Political Biology of the Enlightenment and Contemporary Political Theory
Epigenetics and the Cold War
More About Waddington: Socialism, Science, and Epigenetics
C.H. Waddington: Genesis of the Original Epigeneticist
A Tale of Two Fields: Epigenetics and Biology Between the Wars
The Progressive Movement, Genetics, and the State
Eugenics and the Rise of Population Genetics
Alfred Russel Wallace, Ideology, and Evolution
Lamarckism and the Biology of Discontent in the 1800s
The Unfortunate Legacy of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Lamarck’s Actual Lamarckism (or How Contemporary Epigenetics is not Lamarckian)
The Reception of Epigenetics: More like Mendel or Darwin?
The History of Epigenetics and the Science of Social Progress
Epigenetics, ethics and the evolution of science
A Brief History of Epigenetics: Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
A Brief History of Epigenetics: C.H. Waddington
Epigenetics and the Extended Synthesis
The Genetics of the Ethics of the Science of Genetics
Epigenetics Minority Report Part I: Epigenetics, blame, precrime and politics
Epigenetics as a Political Revolution?
More Than Just Science I: The Challenges of Epigenetics to our Traditional Ethics
More Than Just Science II: The Challenges of Epigenetics to our Traditional Ethics
More Than Just Science III: The Challenges of Epigenetics to our Traditional Ethics
More Than Science IV: The Challenges of Epigenetics to our Traditional Ethics
Epigenetics and Environmental Ethics I
Epigenetics and Environmental Ethics II: The Ancient Greeks and the Romans
Epigenetics and Environmental Ethics III: Genetics and the Rise of Christianity
Epigenetics and Environmental Ethics IV: Did Aristotle and Aquinas Discover DNA
History Part I: A Brief History of Epigenetics
History Part II: Epigenetics and the Politics of Science
History Part III: Epigenetics and the Dustbin of History
Epigenetics and Two of its Cold War Casualties
Epigenetics Before Epigenetics Was Cool?
The Epigenetic Evolution of Genetics (and Epigenetics)
How is Epigenetics Different from Genetics? | {
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Jury duty long has been held up as a privilege of U.S. citizenship, along with voting and a few other civic actions.
But in move that is drawing controversy, California is considering extending the right to serve on a jury to legal immigrants who are not naturalized citizens. The California Assembly passed a bill on Thursday that would allow non-citizens who are in the country legally to serve on jury duty.
Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, a Democrat, sponsored the bill, arguing that the state needs to broaden the pool of eligible jurors, and that fulfilling jury duty would help integrate immigrants.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, the branch that deals with naturalization, said that only U.S. citizens may serve on federal juries, but that some local jurisdictions in the nation allow non-citizens to be jurors. The same is true of voting, which at the federal level requires citizenship.
Immigration advocacy groups lauded California’s move.
"It's a practical bill given the huge absence of jurors throughout the nation and it's an excellent introduction to our judicial system for residents who sooner than later will naturalize and become U.S. citizens," stated Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, or CHIRLA.
But proponents of strict immigration policies likened the California bill to a slippery slope.
“The California Democrats should focus their attention on encouraging qualified aliens to become U.S. citizens,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR. “In our democracy, a citizen is an office holder binding the community; a citizen helps in governing the community as a republic. Citizens have sacred duties that define this office, including voting, jury service and loyalty to the state, often in preparation for handling elected office.”
Federal policy requires that people be U.S. citizens to engage activities such as voting in federal elections or serving on federal juries. But at the local level, such actions do not always require citizenship.
The United States long has allowed non-citizen legal immigrants to join the armed forces. Roughly 8,000 immigrants who have so-called green cards join the armed forces each year, according to Pentagon data. Nearly 30,000 non-citizen immigrants now serve in the armed forces.
The California bill does not change other criteria for being eligible to serve on a jury, such as being at least 18, living in the county that is making the summons and being proficient in English.
California has a total of 173,339 legal permanent residents 18 years of over. Nearly 50,000 of them are from Mexico, 23,117 from China, 22,797 from the Philippines and 15,061 from India.
The jury duty bill passed 45-25 largely on a party-line vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and will move on to the Senate. One Democrat — Assemblyman Adam Gray, of Merced — voted no, while some other Democrats did not vote.
Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill said there is no correlation between being a citizen and a juror, and they noted that there is no citizenship requirement to be an attorney or a judge. Republican lawmakers who opposed Wieckowski's bill called it misguided and premature.
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, said there is no shortage of jurors.
"Jury selection is not the problem. The problem is trial court funding," Harkey said before the vote. "I hope we can focus on that. Let's not break something; it's not broken now. Let's not whittle away at what is reserved for U.S. citizens. There's a reason for it."
Noting that women were once kept off juries, Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, said the judicial system should be changed to allow a person to be judged by their peers.
"This isn't about affording someone who would come in as a juror something," Perez said. "But rather understanding that the importance of the jury selection process of affording justice to the person in that courtroom."
An estimated 10 million Californians are summoned for jury duty each year and about four million are eligible and available to serve, according to the Judicial Council, which administers the state's court system. About 3.2 million complete the service, meaning they waited in a courthouse assembly room or were placed on call.
In 2010-2011, the most recent year available, only about 165,000 people were sworn in as jurors.
The judicial branch has not taken a position on AB 1401.
Wieckowski's office said that courts regularly struggle to find enough prospective jurors because jury duty is often seen as an inconvenience, if not a burden. His office did not cite any statistics but pointed to a 2003 legislative report that said numerous articles have noted high rates of non-participation.
A 2007 survey by the Center for Jury Studies said 20 percent of courts across the country reported a failure to respond or failure to appear rate of 15 percent or higher. The center is run by the National Center for State Courts, a Virginia-based nonprofit dedicated to improving court systems.
It's not clear, however, if that rate translates to a shortage of jurors in California.
Paula Hannaford, an expert at the Center for Jury Studies, confirmed that California would be the only place -- state or locality -- in the country to allow non-citizens to serve jury duty.
Hannaford said that the United States has more jury trials than the rest of the world combined, making it a challenge for courts to get enough people to serve. She also said that the law could help California’s juries achieve a more proportionate representation of Asians and Hispanics, many of whom are legal permanent residents, but not citizens.
The judicial branch has not taken a position on AB 1401.
Fox News researcher John Gallagher and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino | {
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In the previous article, we demonstrated the first Cluster Orchestration solution supported by Photon Controller by deploying a fully functional Kubernetes Cluster using Photon Controller. In this article, we will now look at deploying a Mesos Cluster using Photon Controller.
The minimal deployment for a Mesos Cluster in Photon Controller consists of 6 Virtual Machines: 3 Masters, 1 Zookeeper, 1 Marathon & 1 Slave. If you only have 16GB of memory on your ESXi host, then you will need to override the default VM Flavor when deploying a Mesos Cluster. If you have more than 16GB of available memory, then you can skip Step 1 and move to Step 2 directly.
Deploying Mesos Cluster
Step 1 - If you have not already created a new cluster-tiny-vm VM Flavor from the previous article that consists of 1vCPU/1GB memory, please run the following command:
./photon -n flavor create --name cluster-tiny-vm --kind "vm" --cost "vm 1 COUNT,vm.flavor.cluster-other-vm 1 COUNT,vm.cpu 1 COUNT,vm.memory 1 GB,vm.cost 1 COUNT"
Step 2- Download the Mesos VMDK from here
Step 3 - We will now upload our Mesos image and make a note of the ID that is generated after the upload completes by running the following command:
./photon -n image create photon-mesos-vm-disk1.vmdk -n photon-meos-vm.vmdk -i EAGER
Step 4 - Next, we will also need the ID of our Photon Controller Instance deployment as it will be required in the next step by running the following command:
./photon deployment list
Step 5 - We will now enable the Mesos Cluster Orchestration on our Photon Controller instance by running the following command and specifying the ID of your deployment as well as the ID of the Mesos image from the previous two steps:
./photon -n deployment enable-cluster-type 569c3963-2519-4893-969c-aed768d12623 -k MESOS -i 51c331ea-d313-499c-9d8f-f97532dd6954
Step 6 - We are now ready to spin up our Mesos Cluster by simply running the following command and substituting the network information from your environment. We are going to only deploying a single Mesos Slave (if you have additional resources you can spin up more or you can always re-size the cluster after it has been deployed). Do not forget to override the default VM Flavor used by specifying -v option and providing the name of our VM Flavor which we had created earlier called cluster-tiny-vm. You can just hit enter when prompted for the two zookeeper IP Addresses.
./photon cluster create -n mesos-cluster -k MESOS --dns 192.168.1.1 --gateway 192.168.1.1 --netmask 255.255.255.0 --zookeeper1 192.168.1.45 -s 1 -v cluster-tiny-vm
Step 7 - The process can take a few minutes and you should see a message like the one shown above which prompts you to run the cluster show command to get more details about the state of the cluster.
./photon cluster show bf962c3a-28a2-435d-bd96-0313ca254667
At this point, you have now successfully deployed a Mesos cluster running on Photon Controller. What you will be looking for in this screen is the IP Address of the Marathon VM which is the management interface to Mesos. We will need this IP Address in the next section if you plan to explore Mesos a bit more.
Exploring Mesos
Using the IP Address obtained from the previous step, you can now open a web browser and enter the following: http://[MARATHON-IP]:8080 which should launch the Marathon UI as shown in the screenshot below. If you wish to deploy a simple application using Marathon, you can follow the workflow here. Since we deployed Mesos using a tiny VM Flavor, we would not be able to exercise the final step of deploying an application running on Mesos. If you have more resources, I definitely recommend you give the workflow a try.
In our last and final article of the series, we will be covering the last Cluster Orchestration supported on Photon Controller which is Docker Swarm. | {
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Monday night, in the wake of a national tragedy, MSNBC's All In host Chris Hayes and guests couldn’t help but blame the President for the two horrific shootings. The tragedy was not only portrayed directly as the President’s fault, but as part of Trump's plan all along.
Hayes started off the discussion by ranting:
Even before the mass murders this weekend, even before this white supremacist committed what is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism, it has been clear from the first moment that Donald Trump came down that escalator four years ago, and particularly clear in the last few weeks as Donald Trump stood idly by as a crowd at his rally chanted 'send her back,' the President’s cultivation of racist ideology and his racist definition of what the U.S. is for, pose an existential threat to what the country's nature should be.
The left-wing host went on: “That's it. It is an existential threat that we faced down many times before and had battles over and continue to battle over, but this is as much a hinge in history about what the country we are going to be as we have ever had.” So, the President was somehow just as bad as slave-holding presidents of the past, as Andrew Jackson’s Trail of Tears, and worth “battling over”? Hayes better be careful with his rhetoric, sounds like calls for civil war.
Guest, Erika Andiola, the Chief Advocacy Officer for illegal immigration legal service group RAICES, weighed in on the discussion: “Not only is the narrative of Donald Trump creating policies against our communities, it is also actually driving actions now from people who really listen to him, who really believe what he's saying about immigrants, and obviously this person going to the border and doing what he did was specifically targeted towards immigrants.”
The President denounced white supremacy and the actions of the shooter on Monday, but of course Chris Hayes wouldn’t know: “You know, Adam, I didn't play any of the President's speech today or even mention it because it just seemed to me completely immaterial.” Hayes continued: “We know what he is and what he actually believes. And you know, you've written about this before. That the essence of what he has been selling cannot be detached from this particularly racialized vision of who really America is for, who belongs here.” At least his viewers know that his show is based off of assumptions.
Adam Serwer, writer for The Atlantic, replied: “Look, I'm sure the President doesn't actively want people to die, but both he and his advisers spent the last month telling everyone who would listen how brilliant the President's strategy of fomenting racial division was.” So Serwer isn’t ‘actively’ calling the President a murderer, but just implying that the president passively wanted people to die.
Sewer continued: “And when you're telling everyone -- when you're telling your audiences, these huge audiences of people, both who watch Fox News and who listen to the President, that the country is in danger, in existential danger because of the threat posed by people who don't look or worship like them, then you can't control how people are going to react to it.”
Of course MSNBC can engage in all the irresponsible rhetoric it wants by labeling Trump and his supporters as an "existential threat" to the country.
Here is the transcript from the August 5 episode of All In: | {
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"From my perspective, we were on the tracks before the barriers went down, the bus was already over the train tracks before the barriers went down, before the gates went down, I think," she said.
"I was looking up from my book and I felt him inching (the bus) forward, I didn't think anything of it but seconds later, people started reacting, everyone started to stand up."
Ms Jarvis said a woman on the bus yelled at the bus driver to open the doors to let them off when she saw the train signal flashing.
"We didn't really know what to do then there was a realisation that we had to get off the bus.
"At that stage we could see the train coming, he inched forward as much as he could and he opened the bus and we were all able to get off," she said. | {
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Ed Orgeron of LSU is The Associated Press Coach of the Year after leading the top-ranked Tigers to a Southeastern Conference championship and their first College Football Playoff appearance.
Orgeron received 33 of 56 first-place votes from Top 25 poll voters and a total of 130 points for the award presented by Regions Bank and announced Tuesday.
AP ALL-AMERICA TEAMS DOMINATED BY LSU, OHIO STATE
Baylor's Matt Rhule, who led the Bears to an 11-2 record and an appearance in the Big 12 championship game, finished second with 14 first-place votes (86 points). Ohio State's Ryan Day was third with five-first-place votes (45 points) and Minnesota's P.J. Fleck was fourth with three first-place votes (40 points).
Orgeron is the third different LSU coach to win the award since it was established in 1998, joining Nick Saban in 2003 and Les Miles in 2011. Saban and Miles both led their teams to the BCS championship game, with Saban winning and Miles losing.
Orgeron and the Tigers will face No. 4 Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff semifinals on Dec. 28 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
EX-NFL STAR VINCE YOUNG LOSES VALUABLE TROPHIES AFTER FAILING TO PAY FOR STORAGE SPACE: REPORT
This is Orgeron's third full season as LSU coach and the Tigers' record has improved each year. He was elevated to interim coach during the 2016 season after Miles was fired and eventually landed his dream job.
The Louisiana native is 38-9 at LSU with a 23-7 record in the SEC. The 58-year-old Orgeron was a longtime assistant coach, part of national championship staffs with Miami in the late 1980s and early '90s, and with Southern California in the early 2000s. Along the way, he gained a reputation as one of the best recruiters and defensive line coaches in the nation.
His first stint as a head coach was in the SEC at Mississippi. That lasted only three seasons and 10 victories. He was interim head coach at USC in 2013, going 6-2 but it wasn't enough to keep the job.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Orgeron landed at LSU as an assistant to Miles in 2015. He faced some skepticism when he was first given the job by then-athletic director Joe Alleva, but over three years he has proved to be a perfect fit. A week after his team landed the top seed in the playoff, he spent the weekend watching his quarterback, Joe Burrow, win the Heisman Trophy. | {
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US president nominates Alex Azar, who worked for a decade in the pharmaceutical industry, prompting outcry over ‘big pharma in US Congress’
This article is more than 2 years old
This article is more than 2 years old
In search of a health secretary after his last one resigned in a scandal over private jets, Donald Trump has turned to the same industry he has frequently criticized for gouging Americans – pharmaceutical giants.
The US president announced in a tweet on Monday that he would nominate former Eli Lilly executive Alex Azar for the position of health and human services secretary.
Tom Price resigns as health secretary over private flights and Trump criticism Read more
If confirmed by the Senate, Azar would be tasked with overseeing some of America’s most venerated health institutions and the industry he was once a part of, including drug approvals and massive public health programs expanded in recent years by Obamacare.
In a tweet, Trump said Azar would be a “star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!”
As recently as this fall, the president harshly criticized the drug industry.
“The drug companies, frankly, are getting away with murder,” the president said at a cabinet meeting last month. Prices were “out of control” and “have gone through the roof”, he said.
Azar’s industry ties make him an unusual pick for health secretary. The former president of Lilly USA, Eli Lilly’s US affiliate, Azar worked in the drug industry for roughly 10 years after leaving a post in George W Bush’s health department. Most past heads of the HHS have come from the ranks of elected officials, academics or managers from within the department.
If he is confirmed, Azar would fill a post vacated by Tom Price, a former House Republican who resigned after spending at least $400,000 in taxpayer funds traveling in private jets.
“Just weeks after denouncing ‘out-of-control’ prescription prices, President Donald Trump shows he doesn’t mean it by nominating a former pharmaceutical company executive to run the US Department of Health and Human Services,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group.
“The swamp only gets worse,” said Weissman. “Price supported big pharma in the US Congress. Now, apparently, Trump has decided to cut out the middleman and let a pharmaceutical executive literally run the federal department that protects the health of all Americans.”
Currently, pharmaceutical companies spend more lobbying Washington DC than any other industry, including $208m in 2017. Recent scandals have highlighted the industry’s influence and its ties to the White House. For instance, Trump’s one-time nominee for the Drug Enforcement Agency, Republican Tom Marino, was forced to withdraw his name from consideration after it was revealed he lobbied to protect drugmakers who cashed in on America’s opioid epidemic.
Critics were quick to point out that Azar was at Eli Lilly when the price of the company’s insulin brand Humalog, a drug millions of diabetics use to regulate blood sugar, was raised 345%, according to Public Citizen. The group called the nomination a completion of the pharmaceutical industry’s “coup d’etat in healthcare”.
Over the last decade, the price of insulin increased about 240%, according to Kaiser Health News. One vial of the drug can regularly top $300. As of 2011, at least 17.7 million Americans used some kind of diabetic medication, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Price increases from Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi have prompted questions from state attorneys general and civil attorneys. The companies have received information requests from state attorneys general in New Mexico, Washington and Minnesota, and that information was shared with attorneys general in Florida and California.
“Trump tells us Azar will be a ‘star’ who will lower prescription prices,” said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Program. “Eli Lilly is notorious for spiking prices of this century-old isolated hormone.”
Azar also found some unlikely advocates. The head of the public health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid under the Obama administration, an outspoken critic of Trump’s policies, said Azar could be, “a good HHS Secretary”.
“He is familiar enough with the high quality of the HHS staff, has real world experience enough to be pragmatic, and will hopefully avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessor in overpoliticizing American’s access to healthcare,” said former Obama administration official Andy Slavitt.
America's opioid crisis: how prescription drugs sparked a national trauma Read more
Azar, 50, a lawyer by training, has spent most of the last 10 years with Eli Lilly before leaving in January to start his own consulting firm, Seraphim Strategies in Indianapolis, Indiana, Vice-President Mike Pence’s home state. Azar is seen as an expert on government healthcare regulation.
He also served several years on the board of directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a drug industry lobbying group, and earlier was general counsel and deputy secretary for health and human Services under Bush.
Azar spent his formative years in Maryland. He got his bachelor’s degree in government and economics from another Ivy League institution, Dartmouth. He once clerked for the late supreme court Justice Antonin Scalia, a revered figure for conservatives. During the Bill Clinton years, he served a stint with independent counsel Kenneth Starr. | {
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Last year we introduced Rubocop to our team workflow. For those who aren't familiar with Rubocop, it's a linting tool for Ruby. We love it so much, we even run it as a blocking Continuous Integration (CI) step.
It has helped a lot to unify the style of 8 people that work every day on a large codebase like ours.
But I still see angry commit messages popping up in our Slack channel from time to time, messages like "RUBOCOP!!!!!". Luckily, these commits are squashed and merged. 😜 Don't let me name the names, but yeah, it happens. 😸
Now, I've been caught myself in this trap, too, 😿 but I use some tricks to avoid CI build failures as much as I can.
Base settings
I've found really useful this bare minimum group of settings as a starting point for a new project:
# Please keep AllCops, Bundler, Layout, Style, Metrics groups and then order cops # alphabetically # # References: # * https://github.com/bbatsov/ruby-style-guide # * https://rubocop.readthedocs.io/ AllCops: DisplayCopNames: true DisplayStyleGuide: true ExtraDetails: false TargetRubyVersion: 2.5
I place this at the top of a fresh Rubocop configuration file ( .rubocop.yml ). The AllCops is a catch-all that applies these settings to all the cops, which are code checks. Each cop is responsible for detecting one particular offense.
The first three settings tell Rubocop to print extra information in case of code style violations. This is helpful when you want to make informed decisions: either google for the name of the cop or disable it.
The TargetRubyVersion , as the name implies, tells Rubocop which Ruby version you prefer to use. When a minor version of Ruby is released, you can take advantage of the new feature, syntax or improvements. Rubocop indicates the appropriate changes according to the Ruby version you're using.
Integrate with your editor
My only editor is NeoVim, and I use the syntastic plugin for syntax checks. You can configure it to show not just syntax errors, but also rubocop violations.
Add this to your .vimrc .
let g:syntastic_ruby_checkers = ['rubocop', 'mri']
Having that visual feedback helps detect the problem instantly. Detecting is just noise, though, if you don't have a good way to fix it.
Autocorrect all-the-things
Sometimes there are a lot of violations; for example, maybe you're copying and pasting code from one file to another, and the indentation levels aren't respected. Instead of fixing all these violations manually, let Rubocop to do the job for you.
I've integrated the autocorrect option with my editor.
function! RubocopAutocorrect() execute "!rubocop -a " . bufname("%") call SyntasticCheck() endfunction map <silent> <Leader>cop :call RubocopAutocorrect()<cr>
As soon my attention is caught by the visual feedback described above, I run this shortcut; 95% of the times it solves the problem.
Right, there are still the 5% of cases that it isn't able to fix, but this tip reduces the amount of manual intervention. Sometimes, laziness is a virtue.
Pre-commit hook
The first two tips assume that you're editing a file that contains violations, and you fix problems as soon as you run into them.
There are cases when you don't edit the file, yet still get CI failures, because you aren't able to catch the error before you do a git push.
The classic example is generated code. You get some new files and you don't edit right away. If they have violations you'll never know until CI fails. And with a large codebase, the build can take a look time, which means you won't know about this error until you are off onto another task.
You can install a Git pre-commit hook to handle this situation. Copy the following code into .git/hooks/pre-commit and ensure this file is an executable.
#!/bin/bash files=$(git status -s | grep -E 'A|M' | awk '{print $2}') files="$files $(git status -s | grep -E 'R' | awk '{print $4}')" echo $files | xargs rubocop --display-cop-names --extra-details --parallel --force-exclusion
It runs Rubocop only for new, modified, or renamed files, and, in case of violations, it causes the commit to fail.
Another option is to use Overcommit, a git hooks manager that some people in the DNSimple team use.
You can then fix the problems and then finally commit safely. Perhaps this is a good time to use Rubocop's autocorrect option from the command-line ( rubocop -a ).
Please note that if for some reason you need to skip the Git hook, you can use -n with git commit .
Conclusion
These quick tips helped me to eliminate frustrating CI failures. I hope you'll find them useful too.
Happy (linted) coding!
📣 UPDATE October 10, 2018: I fixed the pre commit hook script, because it was causing the following problem:
$ git mv old.rb new.rb $ git commit -m "Renamed old.rb to new.rb" Error: No such file or directory: old.rb
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Rio Ferdinand cannot understand why Wayne Rooney does not get the credit his record-breaking exploits deserve and says he is more appreciated in Europe than England.
Rooney, already England's top goalscorer, finally surpassed Sir Bobby Charlton's Manchester United mark with his 250th goal for the club on Saturday.
Yet the 31-year-old continues to divide opinion about his place in the pantheon of all-time greats in English football.
And Ferdinand, Rooney's teammate for United and England for 10 years, feels Rooney would be more appreciated in Europe than in his homeland.
He said: "I don't know what it is. I try to put my finger on it all the time.
"He is putting up numbers that nobody has done. He is surpassing records -- landmark records that nobody has been near for 40 years. But there's always a 'but.' Why?
Wayne Rooney doesn't get the respect he deserves in England, according to former teammate Rio Ferdinand. Getty
"I think he's appreciated more on the continent than he is in this country and that's a shame because a lot of foreign teams would love to have taken him many times.
"They'd see he wasn't just an out-and-out striker, he wasn't just a No. 10, he was a combination of both.
"How many in history have we seen really able to do that?
"The Brazilian Ronaldo didn't do that, Marco van Basten didn't do that, and they're the two best No. 9s in my time watching football.''
Rooney is no longer a first-choice pick at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho, and Ferdinand is not surprised the England captain is showing signs of slowing down.
However, Ferdinand insists there is still plenty more to come from Rooney now he has hit the magic 250.
"He's 31, but he's probably got the mileage of a 36-year-old with what he has done in his career and the velocity he plays at, the scrutiny and the pressure,'' added the former defender.
"The big thing has been to get through that barrier of 250. That's a lot of pressure. People were always talking about it.
"Getting there might just release a fresher Wayne Rooney. I don't think he is at that point yet where he needs to wind down.'' | {
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Don't Hate The Player, Hate The Relative Nature of Time and Space
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Yubico was founded with the mission of making simple and secure logins ubiquitous. In 2008, we launched the first YubiKey for seamless, one-touch authentication. In 2012, in close collaboration with Google, Yubico’s inventions evolved into the FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) open authentication standard, and in 2014 it was launched in Gmail and Chrome. In collaboration with Microsoft and the FIDO Alliance, the standard evolved into FIDO2, with the W3C web standards body certifying the standard under the name WebAuthn.
With each passing year, Google, Opera, Mozilla, Microsoft, and Brave browsers have added support. Now, with Apple adding native support for FIDO and WebAuthn in iOS and iPadOS 13.3, these standards are supported by all leading platforms and browsers. Today, developers can make easy-to-use, privacy-preserving, strong authentication available to all users across all leading platforms and devices.
Here are the highlights of native WebAuthn and FIDO support on iOS:
iOS and iPadOS 13.3+ natively support FIDO-compliant security keys, like the YubiKey, using the WebAuthn standard over near-field communication (NFC), USB, and/or Lightning as appropriate to the Apple hardware being used.
Currently, the WebAuthn second-factor use case (the FIDO U2F user experience) is the only log in flow that is supported. Security key-based biometrics or PIN (without the use of username and password) are not supported yet.
Web apps via Safari, or mobile apps calling SFSafariViewController ASWebAuthenticationSession should work. If a service fails to work, it is likely that the provider is unaware that native support is now available on iOS, and needs to update their web flow. Please contact your service provider to make support.
With today’s announcement, Yubico now offers two great user experiences on iOS using a simple tap or a physical connection. Authentication via NFC is supported by the YubiKey 5 NFC or Security Key NFC by Yubico by just tapping the YubiKey at the top of an iPhone (7 and above). Authentication via physical connection is supported by the YubiKey 5Ci by plugging the YubiKey into the Lightning or USB-C port of an iPhone or iPad.
So, what can you do?
Developers and online services can learn how to rapidly add support, including how to enable native support on iOS. If you are a developer, sign up to join the Yubico Developer Program to be informed on the latest reference documentation, testing tools, and open source servers.
Individuals and companies who want easy, secure access to their daily online accounts — including those in financial, healthcare, and government services — can accelerate adoption by requesting support for YubiKey and WebAuthn.
Today, Yubico is humbled by the many contributions our entire community has made, and would like to extend our utmost gratitude to every one of you that helped bring us one step closer to internet security ubiquity! | {
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WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is confident that the Haqqani network was behind the Taliban’s Saturday ambulance bomb in Kabul that killed more than 100 people, officials say, a conclusion that could add friction to ties between Washington and Islamabad.
Afghan policemen inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
The United States has long blamed militant safe havens in Pakistan for prolonging the war in Afghanistan, giving insurgents from the Haqqani network a place to plot attacks and rebuild their forces.
“We are very confident the Taliban Haqqani network was behind the killing of more than 103 people this past Saturday,” said Captain Tom Gresback, a U.S. military spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, without elaborating further on U.S. intelligence or offering any link to Pakistan.
Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told Reuters the United States believed the attack was the work of the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, which Washington and Kabul have long accused of being behind some of the Afghanistan’s most deadly attacks.
Afghanistan’s envoy to the United Nations, Mahmoud Saikal, on Monday suggested the plot was too complex for the Taliban to have developed on their own.
“Given the degree of sophistication ... can you expect an illiterate Taliban to come up with this kind of genius plot, using ambulances?” Saikal told Reuters in an interview, adding Kabul was still gathering information.
“It’s not a simple thing to do.”
Saturday’s blast, claimed by the Taliban, was the deadliest since 150 people were killed in a huge truck bomb explosion last May near the German embassy, which U.S. officials also blamed on the Haqqani network.
It followed another Taliban-claimed attack a week earlier that killed more than 20 people in a siege of the city’s Intercontinental Hotel.
On Monday, militants raided a military academy in Kabul, the Afghan capital, killing 11 soldiers. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack near the Marshal Fahim military academy on the city’s western outskirts.
The attacks have put pressure on President Ashraf Ghani and his U.S. allies, who have expressed growing confidence that a new, more aggressive military strategy has succeeded in driving Taliban insurgents back from major provincial centers.
PAKISTAN ROLE
Ties between the United States and Pakistan are already brittle after Washington announced plans earlier in January to suspend up to roughly $2 billion in U.S. security assistance. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that Pakistan had rewarded past U.S. aid with “nothing but lies & deceit.”
Pakistan, which denies the accusations it allows safe havens for militants, condemned Saturday’s attack and accused Washington of betrayal.
As tensions rise, the United States has been quietly examining ways to mitigate any retaliation by Pakistan, a crucial gateway for U.S. military supplies destined for troops fighting the 16-year-old war in landlocked Afghanistan.
It also has not ruled out additional steps, including unilateral strikes in Pakistan against Haqqani targets.
Saikal renewed the longstanding Afghan concern that the plots for these attacks were coming from Pakistan and cheered Trump’s rejection on Monday of the possibility of peace talks with the Taliban.
“We hope the fight also includes focus on where the terrorist attacks are plotted and organized,” he said in an interview. | {
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Product Description
J 147 powder video
Raw J 147 powder basic Characters
Name: J 147 powder CAS: 1146963-51-0 Molecular Formula: C18H17F3N2O2 Molecular Weight: 350.3349896 Melt Point: 177-178°C Storage Temp: 4°C Color: White or off white powder
Raw J 147 powder in enhance brain function and an extra boost cycle
Names
J 147 powder
J 147 (1146963-51-0) Usage dosage
Using a drug discovery scheme for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that is based upon multiple pathologies of old age, we identified a potent compound with efficacy in rodent memory and AD animal models. Since this compound, J-147 powder, is a phenyl hydrazide, there was concern that it can be metabolized to aromatic amines/hydrazines that are potentially carcinogenic. To explore this possibility, we examined the metabolites of J 147 powder in human and mouse microsomes and mouse plasma. It is shown that J-147(1146963-51-0) powder is not metabolized to aromatic amines or hydrazines, that the scaffold is exceptionally stable, and that the oxidative metabolites are also neuroprotective. It is concluded that the major metabolites of J 147(1146963-51-0) powder may contribute to its biological activity in animals.
J 147 , derived from the curry spice component curcumin, has low toxicity and actually reverses damage in neurons associated with Alzheimer’s.
J 147 (1146963-51-0) was the mitochondrial protein known as ATP synthase, specifically ATP5A, a subunit of that protein. ATP synthase is involved in the mitochondrial generation of ATP, which cells use for energy.
The researchers demonstrated that by reducing the activity of ATP synthase, they were able to protect neuronal cells from a number of toxicities associated with the aging of the brain. One reason for this neuroprotective effect is thought to be the role of excitotoxicity in neuronal cell damage.
Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which neurons are damaged and killed by the overactivation of receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Think of it being a bit like a light switch being turned on and off so rapidly that it ends up causing the light bulb to blow.
Recently, the role of ATP synthase inhibition for neuroprotection against excitotoxic damage was demonstrated in a mouse study[4]. The second study showed that mouse models expressing the human form of mutant ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (hIF1), which causes a sustained inhibition of ATP synthase, were more resilient to neuronal death after excitotoxic damage. This data is consistent with this new J 147 powder study, in which an increase in IF1 in the mice reduced the activity of ATP synthase (specifically ATP5A) and was neuroprotective.
Warning on Raw J 147 powder
Data presented here demonstrate that J-147 powder has the ability to rescue cognitive deficits when administered at a late stage in the disease. The ability of J-147 powder to improve memory in aged AD mice is correlated with its induction of the neurotrophic factors NGF (nerve growth factor) and BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) as well as several BDNF-responsive proteins which are important for learning and memory. The comparison between J-147(1146963-51-0) powder and donepezil in the scopolamine model showed that while both compounds were comparable at rescuing short term memory, J-147 powder was superior at rescuing spatial memory and a combination of the two worked best for contextual and cued memory.
Further instructions
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder, recently ranked as the third leading cause of death in the United States and affecting more than five million Americans. It is also the most common cause of dementia in older adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), few have proven effective in the clinic.
“While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), none have proven effective in the clinic,” says Schubert, senior author of the study.
Several years ago, Schubert and his colleagues began to approach the treatment of the disease from a new angle. Rather than target amyloid, the lab decided to zero in on the major risk factor for the disease–old age. Using cell-based screens against old age-associated brain toxicities, they synthesized J 147(1146963-51-0) powder.
Previously, the team found that J-147 powder could prevent and even reverse memory loss and Alzheimer’s pathology in mice that have a version of the inherited form of Alzheimer’s, the most commonly used mouse model. However, this form of the disease comprises only about 1 percent of Alzheimer’s cases. For everyone else, old age is the primary risk factor, says Schubert. The team wanted to explore the effects of the drug candidate on a breed of mice that age rapidly and experience a version of dementia that more closely resembles the age-related human disorder.
J 147 Raw Powder
Min order 10grams.
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'WHEN I LOOKED UP I SAW A HUGE MAN. HE LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER': THE HORRIFIC ABUSE NADIA MURAD SUFFERED
Nadia Murad said she had to 'take herself off to another world' as she was brutally raped
Nadia was part of the non-Muslim Yazidi community, which was stormed by jihadis in 2014.
Six of her eight brothers were murdered in front of her, alongside 300 other men from her village, before she was snatched and repeatedly raped by 'countless' men several times a day.
Her mother was killed while Nadia and her two sisters and teenage female cousins and nieces, were transported to the ISIS stronghold of Mosul with more than 150 other girls before being subjected to horrific sexual abuse.
She said she had to 'take herself off to another world' as she was brutally raped.
Nadia was eventually able to escape some three months later, fleeing to the safety of a refugee camp before finding asylum in Germany.
The young girls were even raped as they were transported to Mosul. Nadia told the United Nations Security Council in December: 'My mother saw them killing my brothers and then they took my mother and killed her.
'I was already orphaned as I didn't have a father, all I had in the war was my mother.
'But when they took me to Mosul and raped me, I forgot my mother and brothers. Because what they were doing to the women was more difficult than death.
'Imagine until now, for more than a year and a half, girls as young as nine are being rented and sold out [for sex].'
Nadia told politicians at the United Nations: 'I implore you, get rid of Daesh (Islamic State) completely.'
Reliving the horrific abuse, which started when she was being transported to Mosul, she said: 'Along the way, they humiliated us. They touched us and violated us.
'They took us to Mosul with more than 150 other Yazidi families. In a building, there were thousands of Yazidi families and children who were exchanged as gifts.
'One of these people came up to me. He wanted to take me. I looked down at the floor. I was absolutely petrified. When I looked up, I saw a huge man. He looked like a monster.'
The brave Iraqi women have vowed to continue speaking out on behalf of those who suffered a similar fate
She continued: ‘I cried. I cried out, I said “I’m too young and you’re huge”. He hit me. He kicked me and beat me.
‘And a few minutes later, another man came up to me. I still was looking at the floor.
‘I saw that he was a little bit smaller. I begged him. I implored him for him to take me. I was incredibly scared of the first man.'
Describing the man who took her, she said: 'He forced me to get dressed and put my makeup on and then that terrible night, he did it.
'He forced me to serve as part of his military faction, he humiliated me every day.'
She tried to escape, but was stopped by a guard.
She said: 'Imagine until now, for more than a year and a half, girls as young as nine are being rented and sold out [for sex]'
Nadia recalled: 'That night he beat me. He asked me to take my clothes off. He put me in a room with the guards and then they proceeded to commit their crime until I fainted.'
And she said to politicians: 'I implore you, get rid of Daesh (Islamic State) completely.'
Through tears, she said: ''They were committing all kinds; murder, rape and displacing people by force in the name of Islam.
'Many people may think my story is difficult, but many more had more difficult than mine. They killed six of my brothers, but there are families that have lost 10 brothers.' | {
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Speaking at a rally in Redding, Calif., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pointed out a man at the rally and said, "look at my African American." Trump then mentioned an African American supporter who punched a Trump protester dressed like a Ku Klux Klan member at an Arizona rally in March. (Reuters)
Speaking at a rally in Redding, Calif., Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pointed out a man at the rally and said, "look at my African American." Trump then mentioned an African American supporter who punched a Trump protester dressed like a Ku Klux Klan member at an Arizona rally in March. (Reuters)
Donald Trump needed validation.
At a rally Friday, Trump was discussing racial violence at his events and the perception that nonwhite people are against him, when he singled out a black man in the crowd.
“Look at my African American over here,” Trump said, pointing. “Look at him. Are you the greatest?”
The gesture — reminiscent of Trump eating a Cinco de Mayo taco bowl at Trump Tower and tweeting “I love Hispanics!” — was as respectful as if he had just instructed the crowd to “look at my Irish setter over here.” And it was as clumsy as if he had tried to validate his pro-Israel position by saying, “Look at my Jew over here,” or to neutralize his general intolerance by saying, “Say hello to my lesbian,” or, “Take a gander at my Chinese American.”
It turns out Trump’s African American, Gregory Cheadle, says he’s not a Trump supporter. He said he wasn’t offended by Trump taking possession of him, telling NPR it would have been worse if Trump followed “my African American” by saying, “What’s up, dawg?” or the N-word.
Republican lawmakers past and present reacted to Donald Trump's comments about Judge Gonzalo Curiel over the weekend, carefully distancing themselves from Trump's position. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)
Small consolation.
A confluence of three factors has caused a sudden and sharp change in Trump’s fortunes. The media scrutiny has increased significantly since he secured the nomination, and journalists, rather than chasing his outrage du jour, are digging in to report more on Trump University, Trump’s stiffing of charities, his lies and his racism. Hillary Clinton has, finally, made the shift to attacking Trump vigorously over his instability. And Republicans are, belatedly, discovering that their presidential candidate wasn’t putting on a show during the GOP primaries: He’s an actual racist.
You know you’re in trouble when you’re being lectured on sensitivity by Newt Gingrich. The former House speaker, a frequent Trump defender, emailed The Post’s Dan Balz to say that Trump’s claim that a federal judge had a conflict of interest because the Indiana-born jurist is “Mexican” was “completely unacceptable.” (He softened his criticism of Trump on Monday.)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) concurred that Trump’s attack on the judge and his claim that a Muslim on the bench also couldn’t judge him fairly was “absolutely unacceptable.” After an initial effort to rally around the nominee, Republicans are trying, awkwardly, to keep their distance. Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Bob Corker (R-Tenn), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, complained to George Stephanopoulos when asked a question about the border wall with Mexico: “I thought this interview was going to be more about the foreign-policy arena.” The host reminded Corker that the relationship with Mexico is foreign policy.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, just one day after endorsing Trump, said on a radio show that Trump’s remarks about the Hispanic judge were “out of left field.”
Sorry, Mr. Speaker, but that’s nonsense. The things Trump is doing now — disparaging the “Mexican” judge, disqualifying Muslim judges, calling somebody claiming Native American blood “Pocahontas” and singling out “my African American” — is very much in line with what he has been doing for the past year, and before.
More than six months ago, I began a column by proposing, “Let’s not mince words: Donald Trump is a bigot and a racist.” His bigotry went back decades, to the Central Park jogger case, and came to include: his leadership of the “birther” movement suggesting President Obama was a foreign-born Muslim, his vulgar expressions for women, his talk of Mexico sending rapists into America, his call for mass deportation, his spats with Latino news outlets, his mocking Asian accent, his tacit acceptance of the claim that Muslims are a “problem” in America, his agreement that American Muslims should be forced to register themselves, his call to ban Muslim immigration, his false claim about American Muslims celebrating 9/11, his tweeting of statistics from white supremacists, his condoning of violence against black demonstrators and his mocking of a journalist with a physical disability.
1 of 14 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × These Republicans refuse to vote for Donald Trump View Photos And they’ll tell you why. Caption And they’ll tell you why. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell “General Powell said at a meeting of the Long Island Association that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton,” a spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 25. Powell added in an interview that he picked Clinton “because I think she’s qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified.” Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Now that Trump has secured the nomination, Republican officeholders are shocked to discover that his racism continues?
A month ago, the Trump campaign chose prominent white nationalist William Johnson to be one of its delegates. The campaign blamed a “database error” and Johnson resigned, but the racist American Freedom Party claims it has “more delegates” on Trump’s list. Another Trump delegate was indicted recently on federal child-pornography and weapons charges, and Mother Jones magazine, which discovered Johnson’s selection, on Friday reported that another Trump delegate, David Riden, has said that U.S. leaders who abuse the Constitution should be “killed by American citizens with weapons.” And the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois Trump delegate Lori Gayne uses the social-media handle “whitepride” and said: “I’m so angry I don’t even feel like I live in America. You can call me a racist.”
Republicans, look at your nominee over here. It’s a grotesque sight.
Twitter: @Milbank
Read more from Dana Milbank’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. | {
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Black Milk is the best double threat to come out of Detroit since the late, great J Dilla.
Coincidentally, it was with Dilla’s old group, Slum Village, in the early ’00s that Milk first made a name for himself by taking over Jay Dee’s production reigns on Trinity, Detroit Deli and Slum Village alongside the likes of Karriem Riggins, Wajeed and Young RJ. That’s right: his first gig was to fill the shoes of one of the greatest producers of all time for his favorite group of all time. Only in Detroit can that type of pressure produce a diamond.
While Dilla’s name always seems to crop up in conversations about Black Milk (sorry, Milk), Curtis Cross has quietly carved out his own legacy as a multifaceted creative force. Known for his hard-hitting drums, live instrumentation and obscure sample choices that leave no genre unflipped, Milk has released six solo albums and collaborative projects with Danny Brown (Black and Brown!) and Sean Price and Guilty Simpson (Random Axe) while putting on one of the best live shows in hip-hop with his band Nat Turner.
Besides the consistently quality product, one of the keys to Black Milk’s 16-year career is the way in which he evolves and experiments (on both sides of the booth) with each new release—whether it’s writing and recording a powerful concept album like No Poison No Paradise or composing a sample-free instrumental jazz album like The Rebellion Sessions. Black Milk isn’t just a beatmaker who knows how to rap; he’s a bandleader who can perform.
With his new album FEVER out this Friday (Feb. 23), Black Milk isn’t souring anytime soon. “It’s a lot of shit going on in the world right now,” he says of his upcoming LP. “The title FEVER is based off the hot and high temperatures that we’re seeing with all of the different social issues that’s happening right now. I’m speaking on some of those topics and expressing how I’m maneuvering through this era that we’re in right now.”
Here are the stories behind five of Black Milk’s biggest songs.
Slum Village — “The Reunion” ft. J Dilla (2004)
Sample: John Abercrombie “Timeless”
“Man, that one’s crazy because the beat was so simplistic in terms of the way it was put together so fast. It was just a loop that I came across by listening to some records, one of those dollar records that just had one little part that I chopped up. It wasn’t even nothing too amazing or groundbreaking [laughs]. I just looped it down and threw a kick and a snare on top of it.
"That’s how a lot of the records that people gravitate towards the most actually come about. Something that you don’t really put a lot of thought into. But, for whatever reason, you capture a feeling that people like. And all the records that you do put a lot of time putting together hoping that somebody will dig, they be the ones that get looked over [laughs].
“I actually almost deleted that beat because I didn’t think it was anything crazy. But when I put everything together on, at that time, a CD [laughs], it was just a 15-second interlude. It wasn’t even a two-minute-long track ’cause I didn’t expect [Slum Village] to want it. But they heard the track on my beat CD and were like, ‘What’s that one?! The quick one?’ So I brought the beat up and put extra little stuff around it.
“They had the concept of talking about their issues within the group at that time. Nobody said any lies; it’s [Baatin] in that song. They were just speaking about the drama that was going on at the time within the group between all three of them. I guess they just felt like they had to get it off they chest and put it on a record.
“The way they was able to get Dilla to drop a verse on it was amazing. I was blown away. Like, jaw dropped to the ground in awe. ’Cause Dilla wouldn’t have jumped on the track if he didn’t think it was dope. So getting that stamp of approval with that particular track—and some other tracks of mine that he had heard at the time—was amazing.
“Dilla was like most producers: a recluse, a homebody, at the crib making tracks. He wasn’t out like that, coming to the studio all the time. So you didn’t really see him much [laughs]. If you wanted to see him, you had to go to his house.”
Black Milk — “Deadly Medley” ft. Royce da 5'9" & Elzhi (2010)
Sample: Blackrock “Yeah, Yeah”
“I think that was one of the last records that I recorded for the album. I knew I wanted Royce and El on a song, but it took me a while to find the right sample, the right beat. I was coming across records where I was like, ‘That’s dope, that’s cool.’ But it just wasn’t the shit.
“I eventually found that [Blackrock] record on YouTube. It wasn’t a thing where I was digging through records at a store. I was just searching around on YouTube and I came across the ‘Deadly Medley’ sample and I was like, ‘Oh, this is it right here.’ And yeah, it worked [laughs].
“El actually came to the studio to do his verse. Royce, I think I might have emailed the track to him and he recorded his verse at his studio, and he sent it back to me.
“I wouldn’t say it was necessarily intimidating [rapping on a song with Elzhi and Royce]. You just know that you have to bring your A game [laughs]. I took a few days to put the verse together. I didn’t hear their verses beforehand, so I was strategically crafting something where no matter what they say, I’ma be satisfied with what I say. I know a lot of rappers, they’ll wait ‘til they hear the features on a record then they’ll write their verse. But I like to just put my best foot forward, record my verse and send it to whoever’s getting on the song with me.
“People love that record, man. Anytime we perform it live, it always goes off.”
Black Milk & Jack White — “Brain” / “Royal Mega” (2011)
“[Jack White] reached out to me, to my people and wanted to collab. Of course, I wasn’t going to say no ’cause I was already a fan of all his records. I was like, ‘Hell yeah! That’d be really dope.’ I went down to Nashville with my crew and met up with him at his home studio. We got in there for a few days and just kinda jammed out with some his musician friends and the musicians I brought down. And we came out with a few records.
“I actually performed at his venue, the Third Man Records venue that he has down there in Nashville. I did a show and it was a great time. Real great time.
“I was curious [as to how he found out about me] as well so I asked him that same question like, ‘Yo, how did you even come across my music?’ And I think he said he came across the [‘Deadly Medley’] video and liked it. He said he had been wanting to work with a Detroit hip-hop artist for a while, one that made the most sense for what he does. I guess me being a producer and a vocalist, he probably felt that we could find some common ground in the creative process.
“I was basically [running point] in the studio. He just let me determine who plays what and how it’s played. All of those guys are obviously talented musicians and everybody was jamming out. It was a thing where they was just playing and if I heard something that I liked, I would tell them to play that part and I'ma chop it.
"We never discussed doing a full project. He brings a lot of artists to Nashville with his label and they work on a few records. He has this 45 series where he just puts out these 45s with all kinds of different artists, and I was just one of the artists that was part of the series.
“Which is my favorite song? Damn, that’s a hard one. Ummm… I don’t know. ’Cause one of the songs—I can’t think which one—I really love the beat. And the other I really like my verse on. Probably ‘Royal Mega.’ But I like ‘Brain’ a lot. I don’t know, man! [Laughs]"
Random Axe — “Chewbacca” ft. Roc Marciano (2011)
Sample: Tangerine Dream “Tangram Set 1”
“My manager at the time, Hex [Murda], he was working on Guilty Simpson’s album; he manages Guilty as well. He and Guilty wanted to get a Sean P feature on his album. It was over one of my beats. They made it happen. Then Hex had the idea of like, ‘Man, it would be crazy if all three of you did an album together.’
“So [Hex] talked to Duck Down and Sean P to figure it out. I don’t think Sean P was too familiar with me and Guilty’s music, but he did his research and he was like, ‘Oh yeah, these guys. They know what time it is.’ [Laughs] Once we got the green light on that, we dove on in.
“I started sending beats Sean P’s way and he’d send back verses. Then Sean P flew to Detroit for like a week to work with me and Guilty and Hex, and we was just knocking out music. As much music as we possibly could while he was in Detroit. Then he went back to New York and I took everything that was done in the studio, in terms of all the recordings, and I did what I did to it.
“[‘Chewbacca’] was another one of those beats that was thrown together as a quick interlude [laughs]. I can’t even remember what the sample was but it was just something that I looped up while exercising. I like to exercise on the drum machine where I’m just making beats at a fast pace. It was one of those tracks that I just threw together. The vibe of it was dope so I decided to save it. And sure enough, [Sean and Guilty] messed with it too and they jumped on it. And then we decided to get Roc Marci on it.
“[That week in Detroit] was a ton of jokes, man. Anybody who knew Sean P or is a fan of Sean P knows he’s a comedian [laughs]. He loved to crack jokes and talk crazy shit, so it was a lot of that all week. After the first couple days, it got to the point where we had to tell ourselves, ‘No, we need to focus in’ [laughs]. But yeah, Sean P was an interesting guy, man.
“[‘Scum’] was like the start [of a new Random Axe project]. I did that record to spark everybody’s interest, to get fans of Random Axe excited that the next one was on the way. So I thought it would be cool to set it off on my album. Rest in peace Sean P, man.”
Danny Brown — “Really Doe” ft. Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul & Earl Sweatshirt (2016)
Sample: Giovanni Cristiani “Fragments of Crystal”
“That was another YouTube sample [laughs]. That was when I was digging online heavy. I’ve found myself in the last two or three years going to the record store less and less because I’ve been finding so much stuff online. But yeah, that was one of those simplistic samples that I didn’t really have to do much to but put some gritty drums on there, but with my touch and my swing. It’s simple but it’s raw. I love that beat a lot.
“It was on the batch of beats that I had sent over to Danny when he was working on [Atrocity Exhibition]. He mentioned to me that he had sent some beats over to Kendrick to just kinda go through ’cause I guess he wanted Kendrick on the album, and that was just the beat that Kendrick picked! [Danny] hit me back like, ‘Yo man, we about to do this posse cut.’ I was excited because I had hoped to work with every one of those guys at some point in the future. It was kinda crazy to have all of them on one record [laughs].
“I think Danny just allows a producer, especially a producer like me that likes to push the envelope a little bit, he allows you to really get experimental with the beats. His verses, his voice and his flow are so crazy. He allows you to do crazy stuff musically. So that’s what I really like about working with Danny. A lot of times as a producer, you don’t really get to take it there with your beats. The artist you’re working with might not allow that type of energy. But Danny definitely does. That’s fun for me.
“Oh yeah, man. I’m going to be sending Danny some more tracks soon. Now that my album is out the way, I’m about to be sending out a lot of beats to a lot of different people. There’ll probably be another Danny Brown/Black Milk collaboration at some point.” | {
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Sun King Brewing Co. plans to open a tap room and small-batch brewery in Fishers in June, the Indianapolis-based company announced Wednesday morning.
The 6,000-square-foot facility in the North by Northeast Shopping Center at 7848 E. 96th St., will not interfere with Sun King’s proposal to open a much larger $8.8 million brewery and event center about a half-mile away, company spokeswoman Beth Belange said.
The larger facility is on hold while Indiana lawmakers debate a law that would allow smaller beer makers like Sun King to produce more barrels of their product.
Senate Bill 297, which changes the maximum number of barrels that a small brewery can produce in a calendar year from 30,000 to 90,000 barrels, was passed unanimously by the House Public Policy Committee late last month and is awaiting a vote by the full House.
Sun King nearly hit the 30,000-barrel production cap last year and wouldn’t be able to open the larger brewery without the higher limits.
Work on the smaller Fishers facility has already started, Sun King said. Called the Sun King Tap Room and Small-batch Brewery, the space will feature a three-barrel brewing system that is expected to produce about 1,500 barrels per year initially and up to 2,000 in the longer term. An event space will be available for community and private events.
"This new brewery will also give us the opportunity to produce more small batch, one-off and experimental beers than we can in our full-production facility in downtown Indianapolis," Sun King co-founder Clay Robinson said in a written statement.
The tap room will remain in operation even if the bigger Fishers facility is eventually built, Belange said.
The larger 40,000-square-foot facility is slated for an undeveloped 12.8-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Kincaid Drive and Park Central Drive. The facility could boost Sun King’s production by more than 20,000 barrels annually.
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Ekstraregning efter fejlskøn
Byggeriet af flygtningebyen ved Skyttemarksvej i Næstved er ved at udvikle sig til en økonomisk skandale. Budgettet er sprængt, og ekstra-regningen for at huse omkring 75 flygtninger løber op i otte millioner kroner. Og nu viser det sig, at kommunen slet ikke har søgt byggetilladelse til pavillonerne.
Kommunen har heller ikke overholdt den sædvanlige procedure om at indhente tilbud fra håndværkerne. Arbejdet med opstilling af pavilloner er overdraget lokale firmaer uden indhentning af tilbud.
Centerchef Tyge Wanstrup erkender, at der er sket et alvorligt fejlskøn i hans forvaltning.
- Det er mit ansvar, og jeg sikrer mig, at det ikke gentages. Jeg har tillid til medarbejderne indtil andet er bevist, siger han.
Og kan ikke forklare, hvorfor ingen har spurgt om, hvad medarbejderen byggede sit skøn på. | {
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Well, I am starting a Wall of Shame for people who show that they have no clue about plants in general. I will be totally fair and I'm not going to expect ...
10 years ago | {
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Attention TTC customers: A Toronto woman has come up with a simple, quick and polite way for people with episodic or invisible disabilities to ask for a seat when riding the transit service.
It's called Equity Buttons.
Kate Welsh, who defines herself as an activist, artist and educator, told Metro Morning this week that she designed the buttons to make taking public transit easier for people who sometimes look well but often are not.
Episodic disabilities are characterized by periods of wellness and periods of illness. Episodes can vary in length, severity and predictability. Examples include HIV, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia.
"Some days, I'm having a good day and I'm okay standing, and some days, I'm having a bad day and I'm not feeling well and I really need to sit," Welsh said this week.
The buttons come in blue, green and purple. They say: "Please Offer Me a Seat" and "My Disability is Episodic" or "My Disability is Invisible." (Muriel Draaisma/CBC)
"As a young person, I often am not offered a seat if I need a seat, so I created this initiative for people like me."
The buttons, which come in blue, green and purple, say: "Please Offer Me a Seat" and "My Disability is Episodic" or "My Disability is Invisible." Some feature only text, while others include a graphic of a person holding a graph with a line that goes up and down to signify the unpredictable nature of the disability or illness.
"I have asked for a seat and been given a long pause," Welsh said. "And then someone else offers me one instead. I have been questioned, like, 'Prove it.' "
Welsh said the idea for the buttons came when she helped a friend with cancer who needed to sit after treatments when on the TTC. Welsh created a homemade button for her using a Sharpie marker. It read: "My Disability is Invisible."
"She expressed to me the frustrations of needing a seat, then sitting, then having other folks come in and tell her to move and get up," she said.
'Somedays, I'm having a good day and I'm okay standing, and somedays, I'm having a bad day and I'm not feeling well and I really need to sit,' says Kate Welsh. (Yas Salame)
Now, with the help of a colleague, Welsh designed the buttons now for sale in a few local bookstores, health food stores and online.
She said the buttons have had a positive effect, and in many cases, people don't even have to ask for a seat. TTC riders will see a button and simply offer one.
"I've heard stories of people saying that they feel more confident sitting and taking up space that they need to take up."
And the buttons themselves are designed to help raise awareness.
"I started this initiative as a very practical thing. I would like our society to understand that disability is not just about a wheelchair or a cane. Disability can depend on the person's experience," she said.
There are five different types of Equity buttons. (Muriel Draaisma/CBC)
Stuart Green, spokesperson for the TTC, said the transit agency has no problem with the buttons.
"If people wish to wear a button that passively asks for a seat for any reason (pregnancy, disability), that is absolutely their right," he said in an email. "People, of course, can also politely ask for a seat if they feel comfortable doing so."
Green said the TTC has blue priority seats designed for people with disabilities and riders are urged to use priority seating properly. The TTC is currently running a campaign that reminds people to give up blue priority seats for people who need them.
And it is monitoring a similar campaign in the U.K., by Transport for London, that involves a button and card for people who need a seat because they have impairments, conditions or illnesses, short term or long term. | {
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world
Updated: Oct 28, 2015 19:04 IST
Two Muslim truck drivers have been awarded a whopping $240,000 in damages by a US jury in a religious discrimination lawsuit after they were fired for refusing to make beer deliveries.
A jury was convened to determine damages after US District Court Judge James E Shadid ruled in favour of Mahad Abass Mohamed and Abdkiarim Hassan Bulshale when Star Transport admitted liability earlier this year.
The men, both of whom are Somali-American Muslims, were represented by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission won the case on behalf of the Obama administration.
The federal jury in Peoria, Illinois, awarded $240,000 to the two Somalian-American Muslims who were fired from their jobs as truck drivers at Star Transport when they refused to transport alcohol because it violated their religious beliefs, according to the EEOC.
The trial started on October 19 and the jury returned its verdict the next day after 45 minutes of deliberation.
Judge Shadid, the chief judge of the US District Court for the Central District of Illinois, ruled in favour of EEOC after Star Transport admitted liability in March 2015. The resulting trial was to determine compensatory and punitive damages and back pay.
The jury awarded Mohamed and Bulshale $20,000 each in compensatory damages and $ 100,000 each in punitive damages.
Judge Shadid awarded each approximately $1,500 in back pay.
EEOC alleged that in 2009, Star Transport fired Mohamed and Bulshale after they were required to transport alcohol.
Both men told Star Transport that they believed doing so would violate their religious beliefs under Islamic law.
EEOC also alleged that Star Transport could have but failed to accommodate the truckers’ religious beliefs.
“EEOC is proud to support the rights of workers to equal treatment in the workplace without having to sacrifice their religious beliefs or practices,” said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez. “This is fundamental to the American principles of religious freedom and tolerance.” | {
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Play video content EXCLUSIVE
Yes, this is REAL!!!!!
UFC superstar Paige VanZant was giving a rear naked choke demonstration to U.S. troops during a USO event with Max Holloway ... when she actually CHOKED OUT THE DUDE UNCONSCIOUS!!!
VanZant had selected a volunteer who agreed to let Paige apply the choke in front of a crowd of very excited soldiers.
But, just a few seconds after she began to squeeze, the soldier's lights went out -- and when Paige released the hold, he collapsed to the floor. | {
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Who should you boo when each opponent comes to town? Here's the definitive list of which players have put up the most points against each team in the NHL.
Anywhere a rivalry exists, there’s usually one player who draws the ire of the hometown fans, be it a former player, superstar scorer or a perpetual pest who has stirred things up one time too many. For example, in Washington, Sidney Crosby is usually met with boos. The same goes for Alex Ovechkin in Pittsburgh.
Maybe some of the hate is misguided, though. After all, the players who deserve to get the most heat from the home team’s supporters should be the players who are hurting the good guys on the scoresheet where it really counts, right? But who are the players who should then be facing the brunt of the away fans’ anger?
Well, look no further. We’ve perused the databases and pulled out the players who have done the most damage to each team in the NHL. These are the 31 players — plus a few more when you include active and all-timers — who home fans should be focusing on throwing off their game. So, be it by chants or jeers, here’s the ultimate guide to who should be targeted by the boo birds:
(Note: The “all-time” statistics only truly reflect the past 30 seasons. Hockey-Reference’s database only allows )
Anaheim Ducks
All-Time: Mike Modano — 28G, 55A, 83Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 18G, 56A, 74Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Anze Kopitar — 9G, 14A, 23Pts.
No surprise here. The Battle of California is not for the faint of heart, and with Thornton entering the back nine of his career, he’s passed the torch to Kopitar as the player most responsible for doing damage to the Ducks. With several years left on a big-money deal in Los Angeles, chances are Kopitar keeps it up for a while yet.
Arizona Coyotes
All-Time: Wayne Gretzky — 24G, 73A, 97Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 24G, 63A, 87Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Anze Kopitar — 7G, 20A, 27Pts.
Sure enough, the same active and past-five players have torched Arizona. You’ll note, however, that former coach Gretzky tops the all-time list. That dates back to the franchise’s days as the Winnipeg Jets. It’s also the first on this list in a funny trend of teams keeping their enemies close. You’ll see.
Boston Bruins
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 35G, 68A, 103Pts.
Active: Thomas Vanek — 34G, 36A, 70Pts.
Past Five Seasons: James van Riemsdyk — 12G, 8A, 20Pts.
Max Pacioretty was probably on the most-hated list during his tenure in Montreal. Heck, any Canadien probably out-ranked the Maple Leafs’ best. But it’s ‘JVR’ who tops the list in recent years, with Vanek sticking out like a sore thumb on the active list. Bruins fans shouldn’t have been happy to see him return to the division this summer. A note, as well: this is Jagr’s first appearance, but prepare to understand why an alternate title for this post could have been “Why fans of every team should hate Jaromir Jagr.”
Buffalo Sabres
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 46G, 63A, 109Pts.
Active: Jason Spezza — 23G, 47A, 70Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Brad Marchand — 10G, 15A, 25Pts.
Marchand’s emergence as a top scorer has been one of the most impressive player developments over the past few seasons, and he’s really brought down the hammer on the Sabres. Surely Buffalo hates seeing Marchand come into town for other reasons, but his offense should be up there. And hey, there’s Jagr again!
Calgary Flames
All-Time: Wayne Gretzky — 26G, 80A, 106Pts.
Active: Paul Stastny — 25G, 36A, 61Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Ryan Getzlaf — 6G, 22A, 28Pts.
Stastny makes only one appearance on this list, and the damage he’s done against the Flames dates back to his days with the Avalanche. Getzlaf has been a human assist machine against Calgary in recent years, too, while Gretzky basically fourth-liners career’s-worth of points against the Flames to add some extra fuel to the Battle of Alberta fire.
Carolina Hurricanes
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 39G, 83A, 122Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 36G, 49A, 85Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Mats Zuccarello — 6G, 16A, 22Pts.
Oh, look, Jagr! Funny seeing him here. He put a hurting on the Hurricanes and Whalers over the course of his career, and Ovechkin has seemingly picked up right where Jagr left off. Look at that stat line for Ovechkin. He’s only three shy of matching Jagr’s goal total, and he’s still more than a decade younger than Jagr was when he left the NHL.
Chicago Blackhawks
All-Time: Steve Yzerman — 47G, 72A, 119Pts.
Active: Rick Nash — 27G, 28A, 55Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Vladimir Tarasenko — 16G, 9A, 25Pts.
The Blackhawks and the Blues have one of the most heated rivalries in the league regardless of where the two teams are in the standings, and while David Backes, Steve Ott and Barret Jackman were usually the most despised players when St. Louis came to town, Tarasenko’s gaudy goal total should give the United Center crowd reason to focus their energy on throwing the sniper off his game.
Colorado Avalanche
All-Time: Jarome Iginla — 37G, 41A, 78Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 15G, 44A, 59Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Blake Wheeler — 13G, 18A, 31Pts.
Over the course of Thornton’s career, he has scored less than twice as many points as Wheeler has lit the Avalanche up for in the past five seasons alone. Also, recall that little note about keeping enemies close? After picking apart Colorado throughout his career, the organization had apparently seen enough and decided the only way to stop him was to bring him aboard.
Columbus Blue Jackets
All-Time: Pavel Datsyuk — 21G, 47A, 68Pts.
Active: Patrick Kane — 18G, 33A, 51Pts.
Past Five Seasons: John Tavares — 10G, 15A, 25Pts.
The Blue Jackets must have been over the moon to get away from the old Central Division. Not only were they in the right time zone, but it also meant no more seeing Patrick Kane several times each season. Look at those numbers. Yeesh.
Dallas Stars
All-Time: Brett Hull — 66G, 45A, 111Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 19G, 49A, 68Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Blake Wheeler — 8G, 19A, 27Pts.
Speaking of the Central, the new alignment has put the Jets in the division with the Avalanche and Stars, both of whom Wheeler has enjoyed some serious success against. Take note of the all-time leader, though. Hull brought a Stanley Cup to Dallas — on a perfectly legal goal that no one has ever complained about and everyone agrees should have counted — but he also was a giant pain when he played against the Stars.
Detroit Red Wings
All-Time: Brett Hull — 60G, 30A, 90Pts.
Active: Patrick Marleau — 25G, 26A, 51Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Brad Marchand — 13G, 14A, 27Pts.
When Hull left Dallas, he ended up in Detroit, which is funny because it’s the other team he absolutely destroyed during his tenure in the NHL. Take a second to bask in that goal total. Two-thirds of his 90 points were goals. Those kind of numbers would be unthinkable today.
Edmonton Oilers
All-Time: Joe Sakic — 38G, 61A, 99Pts.
Active: Patrick Marleau — 38G, 28A, 66Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Joe Pavelski — 18G, 14A, 32Pts.
In the past five years, Pavelski has dominated the Oilers. Yet, it’s probably Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau who have brought out the biggest boo birds in Edmonton. Oilers fans, you might want to bring out the howitzers next time Pavelski comes to town.
Florida Panthers
All-Time: Alex Ovechkin — 36G, 40A, 76Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 36G, 40A, 76Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Steven Stamkos — 12G, 14A, 26Pts.
Boy, did Ovechkin ever run roughshod over the old Southeast Division, especially the Panthers. He has basically owned a piece of Florida throughout his career. Of course, he’s renting some of that out to Stamkos now, as the Lightning captain has taken to laying a licking on the Cats in recent years.
Los Angeles Kings
All-Time: Teemu Selanne — 52G, 67A, 119Pts.
Active: Patrick Marleau — 41G, 49A, 90Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Johnny Gaudreau — 5G, 15A, 20Pts.
Honestly, Gaudreau probably flies under the radar. Kings fans generally put their energy towards hurling insults at Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry or making fun of Brent Burns’ beard or something. But Gaudreau is the player who has hurt Los Angeles the most over the past five seasons.
Minnesota Wild
All-Time: Jarome Iginla — 39G, 33A, 72Pts.
Active: Patrick Marleau — 24G, 18A, 42Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Tyler Seguin — 10G, 18A, 28Pts.
This one is interesting. You’ll notice that there’s a lot of divisional influence when it comes to active leaders, but Marleau, who did most of his damage while with the Sharks, never played in the same division as Minnesota. There must have just been something about playing the Wild that really got Marleau going.
Montreal Canadiens
All-Time: Daniel Alfredsson — 31G, 76A, 107Pts.
Active: Jason Spezza — 32G, 37A, 69Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Evgeni Malkin — 5G, 18A, 23Pts.
No one really forgets about Malkin, per se. It’s just that he’s overlooked when it comes to things like this because of that Sidney Crosby guy. Turns out, though, it’s Malkin who should be feared most when the Canadiens meet up with the Penguins.
Nashville Predators
All-Time: Pavel Datsyuk — 21G, 53A, 74Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 12G, 50A, 62Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Jamie Benn — 11G, 13A, 24Pts.
Another interdivisional beatdown, this one at the hands of Thornton. He’s very nearly the all-time leader for points against the Predators despite the fact he’s never played in the same division. For a team that has had great defensemen for a long while, Thornton has done a great job picking Nashville apart.
New Jersey Devils
All-Time: Mario Lemieux — 36G, 63A, 99Pts.
Active: Sidney Crosby — 33G, 36A, 69Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Sidney Crosby — 13G, 11A, 24Pts.
From one Penguins great to another. The Devils simply can’t escape it. The remarkable thing here, though, is that Crosby has almost matched Lemieux’s goal total. Three tallies separate the two. Crosby still has a way to go until he has the right to be called the most-hated opponent in Devils history.
New York Islanders
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 61G, 94A, 155Pts.
Active: Sidney Crosby — 34G, 74A, 108Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Sidney Crosby — 14G, 19A, 33Pts.
From one Penguins great to another. The Islanders simply can’t escape it. Seriously, though, Crosby is tied for the most points by one player against any single opponent over the past five seasons. Of course, that he has a share of that mark is hardly surprising. (Also, Jagr!)
New York Rangers
All-Time: Mark Recchi — 41G, 64A, 105Pts.
Active: Sidney Crosby — 31G, 50A, 81Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Phil Kessel — 9G, 14A, 23Pts.
Are you starting to notice a pattern with these Metropolitan Division teams? Getting the bulk of his work against those teams has allowed Crosby to take top spot on yet another active list. It’s teammate Kessel, though, that has really stuck in the Rangers’ craw.
Ottawa Senators
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 44G, 46A, 90Pts.
Active: Patrice Bergeron — 25G, 34A, 59Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Nikita Kucherov — 8G, 16A, 24Pts.
Oh, hey, look! It’s Jaromir Jagr again! The Senators get to join the likes of the Islanders, Hurricanes, Sabres and Bruins as teams that Jagr piled up points against throughout his career. This is one that Bergeron might be able to take from the Czech legend at some point, though.
Philadelphia Flyers
All-Time: Jaromir Jagr — 47G, 73A, 120Pts.
Active: Sidney Crosby — 38G, 55A, 93Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Sidney Crosby — 10G, 12A, 22Pts.
JAGR AGAIN. (Oh, and it appears Flyers fans are very justified in their hatred of Crosby.)
Pittsburgh Penguins
All-Time: Brian Leetch — 19G, 73A, 92Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 34G, 23A, 57Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Claude Giroux — 5G, 20A, 25Pts.
Leetch is the only defenseman who appears on this list in any category, which is mighty impressive. More impressive, though, might be that the Penguins and Flyers have both managed to have their captains as the players who have put up the most points for their respective sides in the rivalry in recent years.
San Jose Sharks
All-Time: Teemu Selanne — 51G, 48A, 99Pts.
Active: Ryan Getzlaf — 12G, 46A, 58Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Ryan Getzlaf — 4G, 17A, 21Pts.
Sharks fans like to chant ‘Beat L.A.!’ when the play the Kings, but maybe they should think about a new chant for when they play the Ducks. Maybe ‘Stop their best players from beating us mercilessly!’
St. Louis Blues
All-Time: Steve Yzerman — 41G, 66A, 107Pts.
Active: Patrick Kane — 21G, 35A, 56Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Jamie Benn — 12G, 17A, 29Pts.
Told you that Blues-Blackhawks rivalry was something. As much as Chicago fans should rain boos down on Tarasenko, St. Louis’ crowd should do the same to Kane. He’s done just as much damage and we highly doubt that’s going to end anytime soon.
Tampa Bay Lightning
All-Time: Alex Ovechkin — 43G, 42A, 85Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 43G, 42A, 85Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Sidney Crosby — 9G, 16A, 25Pts.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have probably never hated a pair of drafts more than they hate the 2004 and 2005 drafts. Stupid first-overall picks, you know?
Toronto Maple Leafs
All-Time: Steve Yzerman — 43G, 70A, 113Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 37G, 29A, 66Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Mark Stone — 10G, 19A, 29Pts.
This is a fun one. Yzerman is a throwback to the Norris Division days, and he certainly gave a lot of Maple Leafs fans headaches. Stone is a nod to the present-day Atlantic Division, one last sign the Battle of Ontario is alive. And Ovechkin is… Well, he’s Alex Ovechkin. He just puts up a lot of points and Toronto has suffered greatly at his hands.
Vancouver Canucks
All-Time: Wayne Gretzky — 31G, 73A, 104Pts.
Active: Joe Thornton — 18G, 49A, 67Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Logan Couture — 11G, 13A, 24Pts.
Gretzky really used to torture teams Western Canada. You’ll note that beyond him being the all-time leader against the Canucks, he also topped the list for the Flames and Coyotes (Jets). Seeing the Oilers on the schedule must have been the absolute worst during those days.
Vegas Golden Knights
All-Time: Connor McDavid — 2G, 6A, 8Pts.
Active: Connor McDavid — 2G, 6A, 8Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Connor McDavid — 2G, 6A, 8Pts.
Legendary point totals. Unbreakable marks.
Washington Capitals
All-Time: Mark Recchi — 47G, 64A, 111Pts.
Active: Eric Staal — 30G, 44A, 74Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Evgeni Malkin — 10G, 16A, 26Pts.
Another Malkin appearance, and the reason why we indicated above that despising Crosby might be resulting in a lot of wasted energy. It’s actually Malkin who’s been doing most of the heavy lifting. Also, shoutout to the Southeast Division and the old Hurricanes-Capitals battles.
Winnipeg Jets
All-Time: Alex Ovechkin — 47G, 44A, 91Pts.
Active: Alex Ovechkin — 47G, 44A, 91Pts.
Past Five Seasons: Tyler Seguin — 18G, 15A, 33Pts.
Another homage to the Southeast. Ovechkin feasted on the Atlanta Thrashers, which means he gets top spot on the all-time and active lists. Don’t sleep on that Seguin point total, though. His 33 points against the Jets from the start of the 2013-14 campaign onward are tied with Crosby for the most against one team in that span. | {
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October 2017 (V)
Welcome again, fellow Nxters! Halloween is almost upon us and that means an excuse to dress in provocative costumes, drink lots of alcohol, and consume massive amounts of children’s candy! The end of October brings us another week in the very interesting and constantly busy world of the blockchain. The final round of the IGNIS ICO began Oct. 28, Ardor joins more exchanges, Meetups and more!
As always, welcome to the comprehensive coverage of blockchain concerning all things Nxt / Ardor / Ignis. We endeavor to enlighten and inform all of our readers, from the gentlest of old grandmothers to the most hardcore and extreme members of our community. Put on your provocative costume, grab a nice beverage and follow the melodious sound of our voice as we guide you through the week that was.
NXT COMMUNITY
NXT AE
NXT IN THE MEDIA
PRICE EVOLUTION
This week’s newsletter is put together by James, Jose, apenzl, and rubenbc.
NXT COMMUNITY
IGNIS ICO
The final round of the IGNIS ICO has started. At a rate of 1 JLRDA : 1.45 NXT, this is the last opportunity for anyone to participate in the ICO and get JLRDA (IGNIS tokens) while supporting Jelurida. There are around 160 M tokens available for sale. Participate by using the NRS client. Remember, JLRDA tokens are non-transferable until they mature into IGNIS tokens during at the Ardor Genesis snapshot, which is on track to occur this Christmas. Over 260 M JLRDA tokens are sold! Up to 160 M is left in the ultimate round for sale. The final round runs from Oct. 28 to Nov. 04.
Ignis ICO Schedule Dates JLRDA tokens for sale Price of 1 JLRDA in NXT Aug 05 – Aug 12 60,000,000 0.40 Aug 26 – Sep 02 80,000,000 0.55 Sep 09 – Sep 16 100,000,000 0.76 Sep 23 – Oct 21 100,000,000 1.05 Oct 28 – Nov 04 up to 100,000,000* 1.45
* If any batch is not sold completely at the end of the designated time frame, the remaining unsold JLRDA tokens will be added to the next batch. The last round will be reduced by up to 20M JLRDA tokens allocated by Jelurida for promotional and marketing use.
Source
Live stats from the Nxt Blockchain
Ignis ICO Whitepaper
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NXT GIVEAWAY
Say what? Free stuff?! Do you like free stuff? That, of course, is a rhetorical question. Jelurida is giving away free NXT to new users if they follow the posted guidelines below. Sorry old users, we will offer you the ability to win free stuff in the near future. Tweet out your love and your account address at #ILove$NXT! to enter to win free NXT.
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Jelurida – New Jobs Posted
Thanks to the wonderful interest in the IGNIS ICO, Jelurida, the parent company, has sufficient funding for at least the next three years to actively develop and maintain the Nxt blockchain as well as Ardor. As such they now begin the second part of the process – hiring talented people! Opportunities are listed below. Do you think you have what it takes to work for Jelurida and shape our future? Our advice if you think the answer is yes is to not show up to the interview in your Halloween costume.
Source
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Forging vs Bundling
With brave new worlds like Ardor come brave new terms. Longtime Nxters are familiar with Forging, the approximation of mining to which the process of creating new blocks in the blockchain is undertaken. What is new, and unique to Ardor, is the concept of Bundling. Bundlers will bundle child chain transactions into Child Blocks and send them to ARDR forgers on the Ardor main chain.
Here, Jelurida explains the distinction between these two keystone concepts of the Nxt / Ardor ecosystem so as to dispel any confusion that you might have:
Source
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The Telegram bot, Ardor.World, that allows you to check current prices of Nxt / Ardor assets now has new functionality: Nxt Asset Reporting. If you are not already using this cool tool, you are missing out. Check it in the link below.
Source
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NXT and ARDR Listed on the Korean Exchange: Upbit
The blockchain space continues to explode. Last week the Korean Exchange, Upbit, listed NXT and ARDR as tradeable assets listed on their Korean based exchange. Working in cooperation with Bittrex, Upbit is another stable virtual currency exchange that allows for all interested parties to participate in the frontier of cryptocurrency.
“Upbit supports stable virtual currency trading with exclusive co-operation with Bittrex, a global exchange that supports approximately 200 coins of transactions and wallets .”
Source
More info
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Q&A: The Ardor and Nxt Group (ANG)
So you are confused about the hierarchy of the complicated web of relationships between the Nxt Foundation and Jelurida and now the Ardor and Nxt Group (ANG). No worries, sip that pumpkin spice latte and lean back and read the following conversation between Travin and members of the community. Common questions regarding consultancy repeatedly were asked so they are presented to you below.
Travin responds to the following questions:
wolffang:
Hi travin what is ANG different than what Jelurida is doing now and wants to do in nearby future? Talking about consultancy, attending events, meetups with communities around the world. Wont Jelurida hire people like community managers for example in the nearby feature thanks to ico funds?
Travin:
1) ANG will not do consultancy.
2) Attending events will be primarily for Jelurida to handle. ANG allows community members to easily sign up to be on-hand assistance for Jelurida. Jelurida cannot hire regular employees all around the world just for events that only happen occasionally.
3) Meetups are commonly handled at a community-level.
4) Jelurida can hire a community manager. That’s not the job of ANG. The job of ANG is to provide a way for people to be more involved if they want to, while being rewarded appropriately, such as promoting their tech or getting additional training for free, such as with the Speakers Corner.
Goodwill:
Can we utilize the group to perform following: 1) Weekly update on Reddit, Bitcointalk, and YouTube channel (not much updates on NXT Foundation)
2) Interview with the founders and the developer team. Let’s put their face in public, should they want to, to gain people’s confidence and trust
3) A campaign to make Ignis more known — which will drive the sales
4) Ask people what they want and maybe adopt the hot topic, such as privacy, database, dVPN, decentralized exchange, AI bot to predict market trend based on key words on social media and technical analysis on charts, etc (…) When I type Ardor in YouTube, hardly anything comes up. I understand the goal is to focus on developent, but shouldn’t we also focus on getting the product know to mass market? This will only further fuel the fund the team need to continue with developent.
Travin
Before I get started, Marketing is not one of the roles that ANG will provide. This will need to be done by Jelurida, though the community will be able to participate in those Marketing activities. ANG is more of an initiative for allowing community members to get more involved in an easier way. Some of its activities, however, can be counted as marketing efforts, such as the Speakers Corner. However, Marketing strategy development and its execution will not be done by ANG. Quote 1 -Weekly update on Reddit, Bitcointalk, and YouTube channel (not much updates on NXT Foundation) ANG is the update from the Nxt Foundation. The weekly updates on Reddit are posted by me from the Nxter Magazine weekly newsletters. Anyone can do this though. At the start, I took this role, but really anyone can do it and some others have done it in the past. These days I only do it if no one else has yet, but I don’t have much time. I do post regular updates on to Twitter though. Quote 2) Interview with the founders and the developer team. Let’s put their face in public, should they want to, to gain people’s confidence and trust Perhaps Nxter Magazine can do this. Jelurida has also done interviews outside of Nxter. Lior (Riker) especially. I think their faces are quite public. I met them again in Barcelona at an event and all members of Jelurida was there. Lior also presented on stage and we all had a meetup on the Friday after the event. They’re starting to get more public by attending more events as well, so it’s looking good on this end. Quote 3) A campaign to make Ignis more known — which will drive the sales
Quote 4) Ask people what they want and maybe adopt the hot topic, such as privacy, database, dVPN, decentralized exchange, AI bot to predict market trend based on key words on social media and technical analysis on charts, etc See first paragraph for the answer to this. Also, activities by the Nxt Foundation were never targeted to increase buying forces in the market. They were always for adoption of the technology. Regarding #4, these things can be developed by 3rd parties. For privacy, there’s the shuffling feature and the decentralized exchange already exists. The AI bot should definitely be done by a 3rd party and not Jelurida. When I type Ardor in YouTube, hardly anything comes up. I understand the goal is to focus on development, but shouldn’t we also focus on getting the product know to mass market? This will only further fuel the fund the team need to continue with developent. NXTer is providing some insight, but can we also explore on additional platform? Nxter is actually working on some videos for Ardor and Nxt. Other community members have expressed the desire to work on some other videos as well. To clarify:
ANG is an initiative by the Nxt Foundation, not by Jelurida. It also doesn’t deal with Marketing, though some of its activities may aid Jelurida in their marketing efforts. ANG is also not involved in the Ignis ICO. All funds from the ICO will go to Jelurida. However, Jelurida may donate funds to support ANG. If they do so, it will be publicly disclosed as was when they became a Supporter of the Nxt Foundation.
Source
fz1128, editor of the Chinese Nxter.org covered the ANG news btc38’s blog
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Nxt Community Attends BlockBali Meetup
User san2ok, member of the Frasindo team, which has an ICO currently in progress, as we mentioned in a previous newsletter, attended the BlockBali Meetup last week. These sweet photos document their continued existence and we wish them luck with their ICO.
Riker Attends – Blockchain: The Future of Everything?
Last week at the Herzliya Meetup Riker spoke before a packed room full of hundreds of eager participants, with thousands more on the waiting list. We fervently believe that Ardor is going to be an integral part of the blockchain space in the coming future.
The photos below document the successful Meetup:
Back from the blockchain meetup. 450 people showed up. There were another 2000 on waiting list. I joined one of the panels together with founders of bancor and stox. Managed to mention ardor a few times.
riker: “To my left is Motti. To my right Eyal from Bancor then Adam from Zen protocol Moshe Hogeg from stox and a lawyer”
Source
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Travin Keith will Attend Tokyo Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Conference
Blockchain Labo is proud to announce that they will be hosting a conference in Tokyo on Nov. 11 that our very own Travin Keith will be attending. Check out the details below and attend if you can.
Source
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All about NXT:
NXT AE
Janus – Status Update
The Janus team is working on creating their first business-oriented revenue stream models. Their accounts of their efforts are below.
They wrote:
Hi Janus community Our team has made some great progress on _Scraper site_ functionality over the past few days. Some final tweaks and styling changes are being completed to ensure that our first mainstream site is perfect. It should be noted, this business site will launch primarily to mainstream users and there will be a crypto aspect Bjorn and I are developing, but it will come after some educational drives to get those who have no idea what blockchain is, aquainted.
ascendus
There are many ways to monetize this site such as : *Sell Ad Space* – *BuySellAds* | *Advertisespace* ( _Google Adsense_ , _Outbrain_, _Bingads_) ; *Paid Memberships* ; and others monetization strategies that for now we can not reveal.
JNSHash
bjorn_bb: we have an opportunity to acquire 15 more antminer L3 and will post some JNS tokens to cover a portion of the cost if you need or want more. The deal is not set in stone but if we get the green light then the tokens will go up probably within a week. Thanks all. ascendus: anyone who fill the min requirements ( min 100k JNS ) will [get mining rewards from the JNSHash mining farm and] be able to choose a currency of their choice from a given list offered. Full details will be publicly released next month.
Join the “Janus Token” YouTube Channel
You can find a list of all paid dividends here. Also, follow the Janus news on https://nxter.org/janus, and Janus Twitter.
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Adel – Status Update
Adel announced that they will be present at the Warsaw Summit Cryptocurrency World Expo in Poland on December 1st and 2nd.
Cryptocurrency World Expo ▲ Warsaw Summit
It is one of the largest blockchain events of the year – 1,400 of the biggest names in cryptocurrency will meet in Poland – and Adel has been invited to speak. The biggest exchanges, payment providers, leaders in fintech, miners, traders, ICO participants and crypto-maniacs will be eager to discuss trends and new opportunities for innovation at this year’s summit on December 1st & 2nd. Home Fintech Innovator Conference ▲ e.conomia ▲ Deloitte
Networking and building partnerships is key to the success of $ADL and the community. Continuing its speaking lineup, Adel is one of only five startups to speak at Fintech (r)evolution, an innovator conference hosted by the Media House of Economia and sponsored by Czech National Bank. The event will be held Oct. 25 in Prague. Adel will take the stage at 15:00. http://www.cashlessfuture.cz/ Read the latest great Adel article: ADEL Ecosystem Ltd. — Evolution of Kickstarters using Blockchain Follow Adel In Medium
Adel’s first incubated project will be iFin.io.
More info
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Bitswift – Status Update
Bitswift announced that they will have to go to court to settle a trademark dispute with the “SWIFT” group. The dispute is over usage of the “Bitswift” trademark and a resolution was not found in arbitration.
Bitswiftbro wrote:
Dear Bitswift Community, It looks like we will be defending our Trademark application on “Bitswift” in court from the opposition the banking society (SWIFT). There was a long drawn out negotiation process, we won’t bore you, here is the TLDR version: The society was willing to allow us to keep our “Bitswift” TM providing we added the limitation that “our tokens would not be used between financial institutions and their corporate customers”. This sounds all fine and dandy at first, great actually! we never wanted financial institutions using our tokens, Bitswift tokens are to be used between people directly and between businesses directly without the need for a central person, that is the whole point. We were about to sign saying we would agree to the limitation, but then a question appeared. What if the society launches their own token? and what if it starts trading with ours? are we now considered “between them and their corporate customers”. Naturally curious, and above all wanting to make sure our requirements were covered, our lawyers wrote them back and asked this question, to which they replied basically “yes then you would be infringing”. This did not sit well with us, it would mean at any point in the future and when the opposition launched any token of their own, connected to blockchain ecosystems, that our Bitswift tokens could now be considered between them and their corporate customers and as such we would be infringing. Agreeing to this would mean that we would have to ensure that our tokens were only ever exchanged between a certain subset of users, which would defeat their whole purpose of free exchange between anyone, anywhere, anytime and without the need for a central dictator. To that end we could not settle on an agreement that worked for us. We will not be agreeing to modify our TM in such a way that would undermine their usefulness or impact us negatively in the future. We will seek a Bitswift TM and use case WITHOUT limitations as clearly we are Bitswift not some banking society, and clearly we are not doing anything inter banking whatsoever. No one calling our companies is looking for anything to do with banks or financial institutions and our ™ on “Digital tokens” has nothing to do with inter-banking or societies related to them. To our knowledge we have had a public and usable blockchian token products before any financial institutions were even considering the legitimacy of blockchain based markets. What happens now? On our side, nothing. We will continue on our mission to develop the Bitswift ecosystem. Our companies will fund the expenses related to preserving the Bitswift brand so that they may continue to operate well into the future, enriching lives through technology as intended. Everything for a reason and everything with time.
Also Bitswift was mentioned this week in the following article: https://cryptostec.com/what-is-bitswift
Source
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DeBuNe – Last Days of ERC20 Token Swap
October 31st is the last day to swap your NXT assets for ERC20 tokens.
Source
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NXT IN THE MEDIA
Lior Yaffe in Medium – WEF: Ardor is a leading “Digital Asset”
Look at how Ardor is the leading digital asset!
Source
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Lior Yaffe in Medium – Enough is Enough: Everyone Wants a Ride on the Success of PoS
It is one thing to build on top of our platform and make it better, this is encouraged. As long as you acknowledge that you are building on top of our platform. It is another thing if you steal our codebase and claim that your product is better while giving us no credit for our work.
Riker wrote:
Suddenly everyone piggybacks on the POS trend. It started with Ethereum and their unnecessarily complex, Casper vaporware, which they promote everywhere as the next big thing, even though they are very far from implementing it and perhaps never will. Cardano with some outrageous claims that they later deleted, then blackcoin with some bold and incorrect claims that cointelegraph had to correct and now Waves presents their Leased Proof of Stake a 1:1 copy of the NXT implementation as their own novelty. Enough is enough, we were here first. NXT is the first pure POS coin and rest are copycats. Also see my previous articles NXT Proof of Stake Theory vs Practice and POS vs POW revisited
Reaction, karlkarlsson, Waves Team – Good to see you guys discussing the topic. As I just tweeted to Lior, this quote is in no way made by Waves respectively our marketing team. We have always stated that we’re using the Nxt PoS algorithm as it’s the most proven algo out there. We’ve also never hid that our core team is coming from Nxt and that Waves tries to ‘fix’ some aspects we were not content with.
Source
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Russia’s NSD Work: Proxy Voting Solution Using the NXT Blockchain
Report about how the Russian Federal government use the NXT Blockchain to provide security and veracity to its voting system.
The NSD’s work with blockchain-based securities is among the most advanced revealed to the public so far. Since beginning its exploration of blockchain over a year ago, the NSD has published the results of an early test for a proxy voting solution using the NXT blockchain and – as revealed for the first time on stage – has sold a $10 million bond by Russian telecom MegaFon using the open-source Hyperledger Fabric platform.
Source
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Geektime.co Quotes Riker
Article about blockchain technology going mainstream quotes from an interview conducted with Riker.
riker – My quote on geektime https://www.geektime.co.il/geektime-blockchain-event/ towards the end, in answer to Q: “when would blockchain become mainstream?”
A: “When we vote on the general elections using our smart phones.”
Source
Briandcolwell – Ardor & Child Chains: A Blockchain 2.0 Innovation, But Is This A Coin We Really Need?
Article by cryptoenthusiast about Ardor and its child chain technology.
He wrote:
Ardor is more than just about money: It’s about making a blockchain platform that is open to everyone, from single users all the way up to FinTech startups and governments, and one where anyone can create their own child chain and interact with the whole blockchain ecosystem. That means anyone, anywhere, will be able to utilize blockchain services with relative ease.
Source
PRICE EVOLUTION TradingView – Ardor – Last Stand
Source
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Hacked.com – NXT Trade Recommendation
Bullish divergence gives a trend reversal signal. We should be ready to see a new upward movement. RSI confirms price reversal from 0.0000100 support level. MACD histogram supports upward movement. DMI allows to open long trades. We should buy based on a breakout above the local swing high. It will gives us an additional confirmation that the market is going to move upward. Pending orders for buy should be placed at 0.0000120 level with stop orders at 0.0000094 level. Profit targets are 0.0000160 and 0.0000200 levels. If you don’t use leverage, recommended trading volume for this trade is up to 5% from your deposit.
Source
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Weekly NXT/ARDR Price Evolution The following graphic shows the NXT / Bitcoin exchange price at Poloniex over this past week: The following graphic shows the ARDR / Bitcoin exchange price at Poloniex over this past week: Live stats from the Nxt Blockchain Asset Exchange: (Back to the Index) Yes, that is all for this week, Nxters. Make sure you have more of your favorite warm beverage available as you stay tuned next week for more up-to-date coverage on the final and ultimate round of the IGNIS ICO, the new year launch of Ardor, ongoing projects, and much more. For those who cannot wait a week to learn more, visit our site. We explain in much more detail about Jelurida, Ignis, Ardor, and everything else that is pertinent to the platforms and the momentous ICO. Follow us on Twitter for important breaking updates during the week as they happen. Stay tuned and stay informed, dear readers. See you back here next week! Help us grow and help us continue to provide excellent and focused coverage on the ever-growing blockchain space by rewarding us for our efforts. Donation address: NXT-TK9J-MEKH-MUP9-HFCH2.
View this in: 简体中文 Español | {
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As the Boston Bruins head to D.C. for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Monday night, the inevitable (and predictable) has occurred: Goalie Tim Thomas' decision not to attend a White House celebration of the team's Stanley Cup championship, for political reasons, is being revisited.
Bruins Coach Claude Julien (via Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post), when asked about potential razzing from Washington Capitals fans about it: "As far as I'm concerned, he's here to play hockey."
Ah, and the fans are there to watch hockey, and some of them will do so behind President Obama masks.
Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post reports that a few Capitals blogs are leading the effort to troll Thomas with Obama and White House iconography from the stands during Game 3. They include Russian Machine Never Breaks, which offered the posters seen above and wrote:
Despite the mewling whines of "Leave Timmy alone!" coming from the Boston area— we believe this is a winning strategy. An angry Tim Thomas gives up goals. A scored-on Tim Thomas gets angrier. And then he gives up even more goals. It's a vicious cycle, and we just need to get it started. Distraction is the name of the game. (Actually, the name of the game is still hockey but we don't play hockey, so we're gonna do this instead.)
Brooks Laich Year and Sick Unbelievable have their own signs as well.
Thomas reopened this storyline by refusing to address it before the playoffs, and when Capitals fans troll, they troll hard.
So here's our question: How many Republicans that can afford lower bowl tickets for the playoffs will participate in the weaponization of Obama to mock Thomas?
Hopefully, it's a bipartisan spirit in D.C. Monday night, as everyone reaches across the aisle to work together in the name of hockey snark. | {
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published by Into Jon's Basement
Want to create a visual like this? | {
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Schlong Rider With Good Butt
Take a look at this outstanding movie from a youthful duo Vita and Freddie. Those torrid school sophomores enjoy having hookup in entrance of the digital camera and get a hold of several good postures it’s possible you’ll wanna attempt too. | {
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Increasingly severe weather in Canada has made for changes in home insurance that could leave homeowners unprotected if their house is damaged in a flood.
The first thing to know: most home insurance policies don't include flood insurance at all, explained Pete Karageorgos, director of consumer and industry relations with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
Since about 2013, when Toronto experienced a record-breaking storm that flooded hundreds of basements, insurance companies have begun offering overland flood insurance, "typically as an add-on," said Karageorgos.
In other words, if you didn't sign up for it, it's likely you don't have it.
While most Canadians pay home insurance, many don't know they're probably not covered for this kind of disaster 4:28
Karageorgos points to a 2016 flood in Windsor and Tecumseh, Ont., to illustrate how expensive flooding can be for homeowners — and how common it is for people to be caught unaware by their lack of coverage.
"In many cases there weren't policies that had flood insurance, and those that did, there were usually limits," he said.
One Windsor resident's house sustained about $50,000 of damage, but his insurance policy only covered one-fifth of that.
Residents in Windsor and Tecumseh, Ont. were forced to do a major cleanup after a record rainfall in 2016. (Amy Dodge/CBC)
Don't be fooled by wording, cautions Karageorgos: many policies might list coverage for water damage, but that refers to incidents like burst pipes or overflowing toilets, not severe weather and flooding.
He said homeowners should also be aware that if water is entering the basement by a crack in the foundation, for example, it falls under the category of seepage and could signal a maintenance issue that would also prevent an insurance payout.
Few Canadians know their flood risk
The introduction of overland flooding insurance to the Canadian market is having another effect, said Jason Thistlethwaite, director of University of Waterloo's Climate Change Adaptation Project: Canadians are less likely to qualify for federal government disaster assistance.
Federal legislation, he explained, stipulates that if "insurance is readily and reasonably available," then you don't qualify for disaster assistance — even if you never actually purchased the insurance, or didn't even know it existed.
"That language is interpreted differently by the provinces, but it's confusing and it's inconsistent, and it can be taken advantage of in the aftermath of a flood event," he said.
Thistlethwaite is concerned that few Canadians have been given the opportunity to opt into overland flood insurance and that many are confused about what their policies cover.
A City of Toronto investigation into the next 50 years of weather predicted increasingly intense rainfall, meaning floods like the one in 2013 might become more common. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
His university conducted a survey of 2,300 Canadians about how they perceived flood risk, finding that 70 per cent of respondents had not been approached by their insurance provider about overland flood insurance.
They also found very few homeowners saw themselves as being at risk or knew if they were covered or not, "despite the fact that we know for the next 50 years that flood risk is going to increase."
There's a small silver lining though, at least if you live in Ontario — the provincial government is available to provide some disaster assistance.
"What Ontario has said is that their disaster assistance programs will cover costs that are not covered by insurance," said Thistlethwaite.
But that won't mean restoring your home to its previous lustre. "This is bare minimum replacement costs," he said.
"There's an incredible amount of paperwork, red tape and delays. … It pays to call up your insurance company."
Problem will get worse, so be prepared
Extreme weather is expected to increase substantially in the next half-century, leading Karageorgos and Thistlethwaite to urge that people review their policies carefully and take steps themselves to protect from flooding.
Short-term actions to mitigate damage include pointing downspouts away from the house foundation, taking valuables out of the basement, and making sure sump pumps are working and that you have a backup in case the power goes out.
Maintaining your sump pump and having a backup will help you avoid the headache of cleaning a flooded basement. (CBC)
Thistlethwaite also recommends a list of large-scale actions including renovating with flood-resistant materials and raising the electrical box or heating materials to the second floor.
If all that sounds expensive, consider the cost of extreme weather in Canada so far.
Between 1983 and 2008, natural disasters cost about $100 million, said Karageorgos. Since 2009, "it's gone up 400 per cent." | {
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Podemos afronta con “optimismo” la reunión que el próximo miércoles mantendrá su líder, Pablo Iglesias, con el secretario general del PSOE, Pedro Sánchez; un encuentro en el que la formación morada volverá a pedir la conformación de un gobierno de coalición“a la valenciana” y rechazará una posible abstención si los socialistas mantienen su acuerdo con Ciudadanos.
Según ha explicado el secretario de Relaciones con la Sociedad Civil, Rafael Mayoral, Podemos acude a esta cita con la intención de seguir “apostando fuerte por un gobierno a la valenciana de coalición”, tal y como ya defendieron hace un mes cuando comenzaron las negociaciones con el PSOE; negociaciones que después rompieron a raíz del acuerdo de los socialistas con Ciudadanos.
“Apostamos por eso y es donde nos tenemos que dejar la piel porque es nuestra obligación. Que a nadie le quepa ninguna duda”, ha asegurado el diputado de Podemos en declaraciones a los medios tras presentar un recurso en el Tribunal Constitucional contra la Ley que modifica la Ley del Suelo de la Comunidad de Madrid.
De este modo, Mayoral ha negado que los problemas internos que atraviesa Podemos, y que derivaron en la destitución por parte de Iglesias del ya exsecretario de Organización Sergio Pascual -quien era mano derecha del número dos y secretario Político, Íñigo Errejón-, vayan a influir en las negociaciones con el PSOE para formar gobierno.
Así, ha defendido que toda la formación comparte la apuesta por formar un gobierno de coalición, rechazando que exista división interna a este respecto entre los llamados ‘errejonistas’ y los ‘pablistas’. “Somos una organización muy plural que tenemos muchas visiones de la situación política. Nuestra principal preocupación no son las situaciones internas que podamos tener, la principal preocupación es conseguir que las instituciones de una vez por todas dejen de estar al servicio de los privilegiados. Eso es lo que ocupa el 99,99% de nuestros esfuerzos”, ha reafirmado.
En esta misma línea se ha pronunciado este lunes la Secretaría Política que dirige Íñigo Errejón en el mensaje que diariamente remite a sus cargos y simpatizantes para marcar el argumentario del partido sobre los temas del día. “No contemplamos la abstención”, asegura el mensaje, recogido por Europa Press.
“Sería una irresponsabilidad que cinco millones de votos por un cambio real en el país, acabaran en una abstención a un acuerdo que reproduce las políticas de Mariano Rajoy vía Luis Garicano (coordinador económico de Ciudadanos)”, asegura la Secretaria Política.
Errejón trabaja “con absoluta normalidad”
La jefa del gabinete de Pablo Iglesias y portavoz adjunta en el Congreso, Irene Montero, también ha defendido que el también portavoz de Podemos en el Congreso está “trabajando con absoluta normalidad”, centrado en preparar el encuentro de este miércoles, y ha restado importancia al silencio mediático que ha protagonizado desde la destitución del que fuera uno de sus más estrechos colaboradores.
“No sólo no hay divisiones sino que Errejón está trabajando en la reunión de Pedro Sánchez y Pablo Iglesias, donde estamos poniendo la mayor parte de nuestras dosis de optimismo e ilusión. Estamos trabajando con absoluta normalidad”, ha defendido en declaraciones a Cuatro. para añadir que, como es habitual, será Errejón el encargado de comparecer este martes en rueda de prensa en el Congreso tras la Junta de Portavoces.
En cuanto a la reunión del miércoles, Montero ha insistido en que la cita representa “un bueno momento para normalizar la relación” con el PSOE y volver a hablar “de un gobierno del cambio”. De hecho, ha asegurado que existen “muchas posibilidades de poder formar gobierno” si el PSOE acepta, eso sí, la propuesta de Podemos de un Ejecutivo de coalición. | {
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After the No. 1-ranked Indiana Hoosiers lost to unranked Minnesota late last month, Victoria Oladipo wasted no time tapping out a text message to her crestfallen brother, Indiana guard Victor Oladipo.
"I don't understand," she wrote, "how you let Trevor Mbakwe score 21 points and get 12 rebounds."
His response: "LOL.... | {
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From the American Museum of Natural History, an animated timeline map of human population growth from 100,000 BCE to the present.
It took 200,000 years for our population to reach 1 billion. And only 200 years to reach 7 billion.
Interesting to see that the only sustained decline in the world’s overall population over the past 2000 years was during the bubonic plague outbreak during the Middle Ages. | {
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テレビドラマの感想や、ワールドカップの試合結果、さらには事故現場の実況など、世界中で起きている出来事をリアルタイムに知ることができるSNS「Twitter」。いまや、多くの人々にとって欠かせない情報発信・収集サービスとなっているが、そうした状況でも、Twitter Japan代表取締役の笹本裕氏は「危機感を持っている」と楽観視はしていない。
日本における2015年のTwitterの取り組みや、ジャック・ドーシー氏のCEO復帰、競合サービスとの差別化、収益の柱である広告施策などについて聞いた。
Twitter Japan代表取締役の笹本裕氏 Twitter Japan代表取締役の笹本裕氏
--2015年はTwitter Japanにとって、どのような1年だったのでしょう。
Twitterでは日本単体の数字は公開していないのですが、おかげさまで一定の占有率を築くことができました。その一方で、次の変革を起こさなければならない時期にも直面していると思うので、2015年はそこに向けた調査を続けてきました。また、常に市場の声を聞きつつテストをして修正を重ねながら、徐々に進化させていった1年だったと思います。
2015年は日本発の機能として、「話題のニュース」が一覧できるサービスを立ちあげましたが、これが非常に好評でした。また収益については、アプリダウンロードの広告ビジネスが好調で、これを引き続き伸ばしていくことに加えて、今後はビデオ広告にも注力したいと思います。他社もビデオのプラットフォームを出してきているので、この市場でも存在感を示していきたいと思っています。
2015年6月末に提供を開始した「話題のニュース」 2015年6月末に提供を開始した「話題のニュース」
--笹本氏は2014年2月にTwitter Japanの代表取締役に就任して、まもなく2年が経ちます。組織づくりをどう進めてきたのでしょう。
Twitterはとにかく動きが早いので、本当はあっという間に2年が過ぎましたと言いたいのですが、もう4～5年いるような感覚ですね（笑）。新しいものが出てくるスピードがあまりにも早くて量が多いので、それを自分の中で消化するのに時間がかかっているなと思いますし、その結果が出るスピードも早いので、感覚的には日数が早く過ぎている気がします。
組織的には急激に人数が増えていますし、2015年はオフィスも移転して、環境面も整ってきたと思います。また、ある程度社員が増えてくるとメンバー間で方向性がズレてきたりすることもあると思うのですが、有難いことに弊社ではTwitterに愛がある人ばかりなので、目指す方向性がブレません。そういった意味で恵まれた環境にいると感じています。
また会社自体がオープンなカルチャーなので、良くも悪くもみんな辛辣に意見を言ってくるんですね。これは米国本社もそうなのですが、よくそんなことをCEOに言うなみたいなことを言ってきます。逆にそれがいい刺激になっていて、必ずしもすべての話が通るわけではないですが、会社やサービスにとってプラスになることをやろうと語れる場があることは、Twitterのカルチャーだと思いますし、大切にしたいと思います。
--2015年10月には共同創業者だったジャック・ドーシー氏がCEOに復帰しました。日本において影響はありましたか。
本当の意味で変わるのはこれからだと思うのですが、ジャックがCEOになったことでファウンダーとしての魂みたいなものが再びTwitterに出てきていると思うので、彼がTwitterを本来あるべき姿へとさらに成長させてくれると思います。また、日本はTwitterにとって初の海外オフィスだったので、ジャックにとっても日本には特別な思いがあると思います。彼がCEOに復帰する直前に日本に来ていたのですが、その時にTwitterの利用状況やデジタル環境について意見交換をして、私自身すごく彼にインスパイアされました。
日本はおそらく世界で一番サーチ（検索）をしている国です。米国だとわりと一辺倒なサーチをすることが多いのですが、日本ではテレビ番組や電車の遅延情報など、幅広い内容についてサーチをしています。2015年には投票機能をリリースしたのですが、ストーリー展開を投票機能によって変えていくみたいな使われ方をしていた漫画家の方がいて、ジャックも驚いていましたね。もっと日本から新たな使い方のイノベーションが起こることを彼も期待してくれていると思います。
--日本では「Instagram」や「LINE」、さらに「MixChannel」などのサービスが存在感を高めています。その中で、ユーザー数が飽和状態とも言えるTwitterはどのように差別化していくのでしょう。 | {
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Lawyers for former Yale basketball captain Jack Montague are seeking a court order that would allow him to return to class while he fights his expulsion for what the university says was sexual misconduct.
The senior point guard was thrown out of Yale in February after a university committee upheld a sexual assault complaint.
Montague says the October 2014 sexual encounter was consensual, and no criminal charges were brought.
He filed a federal lawsuit in June, arguing the school misled and coerced the accuser into cooperating in the complaint. The lawsuit and the motion filed Monday afternoon also allege the school wanted to make an example of the popular athlete.
“He has already suffered, and continues to suffer, irreparable injury – his ability to complete his education and receive the degree he had all but earned prior to his expulsion hangs in the balance, and his employment prospects are dim,” attorney Max Stern wrote in the new court filing. “Only immediate relief in the form of full reinstatement as a student at Yale can rectify this damage and restore him to the position he was in prior to Yale’s unlawful conduct.”
Yale spokesman Tom Conroy called the lawsuit “factually inaccurate and legally baseless” and said the school’s attorneys will oppose the motion.
The complaint was brought in 2015 after a friend of the woman went to a school official who ensures Yale’s compliance with Title IX, the federal law designed to prevent gender discrimination in education.
The lawsuit alleges the Title IX officer brought the complaint despite being told the woman did not believe Montague heard her when she tried to end their sexual encounter. The woman cooperated only after the Title IX officer informed her that Montague had previously received counseling after an incident involving another woman, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the school didn’t tell her that case involved him shoving a paper plate down someone’s shirt following a drunken argument outside a pizza parlor.
The school countered that the woman was never “affirmatively misled by the defendants into participating in a formal complaint process initiated by Yale.”
The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial no earlier than February. | {
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Abstract
This study empirically tested the specificity-generality hypothesis regarding moderation of aptitude test validity by job ability requirement differences using a large sample (24,482) of Air Force enlistees in 37 different technical jobs. This was accomplished both across and within job families. In addition, the correlation of the proportion of psychometric g, measured by a test, and average test validity was estimated both within and across job families. The results failed to find moderating effects due to job differences. Furthermore, an analysis of the predictiveness of psychometric g showed that job ability differences did not moderate the relationship between the amount of g measured by a test and its score validity. | {
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Joker
Here comes the Injustice League! In tonight's episode of Cartoon Network's Young Justice, a secret society of super villains emerges — and there's some cool voice casting on the roster. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner (who appeared on last night's Big Bang Theory) stars as the Joker, while Charmed vet Alyssa Milano plays Poison Ivy.
In the episode, "Revelations," a series of attacks by plant monsters around the world triggers the Justice League into action. Their teenage sidekicks — Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, etc. — want to help in the fight but are instead dispatched to take out the Injustice League. This formidable collection of classic DC Comics rogues includes (pictured, left to right) Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, Black Adam, Wotan, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull and Joker.
Young Justice airs Fridays at 6:30/5:30c on Cartoon Network.
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now! | {
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That last point is salient. As part of the hours and hours of background work the franchise did on Winston leading up to the draft, they know how he works best and what could help him improve at the rapid pace the NFL demands. | {
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Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, one of the longest-serving members of Congress whose resolutely liberal stance on civil rights made him a political institution in Washington, has died. He was 90.
Detroit police confirm the death Sunday afternoon and added that it appears to have been of natural causes. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
For more than 50 years, the Highland Park native proudly served as a member of the US House of Representatives.
Conyers began serving his country back in 1948, first with the Michigan National Guard then with the US Army. In 1963, Conyers focused his attention on the Civil Rights Movement, taking part in the voter's registration drive in Selma, Alabama.
One year later, his decades-long tenure in the US Congress began. Conyers defeated Republican Robert Blackwell with 84% of the vote.
In the middle of Conyers' second term, Detroit was at a breaking point. Riots broke out in the summer of 1967 after word spread of excessive force by police against African Americans as they were leaving an unlicensed speakeasy. Violence and looting ensued and the crowds grew larger.
Conyers said he took to the streets with hopes of directing the people's rage into a more positive direction.
He continued to make a name for himself in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1969 Conyers was one of 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Conyers was also responsible for introducing the bill that would make Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday.
In his personal life, Conyers married his wife, Monica, in 1990. She had her own political aspirations and would go on to become Detroit City Council president in 2008. But just one year later she was caught in a bribery scandal. She was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
The couple survived the hardship, with both filing for divorce in 2015. But then in 2016 they renewed their vows.
"We're going to miss him. This world will miss him. This world was happy to have him and we're grateful for the legacy he has left," his wife Monica Conyers said Sunday.
In 2013 at a special gala in Detroit, Conyers was honored for making America a better place during his half-century of dedication as a lawmaker and civil rights leader.
His historical political career came to a tumultuous end in December of 2017. The long-time congressman retired amid accusations of misconduct in office. Conyers denied the claims.
At the end of his tenure, Conyers served 53 years in office, making him the longest-serving African American in congressional history.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced. | {
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A graphics card can cost you almost as much as a bona fide Batman gadget, especially when you get up to ridiculous amounts of power and performance, but that ludicrous price is actually less ludicrous than it could be, because of the cutthroat competition between ATI and Nvidia, right? Not so fast. An email Nvidia sent by Nvidia senior VP of marketing, Dan Vivoli, to ATI's president and COO, Dave Orton made public by the judge in an ongoing anti-trust suit against the two companies reveals that they both see eye-to-eye on prices. Namely, that they should be higher:
I really think we should work harder together on the marketing front. As you and I have talked about, even though we are competitors, we have the common goal of making our category a well positioned, respected playing field. $5 and $8 stocks are a result of no respect.
'Cause price-fixing definitely gets you more respect. It definitely gets you more money though! [Law.com via Crunchgear] | {
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Turkish citizens voted to give the country’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sweeping new powers in a national referendum held on April 16. The result means President Erdogan has the authority to scrap the role of the Prime Minister, dissolve parliament and stay in power until 2029 without an election if he so wishes – and has led many to accuse Turkey of becoming a kind of dictatorship. His party’s main opposition, CHP, said that granting him these new powers would "entrench dictatorship" in Turkey.
Tourism in Turkey has suffered numerous setbacks in the last two years in the wake of several high-profile terrorist attacks – some of which specifically targeted foreigners. Visitor numbers plunged from around 5.5 million in July 2015 to 3.5 million in the same month last year, and this latest political development may further dissuade holidaymakers.
For those going on holiday to Turkey or considering visiting the country, advice from industry experts varies. British tour operators like Thomas Cook take their cues from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). A Thomas Cook spokesman told The Independent: “The safety of our customers is always our first priority. The FCO advice for Turkey hasn’t changed following the recent referendum. We continually monitor travel advice from the FCO and encourage our customers to consult it before travel.”
ABTA, the regulatory body for travel companies in the UK, sends a similar message to consumers. “As always, ABTA advises that holidaymakers should check and follow the Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice,” a spokesperson told The Independent. “The advice for Turkey currently states that people should be vigilant, follow the advice of local security authorities, monitor media reports and keep up to date with travel advice.”
The FCO advice on Turkey fails to reference the referendum, though it does warn of political unrest. The FCO states on its website: “Sporadic demonstrations take place in cities across Turkey, some of which have, in the past, become violent. In Istanbul previous demonstrations have centered on the area around Taksim Square, on Istiklal Street and in the Besiktas and Kadikoy districts and more recently in Okmeydani. In Ankara, the protests have mainly taken place in the central Kizilay district around the Prime Minister’s office. In Izmir the focus has been in the town centre, near the water front.
President Erdogan's referendum win may create further political unrest in Turkey (AP)
“You should avoid all demonstrations and leave the area if one develops. Police have used tear gas and water cannon extensively to disperse protests.”
This latest political upheaval may have far-reaching implications for the tourist industry according to Frank Brehany, MD of consumer complaints website HolidayTravelWatch. He told The Independent: “The result of the Turkish Referendum may seem a far-off event in the minds of UK holidaymakers, but its contested result could offer further turmoil in the region. It is unclear at this time how the result will be challenged, if at all, and whether the very fabric of the relatively inclusive Turkish society will be subject to fundamental change through any new attitudes or laws on justice and law and order.
“For most holidaymakers heading to Turkey, they will most likely not feel an immediate effect within these resorts. However, as we have seen in recent years, the rise in numbers of terror attacks in and around popular Turkish tourist destinations has led to a fall in the number of European tourists making Turkey their destination of choice. It is also unclear how Turkey’s relationship will now develop with the EU and this could have an impact on the numbers of Middle-Eastern refugees passing through Turkey and on to other European destinations. All these actual or potential effects do nothing to help the Turkish tourist industry. And, in the minds of those involved in tourism, whether they be consumers or suppliers, there is no doubt that confidence in the industry is not helped by this latest political challenge.”
Turkey's president Recep Erdogan wins referendum to greatly expand powers
However, others are more optimistic about Turkey’s potential to recover its popularity as a tourist destination. Ted Wake, MD of Kirker Holidays, believes the threat in Turkey is echoed in much of Europe – and that travellers are simply getting more aware of the dangers.
“In common with other destinations such as Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Nice, Brussels and indeed London, Istanbul has experienced some disruption in recent months,” he told The Independent. “However, those tourists who have visited Turkey and Istanbul report very favourably of the warm hospitality, excellent service and great value for money. Security and safety for tourists has always been an important factor, but experienced travellers have quickly become accustomed to the recent heightened awareness of these issues that now applies throughout the world – and for Western societies, the risk is often the same for those who elect to stay at home as it is for those who travel abroad.
“Many consumers take a pragmatic, defiant view and are now reluctant to allow the perceived threat to impact on their travel ambitions. And the more experienced the traveller, the more they appreciate that it is difficult to predict where the next disruption will occur.” | {
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Bettina Halbey erzählt, dass sie den Kommentar bei Facebook „aus Frust und aus vollem Herzen“ geschrieben habe. „‚Warum wird uns Mietern die Wohnung zur Unterbringung von Asylanten gekündigt, obwohl es so viele leer stehende Häusern gibt?‘ Oder so ähnlich habe ich es geschrieben“, erzählt die 51-jährige Krankenschwester.
Die Lokalpresse hatte sich gemeldet und berichtet. Halbey bekam zunächst nicht mit, wie sich in der Folge binnen Tagen eine bundesweite Kontroverse aufschaukelte, dass der Bericht 200.000 Mal geteilt wurde und die kleine nordrhein-westfälische Stadt Nieheim mit ihren etwa 6400 Einwohnern plötzlich ins mediale Interesse rückte. „Ich bin völlig überrumpelt, aber ich finde es immer noch unmöglich, wie die Stadt mit mir umgeht. Ich komme mit der ganzen Situation nicht klar“, erzählt Halbey. Sie sei die ganzen Jahre alleinerziehend gewesen. „Ich habe mich mit Ach und Krach durchgewurschtelt, und dann einfach diese Kündigung zu bekommen. Das war wie ein Tritt“, sagt sie.
Quelle: Infografik Die Welt
Es geht um Halbeys Wohnung in einem betagten dreistöckigen Haus. Seit 16 Jahren wohnt sie dort in der ersten Etage, auf 90 Quadratmetern; ihre zwei Söhne sind erwachsen und ausgezogen. Sie ist mit Katze und Hund geblieben. Doch dann kam die Kündigung der Stadt mit Datum vom 1. September – an sie und an die Nachbarin im Erdgeschoss; „wegen Eigenbedarf“, steht in dem amtlichen Schreiben an Halbey.
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Darin teilt die Stadt mit, die Aufnahmekapazität der drei Asylbewerberheime sei „mittlerweile nahezu erschöpft, sodass die Stadt Nieheim gesetzlich verpflichtet ist, zusätzlichen Unterkunftsraum bereitzustellen“. Man müsse „mangels Alternative“ das Mietverhältnis kündigen. Halbey bleibt eine Frist bis zum Mai 2016.
Mit den Flüchtlingen im Haus versteht sie sich gut
Die Frau mit den kurzen blonden Haaren wirkt überfordert von der gewaltigen Resonanz. Sie hat gerade eine Nachtschicht im Krankenhaus hinter sich und ist ziemlich müde. Andauernd rufen Journalisten an, wollen sie besuchen. Manche stehen dann vor der Tür. „Eigentlich will ich ja mit keinem mehr sprechen, aber, wo Sie schon mal hier sind, kommen Sie mal rein“, sagt Halbey an der Haustür.
Aus diesem Nieheimer Haus soll Bettina Halbey gegen ihren Willen ausziehen Quelle: Kristian Frigelj
Bettina Halbey sagt: „Ich komme mit der ganzen Situation nicht klar“ Quelle: Kristian Frigelj
Sie geht vor, die Treppe hoch, und macht den Fernseher im Wohnzimmer aus. Der kleine weiße Pudelmischling Sina legt sich wieder hin und knabbert an einem Knochen. Halbey hat noch Kaffee in der Thermoskanne übrig, vom Gespräch mit anderen Journalisten. Auf dem Bügelbrett im Wohnzimmer stapeln sich Zeitungen.
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Sie erzählt, dass seit Mai Flüchtlinge in die Wohnung über ihr gezogen seien; zuerst seien es Syrer gewesen, nun leben dort eine fünfköpfige albanische Familie und ein Ehepaar aus Armenien. Sie verstünden sich gut. „Wir kümmern uns. Menschen helfen, das ist mein Gebot“, sagt sie.
Sie versteht einfach nicht, dass ihr gekündigt wird. „Hier in Nieheim gibt es viele leer stehende Häuser. In anderen Städten werden Häuser angemietet“, sagt Halbey. Es ist in der Tat erklärungsbedürftig, warum man ihr kündigt, zumal damit die Unterkunftsprobleme der Gemeinde nicht gelöst sind: Monatlich kommen etwa 20 neue Flüchtlinge hier an. 71 Asylbewerber leben inzwischen in Nieheim.
Bürgermeister Rainer Vidal versucht, es zu erklären. Er ist regelrecht bestürzt, dass Nieheim in die Schlagzeilen gerät und er persönlich sogar in E-Mails angefeindet wird. Der 42-jährige Parteilose gilt in Nieheim als überaus engagierter Politiker, der seine Sache konsequent durchzieht.
Jede neue Wohneinheit für 30 Flüchtlinge kostet Nieheim etwa 300.000 Euro. Diese Lösung kostet mich nichts
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„Ich verstehe nicht, warum sich die Medien jetzt ausgerechnet auf Nieheim stürzen. Wir sind bundesweit doch nicht die einzige Stadt, die aus berechtigtem Interesse Mietern kündigt, um Flüchtlinge unterzubringen“, sagt Vidal am Telefon. Es wäre für ihn noch etwas anderes, wenn das eine kreisfreie Stadt mit großer Wohnungsbaugesellschaft machen würde oder wenn es sich um Sozialwohnungen mit sozial schwachen Menschen handeln würde. „Hier geht es jedoch um eine normale privatrechtliche Miete, um eine einzige betroffene Person“, erzählt Vidal. Er müsse zum Wohle der Stadt abwägen und handeln. „Jede neue Wohneinheit für 30 Flüchtlinge kostet Nieheim etwa 300.000 Euro. Diese Lösung kostet mich nichts.“
Er beruft sich auf das Bürgerliche Gesetzbuch (BGB) und den Paragrafen 573, in dem festgelegt ist, dass man aus „berechtigtem Interesse“ kündigen dürfe. Dies sieht der Mieterbund jedoch kritisch: Er rät Betroffenen, Widerspruch einzulegen. Politisch sei das ohnehin eine „Katastrophe“; man dürfe „Deutsche nicht gegen Flüchtlinge ausspielen“.
Für Nieheims Bürgermeister mag rein juristisch alles klar sein, doch der Fall sorgt für Aufsehen, weil es jeden kommunalen Mieter erschüttert; weil es deutlich macht, dass die vermeintlich eigenen vier Wände im Extremfall nicht sicher sind. Auch das relativiert Vidal:„Es kommt tausendfach am Tag in Deutschland vor, dass der Vermieter aus Eigenbedarf kündigt. Das kann privaten Mietern jederzeit passieren. Es geht hier um Kündigung aus berechtigtem Interesse. Die Stadt hat die Pflicht, Flüchtlinge angemessen unterzubringen“, sagt der Bürgermeister.
Er betont, er habe „die volle Rückendeckung der Politik für meine Vorgehensweise“. Und: Er habe die Kündigungen bewusst vor der Bürgermeisterwahl am 13. September thematisiert und sei dennoch mit 68,8 Prozent wiedergewählt worden.
Hund erschwert Suche nach neuer Wohnung
Mit der Nachbarin im Erdgeschoss, einer alleinerziehenden Mutter mit zwei Kindern, konnte sich Vidal einvernehmlich einigen. Auch mit Halbey versuchte er, einen Kompromiss zu schließen. „Ich finde es sehr bedauerlich, dass die Mieterin den Weg in die Öffentlichkeit gesucht hat. Wir haben ihr eine großzügige Kündigungsfrist bis Mai nächsten Jahres eingeräumt. Wir sind auch bereit, ihr bei der Wohnungssuche zu helfen. Es haben sich ihr auch mehrere Möglichkeiten ergeben, aber es scheitert jedes Mal an ihrem Hund“, erklärt Vidal.
Bürokratie blockiert Unterbringung in Privathäusern Gerhard Pühl-Massing will seine Wohnung an Flüchtlinge vermieten. Eigentlich eine tolle Sache. Wäre da nicht die Stadt Essen, die sich querstellt, weil die Wohnung den Auflagen nicht entspricht. Quelle: N24
Die Krankenschwester bestätigt das. Es sei schwierig, mit ihrem Haustier eine neue Wohnung zu finden. Sie überlegt, ob sie rechtlich gegen die Kündigung vorgehen soll. Doch sie fürchtet, dass es sie viel Geld kosten dürfte. Wie es weitergeht, ist unklar.
Nieheims Bürgermeister will bei seiner Linie bleiben. „Wir bekommen derzeit monatlich etwa 20 Flüchtlinge zugewiesen“, erzählt Vidal. Es hätten sich mittlerweile „neue räumliche Optionen“ ergeben, über die er öffentlich noch nicht sprechen könne. „Aber auch dann kann ich diese Kündigungen nicht zurückzunehmen, weil wir nach derzeitigem Stand den Wohnraum brauchen werden.“
Wenn man sich in der kleinen Stadt umhört, dann stößt man auf Verständnis für den Bürgermeister, aber auch für die betroffene Mieterin. Einige verstehen nicht, warum sich der Bürgermeister diesen ganzen Ärger antue; denn es gebe ja noch andere, weniger provokante Möglichkeiten, Flüchtlinge unterzubringen. | {
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Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York's secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school. | {
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Over the next few weeks, The Oregonian/OregonLive will be rolling out a few changes with the goal of enhancing coverage of those issues that matter most to Oregonians.
A new Public Interest and Accountability team will build on the newspaper’s tradition of hard-hitting coverage of issues that directly impact readers’ lives. Team members will focus daily reporting and in-depth analysis on the agencies and leaders making decisions about how to spend our public dollars, including Portland City Hall, Multnomah County, state government, the Oregon Legislature and Portland Public Schools.
The team will also tackle issues that are top-of- mind and seemingly ever-present, including homelessness, the Public Employees Retirement System crisis and Oregon’s struggling public schools, as well as how the state’s most vulnerable populations are provided physical and mental health care. The team will aim to help readers understand important issues, uncovering the full scope of problems as well as potential solutions.
I will oversee the new team in addition to our Opinion pages, which will continue to feature weekly editorials guided by our editorial board’s 2019 agenda and its longstanding principles. The Opinion section will also remain a forum for Oregonians to air varied view- points from across the state.
The goal in redeploying newsroom resources is to focus more journalistic firepower on the most important issues of the day and ratchet up the accountability lens on powerful public and private institutions. We aim to better serve readers who are hungry to stay informed and learn what has worked here and elsewhere to solve problems that can appear intractable.
How will we do this without crossing the clear line between opinion writing and news reporting? As always, our news reporting will be driven by breaking news and the need to analyze issues that are priorities for Oregonians.
On the opinion side, the editorials remain independent from the news coverage. Helen Jung will serve as opinion editor, writing editorials and leading the election endorsement process. She also will craft our editorial agenda, which we set to provide readers insight into those issues we have prioritized for the year. For instance, this year’s agenda includes: Transform education for students’ benefit, keep Oregon solvent, work toward more evenhanded justice in Oregon and put Portland on the right track.
The editorial board will continue to convene Oregon’s leaders to discuss those issues – as well as others that arise throughout the year – and build on our rich history of institutional stances in our Sunday editorials. As well as Helen and myself, the board includes Therese Bottomly, executive editor and vice president of content; and John Maher, president. Longtime Oregonian/OregonLive staff editor Amy Wang also will join the board, bringing her expertise from years overseeing coverage in the Portland area as well as valuable insights from her work leading the newsroom’s diversity committee.
In my new role, I will help guide the general direction for the Opinion section and participate in editorial board meetings – as newsroom leaders here and at media organizations across the country traditionally have. However, because I will oversee news coverage, I will no longer regularly write editorials. The Public Interest and Accountability team focus will be to highlight the most significant issues facing our state, illuminate them through clear-eyed reporting and help bring rigor and leadership as we look for solutions.
With these changes, we will eliminate our single page of opinion content on Fridays and Saturdays. However, we plan to expand our Wednesday section to include several syndicated columnists providing compelling context and analyses on national issues. Both our Wednesday and Sunday Opinion sections will also continue to feature op-eds from local writers and the letters to the editor that we know inspire rich debate among our readers.
We welcome your input on the changes we are making as well as your ideas about what issues we should consider covering throughout the year. Please email me at [email protected] call 503-221-8378. | {
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VOLKSWAGEN SCIROCCO EDITION
The Volkswagen Scirocco from now on will be available in a single rich pack called Edition, both for the more powerful versions 2.0 TSI 211 hp and 170 hp 2.0 TDI.
Both engines are combined with two types of transmission, the 6-speed manual and 6-speed DSG. Version Edition is featured by many standard optional among which there are 18-inch alloy wheels model Chicago which house low-profile tires 235/40 R18 and the sunroof that opens electrically, interior Alcantara, aluminum sports pedals, front armrest and on the board is prepared to attack media Media-USB By connecting your handheld device.
Prices? In Europe we start from € 28,000 for the 2.0 TSI, 29,200 for the 2.0 TDI. For the DSG are 1750 Euros.
[youtube]
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James Erwin had a writer’s dream come true this week: The author (and two-time Jeopardy champion) got involved in an open discussion on a forum at Reddit about whether the Marines could beat the legendary Roman legion in a fight, and then wound up selling the movie rights to this idea to Warner Brothers. But what did the movie studio buy exactly? Erwin’s story was written on the site over a period of weeks, with some Reddit users taking part by offering suggestions, and the idea behind the story appears to have come from another user. Not only that, but Reddit holds a (non-exclusive) license to any content that its users create while using the service. So who owns the rights to the idea that is now becoming a movie?
As the Hollywood Reporter notes in a piece looking at this question, the answer isn’t a simple one, which is probably why more movie studios aren’t in the habit of optioning stories that come from user forums like Reddit. Studios and TV networks in general are leery of anything that might involve a dispute over who owns the rights to a project, which is why scripts are guarded so carefully, and anyone involved in producing one has to sign NDAs and other legal waivers. For similar reasons, Warner Brothers apparently directed Erwin to stop contributing to the Reddit forum after they acquired the rights to the script. As he told the film-writing website ScreenRant:
Unfortunately, I have not been able to spend time on Reddit. This is not because I think I’m too big for my britches now. The Internet is a chaotic, give-and-take place –- and that creates nightmares for a lawyered-up industry based on locked-down IP rights.
Even without any further contributions from the crowd at Reddit, however, there is a potential legal issue with the idea behind the movie — which is being called Rome Sweet Rome. That’s because Reddit’s user agreement says that anyone who posts on the site (which is owned by media giant Conde Nast) gives Reddit a license to re-use and even sub-license their content. The site’s legal disclaimer says it holds:
[A] non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, unrestricted, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, enhance, transmit, distribute, publicly perform, display, or sublicense any such communication in any medium (now in existence or hereinafter developed) and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, and to authorize others to do so.
These rights disclaimers are fairly common with web services, and in most cases, they are only used to allow those services to re-post content in different formats, or to modify a specific piece of content in ways that make it easier to store or display. Very few sites ever use this to license content against a user’s wishes, even though in some cases they have the power to do that: There was an uproar earlier this year about the terms of use for the Twitpic image-hosting service, for example, which gave the service the right to license the content for commercial purposes shortly after it signed a deal with a commercial photo service.
It’s not clear whether Reddit will try to assert any rights over Erwin’s idea (or whether other Reddit users might) but the possibility does exist — and that raises a potential issue for any writer who gets involved in creating a story in a discussion forum, as well as for publishers who sign those writers to licensing deals. Theoretically, Reddit could sell a similar idea to another movie studio, and be well within its rights. What about authors who talk about their works in progress — like John Green, who has become well-known for his YouTube videos and active community of readers, who often take part in discussions about his books before they are completed?
The bottom line, as Erwin put it in his interview, is that the chaotic nature of the web and the fluid nature of copyright online makes it difficult to take projects like Rome Sweet Rome and force them into the kind of rigid ownership model that movie studios like Warner Brothers prefer. And that won’t change until copyright or intellectual property law changes, to better reflect the way that such creative pursuits occur online.
Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr users Jeremy Mates and bloomsberriesl | {
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European Council President Donald Tusk has said that if the UK offer on the border on the island of Ireland is unacceptable for Ireland, then it will also be unacceptable for the EU.
Mr Tusk made the comments after meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin.
A former Polish prime minister, Mr Tusk will chair a crunch summit of European Union leaders on the issue in two weeks.
Donald Tusk says 'the Irish request is the EU's request' #Brexit pic.twitter.com/JGWnDpPs53 — RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 1, 2017
"Before proposing guidelines on transition and future relations to the leaders, I will consult the Taoiseach if the UK offer is sufficient for the Irish Government," Mr Tusk said.
"Let me say very clearly: If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU. I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand," he said.
"This is why the key to the UK’s future lies - in some ways - in Dublin, at least as long as Brexit negotiations continue."
If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will be unacceptable for the EU -
@eucopresident #Brexit pic.twitter.com/BBZW9hMTT9 — RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 1, 2017
Mr Tusk noted that he had given British Prime Minister Theresa May a deadline of Monday to make a "final offer" on the border before leaders decide whether there is "sufficient progress" on a divorce settlement to merit opening talks on the future relationship.
He insisted there could be no division between the other EU member states and Ireland: "The EU is fully behind you and your request that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit," he said.
"The Irish request is the EU’s request."
He added: "The UK started Brexit, and now it is their responsibility to propose a credible commitment to do what is necessary to avoid a hard border."
Leo Varadkar says Irish concerns are Europe's concerns #Brexit pic.twitter.com/J4QP043gZ0 — RTÉ News (@rtenews) December 1, 2017
"On the question of the border, as I have said many times, the best and most obvious solution would be for the UK to remain in the Customs Union and the Single Market," said Mr Varadkar.
"But if the British government continues to rule out that option, it must offer credible, concrete and workable solutions that guarantee there will be no hard border, whatever the outcome in the negotiations, and whatever the future relationship between the EU and the UK," added Mr Varadkar.
Mr Varadkar said Ireland appreciated the solidarity from its EU partners.
"They have taken Ireland's unique concerns to heart - these are seen very much as EU concerns.
"It is an important and impressive display of EU unity and solidarity, the European Union is a family and we stick together."
Talks between the UK and the EU have intensified ahead of next Monday's meeting and the 14 December summit.
MPs at Westminster say British ministers have failed to explain how a return to border controls can be avoided if the UK leaves the EU Single Market and the Customs Union.
The House of Commons committee for exiting the EU said last night that the British government's proposals for resolving the border issue, such as the use of technology, are untested.
Coveney: Ireland cannot be expected to take a 'leap in the dark'
Earlier, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said Ireland's position on the border issue has not changed and it cannot be expected to take a "leap in the dark" and move on to the second phase of Brexit negotiations.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, Mr Coveney said the attitude of the British government is "we will solve this problem, but not right now".
"What the British government is asking of the Irish Government is, ‘trust us we will solve these issues with a broad bold trade agreement’ and that may not be possible.
"We can't be asked here to leap into the dark by opening up phase two discussions."
Mr Coveney said he hopes there will be a successful outcome within the next two weeks.
He said Ireland wanted to achieve "an agreed wording whereby we can agree the parameters within which we can find a solution that prevents the re-emergence of a border on the island of Ireland" before a 14 December EU summit.
He added that he continues to try to avoid the Brexit debate becoming an issue of "green versus orange" in Northern Ireland.
However, he would not comment on recent statements from senior DUP members, instead saying they want to work with all parties in Northern Ireland.
Former DUP leader Peter Robinson has accused the Irish Government of acting provocatively in the negotiations and said the South should "wind its neck in".
On Friday, British media reported the DUP warned Mrs May's Conservative Party against giving too many concessions in the talks on the future border arrangements.
It was reported that DUP officials met the Tory officials on Friday morning, when they warned that any British commitment on Northern Ireland staying in the single market, customs union or regulatory equivalent "would be deeply destabilising" for the deal they struck earlier this year to keep Mrs May in power.
Mr Coveney said no party has a monopoly on what is acceptable, and he assured Unionists that the Brexit negotiations are not an effort by the Government to affect the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. | {
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If you're gonna have guns Then you will have to accept the fact, that no matter how much money you spend trying to stop it, people are going to shoot other people, resulting in a bad time.
5,779 shares | {
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thousands of dollars in textbooks Builds a desk rather than donating to those who can't afford them
112 shares | {
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Introduction This guest post that walks through a great example of using python to automate a report generating process. I think PB Python readers will enjoy learning from this real world example using python, jupyter notebooks, papermill and several other tools. Before we get started, I would like to introduce the author: My name is Duarte Carmo and I’m a product manager and digital consultant. Originally from Lisbon - Portugal, but currently living and working in Copenhagen - Denmark. Find more about my work and leisure in my website.
Part 1 - Tool roundup Welcome to part 1 of this two-part series post about automating report generation using python, jupyter, papermill, and a couple of other tools. In the first part, we will cover 4 main important workflows that are part of the automation process. In the second and final part, we will bring everything together and build our own report automation system. Note: This code was written in python 3.7. You might have to adapt the code for older versions of python. All of the code for this article is available on github. Alright, let’s get to work.
Automating report generation with Python - Why? Not everyone can code. This might seem like an obvious statement, but once you start using python to automate or analyze things around you, you start to encounter a big problem: reproducibility. Not everyone knows how to run your scripts, use your tools, or even use a modern browser. Let us say you built a killer script. How exactly do you make someone who has never heard the word “python” use it? You could teach them python, but that would take a long time. In this series, we will teach you how you can automatically generate shareable Html reports from any excel file using a combination of tools, centered around python.
Creating a Jupyter Notebook reports from Excel files Let us say you have an excel file sales_january.xlsx with a list of the sales generated by a group of employees. Just like this: Let’s start by using a jupyter notebook sales_january.ipynb to create a very simple analysis of that sales data. We start by importing the pandas and maplotlib libraries. After that, we specify the name of our file using the filename variable. Finally, we use the read_excel function to read our data into a pandas DataFrame. import pandas as pd import matplotlib.pyplot as plt % matplotlib inline # so plots are printed automatically filename = "sales_january.xlsx" data = pd . read_excel ( filename , index_col = 0 ) When printing the data dataframe, we get the following: After that, we plot the data using pandas: data . plot ( kind = "bar" , title = f "Sales report from { filename } " ) And we get the following: And that’s it! We have a jupyter notebook that analyzes (a very simple analysis let us say) a sales report in excel. Now let’s say we want to share that report with other people in the organization, what do we do?
Generating Html reports from Jupyter Notebooks to share with colleagues In my experience, the easiest way to share a report with colleagues is to use a little tool called nbconvert. Nbconvert allows you to generate an Html version of your notebook. To install it simply run pip install nbconvert . To do this, start by navigating to the same directory where your notebook is and run the following from your terminal: $ jupyter nbconvert sales_january.ipynb You will see that a new file named sales_january.html was created. Html files are better than ipynb in the measure that they are easily shareable via email, message, or any other way. Just make sure the person receiving the file opens it via a relatively modern browser. But lets us say that this sales report comes in every month, how can we automatically run this notebook with any excel file that has the same format? | {
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Purrha, or sometimes called " Pussy Magnet ".
HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME ...
I was laughing for 5 min straight ... now my sides hurt.
Nice art by the way, like your style. Have a fav and a watch. | {
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Hirdetések
Oszd meg!
Nem vagy elég idős!
Nem dolgoztál még!
Mit tettél le az asztalra?
Nem voltál katona!
Nincs tapasztalatod!
Ezt úgy sem értheted meg!
Csak felhasználnak!
Nem tudsz semmit!
14, 18, sőt, még 26 évesen is sokszor kell ilyen és ehhez hasonló kijelentéseket eltűrniük a fiataloknak. Ami még rosszabb, hogy gyakran ezeket ki sem kell, hogy mondják, mivel sokszor a minket közvetlenül érintő kérdésekben sem biztosított a közös felület a kommunikációhoz. Ez pedig nem csak az intergenerációs egyenlőség miatt probléma, hanem a demokratikus társadalmi berendezkedést is torzítja, mindenki kárára. Ha úgy nőnek fel generációk, hogy a legérzékenyebb 18 évük során nem veszik emberszámba őket, nem hallgatják meg a mondanivalójukat és a megalapozott véleményüket is puszta korsovinizmusból söprik le minden szinten, akkor ezek az emberek nem lesznek felelős, aktív állampolgárok. Nem fognak bízni a demokratikus intézményrendszerben és a véleménypluralizmusban, a jogállami keretekben. Sokan pedig azt a következtetést vonják le, hogy a sikeresség kulcsa a hatalomhoz jutás bármi áron, bármennyire is erőszakosnak, igazságtalannak kell ehhez lenni; hiszen a hatalmasok mondhatják meg, ki mikor szólalhat meg, fittyet hányva a törvényekre és alkotmányos normákra. Ez a magatartás pedig erodálja a demokratikus kereteket.
Sajnos ez a probléma az egész társadalmat áthatja, családokon, pártpolitikán, médián és a civil szférán átívelve.
Sok esetben még csak nem is a rosszindulat, egyszerűen a megszokás az oka ennek a rossz beidegződésnek, és ezen lehet változtatni. Diákparlamentesként nem egy konferenciára sikerült delegálni egy szem diákképviselőt, miután beszélgettem a szervezőkkel. Hasonló a helyzet a médiában is, ahol megfelelő ráhatással olykor hajlandóak értelmes fiatalokat is szerepeltetni, hogy ne kizárólag Pumped Gabó és VV Évi legyen generációnk szimbóluma több millió tv-néző számára. Minden igyekezet ellenére azonban nem történt meg a várva várt áttörés, a pozitív példák nem rögzültek eléggé és nem is egységesen. Ezen persze nem segített az sem, hogy az ország egyetlen hiteles diák-érdekképviseleti szervezete, a Független Diákparlament puccs áldozata lett és megszűnt, talán nem is véletlenül. Szervezet híján pedig valóban nehéz fiatalokat találni a képviseleti feladatokra. Ennélfogva továbbra is gyakran küzdeni kell a reprezentációért, és korántsem arányos a megjelenések száma és minősége a fiatalok véleményének fontosságával.
A feltételek tehát a legtöbbször aránytalanok.
Ezen a helyzeten pedig tovább ront a Fidesz dinamikus építkezése, mely a többi játékossal ellentétben a közvélemény-kutatásokból megértette, hogy igény lenne a fiatalok bevonására; éppen ezért mindent elkövet, hogy ennek a látszatát megteremtse egy párhuzamos valósság kiépítésével. A meglévő diákszervezeteket mint az ODP, HÖOK és a NIT bekebelezte, és új platformokat is létrehozott, mint az ODT vagy a fiatalokért felelős helyettes államtitkári pozíció. Szerencsére ezek annyira hiteltelenek és súlytalanok (hála a fideszes paranoiának), hogy az emberek egy része átlát ezeken. Azonban ez egyre nehezebb.
Többek között ezért indult el az Államvilág nevű blogom 2017-ben, mely több, mint 250 000 olvasóhoz ért el eddig, és alapvetően ifjúságpolitikával foglalkozik. Hasonló okból alapította meg Szolga Bálint a Blogadót, és Dián Ákos a Mindenláncot. Ex-FDP-sekként igyekeztünk saját nyilvánosságot teremteni, hazai pályán hitelesen kommunikálni a fiatalokat valóban érintő problémákról. Azonban rájöttünk, hogy mindez nem volt elég, nem értek el elég embert a tartalmak és nem tudott platformot biztosítani másoknak az önkifejezésre. Szükség volt egy közös alapra, melyre közösen építhetünk, és kitörhetünk a holttérből, hogy a társadalom más rétegeivel együtt keressünk megoldásokat a kihívásainkra.
Megszületett tehát a Millenna ötlete, melyet régi és új társakkal hoztunk létre.
Egy olyan felület, melyet fiatalok gondoznak, hogy lehetőséget biztosítsanak társaiknak.
Egy olyan fórum, mely pártpolitikától független, de teljes mértékben a fiatalokat érintő politikai kérdésekkel foglalkozik.
Egy olyan entitás, melynek alapja a tolerancia, azonban minden kérdést kritikusan szemlél.
Egy olyan közösség, melynek tagjai kölcsönösen támogatják egymást az önkifejezésben.
Egy olyan folyóirat, mely az ezredfordulós generációk képviseletével egy minden szempontból fenntartható ország kialakításáért küzd.
Ha csatlakoznál te is a közös építkezéshez, oszd meg ezt a cikket, keresd fel a Facebook vagy Instagram oldalunkat, szólj az ismerőseidnek, adományozz az oldalnak, vagy jelentkezz írónak, küldd el egy személyes élményed, gondolataidat, akkor is, ha már idősebb vagy! | {
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The National Lawyers Guild has settled a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of journalist Scott Campbell -- who inadvertantly filmed himself being shot -- and 11 other Occupy Oakland activists who were brutalized by the Oakland Police in the fall of 2011, for $1.17 million and negotiated reforms. This new video (above) recorded on Oakland Police officer lapel cameras. On it, after Campbell has been shot, officers are heard to say "Perfect!" and "Nice Shot!"
Scott Campbell received $150,000 in the settlement.
Suzi Spangenberg, a 52 year old seminarian, said, "I was in the middle of telling OPD I loved them when they threw explosives at me. The loud explosion caused permanent hearing loss and unrelenting ringing in my ears. As a result, I can only sleep 2 hours at a time which has had a serious impact on my life, including adversely impacting my graduate school studies, when I graduate, and when I will be ordained. It is my hope that there will never be cause for this type of lawsuit again, and the City can instead focus its resources on supporting the marginalized and those most in need of resources -- which is what we were protesting for." Spangenberg will receive $500,000 as part of the settlement.
19 year old Sukay Sow went to the Oct. 25, 2011, Occupy demonstration with her mother, and was searching for her younger brother to go home when she too was struck with an explosive grenade. The chemical agent burned off the top of her foot and left her in agony. "I was terrified to go to another protest of any kind," said Sow. "But the settlement makes me feel that maybe I can speak my mind without getting hurt again." Sow will receive $210,000 as part of the settlement.
These settlements are an important victory for democracy,” said Bobbie Stein, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. ”We are hopeful that with these settlements, and the reform process under the watch of the new Compliance Director, we will achieve a culture shift in the Oakland Police Department and end the brutalization and wrongful arrests of activists and people of color in Oakland. While we remain optimistic, we are mindful of the 10 year history of broken promises, and we will be watching carefully and ready to take further action if necessary." | {
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BOISE, ID—After reading an article about Muslim rituals, curious homemaker Frances Parker decided to give bowing toward Mecca a shot Tuesday. "I guess I just wanted to see what it'd feel like," Parker said of the few minutes she set aside to lay a colorful blanket on the ground, draw the curtains, and look up which direction Mecca was from her house in Boise. "It was kind of neat." While she admitted performing the ritual five times a day seemed "a bit much," the mother of two told reporters she might try to work in another bow tomorrow and see how that goes.
Advertisement | {
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Carla Ward’s Sheffield United face Aston Villa on the opening day of the Women’s Championship on Sunday but Villa are a very different beast to the one United finished eight points above last year.
Villa have stepped up their investment, taking on full-time players and shaping themselves for a promotion push. United, on a much smaller budget, have also strengthened. Four of their eight signings have come from WSL football, while Naomi Hartley joins from Championship champions Manchester United, who were promoted together with Tottenham. Perhaps the biggest change, though, is in their manager.
After a season as the player-assistant manager, having been recruited from Sheffield FC, the 35-year-old Ward was handed the reins after one season, charged with leading the club in a two-tier jump – having been successful in their application to join the restructured second division – and into semi-professionalism. It was a colossal leap, and a not straightforward campaign on the pitch, with stuttering results early on, and off it, with the investigation into the accusation of racism against Sophie Jones by Tottenham’s Renée Hector.
The hardest part for Ward was the step away from the dressing room. “The transition from player to manager was massive because I’ve gone from the banter in the changing room with the girls, and I was probably the centre of it,” she says. “Then restricting yourself, pulling yourself back and not getting involved in that banter and acting the clown was tough early on.”
The step into management also meant some tough decisions had to be made about the futures of teammates. “Signing players, releasing players, it was tough, I was still friends with them, I still had them on Snapchat and things like that. You stop going ‘all right mate’ and you start saying ‘right, you’.”
And, despite being on the touchline, Ward sometimes still thinks she could be making a difference on the pitch: “Sometimes I think ‘why’s she not seen that pass? How has she not seen that pass?” she laughs.
In addition, although far from alien to her as a player in that environment, the logistical troubles of coordinating part-time players stretched the squad close to breaking point when an early evening tie at Manchester City meant some working players could not play.
It caused a small media storm – something which amused Ward. “I kept laughing about it,” she says. “I saw it as an opportunity for the youngsters. I mean, we swapped the team about two minutes before kick-off because someone hadn’t arrived. But you know what? Sometimes you just have to take it on the chin. I know people work and people have jobs. It’s a big sacrifice. I don’t think the FA appreciate the sacrifice that especially Championship players make.
“I’ve got players who live two and a half hours away, they travel three nights a week and a weekend, and their wage doesn’t even cover their petrol. I don’t think anyone really gets that. It’s astounding, and we’re talking about the second-highest tier in women’s football. So there’s still a lot of work to do.”
It is a problem she is grappling with right now. “We played Everton in pre-season and we’ve still got a lot of players away. People go ‘what do you mean you’ve got players away?’ Well, they have a life. We don’t have enough money to dictate that they can’t go away. And I’m a big believer everybody needs a break. And if they’re a teacher, and they’ve only got six week holiday, and that’s in our pre-season, then for me, they’ve got to go away and fresh enough, otherwise, they’re just going to blow out.”
After Christmas last year, three defeats, to title-contending Tottenham, Charlton and Manchester United, came and were not unexpected but then the team went unbeaten in seven games to the end of the season.
Standards are high, though, and fifth was not what they wanted. “It ended up being quite a successful year, but we weren’t happy with it. I think when we look around, fifth, it was good in terms of what we had. The fact we are unhappy with that shows what the squad’s about. We’ve got probably the lowest budget in the league,” Ward says. “But players are walking through the door and turning down offers from other clubs because they see what we are doing. Although we’re a part-time outfit we’ve got the full-time model. They wear the same kit as the men and they get on the same bus as the men.
“Somebody actually said to me last week ‘Jesus Christ, you must have some money.’ And I laughed. I wish I did. You would not believe how little we have got financially.” | {
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Russia has conducted a successful test launch of the RS-12M Topol intercontinental ballistic missile, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the test data would be used for the development of future missile penetration aids.
READ MORE: ABM-piercing warhead bolts through night Russian skies atop Topol ICBM (VIDEO)
The test launch was performed at the Kapustin Yar range in Russia’s southern Astrakhan Region, the ministry said, adding that the test warhead successfully hit its target at a range in Kazakhstan.
Read more
The launch was aimed at testing the advanced combat equipment of the Russian missiles, and the experiment data obtained during the test will be used to develop prospective means of breaching 'enemy' missile defenses for use in Russian ballistic missiles, the ministry said in the statement.
Last week, the Russian Strategic Missile Force tested its modern Yars intercontinental ballistic missile. A solid propellant missile carrying a multiple warhead payload, Yars is a modern variant of the Topol-M missile series, designed to replace the dated liquid-propellant UR-100N missiles, which are better known under their NATO designation SS-19 Stiletto.
Two weeks ago, the Russian military conducted another test launch of the Yars missile, which is capable of hitting different targets up to 12,000km away.
A test of the Russian RS-28 Sarmat super-heavy thermonuclear missile, designated SS-X-30 Satan 2 by NATO, could be held in October, TASS reports. | {
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Barrio Spiderman and 5 of his homeboys suspected of stealing hundreds of dollars of candy from area grocery stores gets pulled over and Alberto Einstein here makes a break for it.Police pursued the suspect into a neighborhood and he climbed onto a roof to get away.Officers cautiously followed him as he ran from roof to roof the entire time, not knowing what to expect. After a few minutes, they brought out a ladder and sprayed him with pepper spray. Seconds later he came down and tried to flee the scene, but ran into a parked police sport utility vehicle.Police say the teen is likely going to be charged with criminal trespassing for jumping from roof to roof and running from officers. | {
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Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Ugh.
So, where do I start?
John Wall, also known as the Washington Wizards‘ everything, has five fractures in his left hand/wrist.
After landing awkwardly on his hand, Wall was able to finish Game-1 against the Atlanta Hawks and eventually led the Wizards to victory. Washington had won five straight games and were arguably the best team in the NBA Playoffs.
Unfortunately, though, Wall’s handed swelled up after the game. A third evaluation revealed the five fractures.
For the first time in what seems like forever, the Wizards had a legitimate chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
And now, their everything is hurt and will possibly miss the remainder of the playoffs.
As many put it, Wall’s fall in Game-1 fractured more than just his hand. We, the Wizards fans, have desperately waited for a good team and it looks like their chances of advancing have been derailed.
In order to make sense of all of this, fellow Wiz of Awes bloggers and sad fans alike Nithin Kuchibhotla (@nkuchibhotla), Osman Baig (@OBtoojiveforyou), Matt Graber (@mattagraber) and David Statman (@DJStatman77) discussed John Wall’s injury and the future.
Enjoy. | {
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In its latest bid to take on Internet powerhouse Amazon.com Inc. this holiday season, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is promising same-day delivery in some cities for orders placed online.
Called Wal-Mart To Go, the service costs $10 regardless of the size of the order. The products will be shipped from the company's stores, not from a warehouse or distribution center. Wal-Mart began testing the same-day service last week in Philadelphia and northern Virginia.
It... | {
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has ads only to help you discover new parts of reddit
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Prefectul Capitalei, Speranța Cliseru, le-a cerut, marți, parlamentarilor să schimbe de urgență legea adunărilor publice, susținând că aceasta nu mai corespunde realităților actuale și că nu mai trebuie acceptate mitinguri neautorizate. Prefectul a susținut că nu ea a semnat ordinul de evacuare, ci doar a aprobat unul semnat deja, menționând că de coordonarea misiunii s-a ocupat maiorul Laurențiu Cazan. Senatorii din comisia de apărare au audiat-o pe Cliseru, în legătură cu protestul din 10 august. La audieri sunt așteptați și ministrul de Interne Carmen Dan, precum și șefi din Jandarmerie.
De asemenea, la comisie au fost chemați și șeful dispozitivului de jandarmi din Piața Victoriei și împuternicit Inspector general al Jandarmeriei Române, maior Laurențiu Cazan și colonel Ionuț-Cătălin Sindile.
Ministrul de Interne, Carmen Dan, și comandantul Brigăzii Speciale a Jandarmeriei, Cătălin Paraschiv, au fost audiați, pe 18 septembrie, în Comisia pentru drepturile omului a Camerei Deputaților în legătură cu posibile aspecte ale încălcării drepturilor omului la protestele din 10 august.
PSD este convins că instituțiile statului au acționat corect și legal la mitingul din 10 august și transmite un mesaj de susținere pentru jandarmerie, a declarat Liviu Dragnea, la finalul ședinței de luni a Biroului Permanent Național al partidului.
Parchetul General a anunțat, vineri, că șeful Jandarmeriei Române, Ionuț Cătălin Sindile, prim-adjunctul instituției, Sebastian Cucoș, dar și șeful Jandarmeriei Capitalei și coordonatorul intervenției forțelor de ordine în Piața Victoriei pe 10 august, Laurențiu Cazan, sunt urmăriți penal în dosarul violențelor de la miting.
Procurorii au mai transmis că ordinul de evacuare a Pieței Victoria a fost dat cu încălcarea legii, ora 23:11 fiind consemnată în mod nereal, și că un secretar de stat din Ministerul de Interne a exercitat presiuni asupra prefectului Capitalei pentru semnarea ordinului.
„Legat de aceste mitinguri autorizate sau nu, trebuie să respectăm legea, nu trebuie să acceptăm mitinguri neautorizate. Știți bine că de un an și jumătate sunt fel de fel de manifestații în Pta Victoriei care sunt doar anunțate. (...) Eu v-aș ruga să aduceți la zi legea adunărilor publice, a fost făcută în grabă și nu mai corespunde cu ce se întâmplă azi. O simplă notificare către primar nu poate ține loc de autorizare. (...) Nu mai putem să continuăm cu aceste adunări anunțate prin fax-uri și mailuri”, a spus ea.Referitor la protestul din 10 august, Cliseru a spus că înainte a avut „informări de la structura internă de informații, nu se anunța ceva spectaculos”.Prefectul Capitalei și-a nuanțat declarațiile referitoare la minciunile ministrului de Interne, Carmen Dan, spunând că a fost vorba de „o inadvertență” privind ora intervenției. Cliseru nu a mai răspuns însă la întrebarea când a semnat ordinul în acest sens, invocând ancheta Parchetului, dar a spus că nu poate să confirme informațiile în acest sens ale șefilor Jandarmeriei.În timpul audierilor, prefectul Capitalei a reiterat ideea potrivit căreia nu ea a semnat ordinul de evacuare, ci doar a aprobat unul semnat deja, menționând că de coordonarea misiunii s-a ocupat maiorul Laurențiu Cazan. "Eu nu am semnat un ordin, am aprobat unul semnat deja. Coordonatorul acțiunii a fost Laureznțiu Cazan", a declarat Speranța Cliseru.Ați fost informată dinainte de ce se așteaptă? De ce ați intervenit doar în 10, au fost și înainte mitinguri?- Legat de aceste mitinguri autorizate sau nu, trebuie să respectăm legea, nu trebuie să acceptăm mitinguri neautorizate. Știți bine că de un an și jumătate sunt fel de fel de manifestații în Pta Victoriei care sunt doar anunțate. Nu pe mine trebuie să mă întrebați cum e această istorie. Eu v-aș ruga să aduceți la zi legea adunărilor publice, a fost făcută în grabă și nu mai corespunde cu ce se întâmplă azi. O simplă notificare către primar nu poate ține loc de autorizare.- Nu mai putem să continuăm cu aceste adunări anunțate prin fax-uri și mailuri.- Am avut informări de la structura internă de informații, nu se anunța ceva spectaculos.V-ați gândit la măsuri pentru a preveni asemenea situații?- E greu să spun când oamenii se anunță pe Facebook. Vă solicit să modificăm de urgență legea adunărilor publice.Ordinul dat ulterior e acoperit Juridic? Cine minte, cine a fost coordonatorul acțiunii, ministrul Carmen Dan?- Jandarmeria a acționat în baza legii dumnealor. Coordonatorul acțiunii a fost dl Laurențiu Cazan de la Jandarmerie.La ce oră ați semnat acel ordin?Președintele Comisiei îi cere prefectului să nu răspundă.Speranța Cliseru: Nu pot decât să nu confirm cele două ore.- Nu am primit amenințări. Mă simt amenințată în continuare, nu pentru ce am făcut. Am respectat legea. Sunt convinsă că lucrurile se vor lămuri.- Nu mi-e teamă că-mi vor pierde funcția. Nu am venit aici cu gândul că ies la pensie.- Nu am o discuție cu premierul Dăncilă.- Bănuiesc că și Jandarmeria a acționat în baza legii și regulamentelor.- Amenințări: telefoane anonime. Am avut un șoc la început că n-am mai pățit așa ceva. Le-am pus pe seama acestor evenimente care au provocat emoție. Am avut un șoc în primele zile pentru că am făcut numai lucruri bune.- Nu știu dacă unii mint. Probabil că au vrut să schimbe adevărul și alții au fost dezinformați. Sunt și oameni nevinovați care au luat de bun ce li s-a spus nu cred că toată lumea este într-un complot.- Despre declarația că ministrul de Interne minte: Era o neconcordanță, referitoare la ora intervenției.- Au fost gradual mai multe feluri de intervenții. | {
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EXCLUSIVE: When you have eight Oscars between you, it becomes less daunting to take on Shakespeare. I’m told that Denzel Washington is in early talks to team with Frances McDormand in a screen adaptation of Macbeth that will be directed by Joel Coen, from an adaptation he is writing. Scott Rudin is producing, and the plan is for A24 to distribute worldwide.
The Shakespeare classic was first turned into a film by Orson Welles in 1948 and numerous adaptations have followed. The storyline is that a Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he is destined to become king of Scotland. With the help of his ambitious wife, he does what he has to with the goal of seizing the crown. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard starred in the last version, directed by Justin Kurzel.
Washington won his Oscars for Training Day and Glory, while McDormand won for Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Coen won his for No Country For Old Men and Fargo.
Washington is repped by WME, Coen and McDormand are at UTA. | {
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The Canadian 2020 Paralympic team will be bringing a piece of Mississauga with them for the upcoming summer games in Tokyo. Thanks to the city’s own Paul DeRosa, whose song Shine has been announced as the official theme song for the team.
Created in collaboration with CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) Shine is a trailblazer, becoming the first-ever song to be used as the official anthem for the team.
“The whole purpose of the song is to bring more public awareness to people who are living with a disability and highlight them as athletes,” said DeRosa.
But becoming the first theme song wasn’t always the plan that DeRosa had in mind for Shine. Originally written 15 years ago as an acoustic rendition, he used it as a tribute to his cousin, Pat Ferrari, who was left paralyzed after a car accident at two-years old.
After revisiting it some years later, DeRosa knew that the positive message behind Shine could be used to celebrate to Paralympic athletes. And so, he began the journey of sharing it with the rest of Canada. His first call? Martin Richard of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, who, to DeRosa’s surprise agreed with him on the impact of the song.
“I couldn’t believe it, two years (before) I was sitting in my basement editing Paralympic video footage to the song and the CPC was at the top of my list to call and it finally came together.”
From there, the song was reworked and recorded with a full-piece band at the CBC Studio in Toronto over three weeks. First having DeRosa on vocals and then bringing in Canadian Idol winner Eva Avila, who recorded it both in English and French. “(Avila) and the band were just amazing,” DeRosa said.
Now as the country gears up for the games, taking place in August 2020 (and Shine is getting radio play), DeRosa is preparing for another adventure; performing live in Tokyo.
“I’m lucky enough for the song to be a part of history, for me and my heart, it’s huge.” | {
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Don't miss to check out our Hall Of Fame Demos! | {
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Betsy DeVos’s Department of Education plans to rescind a controversial Obama-era rule aimed at protecting students from career training programs that fail to prepare students for decent paying jobs and saddle them with debt.
The Department released a document Friday outlining a proposal to scrap the gainful employment regulations. The rules, developed under the Obama administration required all programs that explicitly prepare students for careers — such as cosmetology and culinary training programs — prove that graduates were earning enough to repay the debt they incurred to complete the program. Many of these programs are at for-profit colleges. Programs that failed this test repeatedly could lose access to federal financial-aid dollars, a major source of revenue for many colleges.
The proposal is the latest effort by DeVos’s Department of Education to overhaul the Obama-era student-loan agenda. Officials announced major changes to another regulation last month aimed at making borrowers whole who say they’ve been defrauded by their colleges. Friday’s announcement also comes after a series of efforts to delay implementation of the gainful employment rule.
John Grisham: 'Day of reckoning' coming for student debt
“Instead of targeting schools simply by their tax status, this administration is working to ensure students have transparent, meaningful information about all colleges and all programs,” DeVos said in a statement announcing the proposal. “Our new approach will aid students across all sectors of higher education and improve accountability.”
Borrower advocates roundly derided the proposal saying it would put students at risk of taking on debt to enroll in programs that don’t serve them well. “It’s really a common sense regulation that not only protects students and guarantees that they can get jobs that allows them to pay back their loans, but protects the taxpayer,” said Aaron Ament, the president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, a litigation and advocacy organization.
Officials first began developing the regulations in the early years of the Obama administration. The rules faced multiple court challenges by the for-profit college industry before becoming law. Under the final rule, career training programs are required to prove that their graduates’ loan payments don’t exceed 20% of their discretionary income or 8% of their total earnings. Programs that didn’t meet those requirements for two out of three years would lose access to federal financial-aid dollars.
In the memo released Friday, officials proposed scrapping that debt-to-earnings ratio and the accountability requirements that went with it. In its place, they plan to add more robust program-level information to the College Scorecard, a government website students and families can use to compare colleges. The document also asks the public to provide feedback on whether programs at these types of colleges should be required to provide information such as cost and completion rates on its website.
Critics say gainful employment regulations unfairly targeted for-profit colleges
Those provisions appear to assuage critics who said the regulation unfairly targeted the for-profit sector. Steve Gunderson the president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, a for-profit college trade group, called the proposal “the most significant action” by any Department of Education to provide transparency on higher education outcomes.
“By making available, in a student-friendly and transparent manner, key data points on debt, loan repayment, completion, and earnings of graduates, the Department will empower prospective students with the information needed to select their preferred academic and career preparation pathway,” Gunderson said in a statement.
But borrower advocates argue that simply providing more information to students won’t actually push bad-acting programs to change their behavior. During the first year the Department released outcomes under the gainful employment rule, more than 800 programs failed. Already, some of those programs have shut down or are re-accessing their offerings.
“You can’t expect the data to just all of the sudden drive these decisions because students have to be able to find the data, understand the data and make choices about it,” said Ben Miller, the senior director of postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. What’s more, an approach that emphasizes only making more data available, “assumes that you don’t have substantial sophisticated marketing occupations on the other side,” he added.
The for-profit college industry has a history of using questionable marketing tactics
And, indeed, the for-profit college industry has a history of using questionable marketing tactics to draw students and their student loan dollars. Corinthian Colleges, a major for-profit college chain collapsed in 2015, amid allegations the school used inflated job placement and graduation rates to lure students. ITT Technical Institutes filed for bankruptcy a year later under the weight of similar allegations.
Borrower advocates have argued that rules like gainful employment can prevent these types of large scale flame outs — and the taxpayer losses that come with them — by policing poor performing programs before they reach too many students. The document released by the Department Friday estimates that repealing the gainful employment regulation would cost $5.3 billion because the government would be doling out more in federal-aid dollars to students to attend schools that would otherwise be ineligible for them.
In the past, the for-profit college industry has argued that one of the major reasons its outcomes may not hold up to metrics measured by rules like gainful employment is because they educate students who have historically been underserved by other colleges and who may not earn as much in the job market.
The memo released Friday picks up on that rationale and argues the debt-to-earnings ratio is flawed in other ways, but it doesn’t truly wrestle with the best way to measure whether a program is preparing students for gainful employment, Miller said. “It was a giveaway to places that leave their grads with way too much debt compared to their earnings and students will suffer as a result,” he said.
It’s too early to tell whether the proposal released Friday will become law. In the meantime, critics have accused the Department of Education of not enforcing the law currently on the books; the agency has yet to release the second year of school outcomes under the rule.
The public will have a period to comment on the new proposed regulation and then the Department will issue a final rule. At that point, legal advocates and states attorneys general will be looking closely to see whether the Department has violated any laws in promulgating the new regulation, said Ament, who previously worked on for-profit college issues in various positions in the Obama administration.
“I anticipate if they continue along this path you’ll see several challenges,” he said. | {
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Go On, Love (Single)
Go On, Love is the second single by soul-funk power group Matador! Soul Sounds.
Recorded in March of 2018 at Color Red while on tour in Colorado. | {
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But that’s what makes America and capitalism great. We can choose the products that are to our own liking and needs. No government telling us what we must buy. It’s why Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors. | {
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First Dog Barney Bites a White House Reporter (Video)
Perhapsis upset with the outcome of the presidential election or was just having a bad morning. In a case of bad doggy manners, the Scottish terrier took a nip out of a member of the White House press corps today.
Reuters political reporter Jon Decker had just wrapped up a piece for MSNBC at 10:30 a.m. and was heading back to the press room when he saw First Dog Barney on the lawn with his custodian. The reporter asked permission to pet the pooch and was promptly rewarded with a snap and snarl.
Decker checked his smarting finger and discovered that Barney had broken skin. He muttered, "that's not good." Heading back to the building to fetch a band aid, he was directed by colleagues to check with the nurse. She, in turn, sent him packing to White House physician Dr. Richard Tubb, who gave him a tetanus shot and a prescription for an antibiotic.
Let this be a cautionary tale to all future reporters. Word on the street is that President-elect Barack Obama has promised his daughters Malia and Sasha a dog!
Laura Bush told reporters that Barney is in the dog house over the incident.
Check out the video below. | {
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Provides $1 trillion dollars in job creating tax relief. To learn about online sports betting navigate here
Your representative made a promise and kept their word by passing the American Health Care Act, a better health care system for America. | {
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Nightmare creature. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Winter has come. The air stings your skin as you shuffle toward the National Mall. But there are scattered patches of blue in the sky, and sunlight peeking out from behind a cloud. And the crowd that now surrounds you is alive with good cheer. Your fellow Americans are high off civic pride, or their proximity to future history, or possibly marijuana (your nose is stuffy, but you think you think can smell a trace of something skunky on the wind).
He emerges from the Capitol Building. The crowd goes wild. You join their cheer, but can’t make out your own voice above the din. And now you’re not even sure what it is they’re chanting. But you know their words are not your own. You look up at the nearest television monitor and there it is — that awful, orange face.
It all comes back to you in an instant, the flashing images in your mind alternating with the crowd’s chant, like light and darkness beneath a strobe lamp: LOCK HER UP; the Upshot’s needle swinging blue to red; LOCK HER UP; those last 10,000 votes in Waukesha County; LOCK HER UP; the headlines heralding RBG’s death right before Christmas; LOCK HER UP; Supreme Court Justice Sarah Huckabee Sanders; LOCK HER UP; the bombs already falling over Tehran; LOCK HER UP; the president’s face as he signed “The Voting Wrongs Act of 2021”; LOCK HER UP; Elizabeth Warren being led to a squad car in handcuffs; LOCK HER UP; and now, as they turn toward you, their red hats glowing in the winter sun, you realize that you are her, this place is a prison — and your sentence is another four years to life.
Liberals are well-prepared for this kind of “2021 nightmare.” They’ve been fearing it since November 9, 2016. To avert such a terror, they took to the streets in historic numbers the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, and showed up at the polls en masse last fall. And they’re right to be afraid. Each day, Trump grows a bit more lawless, and the Executive branch a bit less willing to defy him. Another four years of judicial appointments would give the conservative movement a hammerlock on the judiciary for a generation. And in that time, Trump’s judges could rubber-stamp changes to election laws that further erode what remains of popular sovereignty in this republic — and the world’s most powerful nation would stumble four years closer to climate catastrophe.
Trump’s reelection would be a nightmare. But for Democrats, defeating him and winning the presidency in 2021 could be its own kind of horror show.
A president in shackles.
If a Democrat wins the presidency next year, there’s a good chance he or she won’t be able to do much of anything without Mitch McConnell’s permission.
Right now, the odds of Team Blue winning control of the Senate next year are slim, and getting slimmer. Democrats will need a net gain of three seats next November to wrest the upper chamber from Mitch McConnell’s caucus. And while Republicans will have 22 of their incumbents on the ballot in 2020, only two of those represent states that have leaned Democratic in the past two presidential elections — Colorado and Maine. Which is less than ideal, since winning Maine will (almost certainly) require beating Susan Collins, who has held her seat for more than two decades, and remains quite popular with her constituents (including many of the state’s Democrats). Thus, there is no reason to assume Democrats will be able to win the only two blue-state seats on the board. But let’s be generous and say they do.
Unless Alabama Republicans decide to make a theocratic ephebophile their standard-bearer again (which is highly unlikely), Doug Jones will be evicted from the Senate next November. In a presidential election year and an age of straight-ticket voting, even Roy Moore would have a decent shot of beating a Democrat in the Heart of Dixie.
Even with wins in Colorado and Maine, Team Blue would have only netted one seat, which means they’d have to flip two in light-red territory. CNN’s Harry Enten explains why that’s unlikely:
Beyond [Colorado and Maine], the Democratic pickup opportunities slim dramatically. Of the other 20 Republican-held seats up for election, 16 of them are in states that were 10 points or more Republican than the nation as a whole in a weighted average of the last two presidential elections. None of these races look competitive at this time.
The other four have leaned 5 to 10 points more Republican than the nation in a weighted average of the last two presidential elections: Arizona (Martha McSally), Georgia (David Perdue), Iowa (Joni Ernst) and North Carolina (Thom Tillis).
… Elected Republican incumbents are, at this point, expected to be running for all these seats, except for Arizona. Generally, incumbents tend to do better than non-incumbents. Even if the 2018 political environment were in effect (i.e. one where they won the national House vote by high single digits), the lean of each state in the 2018 House elections suggests that only Arizona (because McSally wasn’t elected) would go to the Democrats.
In other words, even if Democrats win the national popular vote in a 2018-esque landslide, chances are they’ll come up at least one seat short. And did I mention that the party’s best prospective Senate candidates in Georgia, and the “reach” states of Texas and Montana, have all ostensibly decided to launch far-fetched presidential campaigns, instead? Or that Joe Manchin is seriously considering resigning his seat to run for governor in West Virginia, in which case, Democrats will effectively need to flip five seats after they (almost certainly) forfeit the Mountain State and Alabama?
Anything’s possible, of course. Democrats could find stellar candidates in every quasi-competitive state. Far-right weirdos could win GOP primaries in all the right places. Millennials could show up at the polls in 2020 in unprecedented force, and remake America’s electoral math in their image.
But odds are, if a Democrat moves into the Oval Office in 2021, he or she will be faced with a Republican Senate. Which means that he or she will not have the power to appoint any Supreme Court justices or, in all probability, left-leaning federal judges of any kind. And do you really think Senate Republicans are going to help President Elizabeth Warren install her preferred leaders atop the Treasury or SEC?
Imagine a Democratic president who isn’t just too weak to advance any of the ambitious legislation she promised her base, but also to rebalance the courts or effectively implement her regulatory agenda. Might this dampen Democratic voters’ enthusiasm for electoral politics when the midterms come around?
A recession that discredits the progressive agenda before Democrats even get to enact it.
In a February survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics, 75 percent of economists predicted the U.S. economy would slide into recession by the end of 2021, with 42 percent expecting a downturn next year, and 25 percent the following one. Since that poll was taken, the Federal Reserve backed away from rate hikes, and markets soared. And (since expansions never last forever under capitalism) the odds of the economy going south in 2021 are now higher than ever.
If the bubbles pop shortly after President Buttigieg takes the reins, it will be imperative for him to pass some kind of fiscal stimulus; with interest rates already near historic lows, the Federal Reserve’s capacity to mitigate a downturn through monetary policy will be limited.
In this scenario, do you think Mitch McConnell will put country before party and approve a bipartisan stimulus package to prevent the slump from deepening — or will he decide that deficits are bad again? History says this shouldn’t even be a question.
The Senate lost and gone forever (or at least for a decade).
So we’re looking at a historically ineffectual president who has failed to deliver on any of his or her major campaign promises, and is presiding over a needlessly severe recession.
In this scenario, how excited will the progressive base be to turn out for the Democratic Party in 2022? Once gridlock replaces Donald Trump in the headlines, is it easier to imagine liberals sustaining their current levels of civic engagement or catching up on lost brunches?
Odds are, complacency and disillusionment would depress liberal turnout, while revanchist outrage would raise conservative participation, and economic woes would turn swing voters against the party in power. Even relatively effective presidents, presiding over good economic times, tend to lose seats in midterm elections. In the scenario we’ve sketched, a red wave would likely drown the Democrats’ House majority, and allow Republicans to renew their lease on (otherwise potentially flippable) Senate seats in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio. And the GOP might even flip Democratic seats in New Hampshire and Nevada while they’re at it.
The 2022 Senate map is the friendliest that Democrats are likely to see until those same seats come up again in 2028. If Republicans win big in 2022, the Senate could very well be theirs until the end of the decade. Barring a revolution in the GOP’s internal politics, that would mean no major climate legislation at the federal level until it’s much too late.
Meanwhile, when 2024 rolls around, Republicans will be one branch of government shy of a trifecta, and the Democratic incumbent will have no real achievements to run on. And next time, the GOP’s proto-authoritarian standard-bearer just might know how to stay on message.
This second-worst-case scenario is far from inevitable. One could quibble with every link in its chain of logic. Donald Trump is a historically unpopular president. The turnout rate among voters under 30 was 79 percent higher last year than during the previous midterm election. There remains a decent chance that the U.S. economy will enter a recession next year. Thus, it is possible that Democrats will engineer a 2020 landslide large enough to secure them full control of Congress. And even if they don’t, Mitch McConnell could have trouble preventing two or three of his caucus’s more moderate members from cutting deals with a Democratic president. If a recession does hit in 2021, it could very well be a minor affair, in which case, the economy could be growing at a good clip when voters head to the polls in 2022.
And, of course, even the most nightmarish version of the next Democratic presidency is preferable to another four years of Donald Trump.
Nevertheless, progressives shouldn’t lose sight of the lesser nightmare. If the past three years of political history have taught us anything, it’s the virtue of planning for the worst. And envisioning how the next Democratic presidency could go horribly wrong is a prerequisite, both for preventing such an outcome, and preparing to mitigate its most dire effects. Regarding the former, Team Blue’s leadership must convey the profound stakes of next year’s Senate elections to their highly energized — but presidency-obsessed — base. The small-dollar armies that are currently powering so many dark-horse presidential bids must eventually spread the wealth down-ballot. Democratic elected officials, for their part, must recognize that their party’s agenda will have no future unless the legislative filibuster becomes history.
Big-dollar Democratic donors, meanwhile, need to devote more time and money to developing an answer to their party’s deep, structural problem in the Senate — namely, that as urban-rural polarization deepens, the upper chamber is becoming more biased toward rural voters, and the GOP is growing less willing to accept the Democratic Party’s right to govern. Part of the answer here will be to find messages, organizations, and trusted local leaders who can improve Team Blue’s performance in low-density areas. But rural regions are drifting right in democracies all across the West. It’s unlikely that the trend can be fully reversed. Thus, more audacious solutions must be entertained. The next time Democrats eke out a Senate majority, approving statehood for D.C. — and, if the people of the island want it, Puerto Rico — must be a priority. Meanwhile, America’s bleeding-heart billionaires should consider trying to replicate the right’s success in buying up TV news outlets, and peppering their regular content with propaganda. They might also mull making investments in start-up incubators, or liberal arts colleges in low-population, light-red states. Helping Missoula become the new Austin might not sound like a political project. But turning Montana blue through targeted investments would get a Democratic donor way more bang for her political buck than, say, a national television campaign in favor of impeachment.
Finally, liberal activists must prepare for the possibility that legislative progress at the federal level might not be possible for a long time. Thus, they must redouble their efforts to make state-level change, and exploit the Democrats’ control over California for all its worth; which is to say, they should continue making strict environmental and labor standards the price of admission for corporations that wish to do business in the world’s fifth-largest economy.
By the end of next year, our long national nightmare might be over. But if we aren’t careful, a new one will promptly take its place. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a Republican Senate majority stamping on a human face — forever. | {
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On Election Night 2017, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party experienced historic success in a critical part of the Southeastern section of the state. No, not Delaware County, of which so much has already been written, but Bucks County.
Bucks held five unique countywide contests last November – County Controller, District Attorney, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds and Sheriff – with four of them going to the Dems.
In keeping with the county’s reputation as a closely contested bellwether, the best performance by a Democrat was the 51.64 percent Robin Robinson secured in the Recorder of Deeds race.
Prothonotary candidate Judi Reiss came next with 50.94 percent, with Sheriff Milt Warrell and County Controller Neale Dougherty just behind at 50.57 percent and 50.41 percent, respectively.
The one victorious Republican nominee was Matt Weintraub, who carried the District Attorney contest with 54.42 percent.
The Democratic Party’s base is in the lower half of the county in cities like Bristol, Fairless Hills, Levittown, Morrisville and Newtown. Central Bucks cities like Doylestown and New Hope provide additional votes while their surrounding suburbs make the difference as Republicans ran up the score everywhere else.
Presidential History
What does stand out, however, are the shifts that have taken place in just the past decade. As recently as 2008, for example, Barack Obama was winning areas in Upper Bucks like Quakertown and Perkasie during the presidential election.
In 2012, President Obama was able to narrowly hold on in Bucks by running up the margins in the bottom portion of the county.
Four years later, Hillary Clinton also barely won Bucks – but with a different coalition. Towns bordering Northeast Philadelphia such as Bensalem and Croydon turned red while wealthier areas like Lower Makefield went blue. This may be an example of the educational divide analysts have witnessed develop since the rise of Donald Trump.
Consequences
The inroads made by Democrats is an unwelcome development for incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. The freshman legislator has deep familal roots in the 8th Congressional District (his brother held the seat from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2017), yet midterm elections are especially tough for a sitting President’s party. At the moment, prognosticators see a major blue wave forming.
Then there’s the political earthquake set off by the state Supreme Court’s ruling that the commonwealth’s congressional districts were gerrymandered and would have to be redrawn before this year’s primary elections.
Finally, there are the repercussions for state legislative races. Republican State Senators Chuck McIlhinney and Stewart Greenleaf announced their retirement. McIlhinney’s district contains Lower Makefield; State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, who’s from that area and got some experience running for Congress in 2016, is seeking the seat. Meanwhile, Greenleaf’s district contains the suburbs of Doylestown as well as the heavily Hispanic town of Warminster. On top of that, if the Democrats continue to perform well in New Hope and keep down the margins in rural areas they may be able to take advantage of the seat left open by Scott Petri. | {
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Before there was Assassin's Creed, there was Prince of Persia. In the PS2 era, Ubisoft released a trilogy of action-platformers for the series. The final entry in the trilogy, The Two Thrones, managed to right the ship after the mediocre The Warrior Within. While this style of game is a little outdated now with the glut of open-world games, they were pretty innovative at the time.
Andrew Reiner, Ben Reeves, and myself run this 2005 game through its paces, and discuss some of the finer things in life, such as whether Arbys is an establishment where we expect to find any vegetables. We also take a look at another game from around time, though this one has less platforming and more shooting. | {
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Hike to the Hammock, Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, FL Done | {
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Young people inject vitality into economic construction The Korean youth take pride in volunteering to work in youth shock brigades, which play their part in socialist economic construction, so as to dedicate their youthful life to the country. World-startling feats are being performed at every place where there are youth shock brigade members. Members of the High-Speed Youth Shock Brigade completed a storey of framework of a hotel in a day at the construction site of the Wonsan Kalma coastal resort, while those of the Cha Kwang Su youth shock brigade of the Pyongyang Thermal Power Complex finished the general overhaul of four boilers ahead of schedule this year to ensure the normal production of electricity. Ri Su Bok youth shock brigade members of the Tideland Reclamation Complex of North Phyongan Province work miracles day after day as they undertake all laborious and hard jobs in the Honggondo tideland reclamation, saying there can be no limit in the spiritual strength of young people though there are limits to the power of machines. Young people who came to the Songnam Youth Coal Mine, the first youth enterprise in the DPRK, from across the country to boost the production of coal formed a vanguard death-defying corps and restored hundreds of metres of a submerged pit by displaying the daring spirit of charge and secured a new coalfield which is deposited with hundreds of thousands of tons of coal. Members of the Kang Ho Yong youth shock brigade of the Chonsong Youth Coal Mine are making a breakthrough in the increased production of coal after carrying out the economic plan for three years till Sep 15, and those of the Ri Su Bok youth shock brigade are pressing ahead with coal production without slackening the spirit of having fulfilled the national economic plan for two years ahead of schedule until September. “We have doubled our daily plan with the spirit of defending the country which was cherished in the hearts of heroes in war days as the motive power for performing feats. Our shock brigade members have kept it as their faith to live like the heroes in the wartime,” said Kang Kum Chol, leader of the Kang Ho Yong youth shock brigade. Kim Yu Bong youth shock brigade members of the February 8 Jiktong Youth Coal Mine overfulfilled two years’ economic plan every year, and this year they carried out the annual plan in three months, two years’ plan in six months and three years’ plan in nine months. Those in the Tukjang Area Coal-mining Complex are making innovations every day to become youth innovators and youth heroes in the ongoing campaign to create the Mallima speed. “We have completed our economic plan for two years by the end of last August and are running a straight course to hit the tunnelling target for three years while making a socialist emulation drive between shifts, minimizing the blasting circulation time and enhancing the mucking capacity,” said Chae Chung Song, head of the Cha Kwang Su youth shock brigade. The youth shock brigade movement that is conducted briskly in all industrial establishments and coal mines throughout the country is adding vitality to socialist economic construction. By Jong Hwa Sun PT | {
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How would you rate episode 36 of
Attack on Titan (TV 2/2017) ?
As everyone in the Attack on Titan universe should understand well and good by now, there is one rule to respect above all others. More important that knowing a Titan's vulnerabilities, more valuable than mastering the use of ODM gear, and beyond even working to defend the Walls of the city, there is a single lesson you must learn in order to survive:
Never, ever get between Mikasa Ackerman and her Eren.
There is a moment that perfectly encapsulates the tone of this season's penultimate episode, captured clearly in the thumbnail above. Bertholdt is stowing away with Eren, safe in the cusp of Reiner's Titan grip, and he catches a glimpse of Mikasa, who has arrived along with the rest of her crew to rescue Eren. What Bertholdt sees is a wealth of rage, desperation, and unadulterated loathing captured in our heroine's gaze, transforming Mikasa into a creature of savage and terrifying vengeance whose expression would be right at home in the pages of a Junji Ito manga.
In that moment, Bertholdt realizes that he broke the rules of their bond as comrades, and the consequences will be unfathomable.
The past couple episodes have put most of their thematic pressure on the traitorous Titans, showing us the humanity and emotion that fuels the underhanded actions of Bertholdt, Reiner, and Ymir. That trend continues this week, but with the added wrinkle of finally giving our human recruits the opportunity to join the dialogue. Ymir and Christa hash out their feelings for each other and the loyalties that follow, and Mikasa gets many opportunities to make it clear that she'll mercilessly slaughter anyone who gets in the way of rescuing Eren. Even Sasha, Conny, and Jean get the chance to confront the turncoats. Their interrogation is both heartwarming and terribly sad because it shows just how hurt they are by this betrayal, that they truly considered Bertholdt and the others their companions and friends. Bertholdt then turns the tables by not only admitting his guilt but embracing the self-loathing and regret that comes with it, making it clear that these boys are acting under someone's orders for some larger cause, and they take no joy in what they're doing. While we don't get much in the way of answers, the emotional discourse itself is valuable. For perhaps the first time, everyone's cards are on the table, and almost every side in the conflict has been laid bare on some basic level. Instead of the show giving us isolated moments of confusion and confession, the cast are all working through their grief and anger in real time, and it's wonderful (and awful) stuff to see.
Thankfully, the episode also managed to balance out its heavier discussions with some good old-fashioned spectacle, in this case the most grand-scale human-on-Titan conflict we've seen this season. Though the first half of the episode is largely Mikasa and the others trying to take on Reiner, all bets are off when Erwin unleashes a horde of Titans on the group. Bodies begin flying, soldiers are devoured, and Erwin himself gets a badass moment where he commands his troops to charge forward while his arm is being swallowed by a hungry adversary. The chaos and confusion has a real war movie kind of vibe, with some shots of disoriented soldiers wandering about amongst the carnage directly echoing films like Saving Private Ryan. It's an intense and thrilling sequence that mixes horror and the thrill of battle in the way that AoT does best, and it's a perfect way to lead us into the final episode of the season.
Despite this week's numerous “oh crap!” moments, I was more than surprised when Armin gave us the most chilling and harrowing exchange of the episode. When he pondered what he needed to sacrifice in order to save Eren, I immediately realized it was going to be something akin to his integrity, and of course the boy proceeded to emotionally attack Bertholdt with tales of Annie's capture and brutal torture. The horrifyingly gleeful look he has on his face while he does so is another one of this season's truly horrific moments, and it works on a number of levels. It demonstrates just how far Armin is willing to go to save his friend, that even though he may be lacking in Mikasa's superhuman combat prowess, he can prove his loyalty with other strengths, even if it ends up breaking him. The scene also does an excellent job of putting us in Bertholdt's shoes. We feel Bertholdt's anger and rage, we hear Reiner's inhuman scream that follows, and for just a moment we understand exactly how the enemy feels. This season has been all about complicating and blurring the lines between the narrative of war and its harsh reality, and nothing is more effective at that than instilling empathy for the enemy.
Honestly, I don't want this season of Attack on Titan to end. Everything great about this series has been turned up to eleven, and seeing the series take another break right when it's reached its peak is going to be bittersweet indeed. I will be the first to admit that the larger scale of storytelling resulted in no less vagueness and messiness than last time; heck, we're eleven weeks out and the show has still barely touched on the Church conspiracy or the Titans in the walls, that kicked off this whole season in the first place! But the week-to-week and scene-to-scene storytelling has just been so damned good that I'm hard pressed to be too angry about it. There's one episode left, and I absolutely can't wait to see what this season of Attack on Titan has in store for its grand finale.
Rating: A
Attack on Titan is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog. | {
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir after arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 16, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/Pool
DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi with King Salman.
U.S. President Donald Trump sent Pompeo to meet King Salman after Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and a Washington Post columnist, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago to get marriage documents. | {
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An influential South Carolina Democrat plans to represent a teenage girl thrown to the ground by a school resource officer — and he intends to change a state law that allows police to arrest students for being disruptive in class.
Richland County Deputy Ben Fields was fired Wednesday for violating agency policy when he picked up the 16-year-old girl and threw her across a classroom during the arrest at Spring Valley High School.
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State Rep. Todd Rutherford (D-Columbia) told WLTX-TV the 16-year-old girl suffered arm, neck and back injuries when Fields grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the ground after the teen refused to hand over her cell phone to a teacher.
“He weighs about 300 pounds,” Rutherford said. “She is a student who is 16 years old, who now has a cast on her arm, a band aid on her neck, and neck and back problems. There’s something wrong here.”
Rutherford told the New York Daily News that the teen recently lost her mother and is living in a foster home. The teen’s foster mother said the girl was “devastated and emotionally traumatized by all that has happened to her,” according to the Daily News.
Rutherford said that lawmakers must tighten up restrictions on use of force by school resources officers such as Fields — who students say was “known for slamming” pregnant women and teenage girls to the ground.
“The legislature needs to take action, and make sure our students are not the targets of rogue police officers called ‘Officer Slam’ who are going to walk in and brutalize them at a moment’s notice,” Rutherford said.
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Rutherford, who serves as the Democratic Minority Leader of the South Carolina House of Representatives, also plans to represent 18-year-old Niya Kenny — who was also arrested for “disturbing school” while video recording the violent attack on her classmate.
“We passed that law several years ago, and when we did arrests of students shot through the roof,” Rutherford told the TV station. “They were getting arrested for everything because it meets with the statute. The statute is unconstitutionally broad, and everyone knows it.”
The lawmaker said he was shocked by the deputy’s actions — which he said were completely unjustified.
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“I had no words because that was something that simply should not happen,” Rutherford said. “It was a classroom. We’re not talking about a roadside setting where you’re worried about the safety of an officer, we’re not talking about any setting where the officer’s safety is in jeopardy and he needs to make sure he controls the situation. It was a classroom.”
He said school resource officers are placed in schools to protect students from outsiders and threats involving guns or knives — and not to punish students for showing disrespect.
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“Law enforcement officers simply need to establish a line that they cannot cross,” Rutherford said. “Unfortunately, that line is blurry, and it leads a lot of people to believe that if you don’t do exactly what a law enforcement officer asks, that he gets to brutalize you and beat you up in front of other people — and that’s not true.”
Watch video, via ABC News, below:
ABC Breaking News | Latest News Videos | {
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Stocks closed lower on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains, as comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell following a monetary policy announcement sent interest rates lower and bank stocks along with them.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.93 points to 26,385.28, while the declined 0.3 percent to 2,905.97. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2 percent to 7,990.37.
Powell told reporters after the Fed announced it raised rates for the third time this year he does not see inflation surprising to the upside, noting: "It's not in our forecasts."
The comment sent rates lower, along with bank stocks. The 10-year Treasury note yield fell to 3.06 percent. Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup all dropped more than 1 percent. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) dropped 2 percent.
Earlier on Wednesday, Fed officials upped their outlook for U.S. economic growth this year and next. They now expect the U.S. economy to grow by 3.1 percent in 2018, up from 2.8 percent. They also see the economy expanding 2.5 percent in 2019, up from 2.4 percent.
The Fed also raised its target overnight rate to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent, up from 1.75 percent to 2 percent. This marks the central bank's eighth rate hike since 2015.
The central bank dropped the word "accommodative" from its statement in how it describes its monetary policy. Some traders took this to mean that if the Fed no longer believes its policy is accomodative, it's likely closer to being done with its rate hikes.
Equities hit their session highs after the Fed's announcement but later pulled back as Powell answered questions. The Dow rose as much as 113.88 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained as much as 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said the market first interpreted the word's removal as "the end of the Fed tightening cycle." However, Powell said the removal of that word does not signal any change in the bank's path toward normalizing monetary policy.
"I think as much the Fed and Powell, in particular, don't want the market to interpret the removal of 'accommodative' as a signal that they're near the end," said Arone.
Wednesday's Fed decision comes after stocks closed lower in the previous session as renewed worries around trade dampened investor sentiment.
During a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump defended his administration's stance on trade, telling international leaders the U.S. would no longer endure "such abuse," but act in its "national interest" when it feels like it's being duped. | {
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Like most modern software companies, we use continuous integration (CI) to build, test and deploy our software after we make changes to our code base. Naturally, this requires a build server that has all the build and test dependencies instOalled. The problem: there are vastly different requirements for building and testing software. C/C++ needs a compiler like gcc, Java needs at least a JDK, but more often than not a build tool like Maven. LaTeX needs something like Texlive, and so on.
Moreover, what you should strive for are reproducible builds. No matter what date, server setup or, say, internet availability, your build should always produce the same results.
Possible solutions
Use your distribution
If your CI system provides this, you can trigger the CI build process directly on your build server as a normal user (for example, by registering a shell runner in Gitlab CI). This way, you install all the build dependencies using the package manager (e.g. apt-get, dnf, pacman) of your distribution. This solution has a few pros and cons.
Pro: You know what you’re doing. The distribution on your server is something you’re familiar with. Don’t underestimate this.
Pro: Building and installing packages for your server distribution is simple, as the tools are readily available (for instance, makepkg on Arch).
Pro: Deploying software might be simple, as you can scp to other servers or even copy results on the machine you’re running on without further adjustment.
Con: Unless you’re giving the CI user root privileges, you’re not able to install the necessary dependencies inside your source code repository. You have to take care of installing the right software before the CI server starts building it (and you have to uninstall software that’s no longer needed by any project).
Con: Keeping the build reproducible is harder to achieve, since you’re a good administrator and keep on updating the software on your servers. Different versions of your build tools might change the outcome of your build.
Con: In the same vein, reproducing the CI build locally requires that you install the exact same software packages on your developer machine. If you have a different distribution on your local machine than your server has, this is pretty difficult. Also, it might be difficult to install multiple versions of the same package on the same machine. Think about a project that needs an older version of the build system, and a different project that needs the latest one. Not all distributions/packages support parallel installs.
Use Docker
Some CI systems like Gitlab CI or Travis support specifying a Docker image that’s used for building and testing your software. Again, here are the pros/cons of doing that.
Pro: The build and test dependencies are all installed in the Docker image and thus have a version that’s independent of the server environment you’re running Docker from. Also, Docker provides network and file-system isolation. This is helpful towards reproducible builds.
Pro: Building the software on your local machine is also relatively easy, as you can use the same Docker image locally.
Pro: Multiple versions of the same package are possible.
Con: You need a Docker file that has all the necessary dependencies preinstalled. For some build environments, a Docker image is available on Docker Hub. For others, it’s not, and you have to write the Dockerfile yourself and possibly create a local Docker repository to store the finished image. This is something you have to learn.
Con: Deploying software might be harder from inside Docker. For this, you have to either setup an SSH user inside the container (which you might not have created yourself), or mount a directory (or volume) on the host to the container. This might depend on the CI software in use, of course.
Enter Nix
There is a third solution: Nix¹. Before we get to the pros and cons, let me explain what it is.
Nix is a package manager, just like dnf, pacman, or apt-get. Unlike those, it’s not bound to a specific distribution². You can install Nix on your machine right now and have two package managers installed! But why would you?
Nix has a lot of cools things in store, but for the sake of this article, I’m going to focus on one feature: with Nix, you can install packages as a normal, unprivileged user. Usually, this would be dangerous. What if a malicious user installs a malicious version of Firefox on your system which sniffs all the passwords you enter? But when you install software with Nix, it’s more like you download the Firefox sources, compile it yourself, and then add your compiled Firefox to PATH . In other words, other users don’t see “your” Firefox version. And actually, that’s close to what really happens³.
Before we get to actually using it, let’s look at configuring Nix in Gitlab CI and Travis.
Nix in Gitlab CI
There are two ways to use Nix from Gitlab CI.
You configure a Docker runner for your project and can then specify a Docker image to use for the CI build using the image directive in your .gitlab-ci.yml file. You configure a shell runner. This will execute the build commands in a normal shell on the machine where you installed gitlab-runner .
If you opt for Docker to build your project (or you’re using Gitlab hosted at gitlab.com), you have to tell it to use a Docker image containing Nix. There an official image available at Docker Hub, so this suffices:
image: nixos/nix:latest
If you opt for a shell runner, you have to install Nix either globally, or just for the gitlab-runner user. A multi-user install is best done with the corresponding distribution package. A single-user install consists of executing a one-liner and following the instructions. Follow “Get Nix” here.
Nix in Travis
With Travis, it’s even simpler, since Travis has Nix support out of the box. All you have to do is add the following to your .travis.yml :
language: nix
Using Nix
Let’s say the instructions to build your software are contained in a small bash script build.sh in your source repository. To start build.sh with the necessary dependencies installed, you can use nix-shell . If you’re building a Java project, for example, you can request a shell with a JDK and Maven installed using⁴: nix-shell -p jdk maven . If you execute this, you get an interactive shell with those two packages in your PATH . Using…
nix-shell -p jdk maven --run ./build.sh
…you can execute build.sh directly.
Ok, but what about reproducible builds? Isn’t this just as susceptible to updates breaking the build as the previous approaches? If you’re doing just what I just described, that’s true. But with a little extra effort, we can do better.
When you install Nix, you typically set a “channel” to take packages from. You can think of a channel as a specific commit in package repository. When you run nix-shell -p jdk , Nix will (hypothetically)…
clone the repository defined in the currently active channel,
checkout the commit defined by the current channel,
find the build instructions for jdk in the cloned repository,
in the cloned repository, build jdk and all its dependencies transitively⁵.
So if you pin (or freeze) the channel in your CI script, your build does not depend on any external library that might get updated or changed. To do that, you can, for example, set the environment variable NIX_PATH to a specific commit, as such:
nix-shell -p jdk maven --run build.sh export NIX_PATH="nixpkgs= https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/archive/ab593d46dc38b9f0f23964120912138c77fa9af4.tar.gz nix-shell -p jdk maven --run build.sh
This not only pins the version of jdk and maven , but of all their dependencies, too. At our company, we’ve set up a CI Variable in Gitlab CI set to the contents of NIX_PATH , so we can easily update the software needed for the build.
The verdict
So, just as before, what are the pros and cons of Nix:
Pro: You can encode the dependencies your software needs inside your source repository and thus tie them together more tightly.
Pro: Reproducible builds are as easy as with Docker.
Pro: You can build your software the exact same way your CI does by installing Nix on your local machine and just running the build commands yourself.
Pro: Nix’s “nixpkgs” software repository is plentiful. You can check if your build and tests tools are available here, but probably, they are. There’s around 42,000 packages in there at the time of writing.
Pro: Nix is easily integrated with at least two major CI systems, as we’ve shown.
Con: Nix is, just as Docker, something you have to learn.
Con: nix-shell will download and provide the software you ask from it. But it will not clean up after you’re done. This is nice, because using nix-shell with the same packages again will not re-download anything. But it also means you hold a cache somewhere that gets bigger over time. You have to take care of that (for example, by regularly calling nix-collect-garbage ).
I hope I could convince you to at least give Nix a try. We’ve been using it with Gitlab CI for a year now, and we’re really happy so far. And I hope the hardcore Nixers aren’t disappointed to find no mention of nix-build and the Nix language here. This is the topic of another article.
If you’re interested in learning Nix, I recommend the excellent Nix Pills series, as well as the Nix manual (describing the package manager) and the nixpkgs manual (describing the package infrastructure). | {
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EUGENE -- If Oregon can stay healthy for three more practices, its annual spring game on May 3 will live up to its name.
The format of the Ducks' spring football finale inside Autzen Stadium will be as close to a full game as possible, with normal scoring, should the depth chart remain mostly intact in the coming days, coach Mark Helfrich said Wednesday. Oregon is 11 practices into its 15-practice spring schedule.
"We're going to see if we can do it after this week, ideally we'd play a game," Helfrich said. "As much of a football game as possible, with a couple modifications. I think that's what the fans want, that's what the players want.
"Hopefully, knock on wood, we can play a game."
Staging a normal game might sound unremarkable yet many programs around the nation hold glorified practices due to injuries or coaching preference. Washington's "spring game" on April 19 was more of a practice mixed in with segments of true scrimmages.
Oregon State's "spring football showcase" -- also held May 3 -- is expected to be similar to Washington's spring finale.
Even last season's UO spring game featured an offense vs. defense format with a weighted scoring system that led to a 65-10 "win" by the offense.
Those formats left something to be desired for Helfrich this time around, apparently. While they might reduce the chance of injury, they can't provide the without-a-net scenario Oregon's coaches -- and its players and fans -- want to see their team react to.
"The big thing we want to see in the spring game is obviously who can handle the defense. … who’s gonna make plays?" defensive coordinator Don Pellum said. "Now the lights are on, it’s your stage, the spring game. Who’s going out there to do their responsibility but also make plays? We’ll be looking at some production in that format."
Oregon's spring game begins at 11 a.m. and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
-- Andrew Greif | | {
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This post was inspired by back-to-school season; therefore, it was written with kids in mind. However, many of the principles are easily transferable to adults. The following suggestions many help ease friction between parents and their children by making the process of getting and staying organized more manageable for a child or older youth. In addition to making the completion of chores a smoother process, families may also realize time management benefits by employing the following tactics to help kids manage their own rooms.
Acknowledge that Your Child May Be Overwhelmed
I work with adults who often have significant anxieties around creating organizational systems in their homes and workplaces. Oftentimes, they have long been afraid to experiment with the trial and error that may be involved in finding the right system. This is a common reason some people immediately shy away from the notion of establishing a system or organizing and working within it. Anxieties often begin in childhood. In some cases, a child may not understand exactly why his or room becomes messy because he or she perceives space differently than the parent. In other cases, the organizational system in place may simply not work for that particular child’s way of perceiving and interacting with his or her environment.
Differences in Space Perception
Space perception always comes into play when multiple people reside in the same home. A hyper-organized person may prefer to keep all household items hidden in closets, opaque bins, and drawers. For a child, maintaining the visibility of certain items, such as stuffed animals, Legos, books, or awards, may create a sense of comfort. To that child’s parent, I would suggest solutions that allow a few of the child’s favorite items to be neatly displayed in clear bins or on shelves. The child would then be responsible for ensuring the items are neatly stored in their display areas as one of his or her bedroom or playroom maintenance tasks.
Differences in Organizing Styles
Even at a young age, a child may be inclined to organize differently than his or her parents. An adult may have the focus to separate items into drawers and compartments. While theses exercises may be effective for helping children learn to concentrate while grouping and sorting items, incorporating an organizing system that is too detailed may frustrate and overwhelm some children if the cleanliness of their room depends on it. Therefore, parents may wish to start with simple sorting tasks, such as creating distinctly separate open laundry bins for colored clothes and whites or clearly labeling each drawer and keeping a single clothing item in each (i.e. a drawer for shirts, a drawer for bottoms, a drawer for pajamas, etc.). The key is to keep organizing as simple and as basic as possible when introducing a new system. Also many kids, and even adults, are much more able to maintain their items in clearly marked open bins versus closed hampers and boxes. When using bins for storage, it helps if the container is transparent or only slightly tinted as being able to see the items inside will serve as a constant reminder to avoid placing the wrong items in the wrong bins. Color-coding and keeping the bins in distinctly different, yet still conveniently accessible locations around the room may also make this strategy more effective. When using bins for storing laundry or items that are used daily, it is important to place the bins in an area that is intuitive for the child or adult who will be using them. For example if a child normally piles dirty laundry on a chair, relocate the chair, and replace it with a laundry bin. Helping someone else get organized is much easier when you work with the current habits they have in place. Eventually, they will become more accustomed to having an organized room, and they will be more likely to begin seeking out ways to keep their environment organized.
Break the Task Down Into Steps
Children may need to have the steps for cleaning their room clearly outlined, enumerated, and thoroughly explained. Full disclosure: this was one I struggled with as a child. My mother would simply reference “cleaning my room.” In response, I would tidy up things in the room that seemed out of place to me. My idea of cleaning almost never overlapped with hers. To avoid frustration on both sides of the equation, parents must clearly and kindly communicate their expectations. Making written lists with descriptions of how to perform each task is extremely helpful. Adults use similar tools all the time; we call them contracts and checklists. The overall goal is to ensure both parties are aware of all expectations while providing the performing party with an accurate measuring stick for determining when those expectations have been satisfactorily met.
Be Patient; Expect Trial and Error
Helping a child or family member get organized requires patience. I recommend observing the person’s habits or having a non-confrontational conversation to determine why they store items the way they currently do and to assess approaches that require little behavior modification upfront (such as placing a storage bin in the exact same area where the person typically discards items; suggesting one day at the end of the week to clear out or sort the items in the bin will help the person maintain the area). Trial and error may be necessary. I prefer to work in one-week or two-week increments to give the person time to adapt to the new system and to evaluate the potential for modifications that may make the system easier to follow and, therefore, likely to be more successful.
At the end of the day, the ultimate goal in helping a child or other family member get organized should be the well-being of the person in addition to preserving harmony in the home. Before presenting a new organizational system to someone, it is essential that you evaluate your objectives and eliminate all semblances of a desire to control the other person. Any assistance that is offered from a genuine place of wanting to help the person succeed and improve his or her quality of life will consider that person’s perspective and individual needs. Therefore, suggestions that truly come from a place of selfless concern will generally be received much better by the intended recipient. | {
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E' stato approvato oggi in in consiglio dei ministri l'atteso inasprimento delle sanzioni per coloro che violano le disposizioni per il contenimento del contagio da coronavirus Covid 19. Il premier Giuseppe Conte ha annunciato che ogni 15 giorni riferirà in parlamento sulle misure adottate e sullo stato dell'arte dei nuovi decreti del presidente del consiglio dei ministri necessari per l'attuazione delle disposizioni. Conte ha negato che ci sarà una proroga dell'emergenza e delle misure restrittive fino al 31 luglio e ha spiegato che quel termine è stato fissato dopo l'emergenza mondiale dichiarata dall'Oms, ma ha aggiunto che l'auspicio è quello di togliere al più presto, appena possibile, le gravi limitazioni delle libertà personali introdotte. Il premier ha spiegato che il decreto legge "Regolamenta in modo lineare i rapporti tra governo e regioni. Lasciamo che i presidenti possano adottare anche provvedimenti restrittivi e anche più restrittivi, ma rimane la funzione di coordinamento e omogeneità assicurati dal governo". Il premier ha sottolineato che per la violazione delle disposizioni relative alla circolazione sono previste "sanzioni da 400 a 3.000 euro", ha negato che ci sia mai stata l'ipotesi di confiscare il veicolo degli eventuali contravventori e si è dichiarato "soddisfatto per il comportamento degli italiani". "Le forze dell'ordine stanno facendo gli opportuni controlli e la maggior parte dei cittadini si sta adeguando correttamete alle nuove regole", ha osservato il presidente del consiglio. "Se tutti le rispettano consentono alla comunità nazionale di uscire dall'emergenza, che contrariamente a quanto si è detto non sarà prorogata fino al 31 luglio. Quello è lo spazio previsto anche in base all'emergenza proclamata dall'Oms, ma noi siamo fiduciosi che ben prima si possa tornare alle nostre abitudini di vita, anzi, a migliori abitudini di vita rispetto a quelle avute finora".
Il premier a proposito di eventuali precettazioni di lavoratori in caso di sciopero, ha spiegato:"Sono convinto che non arriveremo a questo perchè ho visto nel mondo sindacale un senso di responsabilità, dobbiamo tutelare la salute dei lavoratori ed è per questo che siamo stati 18 ore con i sindacati a palazzo Chigi. il ministro delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti, Paola De Micheli adotterà un'ordinanza sui carburanti in modo da assicurare i rifornimenti nella penisola E' chiaro che in questo momento dobbiamo presidiare le attività essenziali".
Sull'intervento dell'esercito per garantire il rispetto delle disposizioni che limitano la circolazione di persone e mezzi, il premier ha dichiarato: "Ben venga l'aiuto dell'esercito ma i cittadini non devono pensare che la tenuta dell'ordine pubblico sia affidata solo a una militarizzazione dei centri abitati, le forze dell'ordine stanno già agendo in modo molto efficace". | {
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Bengaluru: Venture capital (VC) firm Accel Partners, which over the years has backed high-profile technology start-ups, including Facebook Inc. and Flipkart, has raised $450 million for its fifth India fund, indicating that investors are still enthusiastic about Indian start-ups.
The latest fund is considerably larger than the $325 million the VC firm raised in its previous fund and will bring Accel Partners’s assets under management (AUM) in India to more than $1 billion.
Accel will begin to deploy the latest fund in early 2017, the firm said in a statement.
Accel, which has enjoyed success in India over the past 12 years with early bets on start-ups such as Flipkart, Myntra and Mu Sigma Inc., said the fifth fund will be deployed in five broad areas: consumer internet, enterprise software, financial technology, business-to-business and healthcare.
“We have been actively investing in India since 2005, and our LPs (limited partners) continue to be supportive of our investment strategy. Over the last few years, we have realized that several categories are going online faster than ever before (for example, e-commerce, movie tickets, cab bookings, groceries, food deliveries, local services and marketplaces). Categories that used to take several years to scale (five years), are now doing it in significantly less time (2-3 years)," said Shekhar Kirani, one of the six partners at Accel Partners India.
Accel India’s four previous funds raised a total of $560 million. The VC firm started out in India in 2008, buying the operations of Erasmic Venture Fund. Erasmic executives Subrata Mitra, Prashanth Prakash and Mahendran Balachandran joined Accel and are still partners at the firm, which later added three other partners—Kirani, Anand Daniel and Dinesh Katiyar.
Accel has consistently adopted a strategy of investing in seed-stage or early-stage start-ups with few bets on mature tech start-ups.
Experts say it’s relatively easier for the likes of Accel and Sequoia Capital, which are based in the US, to raise new funds compared with so-called home-grown VCs such as Kalaari Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and Helion Venture Partners. Yet, Accel Partners has actually returned money to its LPs, which is a rarity among Indian VCs that have largely struggled for exits.
ALSO READ | VC firms seek more time to return money to investors
Accel’s first two funds totalling just $70 million uncovered gems such as Mu Sigma, Myntra and Flipkart; it has already returned its first fund and is on course to give handsome returns to its LPs on the second fund. It was one of the first VCs to identify and invest in e-commerce and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies.
However, the success of Accel’s subsequent funds is far from clear. What’s also noteworthy is that Accel finished making new investments from its fourth fund in just two years, compared with the average time span of three to four years for a fund. Typically, a large part of a fund is set aside for new investments while the rest is reserved for backing those portfolio start-ups that turn out to be relatively successful.
And as Accel’s funds become larger, it may become correspondingly more challenging for it to keep LPs happy. Its last fund of $325 million, for instance, also looks like the riskiest. Accel said the increase in fund size will help it to cash in on early bets by putting more money in these companies in follow-on rounds.
For the fifth fund, Accel said it will continue with its strategy of backing mostly early-stage ventures, with the rest reserved for late-stage bets and follow-on investments in existing companies.
Accel’s fund raise comes amid a relatively tough time for Indian start-ups. VCs have reduced investments this year compared with the levels of the two preceding years but, in general, many new and promising companies are still getting funded. That’s because most VCs raised billions of dollars in new funds last year. In the absence of exits, the next fund raise for many VCs may be much tougher than in previous years.
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The hackers that recently infiltrated the Joint Staff’s unclassified email network completely changed tactics just one week after the Pentagon thwarted a prior attempt to crack the system, said National Security Agency (NSA) Director Adm. Michael Rogers.
“We totally forestalled it,” Rogers told an audience during remarks at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. “Within a week I watched them totally change the structure that they used.”
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The novel attack caused the military to take down the email server of 4,200 officials for two weeks in late July and early August.
Rogers described a sophisticated hack, with a “different scheme and maneuver that I had not seen before.”
It’s believed Russian hackers were behind the digital assault. Some have even tied the campaign to a Moscow-based hacking group known as APT29. The team uses a previously unseen tactic known as Hammertoss, in which hackers clandestinely communicate with embedded malware through dummy Twitter accounts.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, has even alleged the attack was timed to coincide with secretive meetings between Qasem Soleimani, a major general in the Iranian army, and Russian leaders in Moscow.
The Russian cyber moves come as Congress prepares to vote on a deal to put limits on Iran's nuclear weapons program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. Some believe scaling back the sanctions will enable Iran and Russia to strengthen ties.
Rogers would not comment on who the Pentagon believes was behind the incident.
But the NSA head did describe a cyber campaign targeting the Pentagon that was widespread, ongoing and sophisticated.
“The campaign went against dozens of networks, segments of the network within the network,” Rogers said.
The Joint Staff hack was the one time the group was “able to achieve that level of penetration,” he added. | {
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About an hour ago, I was a paragraph away from publishing this story with a much different focus. Originally, the post was about the unlocked Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ and how Samsung was failing to update them regularly. But then I got to looking and realized that, well, Samsung isn’t updating any of the Galaxy S9 or S9+ units, including those from carriers. And that’s a problem, because Samsung is supposed to be issuing monthly security patches, along with other bug fixer and feature introduction updates. What in the f*ck, Samsung?
These phones were released on March 16 and we wrote up that a day 1 update was expected for almost all models. And it did indeed arrive. All of the US carriers have records of that update (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint). That update, even though it was released in mid-March, only included the February Android security patch. You know where we stand today? Exactly in the same spot. Samsung hasn’t released an update to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ since they were initially released in the US.
Here are the software info screenshots from Tim’s unlocked Galaxy S9+, taken earlier this morning:
See, he’s still running the February 1, 2018 security patch and software version G965U1UEU1ARBG. It’s been three months! Not a single update has come across, including those that should be patching security holes.
Now, Samsung has started pushing a new update within the past day. Verizon (S9, S9+) and Sprint’s (S9, S9+) units are both getting updates right now, the first in three months. Verizon and Sprint units are all getting software builds G960USQU2ARE6 (S9) and G965USQU2ARE6 (S9+). This update only includes the May security patch, even though we are well into June. There are no other changes listed with either changelog.
T-Mobile attempted to push an update to the S9+ in March (G965USQU1ARBG) followed by another to both phones (G960USQU2ARC6) back in April, but paused the April update for some reason. To our knowledge, it has not resumed. AT&T hasn’t sent an update since that day 1 release.
How does this compare to the Galaxy S8? The Galaxy S8 is still getting monthly updates from Samsung and its carrier partners. See here, here, and here. The same can be said for the Galaxy Note 8.
What’s up with the Galaxy S9 and S9+? Tough to say. Samsung’s own security updates page that says that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are eligible for monthly security updates, leaves open the possibility that they’ll only update them quarterly. There is a footnote acknowledging that “some carriers may only support quarterly updates,” which would be a garbage move on everyone’s part here when you consider that the S8 and Note 8 are getting them monthly and that the S7 did up until the end of 2017.
So be on the lookout for your first Galaxy S9 update since launch and then sit back and prepare for the possibility that you may not see another for 3 more months. And do we even want to talk about Android P, even though these phones run a Snapdragon 845? I’d certainly not get my hopes up there.
Not a good look, Samsung. You should update your phones. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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instinctually Holds open door for girl door to men's bathroom | {
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Functioning not only as broadcasting towers, but also as popular tourist spots among both Japanese and overseas visitors alike, Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree are said to be symbolic of Japan. While general information about these structures can be found in virtually any travel guide, what is lesser known is how their designs connect them to Waseda University.
Tachu Naito, a former honorary professor of Waseda and a leading figure in architectural design, designed Tokyo Tower. He was also known as the “Master of Towers,” designing almost 60 throughout his career. His fame and reputation was established when Tokyo Tower was completed in 1958. This was two years after designing the second Tsutenkaku Tower in Osaka, measuring 103 meters high, and the 180-meter Nagoya TV Tower in 1954.
With specifications to design a “consolidated radio communications tower that would overtake the Eiffel Tower in height,” the task of designing the new tower was daunting, with Naito finding it much more challenging than any other task he had undertaken.
Naito embraced ideas of both structural integrity and beauty for Tokyo Tower and was said to have drawn as many as 10,000 design plans for the innovative structure. After receiving final approval for his plans, it took 543 days and around 220,000 people to complete construction of the 333-meter high Tokyo Tower, making it taller than the Eiffel Tower’s height of 312 meters when its edifice was first built.
After completion, this new tower in the Tokyo metropolis came to unify the functions of the many small radio towers that came to being as a result of the sudden boom in TV broadcasting that began in the 1950s.
Almost 50 years on, many skyscrapers have shot up throughout Tokyo, blocking broadcast signals. This development prompted the need for a taller broadcasting tower to be built. Architectural firm Nikken Sekkei was responsible for designing the new tower, and two Waseda graduates, Tadao Kamei and Shigeru Yoshino, were involved. This is how Tokyo Skytree, a modern symbol of Tokyo, came into being in 2012.
Also unknown to many is that this symbol’s distinctive design is the result of various restrictions. Above all, the land designated for Tokyo Skytree was both narrow and small, ruling out the use of a stable splayed footing design like Tokyo Tower’s. After many hours of research and discussion, a triangular base was adopted to ensure stability despite the cramped space. The tower’s upper area was to be rotund in design, with the top part transitioning from triangular to rotund. This irregular design gave the tower a distinctive curve and bend found in traditional Japanese buildings as well as a silhouette that shifts according to the direction from which it is viewed.
The new broadcasting tower also had a concrete cylinder built into its center. This engineering is an acknowledgment of the quake-resistant design of traditional Japanese five-storied pagodas that feature a central reinforcing pillar known as a shinbashira.
Although it is the world’s tallest free-standing broadcasting tower measuring a height of 634 meters, Tokyo Skytree was built to be highly durable against large earthquakes and storms; this is thanks to the fusion of traditional skills with the latest materials and technology.
In addition to Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Skytree, two iconic landmarks embodying the past and present, many impressive buildings designed by Waseda graduates dot the Japanese archipelago.
Referred to as “Waseda Architecture,” these buildings not only stand out in terms of design and technique, but also harmonize with the environments of their respective cities, supporting citizens’ livelihoods. The pursuit of cutting-edge, yet welcoming design among Waseda architects will likely continue as designers create new architectural masterpieces; this is just one aspect of Japan’s contributions to the world.
Download the PDF of this G20 Osaka Summit Special | {
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34 Compelling First Lines of Famous Books
The first lines of a story set the mood and draw readers in. This infographic features first lines from some of the most famous books of all time. | {
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The film is about a young female researcher whose life is in danger when she discovers the pharmaceutical company she works for had developed a cure for cancer many years earlier. They haven't released it because that would destroy their chemotherapy drug sales. She must now escape and release the cure to world while the company tries to stop her. | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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is that a slowpoke? Nope! Chuck Testa. | {
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A Seattle nursing assistant was arrested earlier this month for allegedly repeatedly raping a 50-year-old disabled woman in his care at an assisted living facility, according to reports.
Nshimiyiana O. Hamzat, 29, was charged with first-degree rape, second-degree rape and indecent liberties after he was caught by a hidden camera placed in the room by the victim’s family, Seattle's KIRO-TV reported.
JONBENÉT RAMSEY’S FORMER PHOTOGRAPHER INDICTED ON CHILD PORN CHARGES
The family reported the assaults to police and installed the camera after the victim told them she was being abused by Hamzat.
“The camera captured the defendant sexually assaulting her twice a day, on two different days. The videos did not capture the totality of the sexual abuse the victim suffered at the hands of the defendant,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents, according to KIRO.
Hamzat denied any wrongdoing and even after he was shown an alleged rape on video he claimed he was doing patient care.
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He was booked into the King County Jail on July 3. His bail is set at $200,000, KIRO reported. | {
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